3 Key Steps to Better Connect with the People in Your Community and Grow Your Church - Adam Leakey, marketing relations coordinator
As church leaders, your mission is to spread the Gospel and build a thriving community of believers. But to do this effectively, you need to know who you’re trying to reach. To know who you’re trying to reach is to know your church’s target audience. Identifying your target audience isn’t just a marketing hot topic phrase—it’s a practical step toward fulfilling your calling with clarity and purpose in your community. Here’s why it matters and how to do it, with three key essentials to guide your marketing plan with the people and families in your community.
Why?
If I were you, I would be asking… Why do I need a plan to know exactly who I am trying to reach?
Knowing your target audience helps you tailor your message, ministries, and outreach experiences to resonate with the people God has called you to serve in your community. It ensures your energy and resources aren’t scattered randomly but are directed toward making a real impact. When you understand who you’re reaching, you can speak their language, meet their needs, and invite them into a faith journey that feels relevant to their lives. Your audience will ultimately feel like you have been in their lives for a long time, that you understand them, and that you know what they love already. This intentional way of thinking leads people to a better life and relationship with Christ.
1 » Start with Prayer and a Deep Dive.
The first step to identifying your target audience is to seek God’s guidance. Ask Him to reveal who He’s placed on your heart and in your sphere of influence. Then, look around. Who’s already showing up to your services? Who lives in your community? Are they young families, retirees, college students, or a mix? Visit local gathering spots—coffee shops, sporting events, parks, or community gatherings—and notice the people there. For example, if your church is near a university, students might be a natural focus. If it’s in a growing suburb, young families could be your core. Combine spiritual discernment with practical observation to get a clear picture. You can even use AI tools, such as Chat GPT, and Google to take a deeper look at demographics and psychographics of your community.
2 » Listen to Their Needs and Challenges.
Once you’ve identified a potential audience, dig deeper into what makes them tick. What are their struggles, hopes, and questions? A single mom might need support with childcare and a sense of belonging, while a busy professional might crave peace and purpose amid a hectic schedule. You can uncover this by talking to unchurched people directly—host a casual Q&A or survey your small groups. Look at broader trends too: Are people in your area wrestling with loneliness, financial stress, or skepticism about faith? When you understand their felt needs, you can connect the timeless truth of Scripture to their everyday lives in a way that truly sticks. This includes their needs in a social media post, email, or even a Sunday lesson.
3 » Constantly Tinker and Adjust Your Approach
Identifying your target audience isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s an ongoing process. Start with a hypothesis (e.g., “We’re here to reach young couples starting families”), then test it. Launch a small group, event, or sermon series geared toward that group and see how they respond. Did attendance spike? Did people invite friends? If something’s not clicking with your audience, don’t be afraid to pivot. Maybe you thought your focus was teens, but you’re seeing more traction with their parents. Stay flexible and let real-world feedback shape your direction. The goal is to align your efforts with where God is already moving.
The Big Idea
Knowing your target audience matters because it helps you steward your time, talents, and resources wisely. It’s not about excluding people from the body of Christ, but it is about knowing what makes your people in your community tick. Use these nuggets of understanding about your community in your marketing communications and from the stage. No one wants to hear something they don’t relate to. With so much marketing going on around us, staying relevant to your target matters more than ever. Getting ignored is the last thing we need in our local churches today!
Once you identify who your people are, listen to their needs, and constantly tinker with your approach, you are able to create a church that feels like home to the people walking through your doors. Envision an avatar (a persona of a person) you are trying to reach and pray through how you can meet people like that persona. This makes your target audience real! Real life change happens when people encounter Jesus through your church being the local church to your local community.
So…take a step today.
Pray.
Observe.
Listen.
Adjust.
Your church’s target audience is out there, waiting for a church that sees them, knows them, and points them to Christ. Be the church that understands them and welcomes them in, leading them to a growing relationship with Jesus and His church!
P.S. Don’t miss out on the Connect Conference, a conference for your entire church staff to help your church meet new people, learn more today at connect-ministries.com/connect-conference!
Adam Leakey is the Marketing Relations Coordinator at Connect Ministries, where he has served since 2015. He is passionate about helping churches meet new people because he believes the local church is essential for providing community and hope to unchurched individuals and families. Originally from Snellville, GA, Adam attends Athens Church with his family, where he serves as a Married Group Leader, Volunteer Coordinator, and Guest Services Volunteer. Adam is married to Jamie and they have three children: Bennett, Shephard, and Mary Kyle. Adam was the first intern at the Georgia Football Recruiting Department. Now, he enjoys attending UGA sporting events, trying new restaurants, and smoking meat outdoors.