It’s safe to assume that as a youth pastor your target audience are teenagers. But, what if that was wrong?

Yes, as a youth pastor you should reach teenagers, but sometimes we need to be a little more specific. While the teenagers in your community are similar to the ones in mine there are distinct differences. If you don’t know your target audience you will:

  • Have High Turnover
  • Lack of Engagement
  • Ineffective Ministry

Because teenagers won’t feel connected. They will struggle to find the relevancy behind what you are sharing with them. Knowing your target audience will help you create programming that will help you reach your vision for the next generation.

To get to know your target audience you need to start looking at:

WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR TIME AND MONEY

When you look at where your teenagers spend their time and money you will see what they value. When you know what they value then it will enable you to see what owns their heart.

THE MAKEUP OF THEIR FAMILY

While each family is unique each community will have its trends. Is divorce prevalent? Are there a lot of single parents? Know the strengths, and limitations of each dynamic because it will help you not only engage with the teens, but their parents as well.

THE RELATIONSHIP THEY HAVE WITH CHURCH

The teenagers in your community have a relationship with the church. It just might not be with your church. It might not be a strong one.   To know that relationship you need to look at other churches.

If a church in your community is successful it’s important to look at why. Knowing how teenagers perceive church, Christianity or faith will help you create a ministry for them.

The more you get to know your target audience the more you will be able to create a welcoming environment. You will be able to make your ministry accessible to those who are not familiar with your traditions. In the end you create the capacity to reach more.

What are other ways we can identify our target audience?.