Market Segments

Its Sunday in Oakland, and I'm about to head off to church.  After learning about market segments over the past few weeks, I've come to realize that market segmentation is everywhere, especially within the church.  Having grown up in a great church community north of the city of Pittsburgh, its easy to see how different churches meet the needs of different people.  Similar to Gatorade, Powerade, and the timeless classic bottled water that all aim to quench one's thirst, churches all serve the same God, but in different ways.

Take a look at churches in Oakland.  Northway Oakland, where I've attended the past month is a Christian community full of young students - undergraduate and graduate alike, families in the medical field (due to all of the hospitals in Oakland), and young families.  After attending twice in the past few weeks, I don't recall seeing anyone over the age of 60 in the audience.  This church is appeals to a social group that is searching for a sense of community with their peers and the opportunity to connect with people who have similar beliefs.  The congregation experiences God through multimedia videos, live worship music, and dynamic speakers that relate real life to scripture.  Northway Oakland has structured their service to fulfill a market segment's desire to experience a service that is contemporary and relevant to the culture today.

In contrast to Northway Oakland, I also visited the Church of the Ascension in the past month.  This church is on the same Protestant side of palette, but is much more traditional than Northway Oakland.  The service lasted a solid hour and 40 minutes, the congregation was mainly families with kids between 2 and 10 and some members in their 60s and 70s, and the service was very traditional.  This church appeals to the segment of the market that desires a liturgical church which does not depart from tradition.  The church did not have many college students at all, primarily because of its conventional tone.  The church was founded in 1889 and was in an old building with stained glass windows, pews, and an altar - very different from Northway Oakland's stage with many instruments, stackable chairs, and free coffee and pastries for the taking.

Both of these churches' underlying mission is to help people connect with God and are achieving this mission in very different ways.  Preferences of one market segment can vary dramatically from another.  However, the interesting thing to me is how the overall mission of the churches will not waver.  Over time the culture may dictate which church will prevail due to the tastes and preferences of the congregants, as well as the giving flows.  But until that time comes, new market segments will be developed and organizations evolve.  Staying contemporary with your audience will become of utmost importance in order to maintain an organization, but so will the ability to adapt to meet your congregations needs as culture changes.