Every church deals with four kinds of people: Faithful, Snackers, Near, and Far. To be successful, you need to tailor your evangelism and mission to meet the needs of each group. You also need to be brutally honest about your programing and budget. It’s very easy for the Faithful to consume all of the resources to the exclusion of the other three people groups.

The four groups are:

    •    The Faithful - people within the church that know their need of continuous
nourishment in Christian Truth and want to provide the same spiritual food for their children. Too often, the cry of this group is “feed me.” You must help these people shift their focus outward. 

    •    The Snackers – people living near the church that participate erratically.  Thy are often unaware or uncommitted regarding spiritual matters. They occasionally stop by to see what your church is offering. 

    •    The Near – people who live near your church but are yet unaware of how life transforming church can be. They are the lost that Jesus calls us to save (Luke 15). 

    •    The Far – those who live far from the church, but are connected and fed through mission and denominational ties.

Successful churches have a magnetic quality. The Near are always being invited to Snack, Snackers in time become faithful, and the Faithful learn to express their discipleship by reaching out in hospitality to the Near and in generosity to the Far. They count hungry people everywhere as their asset, because the church’s mission is to feed the hungry.