This post is part of the Church Marketing series explained here.

A week ago, my pastor told me about a new church that was starting in our area with a very specific target group: the morbidly obese. My initial response was sardonic laughter. All I could picture was a buffet-style service followed by the mother of all pot-luck dinners. However, I soon found that my initial impression was wrong. Dead wrong.

The point behind this church is not to tap into a previously untapped people group, but instead provide a place where large individuals who would not attend church because of their own self-consciousness can come and feel welcome. The pastor believes that God loves the fat as well as the skinny, and is trying a creative approach to reach people who might otherwise slip through the cracks.

The name of the church is My Big Fat Church and their website (as yet incomplete) not only looks good, but succinctly expresses their vision and approach to ministry:

We live in a world of deceit – "Food makes me feel good. Food makes me comfortable. Food makes me." We are not what we eat, yet what we eat makes us into someone we are not. My Big Fat Church is your portal into the spiritual battle against this Big Fat Lie. The Deceiver is real, but God can be in control. Will you let Him? The truth starts here. Live it.

Defining and catering to your target is a key part of marketing, yet is there an ethics problem when churches target specific groups? I think that there are distinct issues but only when the targeting becomes exclusive. A church that has services in Korean is great and it will generally attract Korean speaking members. However, limiting attendance to only those who meet the target is wrong. Consider it this way: would you condone a white church that did not admit blacks or a black church that did not admit whites?

I think targets are useful but the narrow focus cannot occlude the wide. The primary mission for every church must be to reach the world with the Gospel message. Each church will usually define and pursue a specific demographic, which is fine. However, when someone outside of the bulls-eye shows up, the body has to recognize that the person still counts; they are still part of the ultimate target.

Take the church I attend, for example. We are actively targeting families with children. We work hard at making sure that the needs of kids at every level are being met. We offer classes that deal with finances, debt reduction and saving for future events like college and retirement. Sermon series are not strictly targeted for families but they regularly cover topics like marriage and parenting. We even include our target in the name: Family Life.

The result is that this specific body is primarily made up of young couples (25-38) with children and/or teens. However, there are singles, young couples and some whose kids have long since flown the roost. We work to embrace and include everyone that shows up and recognize the value that each member adds. Yet, we also understand John Maxwell's law of Magenetism: "You attract what you are."

To me, that is the essence of Church Marketing – expressing who you are. A traditional church may emphasize their 100 year-old organ while the Gen-x church spreads the word regarding the wattage of their sound system.

I don't find either message unspiritual.