Three Keys to Engage an Audience You're Currently Missing

By Jared Sorber, PhD

If we're honest, most of our non-profit organizations, businesses, and churches reflect only a sliver of the global audiences we’re called to serve. We see the data. We notice the gaps. But bridging them? That requires more than good intentions or a multicultural graphic on your website.

Whether you’re a global organization navigating new cultural landscapes or a church in a rapidly diversifying neighborhood, here are three keys to more effectively connect with the people you're not yet reaching:

1. Move from Invitation to Incarnation

Too often, our strategy begins and ends with "inviting them in." But people are not drawn to institutions or products that feel foreign, inaccessible, or indifferent. What if we flipped the script? Instead of asking, “How do we get them to come here?” we should ask, “How can we show up where they already are?”

Incarnation means stepping into someone else’s world — their spaces, languages, rhythms, and values — with humility and genuine presence. That might look like:

• A business finding culturally relevant and specific ways to serve those in different locales.

• A nonprofit adapting their messaging and platforms to fit the communication norms of their target communities.

• A church leader spending time at local cultural festivals before ever inviting someone to a service.

Presence builds trust, and trust opens doors that invitations alone cannot.

2. Learn Before You Lead

There’s a temptation to act quickly — to launch a new outreach, translate a brochure, or hire a “diversity consultant” (we are not downplaying this, we would love to help you), but true cross-cultural connection requires curiosity, not just solutions.

Be a student of the cultures you want to reach. That means asking questions like:

• What do they value most?

• What wounds or histories are they carrying?

• How does leadership, spirituality, or community function in their worldview?

This might involve partnering with local leaders, hosting listening sessions, or doing a cultural audit of your messaging and materials. The goal isn't just to understand demographics — it's to understand people.

3. Empower, Don’t Just Include

Diversity without shared power isn’t equity. It’s optics.

If you want to reach people from different cultures, they must be more than guests at your table — they need to help shape the menu. In practical terms, this means:

• Creating space for underrepresented voices to lead and influence strategy.

• Rethinking decision-making processes that may unintentionally exclude other cultural values or ways of communicating.

• Valuing lived experience and cultural intelligence as much as formal credentials.

Empowerment creates ownership, and ownership builds movements — not just attendance.

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Conclusion: Cultural Curiosity as a Posture

Ultimately, reaching those you currently are not isn’t about launching the next big initiative. It’s about cultivating a posture of cultural curiosity — one that sees difference as an asset, listens before it speaks, and continually adapts in pursuit of genuine connection.

Because when curiosity leads, connection follows. And when connection happens, change becomes possible.

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We would love nothing more than to help you succeed in reaching a new audience or improving your connection with an existing audience. Reach out to us by CLICKING HERE, we love to have a conversation with you to see how we can serve you and help you achieve your goals.