Key takeaways from our first Communications Town Hall

Last Saturday, November 22, more than 30 members from across Canada participated in our first Communications Town Hall—including eight from the Chilliwack congregation. This was an opportunity to meet face to face with the members of the Communications Team and learn more about what we do and what our priorities are for 2026. We also had a chance to hear questions and insights from attendees across the country, helping us better understand how our team can support ministries and programs at the local level as we move onward together.

In this article, we share key takeaways from this event, including highlights from the presentation and answers to some of the questions we heard from attendees from across Canada.

Who We Are

The Communications Team is currently composed of Jeanny Jakobsen from Saskatoon, SK, serving as Operations Specialist; Quinlan Stevenson from Stratford, ON, serving as Communications Coordinator; and Leandro Palacios from Toronto, ON, serving as Director. We are hoping to add a Graphic Designer to the team (if you are interested, you can find more details here).

What We Do

• We work to keep members and seekers up to date with what’s happening in the church. 
• We create and distribute media resources for outreach, worship, and learning. 
• We work to strengthen public awareness of Community of Christ in the Canadian context and to invite new people to participate in our online and in-person communities and ministries.

To do that, we aim to clearly express who we are, what we do, and what we believe. This is why we uphold visual standards and communicate our identity, mission, message, and beliefs as stated in Sharing in Community of Christ, while reflecting the Canadian cultural context.

Our Priorities for 2026

Key priorities include:

• Strengthening church identity and connection across Canada: our community does not end at the physical walls of our buildings, let’s create ministries with participants from coast to coast and celebrate missions together.
• Creating digital libraries of sermons, prayers, meditations, lectures, podcasts, and music that feature Canadian ministries and voices—to complement the resources published by the World Church.
• Telling the story of Community of Christ in Canada to invite people to Christ: learning together to invite by sharing meaningful, inspiring stories.
• Strengthening communication at the congregational level by connecting with current Communications Officers and inviting others to serve in this role: 16 congregations have already appointed a Communications Officer! 

Feedback and Questions from the Town Hall

1. How do we develop and maintain relationships with local members who can no longer attend in person?

The local community is unique and we want to continue to support this type of gathering. However, connecting with those who cannot attend in person does not have to be centered around the Sunday service (by adding more cameras and microphones), but by trying something new. For example, the Scarborough congregation holds their regular in-person service some Sundays but gathers every Thursday for a fully online service. That allows people who can no longer attend in person to participate fully, and “quality” becomes less about production and more about community.

Our team is hoping to create and nurture connections with people across Canada, no matter what congregation they come from. Onward Together does not only mean that two mission centres are becoming one. It also means that to fully take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we must let go of thinking that our church community is only the people who used to come in person to our building. Identity based on a building has not helped us invite people to church in the last few decades. Instead, we want to promote Canada-wide communities that share common passion and vocation.

This question was related to how to run a successful hybrid service. While IT recommendations and support are not functions of the Communications Team, we remind everyone that a guideline for online and hybrid services is available on our website.

2. Can you blur faces in photos we share with the Communications Team?

No. Before sharing photos with us, you need to ask permission from anyone whose face is clearly visible.

3. What are the minimum communications channels a congregation should manage?

We heard questions like: Can someone help us update our website? Should we be on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X? How much time should we dedicate to these things?

You don’t have to be on every social media platform and you don’t need to have your own website. But of course, you can. However, the more channels the more time it will take to manage them. Here's what we suggest:

Appoint a Communications Officer if you haven’t yet. This way we can ensure that all the information about your events, ministries, and contact information are up to date on the website of Community of Christ in Canada. This is more important than managing your own website because communityofchrist.ca will normally rank higher on Google searches. 

If someone in the congregation uses Facebook regularly, they can dedicate one hour per week to manage your congregation’s Facebook page.

If someone in the congregation uses Instagram regularly, they can dedicate one hour per week to share photos on a church account. Instagram posts can be automatically shared on Facebook.

What about TikTok, X, YouTube? These platforms require more content creation. Content has to be about a topic, not about promotion or invitation to a church event, the algorithms don’t like promotional content unless you pay for it.

Online channels are not the only way to promote your activities. For example, in Toronto, a small note in a free magazine brought hundreds of people to our in-person lectures. Think of what might work in your area, like a bulletin board at the library or community centre. 

4. Are you creating media content that we can post on social media?

We encourage you to share in your congregation’s social media channels all the content that we publish online as Community of Christ in Canada. But we do not create content tailored for your local events and ministries. We can work with your Communications Officer to build templates so that you can create quality graphics and video that will look professional and follow current social media trends. 

5. Are we developing guidelines for congregations to effectively and safely promote their work on social media?

We are. Once those become available early next year, we will publish them on the website and announce them in our newsletters and social media.

I want to thank all those who participated in the first of many Communications Town Halls. I am looking forward to seeing you at our next session (the date will be published shortly). In the meantime, should you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Leandro Palacios
Director of Communications – Community of Christ in Canada
[email protected]