Going to all people everywhere

With support from District Apostle Enrique Minio, the communications and editorial team of the New Apostolic Church South America conducted both virtual and in-person training over the past year on institutional communication and on aspects of internal and external communication.

The main objective was clear. To drive home the mission statement of the New Apostolic Church with the available communication tools: “Reaching out to all people in order to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ”.

New tasks in the district

The concept is based on the New Apostolic Church’s Social Media Guideline, where it says: “Social media supports us in this task but does not replace personal contacts.” It is therefore necessary to consider not only online media, but also other types of resources so that every congregation is included. This is the only way to reach everyone.

In April then the first online training for Apostles, Bishops, and district rectors from the Spanish-speaking regions of the District Apostle Area took place. Participants included ministers from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The communication activities were consolidated and a new function created: that of a district communication officer. These are brothers and sisters with communication skills who support the Church’s communication at the local level, that is, in the districts and congregations.

Online and in-person

In addition to using online means of communication, a noticeboard was put up at the entrance of each church, where announcements will be posted in a uniform style. The posters will be created and coordinated by the Communication and Editorial department of the New Apostolic Church South America and distributed to each congregation via the district communication officer, with support from the members.

In April, when this whole idea was launched, a test run was done in five districts in Argentina and Uruguay (107 congregations in total). Since October, this has been extended to all Spanish-speaking countries. Today, communication officers in each district reproduce what they receive from the Communication and Editorial team, forming part of a network to disseminate institutional content. Implementation in Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken, is planned for 2023.

Sourcing talents in a congregation

A milestone in the preparations was a day spent training effective communication skills at the Las Catonas Leisure Centre in Buenos Aires in September. Apostles, Bishops, and district rectors from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay were actually able to come together and meet in person.

The programme included topics such as spreading the message, the use of institutional language, effective communication, and communication tools. The aim is to strengthen the individual links in the communication chain of the Church in South America. A new app called “Library” was also introduced for internal use by ministers and working groups, bringing together various bibliographies and frequently used publications.

During the meeting, District Apostle Enrique Minio spoke on the topic of “The art of delegating” and invited the district rectors to look for the gifts in each congregation, also as an asset for the development of the congregations themselves.

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