By The B.C. Catholic

[Toronto – Canadian Catholic News] – Changing demographics and the rise of artificial intelligence are forcing Christian communicators to confront the future of church media, with a focus on deeper collaboration and helping divided communities talk to one another, while preserving the trust and accountability of journalism.

More than 50 editors, publishers, writers, and communicators from Canada and the United States gathered May 13-15 at St. Paul’s Bloor Church for a joint convention of the Canadian Christian Communicators Association and the U.S. Associated Church Press, taking part in sessions addressing AI, polarization, audience development, journalism, and collaboration.

John Longhurst, a longtime religion writer for the Winnipeg Free Press and CCCA board member, gave the starkest summary of the Canadian situation during a town hall on the future of religious communication in Canada and the U.S.

Longhurst noted that in 2003 the Canadian Church Press, the CCCA’s predecessor, had 81 member publications. By 2019, that number had fallen to 47. Today there are 36.

Of the 17 publications that responded to a survey of Canadian Christian publications before the convention, 13 said their circulation is declining, two said it is stable, and two said it is increasing slightly.

“That probably tells you everything you need to know about where publications are at today,” Longhurst said.

In various presentations and panels, participants talked about greater collaboration, shared content, better use of audience data, careful adoption of AI, and the need to form a new generation of journalists who know how to report rather than comment.

Longhurst said most of the surveyed publications depend on Christian denominations for revenue and reported an aging readership and declining denominational support.

At the same time, Christian publications know how important print is, especially because print readers are often among their most loyal supporters and donors.

Rebecca Snyder, executive director of Associated Church Press, said ACP’s survey of U.S. members reflected similar concerns: revenue, staffing, capacity, aging readership, and print and distribution costs. Many publications have cut spending, reduced staff hours, laid off staff, or reduced print frequency in order to stay viable. But she said print still has a distinctive place.

The relationship between print and artificial intelligence was a running theme during the three days. In an age of algorithmic feeds, AI summaries, and short video clips, print can seem like an old-fashioned medium, yet several speakers suggested its very slowness may now be part of its value.

“The people who love print really love print,” she said, adding that people interact differently with print than with digital products. “It’s a stickier read.”

Taken together, sessions on AI, digital disruption, and audience trust suggested a continuing role for print as a slower medium that asks readers to pause, gathers stories into a whole, reflects editorial judgment, and carries a sense of permanence that a social media post, email blast, or AI-generated summary does not.

Bosco Tung of Lausanne Movement Canada, an evangelical mission network focused on Christian collaboration, said Christian communications often blend journalism, opinion writing, ministry communication, storytelling, advocacy, and organizational messaging without always distinguishing among them. Journalism, he said, carries particular responsibilities of “reporting, verification and accountability.”

His comments pointed to a central question for church media: how to preserve the distinct work of journalism alongside other forms of Christian communication.

Several AI panelists warned that the technology raises new challenges for trust, source verification, confidentiality, authorship, and human judgment.

Bill Fledderus of Faith Today said AI has already changed how editors screen freelance submissions. He described receiving article pitches and drafts that appeared to be AI-generated, making interview-based reporting and source verification more important, especially with unfamiliar writers. Editors may need to confirm not only that quotes are accurate, he said, but that interviews actually took place.

Fazal Karam Jr. of the Christian Herald newspaper warned, “Don’t let AI make your network any smaller,” saying efficiency is not the highest Christian virtue and the future of Christian periodicals is collaborative.

In a session on crossing denominational divides, Joel Gordon of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada said relationship is “front and centre” in telling difficult stories with integrity, and that true relationship takes time.

On the growing divisions in society, Peter Noteboom, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, said polarization is no longer only between denominations, but within churches themselves, including Catholic, Orthodox, United, Pentecostal and Reformed communities.

The same session also raised another question for Christian media: how can churches learn to disagree well?

Joel Zantingh of the Peace and Reconciliation Network introduced Disagreeing Well, a program that helps small Christian groups learn how to handle disagreement without pulling apart by using guided reflection and practical listening skills. He said algorithm-driven polarization can make Christians avoid difficult questions and the challenge is to invite curiosity toward those on the other side of divides.

Panelists named politics, the role of women, medical assistance in dying, Gaza, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ questions, and Christian nationalism among the issues currently dividing Christians. While those divisions once ran between denominations, they now separate denominations and congregations internally as well.

The AI panel took up a related theme, with Tung asking how Christian communicators “how do we disagree well, how do we disagree and listen?”  In another session, Shenaz Kermalli of Broadview said newsrooms need spaces that invite open dialogue and debate about difficult issues, including opportunities to hear directly from people familiar with the communities being covered.

As if to draw attention to the need for disagreement in the church press, the annual newspaper awards dinner included a category honouring the “Best Disapproving Letter to the Editor” among publications providing a place for readers to push back, challenge, correct, and argue in public.

Longhurst said collaboration was the most common solution proposed by the Canadian publications he surveyed. Participants spoke about sharing content and costs, creating common training resources, and creating a national online home for Christian journalism in Canada.

Snyder said ACP members also identified professional support, advertising sales, fundraising, grants, and shared distribution as possible areas for collaboration. She advised taking “the next most achievable step” rather than trying to design a perfect solution immediately.

The need for training was cited by Longhurst, who said many people want to write opinion, but fewer know how to conduct interviews, report news, verify facts, and cover institutions fairly. He pointed to Catholic efforts such as God in the City, a Canadian Catholic News summer journalism program in Toronto that is being offered again in August.

The conference also noted that Christian journalism often draws attention to subjects other media miss. During one session, The B.C. Catholic’s coverage of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was raised as an example of sustained issue-based reporting.

The convention ended with an awards dinner at which The B.C. Catholic and Canadian Catholic News received seven honours between them.

The B.C. Catholic received first place in editorial for Paul Schratz’s “How We Became a MAiD Leader,” first place for its June 5, 2025 front page “A Time to Laugh,” designed by Inca Siojo-Das with photography by Nicolas Elbers, first place for Elbers’ photo essay “Hungry for that mystery and awe: Chapel altar rail brings school community together,” second place in photo for Schratz’s “Lights of Hope,” showing candles being lit after the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy, and third place in opinion for Terry O’Neill’s “Companionship is Answer to MAiD.”

Canadian Catholic News received first place in opinion for Quinton Peralta-Greenough’s “What is faithful citizenship in a ‘culture of death?’” and third place in feature series for Lee Purcell’s “Pigment, prayer and grace: a bridge across traditions” and “Icons and skylines: Orthodox church unveils new icons that ‘speak to the heart.’”

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Canadian Catholic News (CCN) is a national news service, with members including Catholic newspapers, organizations, and individuals: CanadianCatholicNews.ca

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