Zurich. Communicating in timely fashion, quickly and globally—that is what Zurich. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider hopes to achieve. Last year, the District Apostle Meeting ratified a corresponding media concept. And part of this newly structured media bond that spans the globe is a magazine called “community”.

The “community” magazine will appear in English, French, and Spanish. At the turn of the year, the 32-page publication will thus replace most foreign-language editions of “Our Family” and its abridged version, “OF Mini”. The new magazine will be distributed to our members around the world, either in print or in e-paper format, once each quarter. The first edition will appear at the end of March 2015.

The member magazine features the following sections: editorial, divine service, visits of the Chief Apostle, children's corner, doctrine, and global news.

Core version and regional supplementation

Twelve of community’s 32 pages belong to the magazine’s core content. This content will be published wherever the high cost of printing and distribution make it impossible to publish the full magazine. The core content includes an editorial by Chief Apostle Schneider, a divine service report, and a doctrinal article.

Some District Churches will supplement “community” with relevant information from the areas in their care. These regional components are quite versatile, and can either appear together with the core content of “community” or be appended to it.

African Joy and Unsere Familie

The German-language of the “Our Family” magazine, Unsere Familie, and the "African Joy" newsletter will continue to serve as official publications of the Church. These magazines will likewise provide all content that the Chief Apostle wishes to communicate internationally. Beyond that, Unsere Familie will be even more specifically tailored to the needs of its subscribers. At the start of the year 2015, the magazine will appear in a fresher, more up-to-date format that also incorporates new content.

Community: a blend of “communication” and “unity”

The word “community” not only refers to a social unit but can also be taken as a play on words that combines the word “communication” with the word “unity”, meaning oneness. And that is exactly what the Chief Apostle, the District Apostles, and the editors of “community” wish to achieve: an international and uniform means of communication.