Insights

A Ray of Hope: How Technology is Revolutionizing Communication in Regional Churches

Following the merger of two regional parish magazines — “Horizonte” and “Kirche Heute” — “Lichtblick” was created. The new publication now encompasses 18 regional editions and reaches over 145,000 households. This realignment presented the Catholic Church with the major challenge of efficiently managing such a complex and regionally differentiated medium while at the same time designing it to be modern and appealing. The solution was found in technology.

With the introduction of a central editorial system, the entire production process was elevated to a new level. Replacing manual processes and long coordination loops, 400 users now work together smoothly to publish a high-quality parish magazine every two weeks.

The challenge: Two worlds, one goal

The integration of two different systems that had grown over the years presented the editorial team at “Lichtblick” with a mammoth task. Different processes, manual tasks, and countless approval cycles made the work tough and error-prone. It was also a challenge to keep the various regional versions of the parish magazine consistent. A standardized system was needed — one that would allow efficient and targeted work without neglecting the specific requirements of the different regions.

The solution: A digital revolution with censhare

By opting for the central content management system (CMS) from censhare, the “Lichtblick” team took a decisive step into the digital future. The introduction of the system made it possible to manage text, images, and layouts centrally — and in a completely media-neutral way. This central database allows content to be created once and used seamlessly in different regional editions. This has almost completely eliminated redundant work and sources of error.

The automation of workflows is also particularly impressive. What was previously regulated by long email chains and manual approvals is now automated. The teams involved can provide content for approval quickly and efficiently, and the system automatically informs the relevant people about necessary actions. This has drastically reduced the time required for the approval process, which has led to a significant acceleration in production.

“The new system works excellently and the collaboration with gateB was consistently professional and efficient. We are delighted with the flexibility and speed that we have gained with this digital solution.”

Nadia Omar, President of Lichtblick

Multichannel publishing: Print and digital go hand-in-hand

The introduction of censhare has also changed the way “Lichtblick” is published. What previously had to be laboriously prepared separately for different channels can now be provided from a single source for print and digital platforms. This not only saves time, but also increases the consistency and quality of the content.

The integration of external systems such as KiKartei and Verowa ensures that regional content can be automatically fed into the central database. This creates a smooth collaboration between the individual pastoral offices and the central editorial team.

The results: Faster and more efficient with fewer errors

With over 400 users now working on the new platform, the production of “Lichtblick” has been significantly optimized. The time needed to create and approve content has been notably reduced, while the error rate has fallen dramatically.

Employees also report that their daily work has become much easier. The automated processes not only make production faster, but also much less stressful.