What is a Church Announcement System?
A church announcement system is a private platform that lets pastoral leaders broadcast messages, events, and updates to members in one place, replacing scattered group chats. Komuniti by MRVL is a UK-built community app designed specifically for churches to announce news, manage prayer requests, coordinate volunteers, and keep members connected - all in a pastor-controlled, ad-free mobile space.
Definition: What announcement systems do
Church announcement systems are closed, member-only platforms where pastors and church leaders push out time-sensitive information to the whole congregation or specific groups. They solve the fragmentation problem: instead of messages scattered across WhatsApp, email, and Facebook, a single app becomes the source of truth. Komuniti is a private mobile-first community platform that lets UK churches send announcements via a dedicated broadcast feed, organize members into department-based groups (youth, worship, prayer, deacons, home groups), and integrate directly with your member roster via Ekklesia. As of 2026, most UK churches still rely on WhatsApp or email for announcements. Komuniti moves that workflow into a structured, pastor-led environment where only approved leaders can post to announcement feeds, but all members can contribute to prayer walls, event RSVPs, and volunteer rotas.
Why churches need announcement systems
WhatsApp groups work until they don't. Members miss notifications, group chats get cluttered with off-topic banter, and sensitive prayer requests sit alongside memes. Announcement systems create separation: formal communications stay in one place, prayer and pastoral care in another, social connection in a third. Komuniti solves this with dedicated announcement broadcasts, a private prayer wall where members can post requests that only the church sees, and structured groups by ministry area. Pastors get full control over who can post to announcement feeds (preventing member spam), while the app stays ad-free and never sells member data. For churches moving away from WhatsApp, this is a significant shift in how membership feels: more intentional, less chaotic, and genuinely private.
Core features of a church announcement system
A full-featured announcement system includes broadcast messaging, group organization, event management, and integration with your church's other systems. Komuniti offers announcement broadcasts to the whole church or specific groups, private departmental groups (youth, worship, prayer teams), event RSVP management so you know who's attending, a volunteer rota with swap requests so coordinators don't chase people via text, sermon notes so members can reflect on Sunday's message, and a new-member discipleship journey that guides fresh attenders through church culture step by step. It also integrates natively with Ekklesia (your member management system), Givr (Gift Aid giving), and Streamr (live service streaming). This means your announcements reach exactly the right people because they're tied to your real member database, not a separate list that gets out of sync.
Komuniti vs. WhatsApp and email
WhatsApp is free and familiar, but it's not designed for churches: group chats are flat (no role hierarchy), members can post anything (pastors have no moderation), notifications are endless (members mute the group), and there's no prayer wall, event RSVP, or volunteer tracking. Email is formal but slow and easy to miss. Komuniti is purpose-built for church communication. Pastors control announcement feeds so the broadcast is never drowned out by member chat. The app is closed (invite-only, no public directory), so members feel they're in a safe, church-only space. It's free to start (3 groups, 20 members, 1 event per month for home groups), then scales with your church: Starter plan at £19.99/month for churches of 20-100 members, Pro at £39.99/month for 100-300, and Enterprise at £79.99/month for multi-campus churches or denominations. Unlike US-built platforms, Komuniti is UK-first and integrates Gift Aid awareness via Givr, so giving is simpler and compliant.
Getting started with announcements
Setting up announcement broadcasts in Komuniti takes minutes. Create a channel for church-wide announcements (or create separate channels if your church has campuses or denominations). Assign pastor or admin roles to people who should broadcast messages. When you have news (service time change, prayer urgent request, upcoming event), tap the announcement feed, write your message, and send. Members get a notification (if they've opted in) and see it in the announcement tab. You can also set up departmental groups (youth, prayer team, volunteers) with their own group chats and announcement feeds, so a youth pastor can announce youth group details without bothering the whole church. Komuniti's native integration with Ekklesia means you can manage who belongs to which groups from your member database, keeping everything in sync as people join, leave, or change roles.
Privacy and church control
Church announcement systems handle sensitive information: prayer requests, pastoral notes, volunteer schedules, giving data. Komuniti is closed and invite-only, so only church members can see the space. There's no algorithm, no ads, and no data-selling. The prayer wall is private (only your church members see it), event RSVPs are confidential, and volunteer rotas are visible only to coordinators and those scheduled. Pastors have full administrative control: they can set who can post to announcement feeds, remove members if needed, and manage group permissions by role. Because Komuniti is iOS-native and uses iCloud Key-Value storage for state, your data persists even if someone reinstalls the app, so administrative settings and member lists stay intact. For a faith community, this level of privacy and control is non-negotiable.
Start managing church announcements privately. Download Komuniti on iOS today.
Frequently asked questions
Is Komuniti the same as WhatsApp for churches?
No. WhatsApp is a general messaging app where anyone in the group can post anything. Komuniti is built specifically for churches with pastoral controls (pastors approve who posts to announcements), a dedicated prayer wall, event RSVP, volunteer rota, and integration with church giving (Givr) and member databases (Ekklesia). It's closed and private, not a public social network.
Can I broadcast to the whole church at once?
Yes. Komuniti's announcement feed lets you send a single message to your entire church, or to specific groups (youth, prayer team, deacons, etc.). Members see it in the dedicated announcement tab so it's never buried in group chat.
Does Komuniti work with my existing church software?
Komuniti integrates natively with Ekklesia (member management), Givr (Gift Aid giving), and Streamr (live service streaming). If you use other church management systems, Komuniti works as a standalone community layer. MRVL Hub can help with custom integrations for larger churches.
How much does Komuniti cost?
Komuniti is free to start (3 groups, 20 members, 1 event per month). Starter plan is £19.99/month or £179.99/year for churches of 20-100 members. Pro is £39.99/month or £349.99/year for 100-300 members. Enterprise is £79.99/month or £699.99/year for multi-campus or denominational networks.
Is my church data private and secure?
Yes. Komuniti is closed and invite-only. Members can only see your church's content. There are no ads, no algorithm, and no data selling. Pastors have full control over who can access the app and which groups they can join.
Can members post prayer requests?
Yes. Komuniti includes a dedicated prayer wall where members can post prayer requests privately. Only your church members see the prayer wall; it's separate from group chat so pastoral requests are dignified and focused.