Reframing Sacred Dialogue: A Systematic Review of Organizational Discourse Communication Practices in Church Contexts

In this paper we present a systematic literature review (SLR) analyzing the established organizational discourse and communication customs in a religious organizational setting examining how these practices drive legitimacy, identity, and effectiveness in an organization. Drawing from organizational discourse theory, research on integrated communication, and emerging digital communication paradigms within faith-based organizations, this paper coordinates insights from key scholarship sources. The study integrates works from a pool of over 40 scholarly sources spinning up to 2024 to synthesis theoretical and empirical evidence relating to how the church, as both a spiritual and organizational body, builds, manages, and establishes meaningful discourse through communication across multiple online channels, particularly so during the disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are gaps that this review presents in how social media and conferencing tools influence organizational discourse communication and key stakeholders perceptions, and the study proposes a conceptual model that underscores a participatory, adaptive, and integrative communication framework.