In producing programs and establishing policy criteria for the institutional church in rural Canada, planners must deal with community groups or types in order to maximize the transferability of programs and policies. This paper discusses a two-dimensional typology (social context and social position) based on the belief that there is a real interaction between the community, its institutions, and its environment. When the social context dimension is applied to rural Canada, five community types are identified; rural town or village, ex-rural town or village, rural neighbourhood, ex-rural neighbourhood, and resource development towns. The three "social positions" are: dominant, subordinate, and exclusive. Most people experience the church as part of their social context. They attend, support, benefit from, and are enriched by the church in that context. But, the acceptance of a given program, its success across Canada, even within a type of rural community, such as in rural villages, also depends upon the community's social position. If a dominant village tries and approves a program, other villages in the area will accept it readily. Yet, if an exclusive community accepts a program early in its life other communities nearby will reject it at once as irrelevant to their situation. Therefore, it is crucial to describe and define the communities. (NQ)