Meet people where they are, with age-appropriate content and a genuine invitation into church life.
Connect through school relationships, Adventurers and Kids Club. Parents need clear, trustworthy information about a safe, welcoming community.
Connect through Pathfinders and youth community. Help young people explore identity, friendship, purpose and faith in a safe setting.
University students and young professionals navigating study, work, relationships and a changing sense of belonging.
People balancing work, family and everyday responsibilities, looking for practical faith and genuine community.
DataReportal reports approximately 77.7% Australian social media user identities. Pew’s US research shows Instagram usage differs by age (80% of 18–29s; 19% of 65+). Listen to our own community before deciding which platforms serve each group best.
A people-first digital ministry strategy for Castle Hill SDA Church in 2027.
Help people discover Jesus, connect with church community,
grow in faith, and disciple others.
Social media user identities represent approximately 77.7% of Australia’s population—a significant opportunity for meaningful connection.
DataReportal · Digital 2026 Australia ↗80% of US adults aged 18–29 use Instagram, compared with 19% aged 65+. Different generations need different approaches.
Pew Research Center · 2025 · US data ↗12 videos. 816 total views. Approximately 15 concurrent viewers. Our existing YouTube presence gives us a starting point—not a finish line.
Church-provided analytics · Jul–Oct 2026Social media identities are not unique people. Pew figures refer to the United States, not Australia. YouTube analytics are unpublished church-provided data; 68 is a mixed-age historical average, not a first-28-day benchmark.
Share relevant biblical teaching and authentic stories that help people encounter Jesus in everyday life.
Empower Digital Connectors to welcome, listen and bridge online interest with church community.
Offer clear, caring next steps into belonging, Bible study, prayer, service and disciple-making.
Reach helps us open a door. Spiritual care is what happens after someone walks through it. We measure the work without reducing people to numbers.
Meet people where they are, with age-appropriate content and a genuine invitation into church life.
Connect through school relationships, Adventurers and Kids Club. Parents need clear, trustworthy information about a safe, welcoming community.
Connect through Pathfinders and youth community. Help young people explore identity, friendship, purpose and faith in a safe setting.
University students and young professionals navigating study, work, relationships and a changing sense of belonging.
People balancing work, family and everyday responsibilities, looking for practical faith and genuine community.
DataReportal reports approximately 77.7% Australian social media user identities. Pew’s US research shows Instagram usage differs by age (80% of 18–29s; 19% of 65+). Listen to our own community before deciding which platforms serve each group best.
Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound targets that connect digital activity with personal care.
Recruit and onboard 6–10 Digital Connectors, with clear roles, safeguards and a weekly roster.
Measure: Onboarded volunteers confirmed by the Coordinator.
Publish 2–3 short videos each week across relevant platforms, maintaining quality and a sustainable rhythm.
Measure: Published shorts each week; review consistency monthly.
Increase average views per video by 50%, comparing equivalent first-28-day video periods, not mixed-age lifetime totals.
Measure: Compare like-for-like video types and first-28-day windows; establish the baseline before tracking.
Receive 24 genuine enquiries about prayer, church, faith or participation—not likes, spam or duplicate contacts.
Measure: A privacy-conscious enquiry register, reviewed monthly.
Connect 12 people to Alpha, Bible studies or prayer groups, with consent and appropriate follow-up.
Measure: Confirmed connections, counting people once rather than every invitation.
Respond to 90% of appropriate enquiries within 48 hours, with a clear escalation process for pastoral needs.
Measure: Timely appropriate responses ÷ all appropriate enquiries × 100; exclude spam and unsafe messages.
Roster two Digital Connectors for each weekly livestream to welcome viewers, engage and refer needs.
Measure: Two assigned volunteers confirmed in the weekly livestream roster.
Provide a monthly ministry report combining content, response, referral and spiritual-care indicators.
Measure: One report per month, with a short team and pastoral review.
The July–October 2026 baseline is 12 videos, 816 total views and a mean of 68 views/video, with approximately 15 concurrent viewers. These mixed-age totals do not establish a first-28-day average. Export equivalent first-28-day views for comparable video types, then target a 50% increase over that verified benchmark.
Three content pillars, four complementary platforms, and one consistent invitation to discover Jesus.
Offer accessible, Scripture-centred teaching on relationships, forgiveness, anxiety and purpose. Make each message relevant, hopeful and clear.
Show genuine church life: youth, Adventurers, Pathfinders and Bible studies. Include a warm, practical invitation to participate.
Share real stories of Jesus at work in people’s lives, with informed consent and sensitivity to personal and family circumstances.
Sermons, weekly livestreams and Shorts. Longer teaching creates depth; short clips invite discovery. Two Digital Connectors welcome and engage each weekly livestream.
Reels, Stories and testimonies. Prioritise young-adult-relevant biblical reflections, authentic community moments and clear next-step invitations.
Families, events and conversations. Share ministry updates and event invitations; welcome questions and engage thoughtfully during livestreams.
A stable home for newcomer information, resources, prayer requests, Bible study interest and event signups. Make it easy to find a real person and a clear next step.
By month 6, aim for 2–3 short videos each week. Repurpose sermon insights and consented testimonies for each channel; coordinate weekly livestreams, event posts and website updates through one content calendar. Review accessibility, captions, consent and next-step links before publishing.
A team of 6–10 volunteers turning online encounters into warm welcomes, thoughtful conversations and pastoral connection.
Digital Connectors are real members of our church community who choose to participate in genuine online ministry. They help people feel welcome—not help an algorithm manufacture popularity.
Genuinely like, thoughtfully comment on and share posts that matter to them. Encourage real conversations and promote relevant church events in their own voice.
Two Connectors serve on each weekly livestream. Welcome and engage viewers on YouTube and Facebook, answer appropriate practical questions and share relevant invitations.
Listen respectfully, recognise prayer and pastoral needs, and refer them to Pastoral Connection. Connectors are welcoming volunteers—not counsellors or a substitute for pastoral support.
Follow church privacy and safeguarding processes. Ask consent before follow-up, protect personal information, and never pressure volunteers or others to share posts or personal stories.
No fake accounts, copied comments, purchased likes or compulsory sharing. No public discussion of confidential needs. No unauthorised private contact with children. Escalate safeguarding concerns promptly through church procedures, and direct immediate danger to emergency services.
Check the roster, content and event details. Agree who welcomes and who watches for pastoral needs.
Welcome people by name where appropriate, join genuine conversations and offer clear next steps.
Refer consented enquiries to Pastoral Connection and record only necessary, non-sensitive information.
Review response times, confirmed connections, safeguarding and volunteer wellbeing together.
Discover → Connect → Belong → Grow & Serve → Multiply. A relational journey, not a conversion funnel.
Encounter Jesus through a sermon, a short biblical reflection or an authentic testimony shared by someone you trust.
YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and shared Facebook posts make the first invitation accessible.
A caring approachOffer a clear, welcoming invitation—not pressure or a demand for personal information.
Ask a question, request prayer, join a livestream conversation or express interest in meeting the community.
Digital Connectors welcome people and direct appropriate enquiries to the pastoral team within 48 hours.
A caring approachListen first. Ask permission before moving a public conversation into a private follow-up.
Find friendship and a safe place in a church gathering, youth activity, family ministry, Alpha group or prayer community.
A named host and a personal invitation help bridge the gap between an online encounter and a real relationship.
A caring approachRespect someone’s pace, circumstances, accessibility needs and right to decline.
Explore Scripture, grow in prayer and put faith into practice through Bible studies, mentoring and service.
Pastoral Connection links people with a suitable group, a mentor and opportunities to serve.
A caring approachSupport ongoing spiritual growth rather than treating attendance as the end goal.
Share a testimony, encourage another person and help others discover Jesus and grow as disciples.
Equip people to invite friends, mentor others or become a Digital Connector themselves.
A caring approachCelebrate genuine discipleship and personal care—not public performance or inflated numbers.
This pathway offers supportive next steps, not a rigid sequence. Someone may need prayer before belonging, or return to questions after years of faith. Pastoral listening, consent and long-term care guide each connection.
Build the foundation, launch consistently, deepen connections, then reflect and equip the next generation of ministry.
Recruit, listen, audit and establish a safe, sustainable ministry process.
Review current channels, website journeys and comparable YouTube first-28-day data. Identify audience needs, content gaps and existing ministry links.
Appoint the Coordinator and team leads. Recruit Media & Content and Pastoral Connection volunteers; invite 6–10 Digital Connectors.
Complete onboarding, consent and safeguarding training. Set the calendar, enquiry workflow, livestream roster and monthly reporting process.
Bring the plan to life through short videos, testimonies and authentic Connector engagement.
Launch a coordinated content calendar, simple short biblical reflections and weekly livestream welcoming with two Connectors.
Publish consented testimonies and community stories. Connectors genuinely comment, share and promote relevant events without pressure.
Reach 2–3 short videos per week. Review production workload, enquiry response times and the first quarter of ministry reports.
Connect online interest with Alpha, Bible studies, prayer and existing school and youth relationships.
Coordinate invitations to Alpha, Bible studies and prayer groups. Match interested people to a named pastoral contact or host.
Link digital stories with school, Adventurers, Kids Club, Pathfinders and youth ministries, applying child-safety and consent processes.
Review consented referrals and confirmed connections. Listen to newcomers and adjust unclear or unhelpful next steps.
Review the year honestly, train new volunteers and shape next year around what helped people grow.
Assess comparable YouTube first-28-day averages, enquiries, response rates, confirmed discipleship connections and volunteer wellbeing.
Refresh safeguarding and pastoral referral training. Mentor new volunteers and celebrate consented stories of faith and belonging.
Complete the annual review against planning targets. Recommend a sustainable 2028 calendar, team roster and resource plan.
Each month, review publishing consistency, comparable views, appropriate enquiries, 48-hour responses, confirmed group connections and volunteer wellbeing. Make small adjustments early, guided by spiritual care rather than vanity metrics.
Four complementary teams working together sustainably, supported by practical tools, training and pastoral oversight.
Strategy, content calendar and reporting. Coordinates the teams, keeps the plan focused, and leads monthly review.
Livestreams, filming, editing and publishing. Produces accessible, consented content and maintains a sustainable weekly rhythm.
Authentic engagement, event promotion and livestream welcoming. Two rostered each weekly livestream; pastoral needs referred appropriately.
Prayer, visitors, follow-up and discipleship. Supports consented next steps into Alpha, Bible studies, prayer groups and church community.
Role allocations are planning ranges, not confirmed appointments. Agree workloads, supervision and any appropriate role overlap during recruitment.
Audit existing cameras, microphones, lighting, livestream equipment and editing tools. Use captioning, reusable templates and a shared content calendar before recommending new purchases.
Train volunteers in consent, child safeguarding, account security, accessible publishing, livestream moderation and pastoral referrals. Use approved access permissions and a clear escalation process.
Maintain a weekly roster, an approved minimal-data enquiry register and a monthly reporting template. Review budget needs with church leadership; no unapproved costs are assumed in this plan.
Set realistic workloads, provide backups for livestream roles, avoid expectations of constant availability, and review volunteer wellbeing monthly. Personal and pastoral details belong only in approved church systems—not in this presentation’s planning tracker.
The research, ministry guidance and church-provided baseline informing this 2027 planning presentation.
DataReportal · 2026
Approximately 77.7% of Australia’s population represented by social media user identities. Identities are not necessarily unique people.
Pew Research Center · 2025 · United States
Instagram usage: 80% of US adults aged 18–29 compared with 19% of those aged 65+. US findings are contextual evidence, not Australian estimates.
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Mission-focused guidance for digital ministry in Seventh-day Adventist churches.
Seventh-day Adventist Church · PDF
Regional strategic context for mission, discipleship and service.
Church website
Church and community context. This strategic plan presentation is separate from the church’s public homepage.
July–October 2026: 12 videos, 816 total views, mean 68 views/video and approximately 15 concurrent viewers. Supplied by the church; no public source link is available. Historical mixed-age view totals are not a comparable first-28-day benchmark. The 2027 goal requires equivalent viewing windows before comparison.
The Great Commission shapes this plan: help people discover Jesus, connect with church community, grow in faith and disciple others. The proposed actions and targets are planning commitments, not claims about results already achieved.
Presentation imagery is illustrative and does not depict an identified Castle Hill congregation event. Suggested monthly activities and resource recommendations are proposed implementation details, not confirmed church schedules or budgets.