For three days in Malawi, 325 people sat down to learn how to do something the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been talking about for years: take the gospel onto the platforms where most people now spend their time.
They came from every level of church structure across the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID); content creators, communication directors, personal ministries leaders, and members who had simply been doing the work on their own phones. More joined online. From 5 to 7 October 2026, they were trained as digital missionaries for the All Things New campaign.
The seminar was organised by the SID Personal Ministries department with the Communication and Information Technology departments, a collaboration that was itself part of the lesson.
That point was made early. Addressing delegates by video link from the General Conference pre-Annual Council meetings, SID President Pastor Harrington Akombwa applauded the departments for working together, and delivered a devotional from Psalm 68 on finding joy in service.
“When the Lord rises to take control, He initiates means,” Akombwa said. “We should attract the attention of people and direct them to Jesus.”
Malawi’s Minister of Energy, Honourable Dr. Jean Mathanga, welcoming the delegates to her country, put the challenge more sharply. An Adventist herself, Mathanga said she was pleased the Church is now evangelising on digital platforms, but warned that technique counts for nothing without transformation.
“The message that has not changed the messenger is not worth sharing,” she said. “Prayer is the key to All Things New.”
From there the programme turned to method, and the questions digital missionaries actually face.
Digital Missionaries training presenters in Malawi.
SIDMEDIA AWR and Marketing Manager, Zanele Zama
SID IT Director, Michelo Mulambo
SID Technical Assistant, Otieno Mkandawire
SID Personal Ministries Director, Dr. Dennis Matekenya, SID IT Director, Michelo Mulambo and SIDMEDIA AWR and Marketing Manager, Zanele Zama having a digital mission discussion.
SID Personal Ministries Director, Dr. Dennis Matekenya.
SID Field Secretary, Pastor Etwell Tapera.
SID Communication Director, Dr. Pako Mokgwane.
John Matekenya Jr.
What happens after someone clicks? SIDMEDIA AWR and Marketing Manager Zanele Zama walked delegates through Adventist Inbox and digital advertising, showing how an interest generated on a social platform is routed through to a local church rather than left to go cold. SID Personal Ministries Director Dr. Dennis Matekenya set out the five Es of evangelism, describing those in the room as the engine of the campaign across the Division.
How do departments stop working in silos? SID Communication Director Dr. Pako Mokgwane addressed integration, the practical question of how Communication, Personal Ministries, and IT deliver one campaign rather than three.
How do you stay safe, and sound like one Church? SID IT Director Michelo Mulambo covered cyber security and the Adventist tools available for mission. SID Technical Assistant Otieno Mkandawire took delegates through the All Things New branding, so that a post from Lusaka and a post from Antananarivo look like they come from the same movement, and through how to tell a testimony well.
What about AI? John Matekenya Jr. addressed the ethical use of artificial intelligence, alongside the case for collecting data properly so that strategy is built on evidence rather than instinct. Pastor Kirk Nugget and Pastor Victor Bejota rounded out the programme on content creation and making use of whatever resources members already have.
By the close, delegates were already planning what to do with it.
SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
Delegates at the SID Digital Missionaries training in Malawi.
“Absolutely fantastic training and initiative from the Division,” said Esther Chantala Mungalaba from Zambia.
“The range of material shared here, and the conversations we’ve started, are exactly what was needed to light the fire required to move this great work forward. I can’t wait to go back home and talk my pastors’ ears off with all the ideas for our OneVoice27 digital strategy.”
For Sonkie Leymanni from Malawi, the value was in seeing how the pieces fit. “The training has effectively helped me personally and it will benefit the mission,” she said. “I have understood how the Communication Department should work with the Personal Ministries Department, as well as the relationship between the two departments.”
