ROLE: Connection Director

• Department: Costa Mesa Campus & Central Team
• Position Type: Full Time (licensed & salaried)
• Date to Fill: 4/1/26
• Reports To: XP

ABOUT SOUTH HILLS

• Our History: video
• Our Vision: To be the Perfect Place for Imperfect People.
• Our Mission: To lead unchurched people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Our Beliefs & Values: see webpage
• Our Model: We are an evangelical community-driven church with multiple campuses.
• Our Strategy: Develop People through the Growth Track

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Connection Director is a campus-based pastoral leader responsible for helping people move from attending to belonging, and from belonging to growing and serving at the Costa Mesa campus. This role owns the after-Sunday journey—guiding new guests and attenders through the Growth Track, beginning at the weekend experience and moving through Discover, Rooted, Groups, and Serve Teams, so every person is clearly invited into their next step.

The Connection Director directly oversees Growth Group Leaders and Serve Team Leaders, strengthening the church’s two primary discipleship engines: spiritual formation (Growth Groups) and volunteer mobilization (Serve Teams). This is a highly visible, people-facing role with strong Sunday presence and ongoing leadership with staff and volunteer teams. While core systems already exist, this role focuses on implementing, reinforcing, and multiplying those pathways at Costa Mesa first (80% campus focus), while contributing to scalable connection practices across other campuses (20% central support).

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (Key Wins & KPIs)

Success in this role is measured by movement and multiplication—people taking clear next steps and leaders being developed to help others do the same. When the Connection Director is winning, new guests are personally engaged after the weekend, the Growth Track is active and effective, and more people are becoming rooted in community and purpose.

• A growing percentage of weekend guests taking a next step through the Growth Track
• Facilitate Baptisms as evidence of life change and spiritual commitment
• Increased participation in Rooted and Groups
• Expanded Serve Team capacity and volunteer engagement
• A healthy and growing leadership pipeline of Group Leaders and Serve Team Leaders

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own and lead the Growth Track (Discover, Rooted, Groups, Serve Teams), moving people from weekend attendance to meaningful engagement.
• Develop and oversee Group Leaders and Serve Team Leaders, building healthy volunteer teams that drive spiritual formation and service.
• Maximize Rooted as the primary assimilation pathway into South Hills Church.
• Build serving capacity by recruiting, equipping, and retaining volunteers aligned with the mission and values of South Hills.
• Maintain a highly visible Sunday presence—engaging guests, supporting the Connect Area, and celebrating baptisms.
• Collect and elevate stories of life change, reinforcing vision and celebrating God’s work across the campus.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCES

• Organized leader with strong execution instincts
• Volunteer development (Rooted, Growth Groups, Serve Teams)
• Relational connector who moves people toward next steps
• Pastoral, shepherd-leader orientation
• Clear and confident verbal communicator (teaching over preaching)
• Proven system implementation and reinforcement
• Collaborative team player who leads through influence
• Advocator of values and doctrine with South Hills Church

BIG WINS WITHIN 12 MONTHS

• Established strong trusted relationships with staff and core team members (6 months).
• Consistently driving weekenders through the Growth Track, with measurable movement into Discover, Rooted, Groups, and Serve Teams (6 months).
• Recruited, trained, and supported a growing base of Group Leaders and Serve Team Leaders, increasing overall participation and positions within the structure (6 months).
• Strengthened Groups and Rooted as primary environments for spiritual growth and community (6 months)
• Demonstrated measurable increases in Group participation, Serve Team engagement, and baptisms (12 months)
• Built a healthy leadership pipeline, with leaders developing and multiplying other leaders (12 months)
• Established clear, repeatable connection systems at Costa Mesa that can be leveraged across other campuses (12 months)
• Regularly capturing and sharing stories of life change that reinforce vision, celebrate growth, and fuel engagement (12 months)