Content Type System

Hybrid Strategy

Ekklesia uses a hybrid content model:

• Known church content types (Sermon, Event, Member, etc.) get proper relational columns — typed, indexed, and queryable with standard SQL
• Administrator-defined custom fields live in a custom_fields JSONB column with a GIN index — flexible, no schema migrations required

This avoids the EAV anti-pattern used by WordPress, which requires multiple JOINs for simple queries and degrades at scale. JSONB gives the same flexibility with far better performance.

Core Content Types

Sermon

Column	Type	Notes
title	string	Required
speaker	string	Pastor name
date	date	Sermon date
duration	integer	Seconds
audio_url	string	Nullable
video_url	string	Nullable
transcript	text	Nullable, full-text indexed
series_id	foreignId	Nullable
tags	array (JSON)	Searchable
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed

Example custom_fields:

{
  "scripture_reference": "Jean 3:16",
  "language": "fr",
  "translation_available": true,
  "outline_url": "https://..."
}

---

Event

Column	Type	Notes
title	string	Required
start_at	datetime	Required
end_at	datetime	Nullable
location	string	Physical or "En ligne"
description	text	Rich text
image	string	Via Spatie Media Library
registration_url	string	External or internal
capacity	integer	Nullable
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed

---

Member

Column	Type	Notes
first_name	string	Required
last_name	string	Required
email	string	Unique per tenant
phone	string	Mobile money linked
baptism_date	date	Nullable
cell_group_id	foreignId	Nullable
status	enum	active, inactive, visitor
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed

---

Announcement

Column	Type	Notes
title	string	Required
body	text	Rich text
published_at	datetime	Nullable — draft if null
expires_at	datetime	Auto-unpublish
pinned	boolean	Shown at top
target_group	string	all, members, leaders
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed

---

Page IMPLEMENTED

Column	Type	Notes
title	string	Required
slug	string	Unique per tenant, auto-generated from title
content_blocks	jsonb	Block-based content (GIN indexed)
seo_title	string	Nullable — meta title for SEO
seo_description	string	Nullable — meta description for SEO
published_at	datetime	Nullable — draft if null, published if past
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed
previous_version	jsonb	Soft versioning snapshot

Block types (Filament Builder component):

Block	Fields	Use case
heading	level (h2/h3/h4), content	Section headings
rich_text	body (Markdown)	Main content paragraphs
image	url, alt, caption	Photos and illustrations
video	url, caption	YouTube/Vimeo embeds
call_to_action	label, url, style (primary/secondary)	Buttons and links
quote	text, attribution	Bible verses, testimonials

Computed attributes:

• is_published — true when published_at is set and in the past

API filters:

• ?published=true — only published pages
• ?search= — title search (case-insensitive via ilike)

---

Giving Record IMPLEMENTED

Column	Type	Notes
member_id	foreignId	Nullable (anonymous giving)
amount	decimal(12,2)	Required
currency	string(3)	Default XOF — supports XOF, XAF, EUR, USD, GBP, CAD
date	date	Required
method	string	mobile_money, cash, bank_transfer, card
reference	string	Nullable — transaction ID / receipt number
campaign_id	string	Nullable — campaign reference
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed
previous_version	jsonb	Soft versioning snapshot

Relationships:

• belongsTo(Member) — nullable for anonymous giving

Computed attributes:

• is_anonymous — true when member_id is null
• formatted_amount — formatted with currency (e.g. "50 000,00 XOF")

API filters:

• ?method=mobile_money — filter by payment method
• ?currency=XOF — filter by currency
• ?member_id=5 — filter by member
• ?anonymous=true — only anonymous donations
• ?campaign_id=easter-2026 — filter by campaign
• ?from=2026-01-01&to=2026-03-31 — date range filter

Indexes: (tenant_id, date), (tenant_id, method), (tenant_id, currency), (tenant_id, member_id), (tenant_id, campaign_id)

---

Production Readiness Content Types

The following content types were added during the Production Readiness Sprint to complete the church management feature set.

Service Type & Attendance IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
ServiceType	name, description, day_of_week, start_time	Defines recurring service slots
Attendance	service_type_id, member_id, date, check_in_time, is_first_time	Per-member attendance tracking

Features: QR code check-in, first-time visitor flagging, trend dashboards (week-over-week, per campus, per service).

---

Household IMPLEMENTED

Column	Type	Notes
name	string	Family/household name
head_of_household_id	foreignId	References a Member
address, city, phone	string	Shared contact info
custom_fields	jsonb	GIN indexed

Member additions: household_id, family_role (head, spouse, child, relative), date_of_birth, wedding_anniversary.

---

Fund & Campaign IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
Fund	name, description, type (tithe/offering/building/missions/benevolence), is_active	Categorizes giving
Campaign	name, fund_id, goal_amount, currency, start_date, end_date, is_active	Time-bound fundraising

GivingRecord update: fund_id foreign key links giving to specific funds. Real-time progress calculation for campaigns.

---

Prayer Request & Commitment IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
PrayerRequest	member_id, title, content, type (prayer/praise), visibility (public/group/confidential), status, is_answered	Prayer wall entries
PrayerCommitment	prayer_request_id, member_id	"Je prie" commitment pivot

Features: Prayer chain broadcast, answered prayer marking with optional testimony link, commitment counter.

---

Devotional & Series IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
DevotionalSeries	title, slug, description, is_active	Groups themed devotionals
Devotional	series_id, title, verse_reference, content, prayer_point, application, published_at	Daily devotional content

Features: Multi-channel delivery (in-app, SMS, email), AI-assisted draft generation, scheduling system.

---

Testimony IMPLEMENTED

Column	Type	Notes
member_id	foreignId	Author (nullable for anonymous)
title	string	Testimony title
content	text	Full testimony text
category	string	healing, provision, deliverance, conversion, family_restoration
status	string	submitted, approved, rejected
is_anonymous	boolean	Hides member identity
is_featured	boolean	Highlighted testimonies
reactions	jsonb

Features: Moderation workflow, audio recording support, culturally appropriate reactions.

---

Reading Plan & Progress IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
ReadingPlan	title, slug, description, duration_days, grace_period_days, is_active	Plan definition
ReadingPlanDay	reading_plan_id, day_number, passage_reference, passage_text, reflection	Daily entries
MemberReadingProgress	member_id, reading_plan_id, current_streak, longest_streak, started_at, completed_at	Progress tracking

Features: Streak counter with configurable grace period, cell group plan assignments.

---

Bulk Message & Template IMPLEMENTED

Model	Key Columns	Notes
BulkMessage	title, body, channel (sms/email/whatsapp), target_type, status, scheduled_at	Bulk delivery
MessageTemplate	name, body, channel, placeholders	Reusable templates

Features: Scheduled delivery, audience targeting (all, cell_group, campus, status), per-recipient dispatch tracking via NotificationDispatch.

---

Adjustment IMPLEMENTED

Column	Type	Notes
adjustable_type	string	Polymorphic (GivingRecord, PaymentTransaction)
adjustable_id	bigint	Reference to original record
type	string	void, correction
reason	text	Required explanation
adjusted_by	foreignId	User who made the adjustment

Purpose: Financial records are immutable — adjustments provide a safe audit trail for voids and corrections without modifying original records.

---

JSONB Indexing Strategy

-- GIN index on all custom_fields columns
-- Covers general containment queries (@>)
CREATE INDEX sermons_custom_fields_gin
  ON sermons USING GIN (custom_fields);

-- Expression index for a frequently-queried key
-- Add these per-need, not upfront
CREATE INDEX sermons_language
  ON sermons ((custom_fields->>'language'));

Querying Custom Fields

// Find all French sermons
Sermon::whereJsonContains('custom_fields->language', 'fr')->get();

// Find sermons with translation available
Sermon::where('custom_fields->translation_available', true)->get();

// All indexes above are used automatically by PostgreSQL

Adding Custom Fields (Church Administrators)

Church administrators define their own custom fields through the Filament admin panel. The field definition is stored in a content_type_schemas table (per tenant), and the Filament form is dynamically rendered from this schema. No migrations are needed — the value is simply added to the custom_fields JSONB object.