The ChurchGear Podcast

Preparing for Christmas [Mannahouse Church's Peter Zatsepin] Nov 18, 2024

What are Christmas services like in Portland, Oregon?
Peter Zatsepin is a Production Technician at Mannahouse Church and he joins us this week to discuss preparing for Christmas.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 How much does the weather impact your mood?
4:30 Peter Zatsepin joins us from Mannahouse Church!
14:00 How did you get into church production?
18:30 What's it like doing church in Portland Oregon?
21:50 What is it like prepping Christmas services for Mannahouse church?
24:15 How do you maintain your health during the Christmas Service Season?
27:00 How do you communicate the upcoming church rush well to your spouse?
30:00 How do you handle conflict during a Sunday Service?
39:00 Church Production Disaster story: "Then they turned the microwave on"
43:45 Tech Takeaway: Your work and effort matters to your church
48:00 Church Tech Confessional: Trust fall

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Becoming a System Integrator on the Fly [Dream City Church's Eric Mooney] Nov 11, 2024

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Your church needs you as their church tech to be their integrator. Now what?
Eric Mooney is the Audio Director at Dream City Church and he joins us to tell us his journey of going from youth pastor, to audio director, to integration work for his church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby meeting Blake for the first time
3:45 Eric Mooney joins us!
17:00 Eric’s church production background
23:30 Becoming a system integrator on the fly
35:00 Learning to lead in church production
38:00 Learning to become a church tech quickly
43:15 Church Tech Disaster Story
46:20 Tech Takeaway: Production Directors are leading worship
51:15 Church Tech Confessional

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Battle Royale: Audio Consoles [Jeff Sandstrom & Drew Hester] Nov 04, 2024

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What happens when you pit two audio experts against one another in a mixing Battle Royale conversation?
Drew Hester and Jeff Sandstrom are too polite to fully fight it out in a Battle Royale, but they both join us for our first "fight it out" episode in the church production space. Join us for takes on what matters most in audio, the best consoles for the best situations and the best audio disaster stories.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 People telling Toby to turn it down
4:00 How to know when it’s too loud
15:00 What’s more important? FOH or monitors?
20:40 What piece of gear would you use in a fight to the death?
26:00 What console would you not want at a festival?
28:30 What console do you want with 30 seconds to start mixing?
32:00 What console would you recommend if electricity was going to be spotty?
33:15 Worst Mixing story (Drew Hester)
37:00 Worst Mixing story (Jeff Sandstrom)
41:50 Disaster story: Don’t trip on the fader
42:50 Disaster story (Jeff Sandstrom)
45:30 Disaster story Drew: Chris Tomlin show
49:00 Disaster story: Head set mic in an arena

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

3 Months to Live Changes Your Mix [Armando Fullwood] Oct 28, 2024

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How do you respond when you are given 3 months to live?
Armando Fullwood joins us this week to tell us what his health journey taught him about faith, life and mixing.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Mixing behind glass windows
4:45 Armando Fullwood joins us!
11:00 How did you get into live production?
15:00 What is happening in live production outside of church?
19:30 How can you prevent burnout?
22:20 What a health crisis taught Armando about Mixing and Life
27:30 How to stay healthy as you mix
38:00 Disaster story: The console just blew up
41:30 Tech Takeaway: Don’t take it so serious
46:00 Church Tech Confessional: "There was fire"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Running FOH for Miranda Lambert [Todd Wines] Oct 21, 2024

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What's it like running audio for a Vegas residency?
Todd joins the pod to tell us about running sound for Miranda Lambert in Vegas, a disaster story and we wrap with a church tech confessional.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Touring Willow Creek Church
5:00 Todd Wines joins us
16:00 How did Todd get into church production?
22:00 Running FOH for Miranda Lambert in Vegas
29:30 Handling a bad source
36:00 Giving advice to your younger self
40:00 Disaster story
46:40 Tech Takeaway
49:40 Church Tech Confessional

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

FOH For All the Legends [Doug Kimball] Oct 14, 2024

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How do you end up mixing for legendary artists like Jay Z and Marilyn Manson?
Doug Kimball got into the mixing game early via editorials and he stops by the podcast this week to give us the lessons he learned along the way. We wrap with some wild disaster stories and a church tech confessional that'll have you laughing and cringing.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Meeting celebrities
4:45 Doug Kimball joins us!
11:15 How did Doug get into production?
13:15 Mixing for Jay Z
16:00 How did Doug become the mixer for A level artists?
18:15 Doug’s top tip to work well with the musical artists
21:00 Doug’s preferred gear
22:45 What gets you fired on a tour quickly
24:30 What were Doug’s most challenging mixes in his time?
27:10 Mixing for Marilyn Manson
30:00 How do you think bigger for mixing your church?
34:30 Disaster story: “He went to prison for that”
38:30 Disaster story: “She pulled power the wrong directcion”
39:45 Favorite FOH Rack Gear
50:00 Church Tech Confessional: “I was trying to impress this girl.”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Unconventional Service Times [Christ's Church of the Valley's Blair Drake] Oct 07, 2024

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How do you build a volunteer team when your main service is Saturday night?
Blair drops by to discuss their unusual service times, recruiting volunteers and wraps with multiple disaster stories.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 What do you do when your production gear gets stolen?
4:50 Blair Drake joins us!
13:00 How did Blair get started in church production?
16:15 How do they pull off their weekly services with their volunteers?
19:30 Where are you recruiting volunteers?
26:00 What big events do you do?
30:30 Disaster stories
40:45 Church Tech Confessional

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Volume Complaints & Touring Stories [Newsboys's John O' Neal] Sep 30, 2024

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What do you learn touring in production for over two decades?
John's been running FOH for Newsboys for over two decades and he joins us this week to discuss his time with them, being out on the road, and how to handle volume complaints intellectually or hilariously.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Accents, Blake’s tech fail, and Charles Manson
5:30 John O' Neal joins us!
12:00 Near Death production story
18:30 How do you get into church production?
26:45 What gets you kicked off a tour bus?
31:00 What gear is John running for Newsboys
31:30 What trends does he see coming in production turn
35:30 What does Doug say when people complain about the volume?
49:00 Disaster story: “I just deleted your whole show file.”
55:15 Tech Takeaway: prioritize vocals in worship
60:25 Church Tech Confessionals: Fader Disaster

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Getting Volunteers Started Well [Willow Hodge of Hope Fellowship Church] Sep 23, 2024

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How do you take an interested, inexperienced volunteer and turn them into a tech genius?
Willow Hodge is the Video Director at Hope Fellowship Church and she joins to give us a masterclass on training new volunteers.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 ChurchGear Fantasy League is here!
3:50 Willow Hodge joins us!
10:20 How did you get your start in church production?
15:20 How do you recruit and develop church production volunteers?
22:40 Volunteers feeling growing pains
26:45 Should church production people have pastor in their title?
31:10 What’s it like being a woman in production?
37:25 Church Production Disaster story
43:45 Tech Takeaway: Jesus isn’t shaking his head at tech mistakes

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Prioritizing Life Over Production [Dan McLaughlin] Sep 16, 2024

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How do you keep production from disrupting your priority list?
Dan is a Monitor Engineer and RF Coordinating expert. He joins us to discuss balancing production with your life, vetting production jobs and some RF deep dive discussions!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Our new and first sponsor stops by: 64 Audio!
5:45 Kids are great!
10:00 Dan McLaughlin joins us!
19:45 How do you recover from a PreShow emergency?
24:00 How did Dan get into production?
29:45 How do you keep your marriage strong while you’re on the road?
35:15 How do you vet a church production job?
42:00 RF talk
52:15 Disaster story: "It costs us but it was fine."
55:15 Tech Takeaway: Don’t over stress it
1:00:30 Church Tech Confessional: Missing pack

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Excellence without Excess [The Church of Eleven 22's Andrew Hoffstatter] Sep 09, 2024

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How do you launch churches at an exponential rate?
Andrew Hoffstatter is the Technical Director at at The Church of Eleven 22 and he joins us to discuss church launches, stretching a dollar and excellence without excess in church production.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Cats vs. Dogs
6:41 Andrew Hoffstatter joins us!
13:40 How did Andrew get into church production as a career?
16:00 How do you launch multiple church campuses at once?
17:28 How do you have excellence without excess in church production?
20:00 What principles guide you to have excellence without excess?
26:00 How do you stretch a dollar in your production setups?
30:00 The Church of Eleven 22's unique production layout
35:45 Disaster story: “He just stares at me and hands me his pack”
39:30 Tech Takeaway: “There is always someone smarter than you”
40:40 Church Production Tip: Always put in cat walks!
42:44 Church Tech Confessional: “Upper decking”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Best Takeaways [Pastors & Production Series Pt.6] Sep 02, 2024

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What were the biggest takeaways from the Pastors & Production podcast series?
For our final episode in the series we discuss the biggest moments, the stats from the survey and wrap with the best quote from the series.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 What was Toby like working at churches in his 20s?
5:45 BD joins us to wrap up the Pastors & Production Series
7:15 Stats about Pastors & Production people’s relationship
12:45 Top takeaways from the series
13:00 “It takes reps to build a relationship”
15:50 Mistakes are fine as long as they aren’t consistent
17:40 Its not a show
19:30 Know your city and customize your service to it
22:00 Have a personal friendship with your pastor
26:45 Understand their role and have them understand yours
31:00 Healthy relationships have conflict
35:45 Who do you pay on Sunday mornings?
38:00 Don’t waste your time on sideways energy
42:00 Encouragement for techs with a tough pastor relationship
44:00 Best Quotes from the series

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Whit George & Johnathan Basquez of Church on the Move [Pastors & Production Series Pt.5] Aug 26, 2024

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How do you fill big shoes together as a team?
Whit George & Johnathan Basquez join us for the "Pastors & Production" Series to discuss filling the shoes of Willie George & Andrews Stone and how they work together as a team to continue leading Church on the Move forward.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Visiting states, nations and filling shoes
4:30 Whit George & Johnathan Basquez join us for the Pastor & Production Series!
10:30 What was it like stepping into the shoes of Andrew Stone & Willie George?
19:30 What churches do you look to for inspiration?
22:45 How do you balance your pastor’s vision with production’s constraints?
33:45 How do you handle conflict with your pastor as a church tech?
36:00 How involved are church production people in service planning?
37:20 Pastor, how involved should church production be in service planning?
43:00 Does worship and production have equal voice at COTM?
48:00 What direction is COTM heading and upcoming trends in the American church?
53:50 As a pastor, what do you wish all church techs knew about their pastor?
56:45 As a church production person, what do you wish all pastor’s knew about their church techs?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Henry Seeley & Andy Rushing Of Belonging Co [Pastor & Production Relationship Series Pt.4] Aug 19, 2024

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How do you pastor people who tour every weekend and are A level artists/production people?
Henry & Andy join us from The Belonging Co Church to discuss pastoring creatives, handling expectations and managing salaries for folks who could earn more at the drop of a hat on the road.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Trading places
5:30 Andy Rushing and Henry Seeley join us from Beloning Co Church!
9:45 How did the Belonging Co Church come to be?
13:30 How do you determine your church's production style?
19:45 Is it tough having a pastor that knows production so much?
23:00 You ran Waves through a Behringer X32?
26:00 How have you handled conflict amongst yourselves?
35:00 What is it like pastoring creatives?
40:40 Bridging the gap between worship, vision and production
44:15 Is it tough to pay a competitive salary when your tech people could leave church and go on the road?
49:15 Educating fellow pastors on how to recruit production people.
53:30 What would you have all church techs know about their pastors?
56:15 As a church tech, what would you like all pastors to know?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Jack Graham & Bryan Bailey of Prestonwood [Pastor & Production Relationship Series Pt.3] Aug 12, 2024

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How do you communicate priorities with your pastor?
Jack Graham & Bryan Bailey join us for our "Pastor & Production Director Relationship" series to discuss their dynamic, handling production decisions and how to prioritize production.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Being the black sheep of the family
3:45 Five Truths and a lie with your Pastor
8:00 Relocating the church
18:30 How involved is Pastor Graham in the church production?
25:45 Why is a big Christmas service still a priority?
31:30 What do you wish all tech people could know about their pastor?
33:15 As a church tech, what would you like a room of pastors to know?
35:45 Plug: Bible in a year project

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Matt Chandler & Wes Ashworth of Village Church [Pastor & Production Relationship Series Pt.2] Aug 05, 2024

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How do you have the best possible relationship with your pastor?
Matt Chandler & Wes Ashworth join us this week for Pt.2 of our Pastor & Production series. We discuss what each role wishes the other knew about their role, handling errors and requesting new gear.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Meeting your heroes
4:16 Wes Ashworth and Matt Chandler join us!
11:15 Five Truths and a lie with Matt Chandler
16:00 What gear is the village church running?
18:45 Handling conflict with your pastor as a production director
24:30 How do you ask for new production gear from your pastor?
31:00How do you handle production errors?
35:30 Do you pay production contractors?
39:00 Making big production decisions as a team
43:00 Whose fault is it if a church production person is working too much?
49:30 What do you appreciate about working with your pastor?
50:40 What does Matt appreciate most in his production people?
56:15 How do you prepare your heart to serve at church?
59:15 What is one thing as a pastor you wish you could tell all production people?
62:00 What’s something as a church tech you wish every pastor knew out there?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Darren Whitehead & Sarah Bible [Pastor & Production Relationship Series Pt.1] Jul 29, 2024

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How can church production directors communicate and work best with their pastor's?
In week one of our Pastor & Production Series, we interview Darren Whitehead and Sarah Bible from Church of the City in Franklin. We discuss the pressures of production keeping up with vision and what each role wishes the other knew about their daily struggles.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Who was Todd Elliott’s boss?
5:00 Darren & Sarah join us for 5 Truths & a lie with your pastor!
16:45 Darren’s vision for Church of the City
24:00 What gear is Church of the City running?
36:15 Handling the pressure of a pastor’s vision
41:42 How to have a conversation with your pastor on realistic production?
50:30 As a pastor, what do you wish all tech people knew about their pastor?
54:00 As a tech person, what’s one thing you wish every pastor knew about their production people?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Church Production at Elevation [Andy Bentley] Jul 22, 2024

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What was it like doing church production at Elevation in the early days?
Andy Bentley joins us to discuss his church tech times at Elevation, pacing production stress, and creating a creative process that works.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Inside baseball: ChurchGear Leadership Quarterly
5:00 Andy Bentley joins us! (Elevation & Skylark)
11:50 Staying up 60 hours straight for production
17:00 Andy’s church tech background
23:30 What was it like doing church production at Elevation?
27:30 Is Elevation Worship the same team as the Sunday morning team?
32:30 How do you keep your cool in high stress production moments?
37:30 How do you put creative processes in place in church production?
44:30 Disaster story: “We were hanging them above their heads”
49:20 Tech Takeaway: Don’t chase the sexy stuff
51:35 Church Tech Confessional: ProPresenter fail

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Weighing the Decision to Leave Ministry [Yoshi Haddad of Houston's First Baptist] Jul 15, 2024

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How do you weigh the decision to stay or leave church tech ministry?
Yoshi Haddad has transitioned out from his post as the Director of Production at Houston's First Baptist Church to become a Sales Engineer at LD Systems. He joins us this week to discuss his thoughts on the transition and we have some laughs along the way with a disaster story, tech takeaway and an ATM moment you can't miss.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Moral failures at church
6:00 Yoshi Haddad joins us!
17:45 Yoshi's production background
24:30 How Yoshi decided to leave church tech ministry
34:00 Who is responsible for burnout?
37:00 Speaker shoot out!
42:15 Disaster Story
45:40 Tech Takeaway
47:25 ChurchTech Confessional

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

From Youth Minister to Production Director [Journey Church's Kyle Bowman] Jul 08, 2024

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You've been hired to be the youth minister and now you're told you're doing church production. What?
Kyle Bowman is the Production Director at Journey Church and he joins us to discuss transitions, volunteer recruitment and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby and Blake have been responsible for the youths of America
5:45 Kyle Bowman joins us!
15:00 What is production at Journey Church like?
19:45 From Youth Ministry to Production in 5 seconds flat
22:40 Where do you find church production volunteers?
29:30 Should you go to college for church production?
35:30 Disaster Story: First Christmas Service
38:15 Tech Takeaway: You’re doing a good job!
40:40 Church Tech Confessional

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing Red Rocks Church [Jesse O'Brien] Jul 01, 2024

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What's it like mixing for Red Rocks services and concerts?
Jesse O'Brien is the Broadcast and FOH engineer at Red Rocks Church and he joins us to discuss all things Red Rocks production.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 We have our first podcast sponsor!
4:45 Andy Bentley joins us!
7:30 Five Truths and a Lie: “And they asked can we bring our guns in?”
17:00 Production at Red Rocks Church
25:30 Mixing live vs. studio
30:00 Red Rocks broadcast set up & line array
37:15 Jesse’s mixing philosophies
39:00 Passing on your wisdom to the next generation
41:45 Disaster story: “Are we gonna have to buy a new PA?”
49:20 Tech Takeaway: “All stuff is the small stuff”
50:50 Church Tech Confessional: Sleeping in

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Volunteer Recruiting & Training [1st Baptist Orlando's Bobby Falconnier] Jun 24, 2024

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How do you recruit and train church production volunteers?
Bobby Falconnier is the broadcast manager at First Baptist Orlando church and he joins us for a volunteer deep dive.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Impersonations
4:30 Bobby Falconnier joins us!
12:45 How do you find church production volunteers?
30:00 Working for a manufacturer vs a church
35:00 Disaster story
37:35 Tech Takeaway on spending the right amount
41:45 Church Tech Confessional: Try what patch?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Production Promotions & EAW Line Arrays [Long Hollow's Tim Wagoner] Jun 17, 2024

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How do you transition from being an individual AVL lead to becoming the leader for the entire church production team?
Tim Wagoner joins us from Long Hollow church to talk about his recent promotion, their decision to buy EAW line arrays and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Best Beaches in America
5:30 Tim Wagoner joins us!
18:00 How did Tim become a church tech professional?
22:00 Moving from Audio Lead to Leading Church Production
32:30 Is EAW a good church line array for sightlines?
38:40 Longhollow Church’s Biggest Production Issues
40:15 Disaster Story: “There was no audio, period.”
44:30 Tech Takeaway
46:45 Church Tech Confessional: “Broken package”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing for Hillsong & Live Album Recordings [James Hurley] Jun 10, 2024

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What were the early days of mixing for Hillsong like?
James Hurley is a mix engineer who has worked with Hillsong, Kari & Cody, Mosaic and more. He joins us to discuss his early days with Hillson, live production albums and more this week on the ChurchGear Podcast
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 The Guys Get Gue in their ears for InEars
5:45 James Hurley joins! [5 Truths & a Lie]
15:00 James’s journey into church production
19:00 What was it like doing production for Hillsong United?
25:00 How “Live” are “Live Worship Albums”?
38:30 You can only pick one piece of gear for your setup.
40:45 How do you pay your church production people correctly?
1:03:00 Tech Takeaway: Love your neighbor as yourself
1:07:00 Church Tech Confessional: "We had budget leftover....so"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Balancing Work & Drinks on Consoles [Summit Church's Conor Hale] Jun 03, 2024

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How do we balance our work life well?
Conor Hale is a church tech at The Summit Church and he joins us to discuss work life balance.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Disrespecting Consoles, Studios and Pappy Van Winkle
5:30 Conor Hale joins us!
13:00 Conor’s journey to being a Summit Church Tech
16:00 Summit Church’s system setup
22:00 Finding a healthy rhythm of work
27:15 Production hacks used at Summit Church: PCs
32:00 Disaster Story
35:45 A legendary Production Person Reveal
43:30 Tech Takeaway on balance
43:38 Church Tech Confessional “I wasn’t doing anything.”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Lighting Life Church [Live at FILO with Caleb Darago] May 27, 2024

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How does one of the biggest churches in the country approach lighting design?
Caleb is the Senior Lighting Designer for Life Church. He tells us about Life Church's approach to lighting, some disaster stories and more on our final live FILO episode.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby and Blake go to a baseball game before FILO
6:30 Caleb Darago joins us live at FILO!
14:00 How to have AR/VR/XR at church!
19:00 Caleb’s journey as a lighting and video tech at Life Church
21:15 How does Life Church do lighting design?
37:00 “We put the Furman at shoe kicking level”
41:10 Tech Takeaway: “Pastor first, tech second”
44:45 Church Tech Confessional on baptism

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Stewarding Gear & Community [Live at FILO with Matt Kotthoff] May 20, 2024

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What production upgrades should you recommend to your church leadership?
Matt Kotthoff joins us live at FILO 2024! We discuss gear stewardship, community building and wrap with a disaster story that has us all wondering if there is ever a right time to allow software updates to go through.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 “Toby! Unhand that woman!”
6:19 Matt Kotthoff joins us at FILO Live!
12:40 Matt’s FILO teaching session topic
14:15 Todd Elliott cameos!
17:00 What is Sun Valley Community Church's production setup like?
22:30 What PA does Sun Valley Community Church use?
24:10 How do you decide to sell or keep your church’s used production gear?
25:50 What level of production gear should your church upgrade to?
29:10 How much “backup gear” should you have on hand?
32:10 What common production mistake does Matt see in other churches?
36:20 What’s the most important church production element to improve first?
38:40 Disaster story: Can’t delay or do updates!
41:40 Tech Takeaway on asking for help
43:20 Church Tech Confessional: “That was rough. But no one has questioned my mix decisions since.”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

FILO After Party [Amplio Studios 2024] May 13, 2024

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We took over the Amplio Podcast studio after day one of FILO to recap the conference and bring the party to you!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 FILO Amplio After Party Pod!
4:00 What happened at FILO 2024 Day 1?
7:00 Toby’s horrific Gene Kim introduction
11:00 FILO pre party activities
15:00 Amplio’s podcast has launched!
20:00 Game: Classic Rock pop quiz!
26:00 Game: Name that song for Toby
29:15 Game: Songs the Government plays to torture people
33:00 Rapid round questions
40:00 Worship Sound Guy joins us!
43:00 The Rest of the ChurchGear Crew & Jeff Vandergiessen joins!
53:20 Church Tech Confessional: "I shouldn't have listened to my pastor's wife"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Lighting that Welcomes Guests [Highlands's Griffin McCravy] May 06, 2024

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How do we customize our lighting design to draw people to God?
Griffin McCravy joins the podcast to tell us how Church of the Highlands is adjusting their lighting design to create a more welcoming environment for potential believers.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Blake’s first time in the tech booth
6:00 Griffin McCravy joins us!
12:00 What is Griffin teaching about at FILO this year?
18:00 How do you rethink your church production approach?
23:30 How does The Church of The Highlands Approach Christmas?
34:15 How does Church of the Highlands do their lighting design?
39:00 Where is the global church going with lighting design now?
43:30 Disaster Story: “I’ll never use a snow machine again.”
49:10 Tech Takeaway: How do you set good expectations for church production?
51:51 Church Tech Confessionals "My pastor walked off and didn't fire me"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Speaking Pastorease [Cottonwood Creek's Will Chapman] Apr 29, 2024

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How do you speak your pastor's language?
Will Chapman is the Online Pastor for Cottonwood Creek Church and he drops by the ChurchGear podcast to discuss communication methods, advancing in your role and how to transition a church's production style over time.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 The Church Tech Mecas in Texas
6:00 Will Chapman joins us!
16:45 How do you get into church production ministry?
21:00 How do you grow and advance in church production?
27:00 How do you communicate with your church pastor better?
36:30 How do you keep the production gear from being distracting?
43:30 Why is video over IP so important in church production now?
51:20 Disaster Story: No stage design for Christmas
58:00 Tech Takeaway on the Parable of the Talents
1:02:00 Church Tech Confessional

Plugs:
Hangout with Will on Facebook and Instagram!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Fall Out Boy’s FOH Engineer [Chad Olech] Apr 22, 2024

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Chad Olech has been Fall Out Boy's front-of-house mix engineer for the past 11 years and he joined us on the ChurchGear Podcast this week!
He told us how he mixes Fall Out Boy's shows, the stories that have come with that and more! Don't miss this week's episode!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Recording studios and celebrity crushes
5:30 Fall Out Boy’s FOH Engineer of 11 Years, Chad Olech joins!
11:20 Having a Kidney stone mid show!
13:20 How do you get into live production mixing?
17:20 Chad’s adventures with Fall Out Boy
18:45 What kind of tracks is Fall Out Boy using in live shows?
20:00 How does Chad mic up Fall Out Boy?
24:00 How do you recreate a studio sound in a live environment?
28:58 What gear is Fall Out Boy using for their live shows right now?
38:00 The most enjoyable and difficult Fall Out Boy songs to mix live
41:00 Advice to your younger self
43:45 If you could only pick one “good piece of gear” what would it be?
45:00 Disaster Story with Fall Out Boy
46:40 Disaster Story “I lost all of my plug-ins.”
48:30 Tech Takeaway on not being too precious with what gear you have
50:40 Church Tech Confessionals “I woke up at 4:00 AM"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Harvest Crusades & Church Tech Confessional's Debut [Chris Eguizabal] Apr 15, 2024

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What's it like doing production for the Harvest Crusades?
Chris Eguizabal is the Production Manager at Harvest Riverside Church and he joins us to discuss production for The Harvest Crusades, lighting design approaches and he wraps our episode with a mic mix up story that you can't miss!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby isn’t fancy enough for a benefit dinner
6:45 Chris Eguizabal joins us!
14:45 How did Chris get into church production? (Started at Disney!)
19:00 What’s it like doing production for the Harvest Crusades?
24:00 How do you do production “in a circle” for The Round?
28:30 How do you communicate the tension between vision and production?
33:45 How should you approach your church's lighting design?
38:45 What advice would you give to a young church lighting director?
40:30 Church Production Disaster Story: Mixed up Mics
44:30 Tech takeaway on Sleep
48:00 Church Tech Confessional “Then my Pastor questioned me”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Matching Budget to Vision [Northside Christian Church's Chris McDonald] Apr 08, 2024

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How do you create & steward a church production budget well? How do you communicate your budget needs to leadership?
Chris is the Production Director at Northside Christian Church, and he joins us to talk about how to make a budget that fulfills your church's vision.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Taxes & Budget Complaints
6:15 Chris McDonald joins us! Chuck Norris & Parachutes
14:45 Chris’s journey into church production
20:00 How do you make a church production budget?
24:15 How do you talk to church leadership about your production budget?
30:30 How do you get a large church production budget item approved?
33:45 How do you build a great church production team?
36:45 How do you onboard a church production volunteer well?
44:30 Disaster Story: “I tried not to run”
49:00 Tech Takeaway

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Current State of Church Production [FILO's Todd Elliott] Apr 01, 2024

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How do you define the goal of your Sunday service? What can we aim for beyond "well I saw this one church do it this way"?
Todd Elliott joins us to discuss what a successful Sunday looks like, the overall pulse on the production community and what he is jazzed about for FILO 2024!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Alligator alley & Toby on a Panel?!
5:00 Mr. FILO joins us! Todd Elliott!
11:00 What’s going on in the production community right now?
24:00 Have church production people’s salaries improved?
26:40 How do you talk to your church leadership about your salary?
36:30 How do we define a good Sunday morning service?
42:45 What’s happening at FILO in 2024?!
48:45 Conference Trivia! Toby vs. Todd
56:15 Tech Takeaway

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Teamwork Fuels Production [Southeast Christian Church’s Brad Bramer] Mar 25, 2024

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How do you have multiple departments collaborate, communicate and coordinate well?
Brad Bramer is the Worship and Creative arts Executive Producer at Southeast Christian Church and he joins us to discuss how multiple church departments can work in concert to achieve an overarching vision.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 What is Toby reading right now?
5:00 Toby’s literary confession
6:40 Brad Bramer joins us!
10:55 “I was forcibly removed from Ryan Secrest”
16:45 Leading the Church Production Team at Southeast Christian Church
19:00 Should worship and tech be one team or two?
23:00 How does the production team communicate with leadership?
31:25 Be curious, not skeptical
34:30 What’s it like running church production at Southeast Christian Church?
37:48 Big AVL projects at Southeast Christian Church right now
39:20 How do you communicate production costs to church leadership?
41:00 Disaster story: Brad is suddenly a video director!
46:15 Tech Takeaway on Jesus and Reading the Manual

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Lighting for the Moment [Scotty McCreery's LD Alexander Lehman] Mar 18, 2024

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How do we create environments to allow church lighting directors to grow?
Before touring as Scotty McCreery's LD, Alexander was the LD at Connection Point Christian Church. He joins us this week to talk about keeping younger LDs engaged, lighting for the moment, and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Nightmares we’re having
5:45 Alexander Lehman joins us! ER Road cases & Reality TV
9:30 Road Case Horror Story
12:30 Arrested for Production
14:45 Working on the "Dude Perfect" show
17:00 Doing production at the Transformation Church Conference
23:00 How do audio, video and lighting affect one another?
26:00 Church Tech Madness Check in
27:45 Matching your AVL to the music
30:50 How do you keep younger church tech Lighting Directors engaged?
34:30 Advice to younger Lighting Directors
39:00 Who is inspiring Alex in the Lighting Design space?
41:25 Disaster story
43:00 Tech Takeaway: Be intentional with your production

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Developing Your Church's System, Not Yours. [Houseright’s Luke Hesher] Mar 11, 2024

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How do you build an AVL system for your church that meets today's needs and the demands of the future? How do you make sure it works for everyone on staff and the volunteer team as a whole?
Luke Hester works with churches to design systems at Houseright and he joins the ChurchGear podcast to discuss how you can make a system that works for the whole rather than just one person.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby sacks Denver
6:30 Luke Hesher of Houseright Joins us!
10:00 “I called my senior pastor a Bastard”
17:00 Luke’s path into Church Production
18:45 How does Houseright serve the church?
20:00 What production problems do all churches face?
26:00 Building your system for the “Next Tech”
30:45 What to do when you inherit a bad church production system
33:00 How do you prep your executive team for future systems budgets?
35:00 How to lead up to your church’s executive team
39:20 How to use a capital expenditure plan to lead up to your church’s executive team
45:00 “Their Integrator Left” How do you have a good integrator relationship?
48:00 Tech Takeaway: Treating People Well > Tackling Tasks

Plugs: Check out Houseright here!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Production Phases & Dante's Inferno [Shaun Miller of Rolling Hills] Mar 04, 2024

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How do you grow the production team and gear at multiple locations at a sustainable pace?
Shaun Miller is the Central Production Director at Rolling Hills Church and he drops by the pod to discuss baptism, pacing gear growth and more.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 How do Baptisms impact church production?
5:30 Shaun Miller joins us!
11:00 More wireless gear than Garth Brooks
13:45 "Then we got drug searched"
19:45 How did Shawn get into Church Production?
28:00 How do you manage multiple church production locations?
33:30 Toby heckles Shawn
35:00 Shawn’s writing on Church Production Magazine
39:30 The gear that Shawn hates
42:30 How do you progress your church’s production gear over time?
48:30 Disaster Story: Dante’s Inferno
57:00 Tech Takeaway on knowing “WHY” your production efforts matter
1:01:15 Blake’s Disaster Baptism

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Big Events, Bigger Impact [Jeff Sandstrom of MxU] Feb 26, 2024

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Your LED screen has fallen, you're in water up to your ankles and thousands of students are about to show up for a night of worship.
Jeff Sandstrom joins us this week to discuss the AVL challenges of the Super Bowl and the most difficult event he has ever been a part of.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby isn’t with us this week!
3:20 Jeff Sandstrom joins us!
4:00 Rattlesnakes and how great is our God
8:30 Soundcheck & Demolition Derby
11:20 “Five Truths and a Lie” MxU Pop Ups Edition!
16:30 SuperBowl Production
26:30 The Toughest Live Event Jeff Sandstrom’s Done
31:05 LED Wall underwater & Rusty Generators
50:30 Tech Takeaway on focusing on the main thing
57:00 MxU Pop Ups!

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Building Production Teams [Gateway Church's Brandon Conn] Feb 19, 2024

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How do you build a strong production team that furthers the Gospel?
Brandon Conn is the Audio Director at Gateway Church and he joins us this week to discuss all the practical principles Gateway church utilizes to build strong production teams.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby visits Chauvet Lighting in Florida!
6:00 Brandon Conn joins us for “5 Truths & A Lie”
16:30 How did Brandon get into church production?
20:30 How does Gateway Church set up their production team?
23:30 How does Gateway Church find and hire tech staff?
29:00 How do you launch a new church production set up well?
32:30 How do you schedule your church production team well?
34:30 How can production gear further The Gospel?
38:55 Texas Trivia: Blake verse Brandon Conn
42:30 What gear is Gateway Church running?
45:00 If you had 2 million to spend on production what would you buy?
48:00 Disaster story: “Just FYI, there was no PA in the Bible Days”
53:45 Tech Takeaway on Emotional EQ’s value to your ministry

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Touring Tips, Bad Rooms & Coffee Trivia [Gene Kim] Feb 12, 2024

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What production tips do you pick up from a lifetime of touring?
Gene Kim had a spare moment where he wasn't mixing for Phil Wickham, so he dropped by the podcast studio to discuss mixing in bad rooms, AVL trends and coffee.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Stage Shenanigans and Forbidden Rocks
6:50 What shows has Gene been working on recently?
11:45 The pressure of subbing in your tech buddy's seat
13:45 Hardest church production event Gene mixes
15:50 AVL Trends Gene is seeing in churches
20:10 What is it like jumping into various church FOH booths?
23:45 How do you improve your church tech skills in a new year?
28:00 What would your dream production gig be?
30:35 Disaster Story: “My heart dropped”
33:15 How do you improve your audio in a “bad room”?
35:34 Improving a bad room with a quieter mix
37:15 What upcoming technology trends is Gene enjoying?
41:15 Coffee Trivia: Gene Kim Vs. Toby Walters

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Life Church's Warren Davis on Leading Church Production Teams Feb 05, 2024

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Leadership is spoken about often but what does it really look like in the church production space?
Warren Davis is the Central Team Leader of Broadcast support for Life Church and he joins us to discuss leading teams well.
In this episode you'll hear

1:00 Rockstars breaking the law & tossing TVs
6:00 Warren Davis joins the podcast!
11:30 Moving Gear Horror Story
16:45 Warren Davis’s journey into tech
20:00 How are Life Church's campuses structured?
27:00 Leading Tech Teams at Scale
33:20 Leading & Developing church tech volunteer teams
36:00 How to lead as a young church production leader
43:15 Do church techs have to be “pastors” in production?
45:00 Creating Church Tech Culture via Time Together
51:15 Van Halen Trivia
58:00 Tech Takeaway on positioning your mix well & clean stages

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Respect Unifies Worship & Production [Kari Jobe’s PM, Brenton Miles] Jan 29, 2024

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How do we unify the church production team and the worship team?
Brenton Miles is the Production Manager for Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, and he joins us this week on the podcast to discuss the unique dynamic between worship and production.
In this episode

1:00 Does volume or the mix matter most?
5:15 Brenton Miles joins!
11:00 Five Truths & a Lie: Helicopters & Monday Night Football
19:00 Brenton’s Tech Background
24:15 Should worship and tech be one department at church?
28:00 Does a worship leader background help you lead church production?
32:45 What causes distractions in your church production?
35:15 What does the worship team do that bothers the production team?
38:15 What does production do that worship dislikes?
39:20 How should a production & worship team bond?
50:15 Disaster Story
54:50 Tech Takeaway on Respect
57:00 Brenton’s production courses

Plugs

Check out Brenton Miles training courses here!

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Soapboxes & Hot Takes [Worship Sound Guy’s Johnny Ragin] Jan 22, 2024

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What are the quickest ways to improve our church's mix?
Johnny Ragin drops by the pod to talk awesome mixing tips, hilarious disaster stories and more hot takes than we've ever had in a single episode.
In this episode:

1:00 Toby taught production in college?!
5:00 Johnny Ragin from Worship Sound Guy joins us!
12:00 Johnny’s tech background
20:00 How do you find church production educational resources?
24:00 Learning by Mentor vs. Self Education
27:00 Mixing with your “ears” not “eyes”
32:30 2 Quick Wins to improve your church’s audio mix
35:00 Improving the mix via collaboration with the Worship Team
40:00 How do you maximize your church’s production gear?
42:45 Disaster Stories: weak floors & confetti cannons
47:50 Tech Takeaway on having a “Mix Journal”

Plugs

Check out the Worship Sound Guy training resources and community forums here!

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Chris Tomlin, Passion, & Jay Desai vs Bus [Stephen Bailey] Jan 15, 2024

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When you've worked with Louie Giglio at Passion and built Chris Tomlin's Track Rig, what can you not do?
Stephen Bailey joins us on the ChurchGear podcast this week to discuss his production time at Passion, the advice he'd give his younger self and who would win in a fight between a bus or Jay Desai.

In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s Fellowship Church Visit in Dallas
6:00 Stephen Bailey joins us!
6:30 Jay Desai Vs. Buses
8:30 Five Truths and a Lie
16:00 Stephen’s tech journey: Elevation Band & Audio Freelancing
18:55 Working with Louie Giglio at Passion
24:40 Live Stream Sync between Multiple States
29:30 Building Tomlin’s Track Rig
37:00 What would you tell your younger self?
40:00 Don’t burn the bridges
40:45 Disaster Story: “Blue screen of death”
44:55 Tech Takeaway on balancing what matters with what’s urgent

Plugs

Check out Stephen's project prodcom.io!

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Leading a Legacy [Church on the Move’s Johnathan Basquez] Jan 08, 2024

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How do you lead your church production team when you're one of the youngest people on staff?
Johnathan Basquez is the Production Director at Church on the Move and he joins the podcast this week to tell us about leading upward, Andrew Stone's advice to him and how he navigated production during a tough season.
Johnathan gave us one of the best episodes we've ever had!
In this episode you'll hear

1:00 Acting our age and church visits
7:00 Johnathan Basquez from Church on the Move joins us!
14:30 Johnathan’s journey to Church on the Move
18:30 Learning from Andrew Stone
21:40 Leading those who led you
25:30 Andrew Stone’s 3 Church Production Mindsets
31:30 How do you succeed as a young church tech?
34:00 How do you systematize your church’s production systems?
36:45 Crushing the little details in church production
39:30 Disaster story!
42:00 Tech Takeaway on community & kindness to yourself

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Vetting An Integrator [Clint Aull] Jan 01, 2024

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How do you pick an integrator?
Clint Aull is a Designer and Installation Manager at All Pro Integrated Systems. He joins us this week to discuss vetting integrators, diversifying your skills and gives us his side of the legendary shrimp disaster story.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby heads to Detroit to avoid budget planning
6:45 Clint Aull joins us! (Fires & Sharks)
16:45 Clint’s Bethel Background & Tech Journey
22:45 How Clint diversified his skills
25:45 How to vet an integrator for your church
39:10 Making it happen with creativity, not budget
43:45 Disaster Story: “It was the worst production thing that ever happened to me”
48:30 Clint’s side to the shrimp disaster with Daniel Ellis
52:00 Tech Takeaway on diversifying your skill set

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Wild Stories & Heart Felt Moments [2023 Wrap Up] Dec 25, 2023

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What were ChurchGear's best moments in 2023?
We review the best stories, give out some awards and conclude with the moments ChurchGear's mission was fulfilled to the fullest!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s Top Three 2023 Moments
10:45 ChurchGear’s 2023 “Five Truths & A Lie”
14:10 BD’s Conference stories
19:00 “Who are you the most afraid of running into!?”
21:05 Charlie & Ryan fight a blizzard!
33:00 Love at ChurchGear Headquarters
39:40 “ChurchGear almost blew up” -Kurley
51:10 The best guest story of 2023
54:00 How many times did Blake get fired in 2023?
55:55 The Top Liar of the year award
57:40 The Top 5 episodes of the year
1:00:00 The moments ChurchGear fulfilled the mission
1:06:00 "We brought the church their first com system"
1:10:15 Tech Takeaway: How much gear did ChurchGear buy this year?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Christmas Disaster Stories [Church Techs Call In] Dec 18, 2023

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How do we keep the most attended services of the year free from mishaps?
We are joined by some of our church techs pals to hear their "Christmas Disaster Stories" this week. We hope this can provide you some laughs as you prepare for your own Christmas Services this year!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Rolling Black Outs During Christmas
3:40 Blake’s Christmas Disaster Story: “Blown Budget”
7:00 Christmas Trivia: Toby Vs. Brian Dishon
11:00 Christmas Disaster: “Everyone has to go home now”
14:40 Jeremy Van Valkenburg’s Christmas Disaster Story
19:00 Curtis Taylor: “We pushed passed our power limit load.”
28:45 Drew Hester: “It was just one button.”
36:00 Drew Hester: “Just have him sing in the Adult Choir.”
41:55 Michael Short: “We shouldn’t have built an elevator.”

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Before Camera & Action - Lights![Tony Fransen] Dec 11, 2023

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How do you become one of the best lighting designers in the production world?
Tony Fransen is a lighting designer who has worked with Prince, One Republic and many more artists. We discussed church lighting design, burnout prevention and some disaster stories that are as exhilarating as they are terrifying.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Meth Labs, Church Visits & Leg Lamps
6:30 Working with Prince [Tony Fransen joins us!]
22:30 Tony’s Tech Background
30:00 Landing the Lighting gig for One Republic
35:45 How do you draw your church congregation in with lighting?
40:25 How do you prevent burnout in church production?
45:20 How can church techs communicate work load during Christmas?
48:12 Disaster story: “Then the elephant walks in”
51:08 Disaster story: “Then the video wall snapped loose”
55:00 Tech Takeaway

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Building The Vegas Sphere [LAWO's Tony Staires ] Dec 04, 2023

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What gear did it take to create The Vegas Sphere?
Tony Staires has worked in churches and he now works at LAWO. He joins the pod this week to tell us about LAWO's work in The Vegas Sphere Project! What gear did they use? What experiences can it create? Tune in to find out!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Taylor vs. U2 trivia
6:00 Texas, Gunpoints & Touring Life [Tony Staires joins us!]
14:45 Tony’s tech background
20:00 How to know if it’s time to leave ministry
25:45 Tony’s work on The Vegas Sphere!
29:35 Why The Sphere is amazing
37:55 The million $ bounty on hacking The Vegas Sphere
44:30 What other ways will The Vegas Sphere be used?
49:00 How is LAWO being used in church production?
53:10 Tech Takeaway on being where your feet are

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Prioritizing God, Family & Production Correctly [Crossroads Church’s Patrick Buescher] Nov 27, 2023

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Many people say God and family are their top two priorities, yet most of us struggle to keep our church production work from intertwining with God in our priority list.
Patrick Buescher is the Assistant Director of Technical Operations at Cross Roads Church and he joins us to discuss how church techs can have longevity in church production.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Pastor egos & eating lead paint
7:00 Patrick Buescher joins us!
12:30 Patrick’s start in tech
15:30 Crossroads Church’s tech & team setup
21:00 Super Bowl of Preaching & Horse Weekend
26:15 Longevity in church tech
28:45 Burnout, Family, & Communication
44:45 Can I ever go to church with my family?
47:45 When do you know it’s time to leave your church?
50:00 Disaster story: They unplugged everything
53:40 Tech Takeaway on priorities

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Live-Streaming at Bethel Church [Jesse Maitland] Nov 20, 2023

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What's it like producing services at Bethel Church?
Jesse is the Live Broadcast Director at Bethel Church in Redding. He joins us to talk about producing services at Bethel, live-streaming's eternal reach, and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Airplane disaster moments
5:45 Jesse Maitland joins us!
18:00 What it’s like doing production at Bethel
26:20 The pressure of production at Bethel
27:45 Handling Bethel’s production during the Pandemic
29:15 What production gear and team structure does Bethel use?
32:15 Where does Bethel Production get creative inspiration?
35:00 How do you upgrade your video setup?
38:00 Serving your online church community
41:15 Illegal Church: Live streams reach
44:00 Disaster story: “The sewage flooded the lobby”
47:30 Tech Takeaway: “Don’t blame the devil”

Plugs: Check out Jesse's resources!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Video’s Impact on your Church [Ross Video’s Jeremy Bagwell] Nov 13, 2023

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What production gear should your church budget prioritize? What production gear should your church consider skipping entirely?
Jeremy Bagwell works at Ross Video to help churches with their production gear needs. His episode with us is full of amazing insight, hot takes and budget saving perspectives.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Halloween costumes, Ryan gets burned & Toby is shameless
5:30 Jeremy Bagwell joins! And fails big time.
17:00 Jeremy’s tech background
21:45 Why is Ross in every big church?
24:20 Common Video Misconceptions
31:31 UHD and 4K hot take
37:15 Places churches SHOULD spend money on video
43:00 Upcoming trends: Pixels & Ai
48:00 Disaster Story: “Then I saw the fire”
51:25 Tech Techaway: Focus on what matters

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

From Transformation Church to Cross Point [Jeremy Van Valkenburg] Nov 06, 2023

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How do we know when it is time to say "yes" to a new church tech position?
Jeremy Van Valkenburg is the Live Experience Pastor at Cross Point church and he has worked as a church tech in multiple churches over the years. We talk about transitioning between roles, how to establish a new team and more on this week's ChurchGear podcast!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Alligators & Northern travels
6:00 Jeremy Van Valkenburg joins us!
27:45 Jeremy’s first move at Transformation Church
29:00 How Chad Vegas ended up at Transformation Church
31:28 How they got Transformation Church’s arena set up
37:00 How does Transformation Church do Sunday services?
39:00 Sharing their hearts with Transformation’s Leadership on burnout
41:40 What gear is Transformation running?
49:00 Moving to Cross Point Church to Build the Team
56:00 Disaster story on a horrific Livestream picture
1:00:30 Tech Takeaway on Identity

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

How Lighting Impacts your Church’s Experience [DC Pro Founder Daniel Connell] Oct 30, 2023

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How much should we prioritize good lighting for our church services?
Daniel Connell is a lifelong Lighting Director professional and founder of DC Pro. He joins us to discuss lighting's importance for church services, house lights' importance and the heart behind DC Pro's work.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 A Listener Gets a Raise!
4:00 Lighting’s importance to concerts
6:50 Daniel Connell joins the show!
15:45 Church on the Move’s tech history
33:00 How much AVL is needed for church services?
41:00 Lighting’s importance to church services
43:30 How do you find an LD for your church?
50:20 House Lights: the most vital but boring buy
59:15 The heart and logistics of working with DC Pro
1:09:00 Tech Takeaway on identity & work life balance

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

How to Improve your Church’s Video Today [Drake Kelch] Oct 23, 2023

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How do you improve your church's livestream?
Drake Kelch started doing production at 13 years old! He has worked with Bethel Music and various other production positions for years and now he leads his own production company, DK Film.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 The Sphere in Las Vegas
7:30 Drake Kelch joins!
18:30 Drake’s start in production at Bethel at age 13!
23:30 What does a church “cinematic look” look like?
32:00 Handheld cameras vs. Dollies
33:30 Minimum cost to create a cinematic look
37:00 Ways to improve your video right now
45:25 Trends and churches Drake is watching now
47:00 Recent projects Drake’s proud of working with
51:30 Disaster Story: Church install weather complications
54:45 Tech Takeaway: Check your camera views

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Should Churches Use In-Ears? [64 Audio's Eddie Cruz] Oct 16, 2023

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Should churches use In-Ears? Are the benefits worth the cost?
Eddie Cruz works at 64 Audio to help churches find the best In-Ears for their worship teams. He joins us to discuss the process of making Beyonce's In-Ears, how churches are using In-Ears and more on this week's pod.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Church Celebrations & Chris Tomlin’s In-Ear woes!
7:30 Eddie Cruz joins to explain monitor mixing
20:59 Beyonce’s Diamond In-Ears
25:45 Eddie’s tech journey
31:00 Eddie’s hang with Metallica & church clients
36:15 What are churches using? In-Ears? Wedges?
44:30 New In-Ear Tech Eddie is Seeing
51:00 Should churches use In-Ears?
53:45 Disaster Story: Exploding In-Ears
57:15 Tech Takeaway on the little things

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

When do you get a new PA? [d&b’s Zach Brady] Oct 09, 2023

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How do you know when it's time to replace your speakers? A full PA isn't a small cost.
Zach spent many years as a church tech, and he now works for d&b in their Business Development department. We talk about the things to think about when you're considering a new PA, the difference between working at a church and a manufacturer and finish with some fantastic disaster stories!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Betrayals at ChurchGear
5:15 Zach Brady of d&b joins us!
18:00 Zach’s church background
24:45 Church Work vs. Manufacture work
30:00 What’s the d&b difference?
39:45 How do Church Techs know its time to upgrade the system?
43:45 Never let a crisis go to waste
49:40 Disaster story: Beards and Breathing Machines
54:00 Disaster story: Fog and Dance Disaster
57: Tech Takeaway on Identity

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Community's Importance, Touring Life and Rock Lititz [Tone Stephens] Oct 02, 2023

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How do we find community among our fellow church techs?
Tone Stephens joins us to discuss the importance of community, the touring life and his time at Rock Lititz!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s CA church visits
6:30 Tone Stephens joins the pod!
10:45 Drugs, Grammys and Queens
14:00 Tone’s close call with jail time
19:00 What is Rock Lititz studios?
22:30 Where the Church Tech Community comes together
28:30 The importance of community for church techs
30:44 The Thought Leader Connect Group Types
38:00 Touring Vs. Church
41:30 Disaster story: Why isn’t it working?!
45:10 Tech Takeaway

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Church Tech Pay Wrap up: Top Takeaways [Pay Series Pt.7 with Brian Dishon] Sep 25, 2023

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How will the Church Tech Pay Series end?
Toby, Blake and Brian recap the entire series in our final episode! We cover the most surprising survey stats, the best quotes, and the top takeaways.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Brendon Petty’s Legs and MxU live!
4:20 Mariah Carey & BD nearly kills Steven Curtis Chapman!
13:30 Biggest Stats from the Church Tech Pay Survey
20:40 Best Quotes from the Series
32:00 Appreciation & Taking Pay off the Table
38:00 Benefits? Benefits! Benefits.
42:00 Biggest Overall Takeaways from the Series
53:00 Top Way to Increase Pay over the Series
1:03:15 How to have the “salary increase” convo well
1:10:00 Toby’s Benediction for the Church Tech Pay Series

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Event Overload, Flex Days, & Calling [Pay Series Pt.6 with Slingshot's Caleb Loeppky] Sep 18, 2023

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What if the grass isn't greener in the secular production world?
Caleb joins us again to discuss event overload, secular vs church environments, and salary ranges.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 The NF and Greta Van Fleet concerts at Bridgestone
5:10 Salary ranges and negotiating offers
10:25 What does Billy the Tech making 75K look like?
16:30 Secular Production Salaries
18:30 The Tech Director reports to…everyone??
22:15 Should church techs be required to do every single event?
30:00 What if church is better than a secular job?
35:45 Flex days as a benefit package feature?
39:50 Will anyone ever feel like they are paid fairly?
44:00 What should the average Church Tech Salary BE?
48:00 Tech Takeaway on church calling

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Competing Job Offers & Big Raise Year [Pay Series Pt.5 with Slingshot's Caleb Loeppky] Sep 11, 2023

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You just got a job offer for 25k more to leave your church tech job. But you want to stay. What do you do now?
Caleb Loeppky worked in multiple church tech positions before taking a role at Amplio. He also works with Slingshot to place church production people all across America. He joins us to discuss competing job offers, Pastor's housing allowances, and how to talk about your salary with your Executive Pastor well.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s past church jobs
8:15 Caleb Loeppky joins us!
13:45 How Caleb found his Church Tech Jobs
19:00 What are the current church tech jobs out there right now?
24:30 Getting underpaid for being a volunteer to staff person
28:00 How many years as a TD does it take for a big raise?
34:30 Taking a competing job offer to your Exec Pastor
38:50 Pastor’s Housing Allowance
42:00 Leaving your church
44:30 How do you figure out your salary range?
47:20 Should all new techs start at 35-50k at least?
51:20 Can you bring your boss a competing job offer?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Scott Ragsdale on Why TD’s Leave Church [Pay Series Pt.4] Sep 04, 2023

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How can church techs show the wider tech pay landscape to their church leadership?
Scott Ragsdale is a church production legend and is returning to the ChurchGear podcast for the church tech pay series to discuss the current state of live production, an easy method to illustrate low tech salaries and why church techs are leaving the church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Budget pains
5:30 Scott Ragsdale comes back to the podcast!
7:15 One Crazy Quote and Two Lies from the TD Pay Survey
11:45 Open Tech Director Roles at the Crossing
14:00 Effects of the Vid on live production
20:00 Are churches willing to pay a TD accurately?
22:00 Why do church techs leave the church?
26:00 Average Church Tech Salaries
32:00 How to talk to your leadership about your salary
34:15 The Crossings struggle to hire new tech roles
43:30 The cost of the road
49:00 Freelancing: Away from church and at church
53:15 Church Tech Salary Ranges across America
56:40 Different Tech Salary Ranges by Role
1:00:31 The various hats a church tech wears
1:03:45 Tech Takeaway on life’s journey

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Exec Pastor's Ideal Church Tech Traits [Pay Series with Matt Wright PT.3] Aug 28, 2023

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What salary/career questions have you always wanted to ask your Executive Pastor?
We spoke with Matt Wright from Slingshot Group about the title of "Pastor", Housing Allowances, and the Top 4 Qualities every Executive Pastor wants in their Tech Director.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Church interview HORROR story
8:00 Matt Wright joins us from Slingshot!
15:00 Matt’s past jobs
18:45 The 6 parts of an Executive Pastor’s Job
23:30 Why are church techs not given the “Pastor” title?
28:30 What is a minister’s housing allowance?
31:36 Get your social security money now?
32:45 Opting out of social security
41:20 Church Benefits. Some have them. Some don’t.
49:30 The 4 Qualities an Exec Pastor wants in a Tech Director
59:30 How do we approach the Exec Pastor for a raise
1:11:30 Tech Takeaway on loving one another

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Salary TD Ranges, Benefits and Raise Tips [Pay Series with Tim Foot Pt2] Aug 21, 2023

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What expectations should churches and church techs have for salary ranges, raises and benefits packages?
Tim Foot joins us this week to kick off our Church Tech Pay Series! In the second of his two episodes with us we discuss benefits packages, salary ranges, and expectations for the TD and church.
In this episode you’ll hear:

1:00 Toby firing the Finance Director to save lunch
3:00 Coaching Churches on raising Tech Salaries
5:30 Expectations of a $75,000 salary Church Tech
6:15 Expectations of a $45,000 salary Church Tech
9:00 How to talk to your executive pastor about pay
14:00 Benefits packages convey culture
22:45 How many years does it take for a raise?
27:45 Skills that bring in raises
29:30 $80,000+ Tech Jobs
35:30 The importance of EQ (Soft skills)
42:30 Can the church pay equal to the secular market?
45:30 Tech Takeaway on “Taking Care of Things”

Plugs: Connect with Tim at Slingshot group!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Starting TD Salaries & Trends [Pay Series with Tim Foot Pt1] Aug 14, 2023

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What should a church tech's starting salary be?
Tim Foot joins us this week to kick off our Church Tech Pay Series! In the first of his two episodes with us we discuss church tech starting salaries, current tech hiring trends and which tech role is the hardest to hire right now.
In this episode you’ll hear:

1:00 How we Hire at ChurchGear
6:46 Tim Foot from Slingshot joins us!
13:00 Two Truths and a Lie “Church Tech Pay” edition
19:45 Slingshot’s mission
21:20 When more candidates come to Slingshot during the year
24:20 Church Tech hiring trends
27:00 Hardest Tech role to hire right now
30:00 Could you hire a Video Director at $50K?
32:45 Showing churches your candidate is already on staff
37:45 Starting Salary needed for a church tech hire
42:30 Is it time to pay techs like software people?

Plugs: Connect with Tim at Slingshot group!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

MxU’s Jeff & Jay on Bad Rooms & Burgers Aug 07, 2023

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What have our friends at MxU been up to?
We chatted with Jeff and Jay on how much a room can excuse a bad mix, MxU's upcoming events and which fast food burger is the best.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 CA Mega Church Visits, Floor Buying & In and Out
7:20 MxU’s Jeff & Jay join us!
8:30 Burger Battle: McDonalds, WhatABurger, In and Out
14:30 Two Truths & a Lie “Church Tech Pay” edition
19:35 Jeff & Jay’s recent touring travels
25:45 How much does a “bad room” damage a concert?
38:25 Concert etiquette on singing loudly
44:00 Gene Kim & Jay death match
48:45 Big announcement tease
50:00 Tech Takeaway on Sunday Farts & Caring for our Teams

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Building Flatirons Production Team [Flatirons & Bayside's Tyler Kaneshiro] Jul 31, 2023

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How do you build a big production team in a healthy way? What is the ethicality of hiring techs from other churches?
Tyler came up at Bayside church and now he is leading the production team at Flatirons church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Company culture, hiring patterns
6:15 Tyler Kaneshiro joins us!
9:30 Disney Princesses & Tyler’s implants
12:00 From Bayside to Flatirons church
15:30 Beginning to build the Flatirons production team
20:00 How did Tyler recruit his recent production hires?
29:00 Is it ethical to “steal” techs from another church?
33:45 Moments you knew a hire was or wasn’t right
35:00 Flatiron’s campuses and staff
37:15 Building the Flatirons production team
41:00 Disaster Story on Dante Cards
44:20 Tech Takeaway on Perspective

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Toby Reveals All [ChurchGear’s History] Jul 24, 2023

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How did Toby create ChurchGear?
We are covering the failures, successes and surprises that culminated into ChurchGear's creation and success this week!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s horrible poison ivy and meth house
7:00 Toby’s first recording studio
13:50 Toby’s first business betrayal
18:00 Toby’s many new ventures and worship ministry run
21:55 Toby’s first gear flip
23:55 Toby gets his dream job! (It’s a nightmare)
29:25 Gear flipping full time
37:00 ChurchGear’s concept is proven
41:50 Toby hires Blake so he can start firing him
47:15 From Toby’s basement to a horror barn
54:00 Elevation and Central start calling
55:00 ChurchGear Culture’s First Stress Test
1:00:55 ChurchGear moves AGAIN!
1:07:30 ChurchGear predictions

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Producing in the Largest Church in America [Lakewood w/ Matt Walden] Jul 17, 2023

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What's it like producing services in the largest church in America?
Matt Walden gives us the details on Lakewood's services, a fantastic tech takeaway and some spectacular disaster stories.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Fast cars and Toby’s Lakewood Experience
6:20 Matt Walden joins us!
7:50 Outer Space, the Pope and Audio around the Globe
18:00 How Matt Walden got into Video Production
23:00 What elements does Matt use to tell stories
29:15 What is Video Dust and why do the big names use it?
39:40 Disaster story: Kari Jobe’s most embarrassing moment
45:30 Disaster story: Backups
47:45 Tech Takeaway on Family over Work

Plugs: Hangout with Matt on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Production is Creative [Willow Creek's Rebekah Wiedenfeld] Jul 10, 2023

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How do you go from cold calling Willow Creek about their cool production setup to becoming their Creative Director?
Rebekah Weidenfeld joins us this week to talk to us about creative direction, working between production and worship and much more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Organizing Services
4:55 Rebekah Weidenfeld joins us!
6:30 Biking across America and flying upside down
14:00 How Rebekah became Willow Creek’s Creative Director
17:35 Scott Ragsdale vs Todd Elliott show down
19:00 Advancing into a new church tech role
23:00 Keeping production and worship as a single team
25:30 Working Genius discussion
36:30 Hardest job in church production
39:30 Disaster Story: Can a bus fire be small?
43:00 Handling conflict between teams
45:30 Game: Name that Song Taylor Swift Version
50:00 Tech Takeaway on taking in all the ideas

Plugs: Reach out to her on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Thomas Rhett’s LD & Pernelli Winner [Alec Takahashi] Jul 03, 2023

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How do you become Thomas Rhett's lighting designer and win the Pernelli award for lighting designer of the year by age 28?
Alec Takahashi joins us on the podcast this week to tell us. He also touches on the importance of mentorship, his approach to lighting and gives the infamous disaster story that resulted in the destruction of many of Bayside's lights.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Eating cockroaches, celebrity sightings, and Thomas Rhett Tacos
7:40 Alec Takahashi joins us!
15:30 From Bayside to lighting Thomas Rhett
23:00 His first “pinched myself” show
26:45 Staying excited for Sunday’s Services
29:30 Designing Lighting for Sunday
34:00 Moving people to worship through lighting
39:00 Alec won a Parnelli award!
43:40 Best Lighting Alec’s seen [Passion]
46:00 Disaster Story: Destroying all the lights
49:15 Tech Takeaway: Seek Mentorship

Plugs:
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Church of the Highland’s Justin Firesheets on Leadership & Growth Jun 26, 2023

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How do you handle your church's tech needs when you go from 3 campuses to 24 campuses?
Justin Firesheets has grown a great deal in his years at Church of the Highlands. He joins us this week to discuss his top tech leadership traits, communication style and ways to improve.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s disrespectful children
4:55 Justin Firesheets joins us
18:00 Going from 3 campuses to 24 as the tech leader
23:50 Justin’s advice for advancing in your church
30:00 Improving your communication style
36:30 Justin’s favorite resources for professional development
44:10 Disaster story: Worst time for the projector to go down
49:45 Hodges Trivia
53:35 Tech Takeaway on accountability and relationships

Plugs: N/A this week
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Pioneering and Perfecting Mixing at North Point [Freelancer David Stagl] Jun 19, 2023

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How do you constantly improve your mixing skills in a cutting edge environment like North Point Church?
David Stagl mixed at North Point for years before striking off on his own now as a freelance mix engineer for live and studio settings.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Electrocution, Shaq’s crew costs and near robbery
7:15 David Stagl joins us!
15:40 Northpoint disaster story
22:00 Pioneering at Northpoint
27:50 Studio vs Live sound
30:15 Improving your skills in live and studio
34:10 Preparing for a freelance gig
35:50 Going live and live streaming simultaneously
40:00 David’s approach to mixing in a live setting
44:00 Mixing in surround for live stream?
47:45 Disaster story on “cutting yourself off at the knees”
51:30 Tech Takeaway on expectations

Plugs: Connect with him on Instagram, his site, and go to 11 with him!

Vision First, Gear Second [Nick Kofahl of Summit Integration] Jun 12, 2023

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How do you outfit your church with the best system to spread The Gospel?
Nick Kofahl is the co-owner of Summit Integrated Systems and his team outfits churches with customized gear solutions.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s hairy body
4:30 Nick Kofahl joins us
7:00 Nick’s love of HiFi
20:40 How Nick landed at Summit Integrated Systems
26:00 What sets Summit apart
29:20 How Summit approaches projects
32:20 Communicating to all the decision makers
38:00 The work Summit turns away
42:00 Fixing other failed integrations
49:30 The conversations you need to fulfill a project
53:00 Nick’s blunt truth to production folks for projects
58:50 Tech Takeaway on shepherding your community well

Plugs: Reach out to Nick Kofahl on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Shrimp Prank, Soundscape and Waves Plugin Hot Take [Daniel Ellis] Jun 05, 2023

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How do you become a world class mix engineer?
Daniel Ellis has been mixing for over two decades, so he dropped by the podcast studio to bring his wisdom our way!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 A recruiter asks Blake to be the head of audio at a church?!
4:55 Daniel Ellis joins us!
12:15 Kicking Chris Tomlin out of FOH
18:25 Sneaking into Universal Theme park with Crowder
24:25 How Daniell got into mixing
26:22 What helped Daniell become a world class mixer?
31:50 Daniel’s mixing philosophy and plug in preferences
38:30 Immersive audio trends Daniel sees coming
41:10 Disaster Story on the problem being yourself
45:30 Tech Takeaway on sound volume battles

Plugs: Reach out to Daniel on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Improving your Lighting via Relationships [Cherry Hill’s Chris Thomas] May 29, 2023

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What lessons do you learn when you've lit some of the biggest churches in America like Willow Creek, Bayside and Cherry Hills?
Chris Thomas has worked at all three and he drops by the podcast to give us his wisdom on how he has improved his lighting by improving the key relationships that he has with other roles in the church.
In this episode you'll hear:

2:00 Ross’s favorite Early Service videos so far
11:45 Chris Thomas joins us!
18:30 Blowing up a 400 amp
25:00 From Willow Creek to Bayside to Cherry Hills
27:00 How are churches unknowingly causing church tech burnout?
30:50 Lighting and Video need to be in sync
32:40 Theories over Rules of Thumb for lighting
33:20 Lighting for the room or for video
35:25 How Chris got into church
38:45 Disaster story on shutting down rehearsal
41:45 Tech Takeaway on communicating with senior leadership well

Plugs: None this week!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Picking an LED Wall for your church [Davis Kornegay at FILO] May 22, 2023

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Should your church buy an LED Wall?
How do we know the right wall, price and application? Davis Kornegay joins us live from the FILO conference to give us his wisdom on how to decide if your church needs an LED wall and how to pick one out.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s kids like Ross more
7:05 Davis Kornegay joins us!
15:00 Planning the Passion Conference
18:00 A morning at Passion City Church
23:45 How to pick an LED setup for your church
28:25 How LED walls are being used right now
30:30 Should your church get an LED wall?
33:45 Should the display show the band or just the lyrics?
39:30 Disaster Story on upside down towers
42:50 Tech Takeaway on not going through the motions

Plugs: Hangout with Davis on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

FILO Recap: Toby Stories, Blake Failures and A Big Betrayal May 15, 2023

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Did you go to FILO's conference this year?
Join the crew as we recap the best moments from the trip. Toby and Dave have some stories and then we list all the ways Blake failed. Join us for the FILO Afterparty on this week's podcast!
In this week's episode you'll hear:

1:00 Birthday disasters and Toby’s Betrayal of Blake
3:40 Dave Roediger joins us!
9:30 Five Truths and a Lie of Blake’s FILO Failings
19:00 The Journey to FILO
28:20 Dave and Blake abandoned on Chicago’s streets
42:40 Blake’s FILO Failures
56:20 Dave’s FILO Moments
1:03:30 Tech Takeaway on community

Plugs: Want some more FILO fun? Check out Todd Elliott's episode with us "Hard Conversations with your Spouse" and then check out his original episode with us.

Hard Conversations with Yourself [Stephen Brewster] May 08, 2023

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How do we check in on ourselves to ensure our ego, identity and mental health are in a healthy spot?
Stephen Brewster helps worship teams turn their original music into worship albums. He drops by the podcast studio to drop some wisdom on how we can take care of ourselves well. This episode will help you ponder some new questions and will minister to your soul.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s crisis of calling
6:16 Stephen Brewster joins us!
8:15 Five internal fights and a fake
20:15 How do we check in on ourselves well?
23:00 Red flags for our mental health
27:30 How to know when its time to ask for help
37:15 How do we find contentment in our role?
53:15 How to know when it’s time to change churches
55:45 Finding our identity in the correct space
1:03:00 Tech Takeaway: Exercise to see you matter a lot

Plugs: Hangout with Stephen on Instagram, check out his podcast and order his wife's enneagram book.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Hard Conversations with your Worship Pastor [Chris McClarney & Josh Fisher] May 01, 2023

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How can Worship and Tech have the hard conversations that'll allow both departments to serve the church well?
Josh Fisher and Chris McClarney would recommend just becoming best friends! They started out as pals in Jesus Culture. The duo is now working together at Church of the City Franklin where Chris serves as the Worship Pastor and Josh serves at FOH in a tech role.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Young Toby has a hand in his nose and another in his trousers
3:55 Josh Fisher and Chris McClarney join us!
5:00 Uber flipping, Cheetah feeding and Fox hunting
17:20 Are Worship and Tech two teams or one?
25:40 Which department takes the blame for mistakes?
33:30 Worship taking the bullet for tech
38:00 How Worship and Tech can establish better trust
45:30 Who has the power over the DB meter?
47:15 How do Worship and Tech trade feedback?
49:00 How to improve the relationships between Worship and Tech
53:55 Tech Takeaway on working better with your Worship Leader

Plugs: Hangout with Chris on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Hard Conversations with your Spouse [Todd & Bissy Elliott] Apr 24, 2023

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How can we have the hard conversations with the key relationships that are involved in our lives as Church Techs?
Todd and Bissy Elliott joined us this week to kick off our "Hard Conversations" series! We talk about all the ways our spouse can be affected by our church tech role, how to know when it's time to switch churches, and the marital red flags to look out for.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Fighting with our spouses, sleep talking, and lawn work
6:45 Five Fights & a Fake
19:34 Todd’s past church tech jobs
23:23 How do you talk about changing churches?
28:20 Writing the “Rules of our Marriage” document
31:00 How did Todd and Bissy decide to move to Willow Creek?
35:00 Does your spouse have to attend the church you work at?
38:00 Does your family still come first at Christmas and Easter?
44:15 Who is the final decision maker? Your spouse or your Pastor?
50:45 When your spouse confronts the senior pastor
58:10 Red Flags to look out for in your marriage
1:03:30 How to know when it’s time to leave your church?
1:14:41 Tech Takeaway on frequent, smaller hard conversations

Plugs: Hangout with Todd on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing for Hillsong United & Mick Jagger Moments [James Rudder] Apr 17, 2023

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What was it like mixing for Hillsong United?
James Rudder joins the podcast to tell us about his adventures with Hillsong United, his favorite gear and he even has a few Mick Jagger stories!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Mosh pits and sitting next to The Edge
6:45 Getting lucky in Vegas and Table Tennis with guns!
12:10 Winning five bucks off MickJagger
18:45 How did James Rudder land the United mixing gig?
22:00 James’s favorite venues he’s mixed Hillsong United
25:00 James’s go to console
26:30 Analog gear vs. plugins
30:00 Disaster moment: The console was thunderstruck
35:30 The truth of the touring life
39:00 Touring Life -> L-Acoustics
42:00 Immersive Audio
53:45 Hearing a Hillsong United song after months of prep
57:00 Tech Takeaway on keeping to the plan on Sunday

Plugs: Hangout with James on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Putting your Health First [Chad Vegas of Transformation Church] Apr 10, 2023

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Can you prioritize your own health and production work simultaneously?
Chad Vegas is the director of video production at Transformation Church in Tulsa Oklahoma. He tells us how he started prioritizing his health, why Transformation Church values high quality production services and more on this week’s episode.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby & Blake’s failed exercising habits
4:55 Grave digging & living on an island (Chad’s 5 Truths & a Lie)
13:00 Chad’s battle with COVID
19:00 What Chad’s health struggles have taught him
21:20 How church techs can put their health over church production
28:15 How Transformation Church creates church services
34:30 How to maximize your church’s production budget
38:44 How to improve your live stream
42:50 Transformation’s video suite upgrade
47:25 Disaster story
53:40 Tech Takeaway on caring for yourself so you can care for others

Plugs: Hangout with Chad on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Can any room be fixed? [Luke Vogel of Venueflex] Apr 03, 2023

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Can Venueflex fix any room?
Luke Vogel was the Audio Director at Church of the Highlands for years. He is now the Director of Immersive Solutions at Venueflex where their company makes rooms handle audio better.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Celebrity pastors and shoes
6:45 Luke Vogel joins us
17:30 Luke’s journey into the church production life
21:30 Mixing Church of the Highlands Christmas Services
28:00 Church of the Highlands moved over to SSL consoles
30:40 Can Venueflex fix any room?
41:00 “Fix the room first”
43:00 The board melted with Steven Furtick
49:00 Don’t mix before you get married
53:05 Tech Takeaway on switching from technical to creative mindsets

Plugs: Hangout with Luke on Facebook or Instagram
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing for Everyone Everywhere [Living Legend Harold Rubens] Mar 27, 2023

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Harold has mixed for every major name in christian music. (Crowder, Steven Curtis Chapman and Mandisa just to name a few).
He joins us on the podcast to tell us how he got into church tech, how he found himself running audio for one of the biggest churches in America at 24 years old and more!
He also has some disaster stories that dance with death that you won't want to miss.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s family goes to Japan
7:00 Harold Rubens joins us!
12:30 Harold wins an Emmy!
15:38 Mixing & machine guns
21:00 How Harold Rubens became a fixture in church production
35:00 “I’m 24 years old and suddenly running a mega church”
36:00 Making memorable worship services
40:00 Best rooms Harold has mixed within
43:00 Disaster Story: death was an inch away
49:20 Disaster Story: losing the console right before a stadium show
57:00 Tech Takeaway: Communicating the “why”

Plugs: Reach out to Harold on Facebook!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

From Drumming for Jesus Culture to FOH at Church of The City [Josh Fisher] Mar 20, 2023

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What happens when opportunity and skill intersect?
You become the drummer for Jesus Culture!
Josh Fisher was the drummer for Jesus Culture, and he is now serving on the production team for Church of the City.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby and Blake shooting guns
5:15 Josh Fisher joins us from Church of the City!
15:00 Josh steals the stage from Dave Mathis!
21:00 How Josh ended up in the Jesus Culture Band
28:40 Tommee Profitt (NF’s Producer) produces COTC’s Christmas
35:00 How to handle the pressure that comes with mixing
38:00 Church of the City’s new building
43:00 How does Josh stay cool under pressure during the service?
47:00 Tech Takeaway on striving for excellence

Plugs: Josh gave us nothing to plug!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Experiencing Klang, Innovating DiGiCo & Touring with Tomlin [Kyle McMahon] Mar 13, 2023

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What is it like to work with the gear from DiGiCo and Klang?
Kyle McMahon cut his teeth as Chris Tomlin's FOH Engineer and Monitor Engineer. He has taken that experience to his new role as the Trainer and Application Support for Group One.
Kyle joins us to chat about every console under the sun, how DiGiCo thrived during the pandemic, and more.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:30 FOH setups of churches we’ve visited recently
4:45 Kyle McMahon joins us
6:30 Five Truths and a Lie with Kyle
16:30 Kyle’s journey into the church production life
23:15 What Kyle does at Group One (DiGiCo Distribution)
26:15 How did Group One thrive during the pandemic?
33:00 What does it sound like to experience Klang?
44:00 Paris Auto Show with One Republic
46:00 Disaster turned Glorious with Matt Redmon
49:26 Game: “Name that Console Brand”
53:25 Kyle’s favorite DiGiCo and non-DiGiCo console of all time
54:50 Tech Takeaway: Be really good at paperwork

Plugs: Check out what DiGiCo and Klang have going on and hit Kyle up on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

How Red Rocks Raised the Bar, not the Budget [Mark Wray] Mar 06, 2023

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How did Red Rocks Church grow its reach during the covid lock down?
Furthermore, how did they raise the production level of their services without a giant budget increase?
Mark Wray is a Technical Director and Lighting Designer for Red Rocks Church, and he joins us on the podcast this week to tell us all the innovative ways Red Rocks has improved their services and community reach.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s wife told him to tell his boxers story
5:45 Red Rocks Church’s Mark Wray joins us!
12:45 Mark’s journey into the Church Tech world
17:45 How Red Rocks church has leveled up
22:00 Making the most with the lights and line array you have
31:45 Red Rocks events
33:30 Disaster stories: Power is Gone
36:15 Red Rocks Amphitheater Trivia
40:00 Disaster story: Failed Confetti
44:25 Tech Takeaway on the courage to try, fail, learn and improve

Plugs: Connect with Mark on Facebook and Instagram!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Moving Churches, Building Leaders, & Dysfunctional Cultures [Slingshot Group's Tim Foot] Feb 27, 2023

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Church techs are asked to do more, know more, and reach more people.
We know the demands have risen, but have their salaries and support equally increased?
We talked with Tim Foot (Slingshot Group's President/CEO) on the podcast this week about the current church tech talent landscape, how churches are rethinking staffing and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby getting fired and job hunting
6:20 Tim Foot of Slingshot Group joins us!
13:20 Tim’s ministry journey
17:20 The current church tech job climate
21:00 The “Churches need to pay techs” conversation
26:00 How to think about leaving your church
29:40 How to handle a tough church culture
34:50 “Leaders are built, not bought”
36:30 Resources to move from a 300 person church to 3000
40:30 Focusing on “Calling” to weather a tough season
43:40 Tasmania trivia with Tim
49:40 Tech Takeaway on trading “no” for “let me look into that”

Plugs: Hit up the Slingshot website to connect with them.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Flying Drummer Boys & Constantly Improving your Skills [Prestonwood Baptist Church's Mike Smith] Feb 20, 2023

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The flying drummer boys at Prestonwood Baptist Church took the social media world by storm.
Mike Smith is the Lead Audio Engineer/Live Production Lead at Prestonwood and he joined us this week to talk about that event, his method to improving, handling pressure and more.

In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Viral social media moments we’ve enjoyed
4:55 Mike Smith joins us!
12:30 Cutting reel to reel tape
14:15 Mike’s 30 year church tech journey
19:25 Using the Soundscape system
23:15 The Flying Drummer Boys at Prestonwood
32:30 The production pressure for producing Prestonwood’s services
34:30 Mike’s approach to constantly improve
37:20 Managing stress during productions
44:38 Tech Takeaway on building trust with your team

Plugs:

Mike's Facebook
Prestonwood Baptist's Instagram
Prestonwood's Media account

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

From Volunteer to Global Production Director at Bayside Community Church [Chad Moore] Feb 13, 2023

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How do you go from volunteering at church to becoming the Global Production Director?
Chad Moore is the Global Production Director at Bayside Community Church. We chatted with him about setting up systems for your volunteers, staying healthy enough to have longevity at your church, and more on this week's podcast.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Can someone rescue Toby from his snowy car ride?
3:30 Chad Moore joins!
12:30 Chad’s journey into tech (Bayside is in Florida?)
13:30 Would you play hot coffee dodgeball?
16:30 From Church volunteer to Global Production Director
19:25 What does Chad attribute his longevity at Bayside to?
24:00 How to lead your team when Pastor gives you his vision
30:30 Growing your volunteers and tech team
40:00 Setting your volunteers up with a system so they can serve
44:25 Building community with other church techs in your town
46:20 Tech Takeaway on how you can take out opinions with a system

Plugs: You can reach out to Chad via email: chad.moore@mybayside.church

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

MicRental's Stephen Arruda on the Cost of Indecision & Mic'ing the NFL Feb 06, 2023

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How do you go from thinking, "I could do something with the MicRentals.com URL," to supplying the Super Bowl with the mics they use for Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes?
We chatted with Stephen Arruda on MicRentals.com's origin story, culture building, and tight timelines.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Dad jokes and rare microphone stories
6:06 MicRental's Founder, Stephen Arruda joins!
16:05 Stephen Arruda’s introduction into tech
24:30 Stephen almost started ChurchGear before Toby?!
30:30 MicRental's origin story
38:30 Helping churches in a panic
43:05 The cost of creative indecision
47:45 Stephen’s favorite moments working with clients
50:45 MicRentals supplies the Super Bowl mics?!
52:15 Microphone Trivia: Stephen vs. Blake
56:45 Tech Takeaway on curating company reading lists to craft culture

Plugs:

You can reach out to Stephen at stephen@micrentals.com
Books mentioned: Love Works, Customer Rules & 17 Qualities of a Team Player

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Routines and Tools to Build Volunteer Teams [Biltmore Church’s Ryan Robb] Jan 30, 2023

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How do we routinely build up our volunteer teams? How can we constantly improve our team's skills and lead our ministry better?
Ryan Robb is the Live Audio Coordinator at Biltmore Church. He joins us this week to discuss his approach to coaching volunteers and cultivating leaders.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s snowy disaster in the church parking lot
6:50 Ryan Robb joins us! (Cops, running late & missing cymbals)
19:42 Liberty University -> Biltmore Church
26:25 Systematically coaching up your volunteers
29:15 Growing volunteers weaknesses
34:24 Building trust with your leaders
36:40 Leading your team after the pastor has a big vision change
39:20 How Robb routinely grows his leadership skills
44:00 Tech Takeaway on the “why” instead of the “what”

Plugs: Connect with Ryan on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Building a Healthy Volunteer Culture [Jonathan Malm] Jan 23, 2023

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How do we build healthy volunteer cultures?
Jonathan Malm is an entrepreneur, author and church content comedian. He joins us this week to discuss volunteer culture building and burnout prevention.
In this episode, you'll hear:

1:00 Toby prepares his son for middle school bullies
6:20 Jonathan Malm joins us! (Monkeys, Fires & Modeling)
15:45 Jonathan’s many projects
18:30 Jonathan’s work on Church Stage Designs
20:25 How Covid has changed live streaming
25:20 Maximizing your stage design (affordably!)
28:45 Helping your volunteers avoid burnout
30:15 Building a healthy volunteer culture
35:30 Jonathan’s social media philosophy and tactics
37:30 Generational musings
41:40 Tech Takeaway: Sacrifice a Sunday for the long term

Plugs: Hangout with Jonathan Malm on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Setting up Live Streaming, Surviving Sunday & Meeting Paul McCartney [Casas Church’s Tyler Moss] Jan 16, 2023

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Have you ever put your production gear on ice to get through a service?
Tyler Moss has! Tyler is the Production Director at Casas Church in Tucson Arizona. He stops by the pod to tell us about the challenges of moving to live stream, the Sunday morning cycle and his surprise meeting with Paul McCartney!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Our most painful gear runs of 2022: Helicopters & Lightning
5:27 Tyler Moss joins the show!
11:25 Tyler takes Paul McCartney’s call?!
13:00 Bringing live streaming to Casas Church in 2020
20:30 Surviving Sunday and rebuilding when all the gear goes out
23:30 Managing the Sunday service grind
25:30 Studying at the Conservatory school in AZ
31:50 Church production in AZ vs. Touring life
34:40 Surprise statistics! Arizona vs. TN trivia
38:45 Casas Church’s new Yamaha Rivage gear!
42:53 Tech Takeaway on being willing to say “I don’t know.”

Plugs: Hangout with Tyler on instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Finding Volunteers, Building Community & Boundary Setting with David Horning [Alaska Tech] Jan 09, 2023

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How do we recruit and train tech volunteers so that we are not the only one who knows how to work the sound board on Sunday morning? How do we strategically say no to tech requests that would put us beyond our hours and cut into our family time?
David Horning joins us from Alaska to describe what has worked for him in these scenarios and more!
David works with Native New Life, a Native led ministry that has a passion for taking the gospel to rural Alaskan villages. He is also a Media Missionary at Creekside church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Dog disaster stories
5:00 David Horning joins from Alaska!
14:45 Building community with other church tech directors
17:30 Finding a tech community in Alaska
19:10 David’s work at Creekside Church
21:20 Having the “there is too much work to get done” conversation
27:20 Saying “no” to pastor and “yes” to family
31:30 How to think about gear budgets and lifespans
35:00 Finding & retaining volunteers for your church
41:00 Tech Takeaway on finding community and staying sharp

Plugs: Connect with David on Facebook or Instagram. Check out the ministry David is doing in Alaska and see how you can help.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Calling: Knowing Yours and Leading Volunteers to Theirs [East Lake Church’s Andy Call] Jan 02, 2023

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How do we create a healthy volunteer culture so our church production ministries can thrive? How do we avoid burnout along the way and focus on God's calling in our lives rather than the obstacles in our path?
Andy call is the Co Lead Location Pastor at East Lake Church and he shares his 11+ years of experience on these topics in this week's pod. He also enjoys using his experience of launching churches to consult other church techs on the integrators and gear they should be using for their specific rooms.
In this episode you'll hear:

0:30 Toby and Blake clean the floors
3:20 Toby, ladders and scissor lifts shouldn’t mix!
8:50 Andy Call joins us from East Lake Church!
13:00 Church planting 101
14:40 The touring life with Phil Wickham and Lecrae
20:00 Working at East Lake Church
25:50 How Andy trains a new church tech volunteer
28:00 The Calling that keeps church technical leaders going
33:00 Creating a new production setup: vision, live stream & budget
37:00 Managing production budgets and expectations
43:40 How to stay in your church tech Calling
46:20 Tech Takeaway on investing in people over production gear

Plugs: You can reach out to Andrew for help at his email: andrew@visualtrend.io or connect with him on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

The Crew’s Wildest Stories from 2022 [End of Year Celebration] Dec 26, 2022

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This is our wildest podcast of the year.
Join the entire ChurchGear crew as we go over the funniest stories of the year, give out awards and end with a surprising Tech Takeaway of our own.
In this episode you'll hear:

0:30 Toby got fired at church?!
1:30 Blake's total firings and middle school ministry antics
5:50 Climbing through gear at Willow Creek
9:45 Invitation to "steal" Central Church’s gear
12:50 Church on the Move moves to ChurchGear
15:50 Gateway Church has more gear than ChurchGear?!
18:50 Dave is God’s least favorite CG member
23:40 You’ll never believe the Church Dave ended up in
30:40 Jonah is attacked by fire, not a whale
37:25 The 5 craziest sales messages AJ receives
46:00 Ross comes to confess his musical sin
51:17 "17 podcast awards from 2022"
1:01:30 Tech Takeaway
- How much did ChurchGear pay churches in 2022?
- How many churches did we sell gear back to in 2022?

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

We’ve seen everyone working hard to prepare for Christmas services, so we want to share and celebrate your preparation with a giveaway!

Finding the Next Generation of Church Techs [Christ in Youth's Kevin Behnke] Dec 19, 2022

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How do we raise up the next generation of church technical leaders?
Kevin Behnke is the Production Logistics Director at Christ In Youth. They partner with churches to create memorable moments for young christians. Along they way, they also end up finding aspiring technical directors who are drawn to the production life.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Youth Night Concert at Church of the City
5:50 Kevin Behnke from Christ in Youth joins us!
16:00 The mission of Christ in Youth
22:10 Training young techs on the CIY production processes
27:50 Integrator setups vs. touring setups
31:50 Favorite moment in a Christmas Eve service
35:30 Kevin’s nearly dies via production gear
41:10 Tech Takeaway on the importance of preproduction

Plugs: Reach out to CIY, and connect with Kevin on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Battling Assumptions and Setting Expectations with Jerod Togger [Tech Consultant] Dec 12, 2022

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How do we communicate in such a way that we know the pastor and worship leader are on the same page as us?
Jerod Togger came up at Real Life church in Flordia and now works full time as a Tech consultant to churches across America to help them with their production equipment, internal communication, Sunday services and more!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:40 Things go badly for Blake in Orlando
5:45 Jerod Togger joins us!
15:20 Being a Tech Director at Real Life Church
22:00 Consulting churches on assumptions, set designs and expectations
27:30 The first thing Jerod asks church techs he is consulting for
30:50 Biggest “bang for your buck” piece of gear for your setup
37:15 Funniest thing Jerod has been asked by a church
41:00 Jerod’s consulting method to improve Sunday services
44:30 Tech Takeaway on checking microphones

Plugs:

Connect with him at Togger Consulting and hangout with him on Instagram.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

North Point's Technical Director on Longevity in Tech [Brendon Petty] Dec 05, 2022

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How do you go from swearing you'll never work in a church to being a church tech for over 15 years?
Brendon Petty is the Technical Director at North Point Church in Atlanta.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby does something unspeakable on stage
7:45 North Point Ministries Technical Director Brendon Petty joins us!
14:45 Brendon’s journey to North Point Church
18:20 Live Streaming at North Point during Covid
23:30 Working with Pastor Andy
26:00 Longevity in the Church Tech life
33:40 Christmas at North Point
37:00 Surviving Christmas as a tech director
38:25 Church Tech Disaster Story
40:15 Tech Takeaway on improving your live stream with lighting

Join North Point's "Be Rich" campaign.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Gateway Church's Lighting Designer [Tim Logsdon] Nov 28, 2022

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Tim Logsdon is the Lighting Designer at Gateway Church in Texas.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Two Near Disaster Story from ChurchGear
5:20 Tim Logsdon joins us!
16:20 Tim’s Church Tech origin story
27:15 Why does Gateway church have so much gear?!
35:15 Disaster story on cues
39:00 Tech Takeaway on asking for help

Hangout with Tim on Instagram
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Jay Desai on Passion Church, De-escalating Conflicts and MxU Nov 21, 2022

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Jay Desai is the Master of Ceremonies with MxU, works with Passion Church regularly and is an overall production management legend.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby upgrades his church’s production gear for free
6:30 Jay Desai of MxU joins us!
28:30 Jay’s involvement with Passion
38:00 Jay’s method to de-escalate conflict
44:55 What MxU person would win the AnchorMan brawl?
47:00 Jay vs. Blake Christmas Movie Trivia
52:45 Jay’s Christmas tours
53:45 Disaster story
56:45 Tech Takeaway on self care

Hangout with Jay on Instagram
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Bayside Church to Audio Gun for Hire [Aaron Padilla] Nov 14, 2022

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Aaron Padilla has worked in production at Bayside church and is now a full time freelance audio gun for hire!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby becomes “The Pirate Guy”
5:00 Aaron Padilla joins us!
8:50 Aaron tours with Barlow Girl!
18:00 How Aaron got into Church Production at Bayside Church
31:00 Building a great church production culture
33:00 Aaron vs. Blake “Audio Quiz”
36:45 Disaster Story: Christmas load in
43:00 Tech Takeaway on an easy morale boost

Plugs: Hangout with Aaron on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mariners Church's Production Systems Manager [Evan Woertz] Nov 07, 2022

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Many church techs leave church production to work with an integrator. Evan made this move and then returned to the church tech life!
Evan Woertz is the production systems manager at Mariners Church. He previously worked with Summit Integration.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Inlaws and a bait and switch show disaster
6:00 Five Truths and a lie with Evan Woertz
14:50 How he got into church tech production
18:15 His time working as an integrator
35:00 Stewarding Mariners gear and budget
40:40 Tech Takeaway on working with the people you have

Plugs: Hangout with Evan on Instagram.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Video Directing for Passion Conference, Chris Tomlin and MxU [Rusty Anderson] Oct 31, 2022

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How many church tech directors ended up in that lane because others just poured into them in their youth?
In our experience, its alot. Rusty Anderson continues to prove this trend this week as he tells us his story of becoming a video director that has worked on some big projects like Passion Conference, Chris Tomlin and MxU just to name a few.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby and Blake pretend to be video directors
4:25 Five Truths and a Lie with Rusty Anderson
13:15 Rusty’s start in church production
21:15 Working with Chris Tomlin
25:25 Bringing tour effects to your Sunday mornings
31:05 Live streaming at church
35:10 Working with Dude Perfect
41:00 What should be on screen during worship?
43:30 Movie Trivia: Blake vs. Rusty
47:45 Tech Takeaway

Plugs: Hangout with Rusty on Instagram.

Bayside’s Creative Director and Cargo Drop Founder [Dan Jarrett] Oct 24, 2022

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Dan Jarrett is the creative director at Bayside church and founder of Cargo Drop. He joins us to discuss spiritual warfare in tech, production schools, and engaging the youth for tech volunteers.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s flying fears and stories
7:15 Dan Jarret joins the show!
17:20 Bayside’s recent production work (Star Wars!)
19:45 Recruiting and onboarding church tech volunteers
24:45 Picking a Production School
32:15 Dan’s new company Cargo Drop
39:45 Disaster story on cues
45:15 Tech Takeaway on involving the youth as volunteers

Plugs: Hangout with Dan on Instagram(dpjarrett) and reach out to him about Cargo Drop!

Worship Leader Wife and Father in Law Pastor [Jeff Watkins] Oct 17, 2022

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Would your church tech job be easier or harder if your wife and father in law were your bosses?
Jeff Watkins is the Production Director for Without Walls Church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:10 Toby’s jobs growing up
6:30 Jeff Watkins joins us!
20:00 Learning curve for the first year as a Church Tech
25:30 Executing the pastor’s vision
27:45 Without Walls Church’s Gear setup
34:45 Building a team
41:40 New gear at Without Walls Church
46:00 When your wife’s the worship pastor?!
47:50 Tech Takeaway on the importance of a com system

Plugs: Hangout with Jeff on Instagram!

Helping Churches Upgrade their Production Gear [Drew Hester] Oct 10, 2022

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How do you help churches across America get the exact gear they need to improve their production setup?
Drew was the production lead for Liberty University's production team before becoming the Church Sales Director at ChurchGear.
In this episode you'll hear:

0:38 Recruiting vs. Auditioning Tech volunteers
9:30 Drew Hester joins us!
15:00 Mixing at Church of the City in Franklin TN
17:25 Doing Production at Liberty University
20:00 Serving churches as ChurchGear’s Church Sales Director
23:30 How does Drew help smaller church’s pick the right gear?
25:50 First step to level up your production setup
30:50 Toby Trivia: Blake vs. Drew
39:15 Tech Takeaway on Community with your fellow production and worship people

Plugs: Hangout with Drew on Instagram!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

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Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Adam Taylor, Confessions & Relationships over Gear [Central Church in Vegas] Oct 03, 2022

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Can ministry be done in a place that literally goes by the moniker "Sin City"?
Adam Taylor is the production director for Central Church in Las Vegas
In this episode you'll hear:

0:25 Blake confesses to Toby
2:30 MxU tour times, Amplio After Party, Late Night Madness
7:30 Adam Taylor from Central Church in Las Vegas joins!
12:30 Adam meeting Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul!?!?
17:00 Toby murders trees
21:30 Doing ministry in Sin City, Las Vegas
27:10 Volunteer culture at Central Church
32:20 Adam always trying to improve the setup
37:00 People are more important than gear
40:00 Blake Vs. Adam: Artists in residency in Vegas
49:45 Tech Takeaway on importance of relationships

Plugs: Check out Central Church's Worship tour dates!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Zach Kimrey on burnout and hard conversations [Elevation Church & Skylark Integration] Sep 26, 2022

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How do you go from "I will not do this" to "I will work here"?
Zach was at an event for Elevation in one moment and in the next, he ended up working there and attending. He is now serving the church with Skylark Integration.
In this episode you'll hear:

3:35: Toby's trip to Elevation church
6:00 Zach Kimrey joins us
16:30 Working at Elevation Church
21:30 Hard conversations and saying “No”
32:30 Producing Elevation Sunday Services
35:30 Audio Competition: Zach vs. Blake
43:30 Tech Takeaway on self induced burnout

Plugs: Hangout with him on Instagram!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Touring Life vs. Church Life & Hacking a bad room [Gene Kim] Sep 19, 2022

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How does the touring road life compare to the weekly church tech rhythm?
Gene Kim joins us this week to tell us about his time on the road, some disaster stories and a church tech hack that blows Toby away.
In this episode you'll hear:

2:05 Toby gets robbed
9:45 We bring in Gene Kim
21:50 Gene’s start in tech
29:00 Disaster story
41:20 How much should I spend on church production gear?
48:15 Is touring life better than church tech production?
52:50 Church tech coffee???
59:00 Hacking a bad room to sound better

Plugs

Reach out to Gene for Coaching on Instagram
Use code ChurchGear for 10% off at Crew Brew coffee

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

WorshipLeaderProbs, Brian Tabor! [Isolation in Church Life] Sep 12, 2022

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What do you do when everyone in your field starts confessing their problems to you?
Brian Tabor found this to be his situation a few years ago when he started Worship Leader Probs after being in the worship leader life for 2+ decades.
In this episode you'll hear:

2:30 Toby’s worship leader fails
9:25 We bring in Brian Tabor
16:10 Brian begins to have worship leader problems
25:00 Encouraging Tech Directors BTS work
31:00 Should worship and tech be the same department?
32:55 Who dies first? Tech and Worship switch places
35:45 Who has the worst problems? Worship leaders or Tech Directors?
40:55 Church work is isolating
44:50 Tech Takeaway on connecting with all your coworkers and volunteers

Plugs: Check him out on Instagram and his podcast, Worship Leaders Probs.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Sweet Pete! [Production Director at Sun Grove Church] Sep 05, 2022

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How do you go from working in news to becoming the production director at Sun Grove Church?
Sweet Pete joins us to tell us how! He is the Program/Production Director there and has worked in the overall tech universe for many years now!
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 We play “crazy person” or celebrity sighting
7:45 We have “Sweet Pete!”
18:00 Getting his church tech director start
21:30 Doing the News vs. Church Tech Directing
31:10 Serving church tech volunteers well
40:00 Sweet Pete’s Dream jobs
43:00 God won’t let Sweet Pete leave Sacramento CA
50:45 Tech Takeaway on done vs. perfect and humility

Plugs: Hangout with Pete on Instagram or reach out to him directly via email at p.wright@sungrove.org.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

David Mendoza on being a young TD at a Megachurch [Mount Paran] Aug 29, 2022

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How do you get people to take you seriously as a church tech director when they watched you grow up?
David Mendoza is the director of production at Mount Paran Church in Atlanta.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby tours churches in Atlanta
6:45 We introduce David Mendoza from Mount Paran church
11:00 Challenges of being a young tech director at a megachurch
20:00 Mount Paran’s massive system upgrade
31:00 Sending people off well (To the Braves!)
38:00 Tech Takeaway on having joy outside of the gear

Plugs: Hangout with David on Instagram and reach out to him by email at: Davidm@mountparan.com
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Jeff Sandstrom [MxU Co-Founder] Aug 22, 2022

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We all know Jeff Sandstrom of MxU and Chris Tomlin fame! But how did Jeff become the Jeff Sandstrom we all know and love?
He joins the ChurchGear podcast this week to tell us! We also play "Guess that Song" and "Would you rather".
In this episode you'll hear:

1:40 Toby’s video with Will Smith and MxU
7:00 We introduce Jeff Sandstrom
18:50 How did Jeff become Jeff Sandstrom?
26:00 What’s the worst gear Jeff could mix on and it still sound great?
28:00 "Would you rather" gear edition
38:55 Jeff's work with Summit Integrations
44:00 How do you follow the worship leader’s flow?
51:15 "Name that song" Jeff vs. Blake

Plugs:

Join us at the MxU live tour in Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta
Check out our video with them for "Smash or Cash" and "What's in your closet?!"

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Scott Ragsdale mixing for Oprah, Beyonce, Joe Bonamassa, and Willow Creek [The Crossing Church] Aug 15, 2022

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Would you pass out if you deleted Beyonce's show file?
Scott Ragsdale almost did. He's mixed for Beyonce, Oprah, Joe Banamassa and Willow Creek church where he was a church tech for years.
He is now mixing at The Crossings at Chesterfield church.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:10 Toby’s gear run through St. Louis
5:15 We introduce Scott Ragsdale
11:38 Mixing Oprah
18:00 Drinking Barry Manilow’s wine
19:30 Scott’s church tech start
25:30 The things Scott loved at Willow Creek church
31:00 Working with Joe Banamassa
38:30 Going back to the church tech life
46:00 Disaster story with Beyonce
51:00 Tech Takeaway on pushing forward beyond a lack of gear

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Cory Edwards on Elevation, Touring, and Eating Raw Liver [Studio Mixer] Aug 08, 2022

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How do you bring the uniqueness of Elevation worship tours to your church?
Cory Edwards has some advice that you'll be able to use immediately.
Cory has been a FOH engineer for Elevation worship, Lauren Daigle and many more. He is now focusing on studio mixing at his home in Franklin TN.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:30 Guess the celebrities Toby saw in CA
7:40 Toby creeps Cory’s doppelganger out
10:10 Five Truths and a Lie with Cory
16:55 Cory’s path into production
23:00 Mixing on the road
24:00 Mixing with physical gear
27:00 Gear that will improve your setup
29:00 Elevation worship tours
31:30 Touring live vs. Mixing in the studio
33:00 Bringing the uniqueness of worship tours to your church
39:45 Disaster story
45:00 “Who said it”
48:00 Tech Takeaway on stepping up on stage to say hello

Plugs: Check out his site here or on Instagram here.
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

From Lifelong Church Tech to Family Mentor [Wally Grant, Uganda] Aug 01, 2022

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When you've been in church tech for 30 years, what do you do next? Go to Uganda of course!
Wally Grant is the former director of audio at Saddleback church and former Sr. Consultant at Clark. He is now a family mentor at the Amazima school in Uganda.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:15 A Monkey eats all the prescription medicine
5:17 We introduce Wally Grant!
12:45 Wally bumps into Bob (Zimmerman) Dylan
18:10 Wally’s time at Saddleback and Clark Integrators
24:30 How did Wally end up in Uganda
28:00 Balancing audio and your marriage
31:00 Having boundary conversations with your pastor
34:30 Better gear isn’t always better
38:15 Life in Uganda
41:35 How to have a close church tech team
43:15 How to support Uganda’s ministry
48:45 Tech Takeaway on reading the manual and never stop learning

Plugs: https://amazima.org and reach out to Wally here: wgrant@amazima.org
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Leaving your Church so Well You Can Return [Prestonwood Baptist’s Bryan Bailey] Jul 22, 2022

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How do you leave your church so well that you're able to take a job at that same church again in the future?
Bryan Bailey is the director of media at Prestonwood Baptist Church and has been working in church tech for over two decades.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:20 Toby explores a 90,000 sq ft warehouse
9:08 We introduce Bryan Bailey
19:25 Bryan’s start as a Church Tech
34:00 Leaving so well you can come back
46:00 What is a church media director?
52:30 Who is Cuban Pete?
55:00 Tech takeaway on the importance of having and using your checklist

Plugs: Worshipmediaman is Bryan's handle. Prestonwood.jobs to apply to work with Bryan!
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Alex Fuller on Saying No Strategically [LD at Zion City Church] Jul 18, 2022

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What do you do when Covid has canceled all the live events? Do you got back to the Church Tech Director life?

Alex is the Pastor of live Production at Zion City - Southwest and owner of Production & Lighting design at Fuller Lights.
In this episode you'll hear:

2:00 Toby hacks the Penske truck system
4:40 We introduce Alex Fuller, Lighting Design Director at Zion Church
13:00 Alex’s journey into the Church Tech Life
16:30 Saying no strategically
18:20 How does a small church make a “Bethel Level” production?
24:00 How do you pull people into worship with lighting design?
28:00 Why is church lighting the third letter in AVL?
32:00 Going back to church post Covid
39:00 Tech Takeaway on small, constant improvements

Plugs: Email him at fullerlights@gmail.com and reach him online at fullerlights.com
Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Dennis Choy on Building Church Tech Teams [Saddleback Church] Jul 11, 2022

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How do you recruit and build a church tech team in a post Covid world?

Dennis Choy is the church tech director at Saddleback Church in California. He has spent his years training teams to accomplish more together than they ever could separately.

In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby’s first time at Saddleback Church
7:20 We introduce Dennis Choy
15:05 Turning down the FBI
18:55 Mixing for Switchfoot
30:25 Why church techs are leaving ministry
37:45 Saddleback Church’s training for church tech volunteers
43:40 New Amplio camera set up
47:10 Challenges as Saddleback’s Tech director
50:00 Recruiting for your church tech team
53:20 Tech Takeaway on not arguing on the weekends

Plugs

Connect with Dennis at churchtechcoach@gmail.com

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Stephen Brewster on Creativity and Producing Elevation Worships records [Live @ FILO] Jul 04, 2022

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How do you go from moving to Nashville to escape music to producing Elevation's albums?
Stephen Brewster leads the Harmony Group and helps churches like Elevation release original music.
In this episode:

1:00 Toby’s recent celebrity sightings
9:33 We introduce Stephen Brewster at FILO
21:45 Christian music’s critical component
24:30 Why every church should write original music
26:45 How many Elevation records are actually live?
29:30 How Stephen knows if he will work with a church or not
33:55 The process of getting an album created
36:00 A literal angel sang on the record?
38:20 Encouragement for continuing ministry
40:00 Creating the Elevation look at smaller churches
42:00 Tech Takeaway on pressing pause and creating creativity

Plugs

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

College for Church Techs with Ryan Loche [The Belonging Co] Jun 27, 2022

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Should church techs go to college if they’ve already got a job offer?
If they’re halfway through college, should they drop out for a job offer to be a church tech full time?
Ryan Loche is the academic director at the Beloningco college and a PhD student at Liberty University. He joins us to discuss education’s role in a church tech director’s life.
In this episode you'll hear:

0:40 Toby’s college years
4:36 We introduce Ryan Loche at the FILO conference
8:23 Running 1,500 light cues at once
10:20 Meeting Weird AL Yankovic
12:20 The Belonging Co Origin Story
14:10 The next generation of church tech directors
22:05 Should church techs go to college?
25:12 The practical side of college for church techs
27:15 Post covid burnout for church techs
31:00 Hard conversations course
34:00 What we miss out on by dropping out of college
35:30 Tech Takeaway on having fun as a team & forgiving mistakes

Plugs

The Belonging Co college
Ryan's Instagram
The Church Collective podcast

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Church of the Highlands LD, Griffin McCravy [Live @ FILO] Jun 20, 2022

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How do you run one of the largest churches in America with mostly volunteers?
Griffin McCray is the Broadcast Lighting Director for the Church of the Highlands in Alabama and he joins us to discuss lighting, salary offers, and how he became the lighting professional he looked up too as a kid.

1:00 Toby stumbles into a massive church stock room
6:14 We introduce Griffin McCravy!
13:25 Five Truths and a Lie
23:00 The start of Griffin’s lighting director role
24:50 Volunteers run Church of the Highlands
29:00 Can church techs wear a non black shirt?
32:32 Pulling in the congregation with lighting design
39:00 AVL Church Tech Department Battles
42:20 Church of the Highlands’s Christmas service
44:00 What it’s like learning audio, video and lighting
45:30 Griffin’s proudest moment as a lighting director
48:00 Tech Takeaway on honestly on our salaries and offers

Plugs

Hangout with Griffin on Instagram.
Checkout Highland's production
Check out Griffin's work on Thought Leader

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Kempers, Amps and Saving Historic Sounds [Tone Junkie’s HW] Jun 13, 2022

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How do you save the sounds of all the iconic amps that rock legends and contemporary christian artists have used throughout the years?
Tone Junkie’s HW joins us this week to tell us about his love for kempers and his quest to capture all of the amp sounds around the globe.

0:28 Blake and Jonah go to a church’s gear warehouse
4:54 We introduce Tone Junkie's H.W.
14:42 His love for Kempers
22:40 Some historic amp sounds H.W. has saved
29:30 Different kemper packs
35:00 Jonathan’s favorite kemper gear
37:25 Should churches mic their kempers?
42:40 Tech Takeaway on saving sounds

Plugs

Check out his YouTube channel

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Jake Gosselin on Common Problems and Less Being More [ChurchFront] Jun 06, 2022

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How does a worship pastor turn into a full-time YouTube creator and consultant for churches?
After working as a worship pastor for years, Jake discovered that all music ministries have similar problems that he fixed so he now consults, coaches, and creates courses for worship and tech ministries via his company ChurchFront.

1:30 Toby confesses to a felony
6:37 We introduce Jake Gosselin
12:40 How ChurchFront serves Church Techs
19:00 How Church Techs and Worship Leaders can work better together
23:15 Common problems for the solo church tech volunteer
26:15 Common mistakes Jake sees consulting for churches
34:40 ChurchFront’s courses and consulting
37:50 Toby gives the details on his terrible first headshot
40:30 Disaster story on complacent computers
42:50 Tech takeaway on less being more

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Garth Brooks’s Keyboard Player on Playing the Background [Blair Masters] May 30, 2022

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How do you go from failing your piano lessons to playing keys for Garth Brooks in front of 80,000 people?
This week we are joined by one of the world’s most storied keyboard players, Blair Masters! He has played Saturday night Live, Garth Brooks concerts and still volunteers Sunday mornings at church.

1:27 Where the Nord is The Lord is
6:45 We introduce Blair Masters
15:45 Blair plays hardball with Garth Brooks
18:34 Blair’s background
27:35 Blair’s advice for playing Sunday morning services
29:14 Imitating Jeff Beck in front of Jeff Beck
31:40 Blair’s favorite show/session of all time
35:15 “Oh crap moment” on dying consoles
41:40 Tech Takeaway on having good charts

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing FOH for Crowder, Sunday Services and Murder Attempts by Speakers [Quinton Kelley] May 23, 2022

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If a full line array crushed you on day two of a tour, could you continue? Q joins us this week to discuss his years of being a church tech, his time mixing FOH for Crowder and why safety is important for setting up shows!

Quinton Kelley is the front of house mixer for Crowder, a frequent freelancer and mixer for local churches and production manager at Backstage Productions.

1:13 “Four Truths and a Lie about Crowder”
6:40 We play “5 Truths and a Lie” with Quinton Kelley
17:45 Q’s journey into the church tech life
24:20 Difference between mixing Crowder’s shows and Sunday services
26:50 “It recalls nothing” near disaster story when mixing Crowder
30:55 Favorite live sound moment of all time [God really loves us]
33:05 Artists Q dreams about mixing for
34:50 Q’s favorite mixing console of all time
37:00 Tech Takeaway on being spirit lead instead of technically rigid

Plugs

Connect with Q at Backstage Productions

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Lee Fields on Hard Conversations, Learning New Gear and Cowboy Boots [MxU] May 16, 2022

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You know him. You love him. We have Lee Fields with us this week!

We talk with him about his time co-founding MxU, church production trends and a mountain of antics and random opinions on (but not included to) cowboy boots and jet skis.

0:53 Toby’s dad should literally be dead after this story
9:45 We introduce MxU’s Lee Fields
13:10 Lee sits next to Justin Bieber (celebrities at church)
21:10 We FINALLY transition over to MxU’s origin story and purpose
34:48 Bootstrapping in the early days of MxU
36:22 Who originally raised the bar in the church production world?
39:25 Where will the next church tech trends come from in the production world?
43:10 The church setups Lee’s enjoyed the most over the years
45:00 Lee’s approach to learning new Tech concepts
50:10 Disaster story: Losing the PA during Bayside’s Christmas service
54:02 “Who said it” about Lee Fields
58:55 Lee builds his dream production gear setup
1:01:30 Tech Takeaway on vocals and hard conversations

Plugs

Get MxU's training videos.
Join us at an MxU live event this Fall!

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Broadcasting Well with King Williams (Broadcast Engineer for the Grand Ole Opry) May 09, 2022

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The Grand Ole Opry is iconic and the venue's reach is immense.

King Williams stops by to tell his story of going from a guy fixing gear on Nashville’s Music Row to the Broadcast Engineer for the Grand Ole Opry.

In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 The dangers of setting a drink on a console
6:00 We introduce King Williams (Broadcast Engineer at the Grand Ole Opry)
11:00 King’s wife wants him to look like Keith Urban to “spice things up”
14:45 King’s path to becoming the Broadcast Engineer at the Grand Ole Opry
30:35 The session that got King the job at the Opry
37:00 The three mixes that happen at the Opry & King’s inspiration
38:00 King’s advice on broadcasting your services well
42:23 The Grand Ole Opry’s secret sauce to broadcasting well
47:08 King’s favorite artists that he’s worked with at the Grand Ole Opry
50:25 Tech Takeaway on phase translations

Plugs

Check out King's broadcasting skills on the Grand Ole Opry Circle Network or their YouTube channel.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

FILO's Todd Elliott on Valuing your Time and Trying New Things Apr 28, 2022

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What if we’re the ones putting pressure on ourselves to work 80 hour weeks?

Todd Elliott joins us to discuss how to value your own time in the production process, how to try new things and how he realized the church tech community had similar problems and needed more community.
Todd Elliott is a writer, speaker, technical artist in the local church and the founder of FILO.

1:05 “There was murder in my wife’s eyes” story from Toby
5:30 Todd Elliott tells the first lie of his life.
12:30 Kindergarten Todd is held at gunpoint
13:45 Todd “runs into” the CEO of General Motors
15:28 Todd realized all Church Techs have similar problems and lacked community
22:28 The content, speakers and breakouts to look forward to at FILO’s conference
26:40 “I Love Jesus but I Hate Christmas” Todd on Tech Director’s being overworked
29:09 Near Death Disaster Story: Failing to counter balance correctly can be deadly
32:40 Live Sound Disaster Story: Running for the score (Prop problem)
34:43 Weighing your time, health and standing up for yourself
39:55 Tech Takeaway on being brave enough to suck at something new

Plugs

43:02 Join the FILO Conference May 10th and 11th
43:40 Download the “I Love Jesus but I Hate Christmas” book
44:18 Sign up for the FILO cohort training on leading volunteers, communicating with your pastor, saying no , etc.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Maximizing Production Budgets with Alexa Ross [Fellowship Church Grapevine] Apr 25, 2022

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You're a freshmen in high school, and Bret Michael's monitor engineer has just asked you to take over for him.
Do you drop out of school to go out on tour?

Alexa Ross is the Audio Engineer at Fellowship Church Grapevine in Texas. She’s been mixing for most of her life and has been invited to go on tour more times than she can count.

1:35 Toby goes to Lakewood Church (Pastor: Joel Osteen) to see their Sunday Service
5:30 Toby sees a familiar box at Fellowship Church Grapevine
8:00 Audio Engineer, Alex Ross, lies to us
15:10 Mixing on the road vs. mixing at church
17:20 Running monitors for Fellowship Grapevine vs. Bret Michaels
19:40 Alexa’s love for the PM1D
21:40 Flying under the radar with wireless gear next to the DMW airport
25:10 Communication between the band and the tech team during service
28:00 Maximizing your church’s production budget
30:40 Fellowship’s vision to redo the control room
31:55 Fellowship’s plans to upgrade their consoles
33:50 Live Sound Disaster story
37:08 Tech Takeaway on proactive communication with the worship team and pastor for their Sunday service visions

Links for the Guest

39:30: Ed Young Radio and The Dumb Ask leadership podcast

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Ministry Burnout, Hard Conversations & Powering Through [Christ Community’s Caleb Loeppky] Apr 18, 2022

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How do you keep church tech directors from burning out in ministry before age 30?
Caleb Loeppky consistently counsels church techs on how to have hard conversations, how to change jobs, and how to stick it out in a tough season.

Caleb is the Tech Director for Christ Community Church and he also works with Slingshot Group to help churches find church tech director talent.
You'll hear:

1:05 A missed train stop nearly kills the ChurchGear crew in Chicago.
7:13 We introduce Caleb Loeppky (Technical Director at Christ Community Church)
8:58 Caleb lies to us (chest tattoos, being stalked, & 21 Pilots)
13:15 Missing the Mix: Caleb could have mixed for 21 Pilots
16:19 Caleb’s rapid climb in his Church Tech career
20:04 How young church tech directors can prevent burnout in ministry
26:06 Counseling Church Tech directors through tough ministry moments(Slingshot)
27:59 Amplio systems gives Christ Community Church an upgrade
31:00 Why you need a tent over your monitors. (Oh Crap moment)
36:10 Worst Sunday Service moment Caleb’s ever experienced
41:58 How Caleb counsels church techs experiencing burnout
44:20 Hard conversations with your pastor (Death by meetings)
49:00 Scratching your creative itch & making more money with contract work
50:45 Tech Takeaway on finding professional and personal satisfaction outside of work

Links for the Guest

Slingshot(56:20) Reach out to Caleb at cloeppky@slingshotgroup.org to talk about how he can help your church find a tech director for you.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Knowing When to Stay or Leave Ministry [Amplio’s Dillan Howell] Apr 11, 2022

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Church creative teams have seen a mass exodus over the past three years. How do you know if its your time to leave or if you should double down in the area you’ve been placed?

Dillan Howell frequently speaks to church worship leaders and church techs all across the country on this issue. He gives us his advice for when to stay in ministry and when to leave, a near death disaster story and advice on doing your best work wherever you’re at.

He has been a church planter, weekend producer at Central Church and an Executive Producer at Faith Promise Church. He is currently serving as the Director of Church Relations for Amplio Group.

1:40 The church politics that play out when you sell the organ.
7:25 We introduce Dillan Howell
10:40 Love story: Dillan and his wife met in 2nd grade?!
15:45 A call to difficult, necessary conversations
20:55 The stress on church tech teams to do live streams during Covid
22:00 Advice for the worship leader who is contemplating a career change
24:30 Dillan’s story of leaving ministry to serve the church with Amplio.
27:10 Amplio’s approach to serving churches’ AVL Integration needs
30:07 Fun Install Story: Transitioning Saddleback from broadcast cameras to cinematic
34:55 Doing your best work, whatever the role or circumstance you’re in.
38:34 Disaster Story: A deadly Central Church Production story at Christmas
44:45 “Who Said It” Segment: Dillan’s friends anonymously grill him
47:59 Tech Takeaway on crushing the details Monday-Friday so Sunday is already set

Links for the Guest

Connect with Dillan on his website.
Connect with Amplio for your integration needs.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing under Pregnancy & Presidential Pressure (Bayside’s David Roediger) Apr 04, 2022

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Would you be able to focus on the mix for a US vice president when your wife is moments away from going into labor?

David's been serving in church ministry for 13 years and is a production manager at Bayside church in CA.

He has worked with three United States presidents, the Luis Palau Association, and more artists than we can count:

Thrive Worship, Newsboys, Lincoln Brewster, Elton John, Mutemath, For King and Country, Lecrae, Tool, Cake, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Toby Mac, NF, Crowder, Tim McGraw, We Are Messengers, Brad Paisley, Atreyu, and Mudvayne.

1:10 Toby mixes side stage with a side of nudity
6:01 Five Truths & a Lie with David Roediger
11:30 Mixing for a Vice President during pregnancy
15:13 Working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers
17:55 Being a Production Manager at Bayside Church CA
20:30 Mixing for Newsboys in Nashville.
22:00 Live Sound Disaster story: Newsboys
26:54 Learning to mix while living in Alaska
29:26 How to build your church’s tech team
31:10 Recruiting church production volunteers in the youth group
34:10 David’s first job running sound at a church
37:34 David’s favorite concert of all time
44:50 Tour Time Machine: Which tour would you like to retroactively mix for?
47:50 Tech Takeaway on asking for new gear in a genuine way

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Seeing the Light with Robby Kurtz Mar 28, 2022

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Would you read a Hog Two's entire manual over the weekend to be Natalie Cole's lighting director?
Robby Kurtz was thrown to the wolves on his first show, but he ran with the pack, used his skills across the globe, and became New Life Church's LD right before Christmas.
He has done the lights for Natalie Cole & Jesus Culture, worked in TV and his 6 truths and a lie segment has some adrenaline-pumping stories.

In this episode you'll hear:

1:38 The stickiest piece of gear we’ve ever bought
6:34 We introduce Robby Kurtz with his death-defying truths and lies.
11:10 John 3:16 > Border Security
12:45 A fifteen person van is carried by the Lord
15:02 Learning the Hog Two lighting board on the fly to be Natalie Cole’s LD.
19:40 How he nearly got fired on his first two shows
22:36 The difficulties of being a Christian on the road
26:34 Lighting Journeyman: trade shows, Daystar Television network, video editing
29:30 Becoming the LD for New Life Church right before Christmas
31:00 Do churches own all the fog machines they use at Christmas & Easter?
33:50 How 4Wall serves churches with gear rentals
37:00 Encouragement for current church lighting directors
40:32 Robby’s top 5 albums of all time
42:42 Tech Takeaway on the best place to place your lights in your service

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Fixing your Gear Mid Show with Brian Boggs Mar 21, 2022

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How do you keep the church service going smoothly when production gear could break at any moment?

Brian Boggs guests to give us his advice on handling live sound snafus in concert settings and church services.

Boggs has been a touring audio guy for 20+ years, and worked with artists such as Fuel, Joe Diffie, Wynonna Judd, and Delbert McClinton. When he isn’t mixing on the road, he is serving as a church tech director or fixing production gear at ChurchGear HQ.
In this episode you'll hear:

1:00 Toby goes to Ben Rector’s listening party & hears how Snoop Dogg guests.
5:28 We introduce Brian Boggs
9:14 Boggs mixes the 2004 Super Bowl Afterparty
9:53 How Boggs learned to fix production gear on the road
13:45 The mindset you need to fix production gear mid show
15:00 Live Sound Disaster story: The console drops out completely.
21:10 Handling the pressures and personalities when you’re mixing for artists
23:25 Advice for church techs considering mixing on a tour
24:30 The difference between mixing on the road vs. mixing at church
27:00 Maximizing the gear your church budget can afford
29:27 Duct Tape Solutions: How Boggs survived a speaker snafu
30:40 Tech Takeaway on resiliency & gain structure

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Quitting college to mix Michael W. Smith's Sessions [Rob Burrell] Mar 14, 2022

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Many Church Tech directors get job offers before they're even out of college. Should they drop out and jump into the tech booth early?
Rob Burrell decided to make the jump and it seems to have worked out!

Rob is currently mixing in immersive tech such as Dolby Atmos & Sony 360. He has mixed for MWS, Josh Groban, Charlie Daniels and Jennifer Nettles. Oh, and he has won some Grammys but didn't get invited to the ceremony.
In this episode:

1:17 Toby visits a Nashville artist's hangar to buy gear. We don't buy their jet.
7:04 We introduce Rob Burrell
11:55 Jennifer Nettles needs some Hertz taken out of her voice.
15:00 Dolby Atmos & Sony 360 system story
18:43 Rob’s start in tech
24:20 Rob’s transition from Rockstar to audio engineer
28:00 Mixing Front of House at church vs. mixing in a studio
32:06 Being a Pro Tools Op for the Country Music Awards
37:47 You can win a Grammy but not be invited to the ceremony?!
39:47 The fun of being a Focusrite brand ambassador
47:30 Tech Takeaway on being adventurous
49:57 Mixing at Skywalker Ranch with Michael W Smith story

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

FOH Engineer and Allen & Heath Install Empress [What can Samantha Potter not do?] Mar 07, 2022

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Industry Insider Samantha Potter joins us to discuss all the church tech trends and news:

The impact of chip shortages on mixing boards
Inspiring young girls to try tech
How Allen & Heath customized new mixing boards for houses of worship specifically

Samantha Potter is a FOH & Broadcast Engineer, Senior Editor for ProSoundWeb magazine, Install Empress at Allen & Heath and is the host of the ChurchSound Podcast.
In this episode you'll hear:

0:28 A story of a dead mixer and a burger that could kill your heart.
8:22 Two Truths and a lie to introduce Samantha Potter
16:34 The late night life of a production manager
18:06 Samantha’s start in tech & Toby gives a date disaster story
24:06 Samantha’s work at Allen & Heath for install and applications
27:51 The chip shortage created from the supply chain change ups
30:31 Samantha’s favorite Allen & Heath Gear
33:45 Being a senior editor at Pro Sound Magazine
39:56 Inspiring young girls to consider a career in church tech
44:46 The importance of auditing your system regularly
47:58 Tech Takeaway on calling cues and maximizing liquids in the booth

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy brand new gear? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Mixing for Joe Pesci with Ryan Sutton Feb 25, 2022

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When you’re working with musical icons like Frankie Valli, Adam Levine and Jeff Beck, how do you set the pressure aside and focus fully on the mix?
Ryan Sutton is a producer, musician and engineer. Throughout his career he has worked with: Frankie Valli, Jersey Boys, Jeff Beck, Adam Levine, For King & Country and Joe Pesci!

In this episode you'll hear:

How Ryan mixed the track for “Baby Girl” by Joe Pesci featuring Adam Levine.
How Ryan recently did the live stream mix for Miss America for Peacock.
How to handle Twitter criticism when people blame you for things that aren’t your fault.
The differences between running live sound and doing studio recording.
A vintage gear story about a U47 Telefunken microphone that was allegedly used by Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra.
A Tech Takeaway about not being married to your ideas.

Resources for your ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to pay full price? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

A Lifetime of Church Tech with Brian Cigainero Feb 21, 2022

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How does a high school student running his choir's sound board go on to produce over 5,000 radio programs?
Our very own sound engineer, Brian Cigainero, jumps out of the editing chair and into the guest chair in this week's episode to tell us how.
In this episode you'll hear:

A successful celebrity sighting followed by an unsuccessful sighting
A literal ‘shocking’ story
How a high school student ran the board for the very choir shows he was singing in
The 'proper' way to dress like a rockstar
Toby throws his dad under the bus, backs up over him and then drives off
Lessons Brian's Tech mentor taught him.
The immense opportunity Tech Directors have to train middle/high school students to become tech directors
How small churches can improve their church’s setup on a budget
About the creative challenge Brian faced when he needed to create sounds we all know in our minds but have never heard with our ears. Ex: the Red Sea parting.
Advice to young techs: If you're a young tech director in college but you're already getting job offers, should you leave school early?
A philosophical Tech Takeaway

Resources for your ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to pay full price? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

Lighting Keith Urban’s shows with Nathan Alves Feb 16, 2022

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How does a teenager volunteering as a lighting tech at Calvary Assembly of God Church go on to design shows for Barry Manilow, Keith Urban and John Mayer?
Nathan Alves stops by ChurchGear studios to tell us.
In this episode you'll hear:

How Nathan lights shows for some of the biggest names in music like Barry Manilow, Keith Urban, John Mayer, Richard Simmons, and tons more
The difficulties of being a tech on tour
His process for creating arena shows
His opinion on Full Sail University
His top tip for new lighting grads
Stories where everything that could go wrong did
Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
A Tech Takeaway on approaching challenging requests

Resources for your ministry

Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to pay full price? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with Nathan Alves at The Darkroom Creative!

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
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See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

The Church Tech Director’s Podcast [Who we are] Feb 16, 2022

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Welcome to the ChurchGear podcast!
In this episode you'll learn:

How ChurchGear got started
Why this podcast will be fun and educational for a Church Tech Director
Who your hosts are.

Resources for your ministry

Sell your gear:
- Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here.
Buy gear:
- Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to pay full price? You can get Certified Church Owned gear here.

Connect with us:

Follow us on Facebook
Hang out with us on Instagram
See all the ways we can serve your church on our Website
Get our best gear sent to your inbox each Monday before it goes public via the Early Service

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