The ChurchGear Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Are We Failing The Next Generation? [Lauren Daigle's FOH Gene Kim] Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Is the church doing enough to invest in the next generation of technical artists? And how do you balance the pressure for a "perfect" Sunday mix with the need to let young volunteers make mistakes and learn?

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 HouseRight Event Recap & Listener Shoutouts

6:15 Gene Kim (Lauren Daigle’s FOH Engineer) Joins

12:30 Are We Investing in the Next Generation of Church Techs?

32:30 Mentorship: Allowing Volunteers to Make Mistakes

37:30 Core Topics for Mentoring Young Audio Engineers

46:00 What It's Like Mixing FOH for Lauren Daigle

48:00 Gear Talk: Gene Kim’s Favorite Audio Tools Right Now

57:00 Disaster Story: “Take it all off”

1:00:30 Tech Takeaway: Providing Peace of Mind

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Tornados, Helicopters & Executive Requests with Mac Brown [2nd Baptist Houston] Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

How do you lead your church tech team after a tornado has lifted off your church's roof?

In this episode, we are joined by Mac Brown of Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX. We start by tackling the tension between the pulpit and the tech booth before diving into one of the wildest stories we've ever heard on the podcast: leading a church tech team after a literal tornado ripped the roof off their building.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Pastor vs. Production: Who Wins Setup Disputes?

6:30 Mac Brown (Second Baptist Houston) Joins

8:30 When a Tornado Rips the Roof Off Your Church

10:30 Mac’s Start in Church Production

17:45 Leading a Tech Team Through a Tornado Disaster

23:00 Acoustic Treatment vs. Room Aesthetics

25:00 Lessons from Portable Church to Permanent Building

28:30 Did Pastor Ed Young Take a Helicopter Between Services?

31:00 Second Houston’s Most Difficult Production Projects

34:15 Communicating Unrealistic Executive Requests to Your Team

40:45 Church Tech Disaster Story

43:45 Tech Takeaway

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Don't Buy A DiGiCo 338 [Spencer De Young & Dillan Howell] Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Is buying the best, most expensive gear always the right answer to your church's production problems? (Spoiler alert: Usually not.)

In this special episode recorded live at MxU, we are joined by Spencer De Young and Dillan Howell. We dive straight into the controversial stuff, discussing exactly why your church probably shouldn't buy a DiGiCo 338 console and the hard truth about whether you actually need a giant LED wall.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 The "Great Gear Fixes Everything" Myth

4:30 Spencer De Young & Dillan Howell (Live at MxU) Join

6:30 Why Your Church Shouldn’t Buy a DiGiCo 338

17:00 Are AVL Integrators Overselling to Churches?

20:45 How to Choose the Right AVL Gear for Your Room

36:00 The Hard Truth About Giant LED Walls

41:15 What New Tech Volunteers Actually Need

48:45 Storytime: Getting "Blaked" at MxU

52:30 Tech Takeaway: Spend Church Budget Like It’s Yours

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Church Techs Perish Without Community [Celebration Church's Christian Acevedo] Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

Serving in the production booth can be incredibly isolating. Without a strong culture, church tech volunteers and staff often burn out in silence. So, how do you fix it?

In this episode, we sit down with Christian Acevedo of Celebration Church to talk about the life-saving power of community in church production.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Intro: Snowstorms & "The Mix" Events
5:30 Christian Acevedo (Celebration Church) Joins
9:40 Christian’s Journey to Celebration Church
14:30 Building a Thriving Church Production Community
25:40 Raising Up the Next Generation of Church Techs
30:00 The Dangers of Isolation in Tech Ministry
34:00 Gear Talk: What is Celebration Church Using?
38:00 Church Tech Disaster Story
42:00 Tech Takeaway: Checking Your Blind Spots

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

AVL Budgets, LED Walls & Mixing for Matt Redman [Aaron Ruse] Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

How do you allocate a new church build budget between Audio, Video, and Lighting? And at what church size does production start to get exponentially more expensive?

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Ruse (former Technical Director at Saddleback Church and FOH engineer for Matt Redman) to break down the reality of modern church production. Before diving into the interview, the guys react to the massive production behind the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Production Breakdown: Super Bowl Halftime Show
4:25 Aaron Ruse (Saddleback Church / Sweetwater) Joins
8:30 Aaron’s Start in Church Production
13:00 What It Takes to Mix FOH for Matt Redman
14:30 Church Tech: What Has Changed in 20 Years (And What Hasn't)
18:00 Essential Skills for Managing an LED Wall
19:40 Production Trends to Embrace (and Which to Avoid)
26:00 Acoustic Treatment Strategies for Worship Spaces
34:00 The "Breaking Point" Where Production Costs Skyrocket
38:45 Allocating Your AVL Budget: Audio vs. Video vs. Lighting
43:00 Church Tech Disaster Story
46:00 Tech Takeaway: Fostering Authentic Worship

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Inside Willow Creek Production & The Leadership vs. Tech Debate [Max Brown] Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

When hiring a new church tech director, should you look for the person with the most technical knowledge or the best leadership potential? And if you are currently in the role, which skill set should you be developing first?

In this episode, we are joined by Max Brown (formerly of Willow Creek Church) to tackle the age-old debate of Competence vs. Character. Max shares his experience running production at one of the most influential churches in the country, revealing the reality of their team size and workflows.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Blake’s Beach Blunder

4:45 Max Brown (Former Willow Creek) Joins

9:00 Principles of Leading Church Production

13:00 Debate: Developing Leadership vs. Technical Skills

22:00 Hiring Strategy: Character vs. Competence?

28:30 Inside Production at Willow Creek Church

32:20 Can You Run a Sunday Service with Just Tracks?

34:45 Willow Creek’s Production Team Size

46:20 Is Church Production an Art or a Science?

51:30 Tech Takeaway

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Immersive Audio & Remote Mixing in Church? [Worship Sound Guy's Johnny Ragin] Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

If you had a limited budget, would you spend it on a better PA system or a better mixing console?

And with all the hype around spatial audio, should your church actually be looking at Immersive Audio installs?

In this episode, we are joined by Johnny Ragin, the face behind Worship Sound Guy, and we dive deep into the gear debates every church tech has.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Handling Unsolicited Feedback

5:00 Johnny Ragin (Worship Sound Guy) Joins

7:00 Segment: Five Truths & A Lie

16:45 Johnny’s Start in Church Production

21:15 Overcoming the Tech "Knowledge Gap"

25:15 Training New Audio Volunteers

27:45 Debate: Better PA vs. Better Console?

28:45 Overused Production Effects & Tools

33:00 Real Talk: Church Drum Budgets

34:45 Is Immersive Audio Worth It for Churches?

37:45 The Pros & Cons of Remote Mixing

47:45 Rapid Fire: Favorite Audio Consoles

49:00 Favorite PA System of All Time

49:25 Favorite Audio Plugin

51:00 Tech Takeaway: Keep It Simple

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Taking Strategic Risks in Production & Starting a New Role [John Williams] Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

Taking risks in church production is terrifying. If you try something new and it fails, everyone notices. But if you never take risks, your production gets stale. So, how do you find the balance?

In this episode, we sit down with John Williams, Production Director at Church of the King, to discuss how to push your church forward with strategic risks. We cover how to approach the first few months of a new church tech role, the safest ways to test new gear or workflows on a Sunday, and how to have difficult conversations with your pastor when a volunteer makes a mistake.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Intro: The Biggest Risks We’ve Ever Taken

5:00 John Williams (Church of the King) Joins

6:15 John’s Origin Story in Production

15:00 Starting a New Role: The First 90 Days Strategy

18:30 Taking Strategic Risks on Sunday Mornings

22:00 Safe Ways to Test New Gear & Workflows

35:30 Handling Volunteer Mistakes with Your Pastor

38:45 Disaster Story: A Squirrel Destroyed Our Service

43:45 Tech Takeaway: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

From Tech Director to Executive Pastor [Fellowship Grapevine's Dave Clark] Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we explore the rare but inspiring career path from Production Director to Executive Pastor.

We are joined by Dave Clark of Fellowship Church (Grapevine) to discuss how he transitioned from technical leadership to executive leadership. We break down the difference between treating ministry as a "job" versus a "calling," and Dave shares practical advice on how tech directors can build trust with senior pastors and get "unstuck" when they feel stagnant.

In this episode you'll hear:

0:00 Toby’s Church Planting Story

6:30 Dave Clark (Fellowship Church Grapevine) Joins

14:30 Defining Ministry: A Job vs. A Calling

17:00 Career Path: From Tech Director to Executive Pastor

21:45 How to Minister to Production Volunteers

27:00 Getting "Unstuck" in Your Ministry Career

29:00 Building Trust with Senior Leadership

38:00 Pastor Ed Young’s Wildest Production Requests

48:00 Staying Calm During a Tech Disaster

53:00 Avoiding "Imaginary Arguments"

54:15 Tech Takeaway: Ask Questions to Understand

55:45 C3 Conference Preview

You can sign up for the C3 Conference with this link to get a special rate discount from $229 to $99.

https://brushfire.com/fellowship/c3conference2026/598770/register?typeCode=C3COMEBACK

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

Lessons from Lauren Daigle & Tate McRae's Crew [Matt Potesta] Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Potesta, System Engineer for artists like Lauren Daigle and Tate McRae. We dive deep into the high-stakes world of touring production, covering everything from how to land your first big road gig to the critical lessons every local church can learn about PA system tuning and system design.

Whether you're looking to upgrade your sanctuary's sound or considering a jump into the professional touring industry, Matt shares the "real-world" costs of professional audio services and how to protect your health while working in a high-demand industry.

In this episode you'll hear:

01:00 Banter: Surprise Parties and Tech Interventions

05:50 Guest Interview: Matt Potesta (Lauren Daigle & Tate McRae Tour)

08:00 Career Roadmap: Landing a World-Class Touring Production Job

13:00 Church Production vs. Touring: Pros, Cons, and Key Differences

19:00 How to "Pay Your Dues" and Break into the Pro Audio Industry

23:30 Touring System Design: Applying Road Lessons to Local Venues

26:50 Budgeting for Sound: How Much Does Professional PA Tuning Cost?

30:50 Should Churches Hire Independent Vetting for System Integrators?

38:30 Career Advice: When to Transition from Church Tech to the Road

43:20 Mental Health in Production: Prioritizing Health and Avoiding Burnout

45:30 Pro Touring Disaster Story: Lessons from the Road

48:00 Tech Takeaway: How to "Condition" Your Audience for Better Services

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!

Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.

Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.

Resources for your Church Tech Ministry

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

Connect with us:

Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!
Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here.
Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here!
Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

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