The ChurchGear Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

How important is it to have fellow church tech friends? 

Justin Firesheets joins us to discuss how production friends can help improve your church's production, your morale and keep you sane! 

In this episode you'll hear: 

0:00 – Intro: Why church techs need church production friends and community
1:00 – How many friends do you actually need in church production?
5:36 – How Toby’s church tech connections saved the day
7:00 – Justin Firesheets on building relationships in the church tech world
22:00 – Why connecting with other church production leaders is up to you
27:00 – Practical ways to reach out and network with other church techs
42:25 – Church tech disaster story: awkward guest speaker walk-out music
47:20 – Tech Takeaway: Why everything in church production is harder when you’re alone
50:30 – Church Tech Confessional: Real talk from the production booth

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

How do you produce the largest Gospel presentation in history with less than 10 days?

Brad McCraw joins us to discuss how his team produced the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service with no time and the highest of stakes. 

In this episode:

1:00 — Moments When Time Stood Still in American History
5:45 — How Brad McCraw Became the Production Lead for Charlie Kirk’s Memorial Service
11:00 — How Secret Service Affected the Production and AVL Setup
12:00 — How Mosaic  Pulled Off the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service in Record Time
23:00 — Balancing Production Excellence While Grieving a Loss
26:00 — The Technical Workload Behind Producing the Charlie Kirk Memorial on Short Notice
27:30 — Behind the Scenes: Production Days Leading Up to the Memorial Service
34:45 — What Gear, Lighting, and Audio Equipment Were Used for the Memorial Service
38:45 — How Secret Service Protocols effect on the AVL and Broadcast Production
46:25 — When the Emotional Weight of the Event Finally Hit
1:05:00 — Finding Purpose: How Every Church Tech Role Can Serve the Gospel

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

How do you get your executive pastor to give a "yes" to all your requests?

We're joined by our Southeast Church friends today to continue our Executive Pastor and Tech podcast series. 

In this episode you'll hear: 

1:00 Blake’s hilarious church tech mic moment
4:55 Southeast Christian Church team joins the podcast
6:50 Five Truths and a Lie: church production edition
16:00 What an executive pastor really does in church leadership
18:30 How church techs can build trust with their executive pastor
23:15 How to get a “yes” from your executive pastor as a church tech
33:15 The right way to ask your executive pastor for resources or budget
41:30 When church gear fails (and you warned it would)
45:45 System failure stories in church production
52:00 Why the church tech–integrator relationship matters
1:01:00 Handling tension with your executive pastor as a church production leader
1:07:10 Why church techs should talk about non-work things with pastors

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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.

 
 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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! 

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: 

• 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

Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here. 

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!