Gear Follows Vision | A Church Leadership, Vision & Tech Systems Podcast

Church production problems rarely start with bad gear — they start with misalignment. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Chase McCall to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing churches today: alignment between worship teams, production teams, and senior leadership. From frustrating weekend service moments — bad audio mixes, missed cues, late lyrics, and communicati...

Church audio plugins can improve a mix — or quietly destroy clarity. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Summit solution architect Andrew Starke joins Deron for a deep conversation about plugin culture in church audio, live sound, and AVL production. They unpack how modern mixing workflows in churches often drift from intentional and effective to overprocessed and unnecessarily complicated....

Church production burnout doesn’t happen overnight — it builds quietly until it impacts your health, your family, and even your calling. In this episode, Deron sits down with Summit Integrated Systems solution architect Seth Thiesen to talk about what it really takes to build a sustainable career in church production, AVL, and live sound ministry. Not more gear. Not more hustle. Better priorities....

Planning a church technology upgrade? The hardest question isn’t what to buy — it’s who should help you design it. In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit solution architect Andrew Starke to break down the four common paths for church AVL upgrades: hiring a consultant, working with a design-build integrator, using manufacturer designs, or building it in-house. Each opti...

Automation is everywhere in modern church production — but just because you  can  automate something doesn’t mean you should. In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit engineer Matt Strong to explore how automation is changing church AVL systems. From simple wins like automatically powering TVs and triggering walk-in music to advanced workflows with timecoded lyrics, ligh...

What makes a church control room workflow actually work on Sunday? In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit solution architect Seth Thiesen to break down church video system design, volunteer workflows, and control room best practices after a major video upgrade. From monitor walls as the “single source of truth” to roles like shading, TD, and QC, we show how to set up y...

Should your church build a dedicated broadcast mix — or keep it simple at front of house? In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Jesse O’Brien, audio director at Red Rocks Church, to talk about real-world strategies for church broadcast audio and livestream mixing. As online services have become a bigger focus, many churches are asking whether they need a separate broadcast...

What does “cinematic” actually mean for a church camera system? In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with John Clark, former production director at Red Rocks Church, to unpack the real differences between broadcast and cinema-style video systems in church production. From frame rate and motion to depth of field, operator workflow, and switching, we break down how camera style...

Everyone wants 4K video — but few churches understand what it really requires. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Summit engineer Matt Strong to unpack the real-world implications of upgrading a church video system to 4K. From cable distance limits and plenum-rated wiring to bandwidth, compression, fiber infrastructure, and screen distribution, we break down the technic...

If your church system needs a full-time engineer to survive Sunday, it may not be underbuilt — it may be overdesigned. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Summit engineer Travis Leatherman to talk about building church AVL systems that volunteers can actually run. From lighting consoles and audio patching to labeling, presets, and infrastructure decisions, we break down...

Great church production infrastructure isn’t about concrete and copper — it’s about flexibility. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron talks with Jake Cody (formerly with Yamaha and Bayside Church) about designing portable, scalable church production systems that can be torn down, rebuilt, and reimagined every week. From motorized PAs and portable amps to standardized tones and volunteer...

What do church leaders really mean when they say  vision  — and how do you turn that into clear outcomes? In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Tyler Kaneshiro from Flatirons Community Church to break down leadership communication, production strategy, and how to translate big ideas into practical next steps. From small rooms to multisite churches, we unpack how trust is b...

Thinking about upgrading your church PA system? This episode could save you from expensive mistakes. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron and Andrew break down what actually makes a church sound system work — and why adding more speakers or choosing the “best” brand doesn’t guarantee better sound. We unpack common PA upgrade mistakes, lessons learned the hard way, and why thoughtful sys...

FREE DOWNLOAD: Vision Blueprint What does it really mean when we say  Gear Follows Vision ? In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Summit co-CEO Nick Kofahl to unpack the origin of the phrase and why it became the guiding principle behind how Summit serves churches. From Nick’s ministry background to real project lessons, this conversation explores why church vision, callin...

Every worship experience lives or dies by the room. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Andrew Starke to unpack church acoustics and why the room itself is often the biggest factor shaping what your congregation actually hears. Bigger speakers and better consoles can’t fix a space that’s working against your message. We dig into why fan-shaped auditoriums and curved back...

Multisite ministry isn’t one-size-fits-all — and neither is livestreaming. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , Deron sits down with Summit solution architect Cameron Fries to unpack church multisite and livestream strategy, starting with the question most teams skip:  Why are we streaming?  Before buying gear or running fiber, your vision has to lead the technology. We break down the three m...

Everything in your AVL system depends on one thing: the network. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , we sit down with Summit engineer Matt Strong to break down church network design and why ignoring it causes Dante dropouts, lagging KVMs, and unreliable livestreams. We unpack how poor network planning quietly limits audio, video, lighting, and broadcast systems long before teams realize what...

Your lighting may look fine in the room — but on camera, it’s telling a different story. In this episode of  Gear Follows Vision , we break down why so many churches struggle with lighting that looks washed out, uneven, or distracting on video — and why it’s usually not the camera’s fault. We unpack the most common church lighting mistakes and how to design lighting that works for both live worshi...