The ChurchGear Podcast

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 jou...

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...

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 educa...

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 Dalla...

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 epis...

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 Clin...

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 C...

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: “...

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 Wo...

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 join...

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 &...

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 pr...

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 shame...

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 Alligator...

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 ...

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...

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 Cru...

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...

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 Te...

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 Quo...

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 T...

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 y...

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 Bud...

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 job...

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 Ch...