Send us a Text Message.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&...

Send us a Text Message.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 ...

Send us a Text Message.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 St...

Send us a Text Message.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 FILO6:30 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 vid...

Send us a Text Message.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 T...

Send us a Text Message.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 Toby29:15 Game: Songs the Government plays to torture...

Send us a Text Message.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?&nbs...

Send us a Text Message.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 chur...

Send us a Text Message.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:...

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 dinner6:45 Chris Eguizabal joins us!14:45 How did Chris get into church production? (Started at Disney!)19:00 What’s it like...

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...

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...

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...

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"...

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...

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...

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 God8:30 Soundcheck & Demolition Derby 11:20 “Five Truths and a Lie” MxU Pop Ups...

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...

 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...

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 TVs6:00 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...

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 Football19:00 Brenton’s Tech Background 24:15 Should worship and tech be one department at church?28:00...

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...

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 Dallas6:00 Stephen Bailey joins us! 6:30 Jay Desai Vs. Buses 8:30 Five Truths and a Lie 16:00 Stephen’s tech journey:...

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...