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...

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 Clint’s Bethel Background & Tech Journey 22:45 How Clint diversified his skills25:45 How to vet an...

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 Charlie & Ryan fight a blizzard! 33:00 Love at ChurchGear Headquarters 39:40 “ChurchGear almost blew up”...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 shameless5:30 Jeremy Bagwell joins! And fails big time. 17:00 Jeremy’s tech background 21:45 Why is...

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...

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 6:50 Daniel Connell joins the show! 15:45 Church on the Move’s tech history 33:00 How much AVL is needed for...

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 a church “cinematic look” look like? 32:00 Handheld cameras vs. Dollies 33:30 Minimum cost to create a...

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 Cruz joins to explain monitor mixing 20:59 Beyonce’s Diamond In-Ears 25:45 Eddie’s tech journey 31:00 Eddie’s...

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 this episode you'll hear:  1:00 Betrayals at ChurchGear 5:15 Zach Brady of d&b joins us! 18:00 Zach’s...

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 Tech Community comes together 28:30 The importance of community for church techs 30:44 The Thought...

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 Quotes from the Series 32:00 Appreciation & Taking Pay off the Table 38:00 Benefits? Benefits!...

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 The Tech Director reports to…everyone?? 22:15 Should church techs be required to do every single...

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 your Executive Pastor well. In this episode you'll hear:  1:00 Toby’s past church jobs 8:15...

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 Budget pains 5:30 Scott Ragsdale comes back to the podcast! 7:15 One Crazy Quote and Two Lies from the...

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 jobs 18:45 The 6 parts of an Executive Pastor’s Job23:30 Why are church techs not given the “Pastor”...

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 Churches on raising Tech Salaries 5:30 Expectations of a $75,000 salary Church Tech 6:15...

What should a  church tech's starting salary be? Tim Foot joins us this week to kick off our Church Tech Pay Series! In the first of his two episodes with us we discuss church tech starting salaries, current tech hiring trends and  which tech role is the hardest to hire right now. In this episode you’ll hear:  1:00 How we Hire at ChurchGear 6:46 Tim Foot from Slingshot joins us!13:00 Two Truths and a Lie “Church Tech Pay” edition19:45 Slingshot’s mission 21:20 When more candidates come...

What have our friends at MxU been up to?  We chatted with Jeff and Jay on how much a room can excuse a bad mix, MxU's upcoming events and which fast food burger is the best.  In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 CA Mega Church Visits, Floor Buying & In and Out7:20 MxU’s Jeff & Jay join us!8:30 Burger Battle: McDonalds, WhatABurger, In and Out 14:30 Two Truths & a Lie “Church Tech Pay” edition 19:35 Jeff & Jay’s recent touring travels 25:45 How much does a “bad room” damage a...

How do you build a big production team in a healthy way? What is the ethicality of hiring techs from other churches? Tyler came up at Bayside church and now he is leading the production team at Flatirons church. In this episode you'll hear:  1:00 Company culture, hiring patterns 6:15 Tyler Kaneshiro joins us! 9:30 Disney Princesses & Tyler’s implants  12:00 From Bayside to Flatirons church 15:30 Beginning to build the Flatirons production team 20:00 How did Tyler recruit his recent...

How did Toby create ChurchGear? We are covering the failures, successes and surprises that culminated into ChurchGear's creation and success this week! In this episode you'll hear:  1:00 Toby’s horrible poison ivy and meth house 7:00 Toby’s first recording studio 13:50 Toby’s first business betrayal 18:00 Toby’s many new ventures and worship ministry run 21:55 Toby’s first gear flip 23:55 Toby gets his dream job! (It’s a nightmare) 29:25 Gear flipping full time 37:00 ChurchGear’s concept...