The ChurchGear Podcast

Are modern church tech job descriptions completely unrealistic compared to the salaries being offered?

What is it actually like to leave a church tech job for a massive touring gig? And more importantly, do touring audio engineers actually make that much more money?

In this episode, we are joined by Scott Ragsdale to talk about the massive career shift between local church production and mixing world tours for artists like Joe Bonamassa.

In this episode you'll hear: 
0:00 Intro: Toby & Blake’s Previous Job Searches
7:00 Scott Ragsdale Joins the Podcast!
10:45 Scott’s Journey Into Production Ministry
15:30 Is the Grass Greener? Church Tech vs. Touring Production
20:15 The Salary Reality: Do Touring Audio Engineers Actually Make More Money?
26:15 Do Church Techs Have the Skills to Mix a World Tour for Joe Bonamassa?
38:40 The "Salary Band" Trap: Why Churches Lose Their Best Techs
45:00 The Big Debate: Can You Survive on a Small Church Tech Salary?
54:15 Closing the Pay Gap Between Touring and Church Production
1:07:40 How to Become the Tech Director Your Church Wants to Retain
1:15:30 Church Tech Confessional: Ghost
Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th! 
Check out HouseRight here to see why we recommend them as an integrator AND a great place to work! 
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!

If you are currently working in ministry, how do you actually negotiate for better pay?

We're joined by Johnny Ragin, the founder of the massively popular Worship Sound Guy platform. We dive deep into the taboo topic of church finances, discussing Johnny's starting church tech salary, and debate if churches have to consider touring/corporate AVL jobs when they look at the market rate for church techs salaries. 

In this episode you'll hear: 
0:00 Intro: Toby’s Gear Flipping Origin Story
7:00 Johnny Ragin (Worship Sound Guy) Joins the Podcast!
11:00 The Reality of Starting Salaries in Church Tech
20:10 Who Actually Sets the Market Rate for Church Tech Salaries?
27:00 Why the Role of Technical Director Has Gotten Significantly Harder
31:30 The Disconnect: Job Description Demands vs. Offered Salary
35:00 The Case for (and against) Hiring Highly Skilled, Part-Time Church Techs
40:00 Strategy: How to Ask for a Raise Without Getting a Promotion
46:30 Should You Bring Personal Life Circumstances into a Salary Negotiation?
55:00 Keep Sundays Running: Why Johnny Actually Left His Church Role
1:00:00 Church Tech Confessional: An AI Translation Disaster

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th! 
Check out HouseRight here to see why we recommend them as an integrator AND a great place to work! 
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 actually happens to your ministry job when your marriage falls apart? Will you be immediately fired, or will your leadership team walk alongside you?

In this incredibly vulnerable and necessary episode, we sit down with Justin Firesheets to tackle the taboo and deeply painful reality of navigating a divorce while serving on church staff. Justin opens up about his own personal journey, walking us through exactly how and when he approached his executive leadership team.

In this episode you'll hear: 
0:00 Intro: The Difficulty of Marriage
5:15 Justin Firesheets Joins the Podcast!
9:45 Navigating a Divorce While on Church Staff
12:00 How to Talk to Executive Leadership About a Coming Divorce
24:15 How Long Should You Wait Before Disclosing It to Leadership?
25:30 Did the Church Have an Official Policy on Staff Divorce?
29:25 The Fear of Losing Your Ministry Job During a Personal Crisis
43:15 The Debate: Should Divorce Policies Differ Depending on Your Church Role?
47:15 Justin’s Advice: When to Bring Leadership in to Help
57:50 Church Tech Confessional

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th! 
Check out HouseRight here to see why we recommend them as an integrator AND a great place to work! 
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 happens when the production team at one of the largest mega-churches in the country experiences a complete Sunday morning meltdown? And more importantly, how do you face your executive leadership the next day?

In this incredibly vulnerable episode, we are joined by Live Production Lead Mike Smith and Director of Media Bryan Bailey from the massive Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. Mike pulls back the curtain to share the absolute worst Sunday of his entire church production career, walking us through the terrifying reality of the failure and advice on handling leadership conversations that follow these moments. 

In this episode you'll hear: 
0:00 Intro: Toby and Blake’s Vehicle Disasters
5:30 Mike Smith & Bryan Bailey (Prestonwood Baptist Church) Join the Podcast
11:15 The Worst Sunday of Mike Smith’s Church Production Career
22:10 Navigating the Monday Meeting: The Conversation with Leadership
30:00 The Big Debate: Has Modern Church Production Gotten Too Fancy?
37:50 The Mental Game: How Long Does It Take to Recover from a Bad Sunday?
41:40 Practical Advice to Prevent Massive Church Tech Mistakes
47:30 Keep Sundays Running
52:00 Church Tech Confessional

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th! 
Check out HouseRight here to see why we recommend them as an integrator AND a great place to work! 
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!

Are we outsourcing too many of our actual thoughts to Artificial Intelligence? And more importantly, is AI going to eventually replace the need for human volunteers in the tech booth?

In this episode, we are joined by Jake Gosselin, founder of Churchfront, to tackle the most highly debated topic in modern ministry: Artificial Intelligence. Jake shares his personal journey into live production before diving deep into exactly how AI is currently being integrated into the church tech space.

In this episode you'll hear: 
0:00 Intro: Are We Outsourcing Too Many Thoughts to AI?
5:00 Jake Gosselin’s Journey into Church Tech (Churchfront)
16:00 How AI is Actually Being Integrated into Church Production
19:15 Can AI Fill the Gap for Understaffed Tech Ministries?
22:50 The Big Debate: Will AI Replace Church Tech Volunteers?
29:15 How to Start Integrating AI into Your Workflow Today
35:00 Will AI Kill Us All Terminator Style? 
37:30 Church Tech Disaster Stories
42:45 Keep Sundays Running

Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th! 
Check out HouseRight here to see why we recommend them as an integrator AND a great place to work! 
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!