The ChurchGear Podcast

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Leadership has a massive vision, but the tech budget doesn’t match the dream. This week, we sit down with Justin Hume from Cross Church to discuss how to bridge that gap without losing your mind. From planning your next console upgrade to the 'mission-critical' gear you should never buy cheap, we’re covering the practical side of church production—plus a spicy hot take on why Ableton-run lyrics might be a mistake."In this episode you'll hear: 01:00 Church Tech Community Trends05:00 Guest Interview: Justin Hume (Cross Church)07:00 How to Start a Career in Church Production12:15 Aligning Church Leadership Vision with Tech Budgets18:45 Church Broadcast Workflow: How Cross Church Does It24:45 Audio Console Upgrade: How to Plan for New Gear26:20 Essential Church Tech vs. Budget Production Gear28:30 Are Gear Warranties Worth It for Churches?30:26 Hot Take: Why You Shouldn't Use Ableton for Lyrics36:00 Live Production Disaster Stories & Lessons Learned40:15 Networking: Finding Your Church Production Community43:50 Church Tech Confessional: Behind-the-Scenes StoriesCheck out their projects and job opportunities here!  Come Hangout With Your Tech Community at The Mix! 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 you bring 9 Emmys and a background with the Dallas Mavericks into the church control room? You get a masterclass in production excellence.On today’s show, we’re joined by Dave Evans of Cottonwood Creek Church. We’re diving into the Broadcast vs. Cinema style debate, how AI tools are changing ministry, and practical ways to make your church production budget go further. Plus, stay tuned for a QR code disaster story that every tech director needs to hear."In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Painful Story: Integrator Woes 4:30 Dave Evans (Cottonwood Creek Church) Joins 10:20 The Evolution: Analog to Digital 20:30 AI Impact on Church Tech 24:30 Tips for Stretching Your Budget 29:45 Engaging Gen Z Through Production 34:15 Broadcast vs. Cinema Style Production 37:50 Disaster Story: The Wrong QR Code 45:15 Dave’s Emmy Awards 50:00 Church Tech ConfessionalCheck out their projects and job opportunities here!  Come Hangout With Your Tech Community at The Mix! 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!

In this episode, Will Chapman from Cottonwood Creek Church joins us to explore the changing world of church production. We cover Crossroads Church’s LED wall vision, Gen Z’s worship preferences, and how AI, AR, and VR are shaping the future of Sunday services. A must-listen for church techs, worship leaders, and production volunteers looking ahead.In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Crossroads Church’s LED wall vision + the future of church production6:50 Guest intro: Will Chapman from Cottonwood Creek Church9:45 Breaking into church production: first steps and career tips13:30 Are megachurches losing momentum? Trends in church growth14:45 Does Gen Z want less production in worship?23:00 How AI is entering church production workflows28:30 Can AI live-translate sermons in real time?42:00 AR + VR in future church production and worship environments49:30 Tech Takeaway: key lessons for church techs53:30 Church Tech Confessional: stories from the boothCheck out their projects and job opportunities here!  Come Hangout With Your Tech Community at The Mix! 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!

We've seen the disastrous effects of picking the wrong integrator for your church: over budget projects, late projects and even firings. How do you pick the right integrator for your church so your church body is served well? Luke Hesher joins us with 7 Tips to pick the right integrator for your church. Follow this playbook and you'll be setup for success when you start interviewing integrators. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Inside Toby’s Life.Church Production Tour5:45 Luke Hesher Joins the Conversation8:30 Luke’s Path Into Church AVL Integration13:45 Tip #1 How to Choose the Right Church AVL Integrator19:40 Tip #2 How to Build a Strong Relationship With Your Integrator21:30 Tip #3 Church AVL Integrator Red Flags to Watch For33:45 Tip #4 What to Expect From Your Integrator After the Project Ends38:45 Tip #5 Who to Call When Gear Fails: Questions Every Church Should Ask44:25 Tip #6 How Ignoring Your Integrator Could Cost You Your Job46:15 Tip #7 HouseRight’s Growth Through Quality Feedback55:00 Tech Takeaway: How to Develop Your Team58:00 Church Tech Confessional: This Week’s StoryCheck out their projects and job opportunities here!  Come Hangout With Your Tech Community at The Mix! 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 increase your skills, can you get by with lower quality gear?Jesse O’Brien joins us this week to reveal the Red Rocks playbook for stretching a gear budget and still delivering excellent production quality.In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 – Toby crawls under the stage to fix church AVL integration issues7:30 – Jesse O’Brien from Red Rocks Church joins the podcast9:00 – How Jesse got into church production at Red Rocks Church12:15 – The production gear Red Rocks Worship brings on tour17:25 – Inside Red Rocks’ broadcast campus gear + setup21:15 – How Red Rocks Church maximizes their production budget23:20 – The best way to save big on your church tech budget30:00 – Do speaker brands actually matter for church sound?36:45 – Doing church production when expectations exceed budget40:00 – Using event budgets to get new gear approved44:00 – Disaster story: When the broadcast feed goes down49:45 – Church Tech Takeaway53:30 – Church Tech ConfessionalCheck out their projects and job opportunities here!  Come Hangout With Your Tech Community at The Mix! 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!