Another frequent question I was asked at CFX in Dallas was “How to grow your church tech team”. Having a church tech team is essential to every church. Unfortunately most churches don’t know how to grow their tech team. Let me help guide you on how to build a church tech team and, just as importantly, how to train them.
It’s the full responsibility of the tech team to ensure quality video and audio recording, stream services online, and handle contents and posts on the virtual church platform and social media platforms. Costs and Staffing are the complaints and fear of most churches, who often perceive churches with well-equipped teams as having spent a fortune in growing the team. In reality, while a lot of dedication and investment is required, what the church doesn’t know is that live streaming can be started with just few items.
NECESSARY EQUIPMENT FOR A CHURCH TECH TEAM
Cameras
The camera is the most important equipment you’ll need for church video production and you definitely will be spending more on this item. For a start you can have one camera but we recommend two cameras.
Laptop
A laptop is as essential as your camera, because production and live streaming will be done on the laptop.
Software encoders
A software encoder is a necessity for live streaming because it converts video input into a digital format for playback on various devices. An encoder takes your content and converts it into a digital format to stream online, some examples are OBS studio and vMix. To capture video, software encoders need to be paired with a capture card. So, a capture card is also essential
Tripod
No matter how good your cinematographer is, you need a tripod. The smallest shake can be visible in a video. Using a tripod helps stabilize and elevates your camera. It also improves the video quality of a camera and turns a basic camera into a much better production tool.
Video Switchers
A video switcher, commonly called a mixer is a software program that selects multiple incoming video feeds and directs one of those signals to a single output. The output could be a streaming device or the screen. A director controls the switcher, analyzing the various incoming camera angles and selecting the best view to output. I recommend Blackmagic ATEM production studio 4k
Fast Internet
A fast internet connection is critical for live streaming.
With all this equipment in place, the next phase is to train your tech team
TRAIN YOUR TECH TEAM
You may ask, “How many volunteers does the church need?.” We recommend about 3 to 4 people. Don’t worry if your volunteers don’t have video production ideas, all they need is to be computer literate, dedicated to the goals of the church, and willing to learn.
In training your team, the team needs to know where the ministry is going. The expectations of the ministry should be outlined for the team members.
The team must be trained in the use of all the necessary equipment (which I’ve listed above) and how the equipment works together.
Having an operating guide is also a necessity. An operating guide will show, step by step, how to set up. This reduces the complexity of set up and encourages volunteers to join the team.
DELEGATE TASKS AND TAKE INVENTORY
For the team to effectively grow, the work load needs to be shared amongst the team members. During training, you would have come to know your team and their best abilities. This helps the church make better choices and be able to successfully achieve its ultimate goal.
Delegating tasks is not the end, the leader needs to determine where the team is at every moment, what they have been doing well, what haven’t they been doing well, the hiccups, and possible ways of ensuring a better team.
MAKE LEARNING A CULTURE
Learning is a process and unless you keep training and learning at the same pace as technology evolves, the church tech team may not achieve its goals. In addition to church growth, personal growth of the team members should be a core value entrenched in the team’s culture. The tech team should have a growth mindset.
To start, offer training and development programs for your tech team, teaching them soft skills like problem-solving, agility and emotional intelligence.
I hope this helps you, please send any questions you would like answered to me at bdipaolo@worshipfacility.com.