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What does it take to make a truly successful church technical director?
We asked Steve Reed—current Minister of Worship Production at First Baptist Dallas. Reed has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in his previous career working with hundreds of church technical directors as a consultant. It’s given him a holistic view of the characteristics that create success.
These are the traits he’s observed that make the difference in church tech directors who are effective, and those who struggle:
1-Being called into the ministry.
One of the unique things about the role of a church tech director is that technical skill can be hired independent of a call to ministry. Yet, the actual role is about way more than technology. It’s pastoral.
... the actual role is about way more than technology. It’s pastoral.
Church technical directors who are fulfilling an internal call have an intrinsic motivation. Something simple technical leadership can’t match on its own. It affects the lens of every decision from how budget is allocated to how conflicts are resolved.
Church tech directors with a call to ministry don’t just lead. They serve.
2-Having a well-rounded knowledge of audio, video and theatrical lighting production.
Most church technical directors get their start in a single discipline. They are experts in audio, video, or theatrical lighting. But being successful at the director level requires a holistic understanding of all the elements of production—and how they work together.
But being successful at the director level requires a holistic understanding of all the elements of production—and how they work together.
The church technical directors who are the most successful develop expertise over time in all of it. (A huge asset when things are going wrong and someone needs to quickly troubleshoot.)
This path to multi-discipline expertise requires the director to be an intentional learner. They become intensely curious about where the tech is going and pick up new skills along the way.
3-The ability to be able to recruit and lead volunteers in the various positions of the AVL team.
One thing is for sure, a church technical director can’t fill all of the roles alone—which makes recruiting, leading and training volunteers a big part of the job. The thing is, the emotional intelligence needed to build a team is a very different skillset to the technical expertise.
The thing is, the emotional intelligence needed to build a team is a very different skillset to the technical expertise.
Unsplash.com; Victoria Quirk
Successful church tech directors have done the internal work to become the type of people who can build teams. They create a ministry that people want to be part of.
They also realize this is a never-ending part of the job. They know that even when everything is covered, they still have to be in recruitment-mode. Creating pipelines of volunteers is a long game.
4-The ability to partner with the worship team to help create and lead in the worship experience.
In some churches, there is tension between the technical and creative teams. The culture is one of rivalry rather than collaboration.
A good tech director is able to listen and capture the look and feel the worship leader is trying to achieve. They are okay with implementing something they didn’t design. They build teams that are not only responsive to creative direction, but can also enhance the vision.
A good tech director is able to listen and capture the look and feel the worship leader is trying to achieve.
Successful church tech directors don’t have time for tired, stereotypical divides between creatives and techs. They know how to create something better.
5-Good organizational skills.
Let’s face it. A lot of the job is logistics.
There are way too many moving pieces to be anything less than organized when it comes to coordinating volunteers, pastors, worship teams, and gear. Add in planning, rehearsals, and special events, and the “moving pieces” become exponential.
Being organized not only gets things done, but it makes the difference in the stress on the team. The ability to plan prevents other people’s emergencies.
Successful church technical leaders have good organizational skills. (Or at least have some great tools in place if it isn’t their natural bent.)
The thing is, successful church technical leaders don’t pop into place fully formed. They are developed over time....
The thing is, successful church technical leaders don’t pop into place fully formed. They are developed over time through every production hassle, gear breakdown, last minute request, and volunteer crisis.
They are built through mistakes narrowly avoided and instances where they spectacularly crash and burn.
Successful church technical directors are crafted. And whatever traits they don’t have now, they are working to build.
