Unsplash.com; Greyson Joralemon
Wait a minute? You want me to do what? By when?
Every church technical leader learns fast that what was written on the job description doesn’t always come close to what is actually needed on the job.
We asked experienced church tech professionals what kinds of skills were needed that they never dreamed they’d have to provide, and here is what they said:
1-Pipefitter
Alan Haggard of Community Church in Chesapeake, Va., shares, “How about 'pipefitter'? I installed the grid in our new building, and it’s all 2.5-inch black iron. Then there’s hanging it all and tying it together, so it will never fall on anyone….”
2-Counselor
Anthony Coppedge—currently of Loud Creative in Dallas, with an extensive career in church technical direction says, “While I was quick to help introduce my tech team volunteers and staff to professional counselors, I was surprised to learn how much relational equity could translate to deep trust when it came to emotional and spiritual issues in the lives of my teams. In my 20’s and 30’s, I was simply unprepared to do much more than simply be present, listen and pray. It would have been helpful to have spent time learning how to be an empathetic listener.”
3-Decoder
Isaac Bueckert, audio technician at Church of the Rock in Winnipeg, Manitoba, says the role he didn’t expect was, “Translating from Geek to Pastor. Pastors don’t care what stuff does technically, they want to know how it helps reach new people, get them saved, or involved, or helped, etc.” Bueckert regularly finds himself as the translator from tech-speak to mission-driven.
4-Salesman
Nelson who has served on staff most recently in Denver says: “People don’t buy features, they buy benefits. As a technical leader, it is easy for us to see the features. Most of the time our mind makes the link to the benefit that can be gained by that feature. Communicating that to leadership is critical to buy in. In addition, knowing who the decision-makers and stakeholders are is important. Depending on the church structure, that could be [a] department head, business manager, senior pastor, or the board.”
5-Carpenter
Robert Wilson, director of production and technology at Lifegate Church Fremont in California, says, “In my 15 years as a tech guy, it’s hard to remember all of the things I have been asked to do over the years, but in that time, I have become a highly skilled carpenter.” Whether it is crafting millwork or helping with set pieces, church technical leaders sometimes need to know how to run a band saw.
“In my 15 years as a tech guy ... I have become a highly skilled carpenter.” Robert Wilson, Director of Production and Technology, Lifegate Church Fremont, CA
6-Leader
Carey Goin of Greenhouse Church in Gainesville, Fla., says: “No more being the introverted geek. You have to lead and lead well.”
7-Extrovert
Joey Palmer, director of production at Cornerstone Church in Rome, Ga., shares, “I am naturally introverted and so learning to be an extrovert on Sundays, look volunteers in the eye, be excited, handle conflict well and basically convince everyone I’m not an introvert has been challenging but not impossible.
"In this area of service, my team mostly consists of introverts, which is not a bad thing, but it requires that I try even harder to engage them because they are not going to naturally engage with me. This can be hard sometimes and really exhausting. But worth it.”
8-IT Guy
Peter Prantner, technical director at Living Word Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., shares, “I had a couple people ask me to help them figure out how to do something with their personal laptops.” Many times church technical teams wind up being tech support for everything.
“I had a couple people ask me to help them figure out how to do something with their personal laptops.” Peter Prantner, Technical Director, Living Word Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA
9-Yes-Man
Jim Kumorek, a former church technical director and current part-time lighting director, shares that you can’t always say no, so you need to learn to say: “Yes, we can do that. Here’s what we would need to do to make that happen. We would need to cancel the other event on Friday to free up time to set it up, and we aren’t technically equipped to light the space where you want to do that. So, we need to rent $500 of equipment so that people have any hope of seeing you. And…. ” At which point you've moved the need to say "no" back on the requestor.
10-English as a Second Language Teacher
Another tech shared, “I feel like I’m a real-time ESL teacher when directing a live video broadcast. When the refugee camera operator is new to English, you learn to ask for camera shots three different ways.”
