Photo Courtesy of Connor Thomas
CPM: Give us a snapshot of your background. What drew you into church service on the technical side?
Olson: I have been in the church [since] nine months before I was born. Both of my parents were very active at my home church as musicians and small group leaders. I grew up as the kid that was in the church anytime the doors were open. Naturally, I became a musician as well and started playing drums in church at a very young age. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my home church had an incredible tech staff that spoiled me….
I found myself spending so much time off of the stage in prep work and eventually got a job at my college on the AVL team. I was by no means an incredible tech guy, but I had a willing spirit and did all that I could to communicate value and respect to those I was supporting, [whether] it was behind a console, patching something on a stage, or organizing an event. During this time, I had fallen in love with Elevation Worship and how their music was impacting me. Truthfully, I wanted to intern in music, but there was no such thing as a drumming internship. [So] I interned in production, came on staff as a production director, and six years later can’t imagine being anywhere else.
CPM: What’s the Elevation Church team leadership structure that works best for you?
Olson: There are three basic types of leadership models that I find myself going in and out of constantly. 1.) The “general” sits at the top of the hill and observes [and] makes suggestions, having others go into battle. This is an important position so volunteers and other staff members know who is in charge and know who to look to when things inevitably become chaotic. 2.) The next type of leader is “shoulder to shoulder” with others. This is especially important when you are training someone who you see potential in. They need to see how you think and be in the trenches with you. 3.) The third type of leader is the “brush cutter.” This person goes before others and clears a path for those coming behind them. This could look like prep-work for a new volunteer so they don’t feel lost, a necessary conversation with someone that is causing tension on the team, or sometimes just cleaning up backstage so it isn’t a liability to anyone walking back there.
CPM: What advice would you give tech teams at other multi-site churches? What are some of your go-to resources and methods?
Olson: Use every free resource that you can. I can’t tell you how many Google docs and sheets we use that contain pertinent information. We [also] use Planning Center so all campuses can see what [the] others are doing. We also completely rely on Slack for weekend communication.
One thing that never changes about our weekends is a full run-through on Saturday before church and another full run-through minus the sermon on Sunday. Even if we have sung a song 250 times before, it might be a volunteer’s first time running lyrics for that song. We never want them doing something for the first time live during church, and being consistent with our rehearsals allows for them to build confidence and know what’s coming.
