With two campuses in South Florida, a site in Pensacola, the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and another in Lima, Peru, Potential Church is widely regarded as one of the more innovative and influential ministries around today.
“The DAS line arrays and subs really hit the sweet spot for us in that balance between clarity and value." - Brandon Charlton, Production Director, Potential Church, Cooper City, FL
The church places a heavy emphasis on reaching people with the Gospel in unique and creative ways, which means their worship services are a central part of their strategy for carrying out their mission, both live and through their internet campus. Aligning the ministry with their value on growth and evangelism through their weekend experience is a big part of why Potential Church has continually needed to foster and invest in developing a world-class production ministry.
“Potential was unlike anything I’d seen before. I’d grown up in church, but I’d never seen a professional-level production setup in the context of ministry.” - Brandon Charlton, Production Director, Potential Church, Cooper City, FL
“Production and tech allows us to communicate our story in a way that draws people,” says Greg Hooper, executive creative director at Potential. “Our mission is to help people reach their God potential, and we believe that can only happen through a relationship with Jesus.” Hooper continues, “Our goal is to connect people to God, and we can’t do that without good tech and good production. We realize that people have options and choices any given week, and we know we’re competing with the world for attention. Our production team helps us create those environments where people can really connect to God.”
Brandon’s Story
For Potential Church’s production director Brandon Charlton, the process of assuming the mantle of ministry leadership wasn’t as clear-cut from the outside looking in. “I went to school for production at Cook University in Daytona Beach and graduated 2012,” shares Charlton. “After that I went to work in nationally syndicated morning shows right out of college.” Charlton recalls, “Eventually I worked my way up to being a production manager, primarily working in studios. After taking a job opportunity here in Miami I began doing a lot of volunteering with churches in the area. It was an avenue that was interesting in that it married my passions for production with church and being able to share my faith.
Brandon Charlton, Production Director, Potential Church, Cooper City, FL.
“While I was volunteering, I did a brief stint with FEMA doing disaster relief. During that time my sister actually sent me a link to Potential Church and the job opening. I decided to apply for the job, and soon after that one of the pastors reached out to invite me for a visit.”
Charlton continues, “Potential was unlike anything I’d seen before. I’d grown up in church, but I’d never seen a professional-level production setup in the context of ministry. I just felt like it was too unique an opportunity to pass up at the time, and it was a really good fit for me personally.”
Reimagining volunteer leadership
Charlton’s background in live production eventually led to the development of a somewhat distinctive approach to volunteer development and leadership. “It’s been a fascinating experience to try and bring the excellence of a studio job into a context where we share the kingdom,” explains Charlton. “When I first came aboard they definitely let me know that the world I came from, the television production world, was a real asset.”This unique perspective led Charlton to develop a volunteer-leader model built on the practice of emphasizing leadership development, rather than simply training operators.
“On our Production Team we have ‘Coaches’ who oversee video, ProPresenter, camera operations, lighting, audio and administration,” says Charlton. “We want leaders in every area, and my role is to lead that team of Coaches. I usually direct the video on the weekend, but when leaders are ready to move into that area I’m happy to step back.” “The advantage is that you’re building influence and character within the volunteer leaders,” shares Charlton. “At some point I need a vacation. Being able to step away and have that flexibility, and knowing things aren’t going to miss a beat, is definitely the goal. When you’re able to stand on your own two feet as a leader, [it] really feels good. To be able to impart and instill that value into the members of our team feels even better.”
Upgrading to 21st century audio
In 2018, after years of four- and five-service weekends, Potential Church’s live audio system was on its last legs and in need of a serious upgrade. “Necessity really drove our upgrade,” remembers Charlton. “Our main loudspeaker system went down, and there just wasn’t any way to make it work any longer. Fortunately, we have a great connection with Washington Arias at Everlast Productions [in Miami]. Their expertise, their understanding of our environment and our mission, as well as their breadth of experience—all of these things really made a difference for us.”Arias, CEO of Everlast Productions, recalls, “Potential had a sound system that was installed many years ago. The church doesn’t throw money at things they don’t need, but eventually the amps started failing and the speaker cones started breaking.
"We’re looking to reach the next generation, and technology is something that’s always evolving … so we want to stay on the cutting edge of what’s going on.” Greg Hooper, Executive Creative Director, Potential Church, Cooper City, FL.
Ultimately, it had been patched together too many times.” He continues, “At Everlast we’ve been using DAS Audio for six years and we’ve developed a very good relationship with them. We’ve had it out on the road and we knew they made great systems. The return on investment is amazing with their speakers, and we knew we wouldn’t be getting a phone call on a Saturday night with a problem.” Charlton shares, “The DAS line arrays and subs really hit the sweet spot for us in that balance between clarity and value. Before we got the DAS system muddiness was really an issue, especially in the lower frequencies. When you listen to our music, our videos, and even how the Ableton tracks sound, you can really hear a serious difference.”
Moving forward
For Potential Church, at the end of the day the process of upgrading to the right audio system for its auditorium ultimately came down to finding the right tools to carry out the mission. “We’re looking to reach the next generation, and technology is something that’s always evolving,” asserts Hooper. “In a year’s time what’s cool can become irrelevant, so we want to stay on the cutting edge of what’s going on.”Charlton concurs, “Growth is something we love. It’s part of our mission: to be able to reach as many people as possible and help them reach their God Potential.” And he closes, “Multisite is a major component of that strategy, and production plays a big role in helping that strategy moving into the future. What our team does is all behind the scenes, so it’s important to us to stay aware of exactly how our ministry makes a difference—and helps our church grow.”
