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Image courtesy of Christ Fellowship Church, West Palm Beach, Fla.
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Image courtesy of Christ Fellowship Church, West Palm Beach, Fla.
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Image courtesy of Christ Fellowship Church, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Just about every ministry in America likely has a volunteer “problem” of some sort, whether that’s in trying to recruit new ones, provide basic skills training, or even set an attainable level of quality that the team can strive towards on a weekly basis.
The pressure of immediately filling roles can sometimes shortchange a development process, leaving teams struggling to have members who can serve without creating distractions from their mistakes.
Every ministry should ensure that anyone joining a production team has a healthy understanding of the team’s culture and the “why” …
“Creating, executing, and maintaining an effective training program requires a lot of time and energy,” says Bryan Bailey, the Director of Media at Dallas megachurch Prestonwood Baptist. “I totally understand why so many churches don’t do it. It also requires a certain mindset for teaching that not everyone comes by naturally.”
For the perpetually busy tech director, who’s simply running between events to execute and fires to put out, the challenge of developing a system can be daunting. But the perceived difficulty of creating a system shouldn’t outweigh the need for it.
Some ministries feel the pressure of staffing open roles immediately, and when someone expresses interest in serving, they get thrown into the “deep end of the pool” and are expected to learn on the job. While it fills an urgent need of filling an opening with a warm body, it can actually be more harmful than helpful over time.
Remember, ministry leaders are called to shepherd and pastor their flocks, not just teach them about tasks.
“If they have a predisposition to learning technical gear, maybe they can sort it out, but in general, it’s not going to work out,” Bailey notes. Also, “it puts the volunteer in a horrible position of likely failing in their effort to serve or even being embarrassed in front of the church.”
Someone with a true heart to serve may find those feelings quickly overwhelmed by shame if they make visible mistakes, hurting their overall desire to even take a step to serve. And if they don’t already have an existing relationship with other team members, there’s no safe or healthy environment in which they can fail and find grace.
“New volunteers miss building relationships and understanding the church's culture and mission without proper training,” says Dylan Hoffman, the Dream Team Specialist at south Florida multisite ministry Christ Family Church. “Many times we rush people into a seat before we sit with them and get to know them. This lack of relationship can lead to a lack of personal growth, disengagement, and a diminished sense of belonging within the church community.”
An effective training process is essential, not only for new recruits who desperately need the structure and clear vision it provides, but also for veterans who should be continually challenged to grow and improve at their stations too.
Hoffman oversees all aspects of the tech team’s volunteer corps, called “the Dream Team.” This allows him to hyper-focus on recruiting, onboarding, and training new volunteers at all CFC locations, along with taking the lead on all pastoral and spiritual development for the production team’s members, ensuring they understand not just what they’re tasked with, but the “why” behind it as well.
“Culture plays a pivotal role in shaping how tasks are performed, empowering team members to understand how to do things and why they matter in the context of the church's mission,” he notes. “It fosters unity and effective collaboration, as everyone shares a common purpose and understanding of expectations. A strong cultural foundation also ensures consistency in the worship experience, as team members make decisions that reflect the church's vision, creating a seamless and impactful service.”
Hoffman adds, “The ‘why’ provides context, meaning, and clarity, making the ‘what’ more impactful and fostering a team that serves with purpose, not just efficiency.
Every ministry, even those not staffed at CFC’s levels, should ensure that anyone joining a production team has a healthy understanding of the team’s culture and “why” before just diving into task performance. In fact, this should be part of the baseline of an onboarding process for any team.
But why should there even be an “onboarding process” if a team is in dire need of filling open seats as quickly as possible? Shouldn’t someone expressing interest be a good enough first step?
Perhaps. But more often than not, there’s still benefit for having at least some sort of basic introductory plan.
A new recruit should at least provide basic information, especially since many churches nowadays consider doing background checks for volunteers, especially those who may serve around minors in a youth or children’s environment. Also, learning someone’s church and spiritual history can be helpful to better understand not just their ministry past, but to also get a glimpse into their spiritual maturity. After all, at some point, conflict will arise (maybe due to tardiness or a performance issue) and will have to be addressed, so having an understanding of someone’s spiritual maturity may be helpful in walking through their pastoral growth.
Having an objective guideline or checklist also helps a trainer determine when a trainee is ready to serve.
Remember, ministry leaders are called to shepherd and pastor their flocks, not just teach them about tasks. And without clearly defining cultural expectations and team vision up front, a leader loses the right to correct or confront behavior down the road because the standard was never defined.
While doing an interview with a recruit can help build a relational bridge and get to know them and their back story, Bailey also suggests having a short video or a one-page document that summarizes team vision and expectations that the recruit can always have for future reference.

From there, it becomes a “how to” process for each position. It’s helpful to provide an overview of all the team’s positional roles, what their responsibilities are, and any necessary prerequisites. But this is also where it can get very complicated and in-depth, perhaps stretching the capabilities of many team leaders struggling to juggle multiple tasks.
Skills are never “set it and forget it,” and even veterans will still need continuing education.
Shadowing existing team members is a common way for ministries to indoctrinate new members into the execution part of each role. In theory, team veterans would have an understanding not only of the best or proper way to do something but can also impart an understanding of why certain techniques should or shouldn’t be followed.
However, this isn’t always a purely foolproof plan, since each veteran will still likely have their own flavor and preference for doing certain things. This can unfortunately lead to an inconsistent training process, all determined by who is doing the training and, for multisite churches, what parameters may be unique to their environment.
“While shadowing can provide valuable hands-on learning,” Hoffman explained, “it often reflects the person's personal style or habits, which can lead to inconsistencies in how tasks are performed. Objective standards offer a clear, unified framework for all team members to follow, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and that the quality of work is maintained across the board no matter the role they are being trained in.”
This is crucial for ministries desiring consistent outputs from week to week, venue to venue, or even site to site.
“I believe it is vital to provide a well-defined training outline for each position,” Prestonwood’s Bailey says. “This ensures the necessary skills are covered and that they are taught in the proper order. Having a defined training outline (and other resources that stem from that) gives the trainer a solid foundation on which to do the training and confidence that he or she will not leave anything out.”
This could be done as simply as having a bullet-point list or an outline of certain tasks that must be done to be successful at a particular station, what order they should be done in, and any nuances that should be understood for that role. What order should the PA and console be powered on in? What instrument channels need to be patched and checked? When do batteries get replaced in the mics?
Plus, having an objective guideline or checklist also helps a trainer determine when a trainee is ready to serve without oversight by clearly quantifying their ability to do everything listed. It removes a sense of objectivity or “feel” about whether someone can serve capably.
Additionally, ministries can consider doing simple videos on their phone that show steps of the checklist being completed and make them available through Vimeo or YouTube channels, or even Dropbox. This allows recruits to get a refresher or train remotely if they’re not able to consistently attend training sessions.
And for tech leaders who may lack the time to do things like this, training subscription platforms like MxU offer a library of archived content, as do church tech conferences like FILO and CFX. Plus, many manufacturers now provide customized training on product lines on their website or YouTube channel, and for churches using scheduling or team management platforms like Planning Center, it’s easier than ever to embed media or link to training materials on that site itself.
But, regardless of whether it’s done in home-grown content or something already online, the key principle is to ensure that you’re providing access so recruits can fully understand the gear they’ll be using.
And having this content available also fosters the principle of ongoing growth for existing team members. Skills are never “set it and forget it,” and even veterans will still need continuing education.
“We always want to be in the process of increasing our excellence level,” Bailey says of his existing staff and veteran volunteers. “A byproduct of this kind of training is a posture of humility and a community of learners.”
Hoffman was quick to agree.
“As new tools, software, and equipment are introduced, even experienced volunteers need to stay current to operate them effectively,” he says. “Continuing education fosters a culture of excellence, encouraging volunteers to refine their craft, learn new methods, and avoid stagnation. Volunteers who feel empowered through ongoing learning are more likely to take ownership of their roles, take on greater responsibilities, and contribute more creatively to the team's success. This not only improves the quality of production but also enhances team morale and volunteer retention.”
When the training is ongoing, it allows team members to also be recognized publicly for their achievements, perhaps with different stickers or badges that acknowledge the skill level or certification they received. Not only does it give the team benchmarks to strive for, it can lead to some extra camaraderie and friendly competition, all of which will strengthen the team’s unity and closeness.
An effective training process, then, is essential, not only for new recruits who desperately need the structure and clear vision it provides, but also for veterans who should be continually challenged to grow and improve at their stations too.
A clear training outline is a solid and necessary foundation for any successful tech team, and CFC’s Hoffman enthusiastically agreed.
“Consistent training helps cultivate a more competent, confident, and empowered volunteer base,” he shares, “ensuring that they can grow in their roles and continue to meet the evolving needs of the church community.”