Claim OwnershipThe ChurchGear Podcast
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© 2026 The ChurchGear Podcast
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Are you a church tech director? If so, this podcast exists to serve you specifically. Each week we pull the tech director out of the booth and place them onto the stage to share their most outlandish stories and hidden wisdom from the tech trenches. Hosted by Toby Walters and Blake Hodges.
204 Episodes
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Dillan Howell has run many large scale events. From corporate ballroom events to managing the artists for the Charlie Kirk Memorial, Dillan's see it all. What lessons has he learned from his time in large scale events that he would bring back to church production if he returned to a church tech role? In this episode you'll hear: 01:00 Field Trip: Behind the Scenes of a Weird Open House05:30 Guest Interview: Dillan Howell (Evnt Ready)11:30 Realities of Church Live Eve...
Church techs confessed some absolutely wild things to us in 2025. -Volunteering so you can marry the tech director -The worst TV stage rollout possible -Deciding to "kill" the file for the spicy "Marriage Conference Talks" In this episodes you'll hear: 1:00 Toby’s little story: Nate Bargatze stand up 5:15 Why you should have a billionaires kid on your volunteer team9:15 “Lemons into Lemonade” Award 14:50 “Funniest Moment of the Year” Award 20:15 “Awk...
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Leadership has a massive vision, but the tech budget doesn’t match the dream. This week, we sit down with Justin Hume from Cross Church to discuss how to bridge that gap without losing your mind. From planning your next console upgrade to the 'mission-critical' gear you should never buy cheap, we’re covering the practical side of church production—plus a spicy hot take on why Ableton-run lyrics might be a mistake." In this episode you'll hear: ...
What happens when you bring 9 Emmys and a background with the Dallas Mavericks into the church control room? You get a masterclass in production excellence. On today’s show, we’re joined by Dave Evans of Cottonwood Creek Church. We’re diving into the Broadcast vs. Cinema style debate, how AI tools are changing ministry, and practical ways to make your church production budget go further. Plus, stay tuned for a QR code disaster story that every tech director needs to hear." In this e...
In this episode, Will Chapman from Cottonwood Creek Church joins us to explore the changing world of church production. We cover Crossroads Church’s LED wall vision, Gen Z’s worship preferences, and how AI, AR, and VR are shaping the future of Sunday services. A must-listen for church techs, worship leaders, and production volunteers looking ahead. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Crossroads Church’s LED wall vision + the future of church production 6:50 Guest intro: Will C...
We've seen the disastrous effects of picking the wrong integrator for your church: over budget projects, late projects and even firings. How do you pick the right integrator for your church so your church body is served well? Luke Hesher joins us with 7 Tips to pick the right integrator for your church. Follow this playbook and you'll be setup for success when you start interviewing integrators. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Inside Toby’s Life.Church Producti...
If you increase your skills, can you get by with lower quality gear? Jesse O’Brien joins us this week to reveal the Red Rocks playbook for stretching a gear budget and still delivering excellent production quality. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 – Toby crawls under the stage to fix church AVL integration issues 7:30 – Jesse O’Brien from Red Rocks Church joins the podcast 9:00 – How Jesse got into church production at Red Rocks Church 12:15 – The production gear Red Rocks Worshi...
How important is it to have fellow church tech friends? Justin Firesheets joins us to discuss how production friends can help improve your church's production, your morale and keep you sane! In this episode you'll hear: 0:00 – Intro: Why church techs need church production friends and community 1:00 – How many friends do you actually need in church production? 5:36 – How Toby’s church tech connections saved the day 7:00 – Justin Firesheets on building relationships i...
![Producing the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service [Mosaic's Brad McCraw]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/ju572bv1nerb84alvcoh5vgwl82x?.jpg "Producing the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service [Mosaic's Brad McCraw]")
How do you produce the largest Gospel presentation in history with less than 10 days? Brad McCraw joins us to discuss how his team produced the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service with no time and the highest of stakes. In this episode: 1:00 — Moments When Time Stood Still in American History 5:45 — How Brad McCraw Became the Production Lead for Charlie Kirk’s Memorial Service 11:00 — How Secret Service Affected the Production and AVL Setup 12:00 — How Mosaic Pulled Off the Charli...
Are churches allocating their church production budget in the right places? Church Tech Consultant, Jerod Togger, joins the ChurchGear podcast this week to discuss In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Toby’s thrifty upbringing shaped his gear buying habits 6:00 Jerrod Togger joins us!10:10 What’s the first place to start in church production in AVL20:00 Where should you spend and save money on church production lighting? 32:30 Does anyone watch the church broadcast?&nbs...
How can churches retain church tech talent when the secular world can offer them so much more financial compensation? Todd Elliott joins us to discuss the importance of valuing your church tech, finding your calling as a church tech and the theology of church production. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 — Are church tech directors still treated poorly? 4:45 — Todd Elliott on leadership and church production 11:00 — Finding your calling as a church tech 18:00 — The the...
![Recruiting Volunteers Beyond A Preservice Slide [Fellowship's Alexa Page]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/7moxom8aa0hrur85ybxhkmdhj81p?.jpg "Recruiting Volunteers Beyond A Preservice Slide [Fellowship's Alexa Page]")
How can we recruit church tech volunteers beyond a preservice slide? Alexa has recruited a full army of volunteers and joins us this week to discuss how your team can finally recruit the church tech volunteers you need. (And even more importantly, how to train them up!) In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 – Challenges of Recruiting Church Tech Volunteers 6:30 – Guest Interview: Alexa Paige on Church Volunteer Culture 12:00 – How to Recruit and Keep Church Tech Volunteers 19:25 – The First...
![How Flying Drummer Boys Save Souls [Prestonwood's Bryan Bailey]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/b4cy791e3rmwryvk86yrz7sq8dyy?.jpg "How Flying Drummer Boys Save Souls [Prestonwood's Bryan Bailey]")
How does production bring souls to Christ? Bryan Bailey joins us from Prestonwood Baptist Church to tell us how excellence in production brings people closer to the Kingdom. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Did ChatGPT Write Toby’s Church Production Book? 4:00 The Most Overlooked Element of a Successful Church Production 7:25 Creative Church Outreach Idea: Build a Fence for Your Community 15:45 How to Cast Vision That Inspires Your Church Production Team 24:00 Maintaining...
![History of Church Production [Sweetwater's Kent Morris]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/uobg687hhpee76nzfj47zacc36vr?.jpg "History of Church Production [Sweetwater's Kent Morris]")
Did church production only start in the past few decades during the worship wars? Or did church production start centuries ago instead of decades? Kent Morris of Sweetwater joins us this week to school us in the history of church production. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 – Toby’s new church production book release6:20 – History of church production and how it evolved26:00 – Theology behind church production and worship tech29:20 – Why church production is ess...
How do you pull off a massive event like the Passion Conference? Makenzie Collins has worked on the Passion Conference multiple years and joins us this week for the principles it takes to execute a big event well. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 – How Toby and Blake landed their wives (Church Meet Cutes) 5:45 – Interview with Makenzie Collins (church tech & AVL insights) 10:00 – What AVL gear and production does it take to run Passion Conference? 15:15 – Principl...
![Should Every Church Live Stream? [Resi's Steve Kaminsky]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/ofgkn6e7obxgujfdi5twe83br7dv?.jpg "Should Every Church Live Stream? [Resi's Steve Kaminsky]")
How much should you prioritize live streaming? Resi's Steve Kaminsky joins us to discuss live streaming, multisite streaming and the pro/cons of 4k. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Toby’s “friendly gesture” gone wrong 7:15 Steve’s journey into church production 10:30 Does church need to be in person vs. livestream church services? 22:00 Should a new church livestream at launch? 26:45 How Resi helps churches stream to multisite campuses 29:30 What’s new and up...
What were the key takeaways for the XP and Church Tech relationship series? We give our top 10 takeaways for the series here! In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Toby’s Hot Water Moment on a Podcast 9:15 Takeaway #1: Building Trust in Church Production 12:50 Takeaway #2: Shorter Presentations for Pastors 16:15 Takeaway #3: Avoiding “No” in Tech Conversations 18:30 Takeaway #4: Why 90% Is Enough in Church Production 22:00 Takeaway #5: Presenting Options to Leadership 25:30 Takeaway...
How do you get your executive pastor to give a "yes" to all your requests? We're joined by our Southeast Church friends today to continue our Executive Pastor and Tech podcast series. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Blake’s hilarious church tech mic moment 4:55 Southeast Christian Church team joins the podcast 6:50 Five Truths and a Lie: church production edition 16:00 What an executive pastor really does in church leadership 18:30 How church techs can build trust with t...
How do you request budget the right way from your Executive Pastor? Our Covenant friends join us to discuss the right and wrong ways to ask for a production budget from your XP. In this episode: 1:00 Why the Global Church Production Community Feels Small 4:45 Covenant Church Production Team Joins the Podcast 12:45 Inside the Role of an Executive Pastor in Church Production 14:45 How Senior Pastors Shape the Vision for Production 18:30 How to Request Production Budget...
How do you build trust with your executive pastor? Our friends from Crossroads Church join us for part 1 of our executive pastor series. In this episode you'll hear: 1:00 Toby’s Church Tour & Travels 5:00 Crossroads Church Production Team Joins 6:00 Ideal Church Auditorium Size 12:30 Church Production Budget: How Much to Spend 20:00 Building Trust with Your Executive Pastor 24:45 Explaining Tech Value to Your Pastor 28:15 Tech Questions That Annoy Pastors 31:15 How Pas...
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