The ChurchGear Podcast

Toby Walters [Church Tech Advocate]
  • 4.9 (114)
  • Music Interviews
  • Weekly

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.

  1. 11h ago

    Pay Series 2.0 - Salary Negotiating & Market Rate Determinators [Johnny Ragin]

    If you are currently working in ministry, how do you actually negotiate for better pay? We're joined by Johnny Ragin, the founder of the massively popular Worship Sound Guy platform. We dive deep into the taboo topic of church finances, discussing Johnny's starting church tech salary, and debate if churches have to consider touring/corporate AVL jobs when they look at the market rate for church techs salaries.  In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: Toby’s Gear Flipping Origin Story 7:00 Johnny Ragin (Worship Sound Guy) Joins the Podcast! 11:00 The Reality of Starting Salaries in Church Tech 20:10 Who Actually Sets the Market Rate for Church Tech Salaries? 27:00 Why the Role of Technical Director Has Gotten Significantly Harder 31:30 The Disconnect: Job Description Demands vs. Offered Salary 35:00 The Case for (and against) Hiring Highly Skilled, Part-Time Church Techs 40:00 Strategy: How to Ask for a Raise Without Getting a Promotion 46:30 Should You Bring Personal Life Circumstances into a Salary Negotiation? 55:00 Keep Sundays Running: Why Johnny Actually Left His Church Role 1:00:00 Church Tech Confessional: An AI Translation Disaster Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  2. Oct 26

    Navigating Divorce on Church Staff [Justin Firesheets]

    What actually happens to your ministry job when your marriage falls apart? Will you be immediately fired, or will your leadership team walk alongside you? In this incredibly vulnerable and necessary episode, we sit down with Justin Firesheets to tackle the taboo and deeply painful reality of navigating a divorce while serving on church staff. Justin opens up about his own personal journey, walking us through exactly how and when he approached his executive leadership team. In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: The Difficulty of Marriage 5:15 Justin Firesheets Joins the Podcast! 9:45 Navigating a Divorce While on Church Staff 12:00 How to Talk to Executive Leadership About a Coming Divorce 24:15 How Long Should You Wait Before Disclosing It to Leadership? 25:30 Did the Church Have an Official Policy on Staff Divorce? 29:25 The Fear of Losing Your Ministry Job During a Personal Crisis 43:15 The Debate: Should Divorce Policies Differ Depending on Your Church Role? 47:15 Justin’s Advice: When to Bring Leadership in to Help 57:50 Church Tech Confessional Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  3. Oct 19

    Worst Tech Sunday of Your Life [Prestonwood's Mike Smith & Bryan Bailey]

    What happens when the production team at one of the largest mega-churches in the country experiences a complete Sunday morning meltdown? And more importantly, how do you face your executive leadership the next day? In this incredibly vulnerable episode, we are joined by Live Production Lead Mike Smith and Director of Media Bryan Bailey from the massive Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. Mike pulls back the curtain to share the absolute worst Sunday of his entire church production career, walking us through the terrifying reality of the failure and advice on handling leadership conversations that follow these moments.  In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: Toby and Blake’s Vehicle Disasters 5:30 Mike Smith & Bryan Bailey (Prestonwood Baptist Church) Join the Podcast 11:15 The Worst Sunday of Mike Smith’s Church Production Career 22:10 Navigating the Monday Meeting: The Conversation with Leadership 30:00 The Big Debate: Has Modern Church Production Gotten Too Fancy? 37:50 The Mental Game: How Long Does It Take to Recover from a Bad Sunday? 41:40 Practical Advice to Prevent Massive Church Tech Mistakes 47:30 Keep Sundays Running 52:00 Church Tech Confessional Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  4. Oct 12

    Will AI Replace Your Church Tech Team? [Jake Gosselin]

    Are we outsourcing too many of our actual thoughts to Artificial Intelligence? And more importantly, is AI going to eventually replace the need for human volunteers in the tech booth? In this episode, we are joined by Jake Gosselin, founder of Churchfront, to tackle the most highly debated topic in modern ministry: Artificial Intelligence. Jake shares his personal journey into live production before diving deep into exactly how AI is currently being integrated into the church tech space. In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: Are We Outsourcing Too Many Thoughts to AI? 5:00 Jake Gosselin’s Journey into Church Tech (Churchfront) 16:00 How AI is Actually Being Integrated into Church Production 19:15 Can AI Fill the Gap for Understaffed Tech Ministries? 22:50 The Big Debate: Will AI Replace Church Tech Volunteers? 29:15 How to Start Integrating AI into Your Workflow Today 35:00 Will AI Kill Us All Terminator Style?  37:30 Church Tech Disaster Stories 42:45 Keep Sundays Running Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  5. Oct 5

    Production at Church of the Highlands [Griffin McCravy]

    How does one of the largest churches in America handle their Sunday morning production, and more importantly, how do they recruit and train enough volunteers to make it happen? In this episode, we are joined by Griffin McCravy, the Broadcast Lighting Director at Church of the Highlands. After kicking things off with some amazing stories about growing up with Dolly Parton, Griffin shares his personal journey into live production. We then pull back the curtain on the massive AVL operation at Church of the Highlands. In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: Losing Dolly Parton 4:00 Griffin’s Experience Growing Up with Dolly Parton 13:20 Griffin’s Journey into Becoming a Lighting Director 20:00 Behind the Scenes: Production at Church of the Highlands 24:45 How to Find Great Church Tech Volunteers 28:00 Strategies for Training Tech Volunteers Well 35:00 Lighting Design at Church of the Highlands 43:00 ChurchGear Disaster Story with Highlands 47:15 Church Tech Disaster: Christmas Joy 49:20 Live Production Disaster: When the Lighting Guy Does Audio 52:15 Keep Sundays Running: Don’t Let It Become Normal 55:55 Church Tech Confessional Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  6. Sep 28

    Austin Stone's Production Setup: Soundscape Rigs & Less Gear [Dwight Theaker]

    Does running production for a massive, multi-site mega-church mean you need to buy every single piece of gear on the market? And when it comes to Sunday morning audio, can you actually trust a volunteer to mix Front of House? In this episode, we are joined by Dwight Theaker of Austin Stone Community Church. We dive deep into the specific logistics of broadcasting across multiple locations and break down exactly what AVL gear Austin Stone prioritizes. Dwight shares the surprising revelation that their production team actively chooses to use less gear than the average church, and explains the massive benefits of that streamlined philosophy. In this episode you'll hear: 0:00 Intro: Toby Lost a Job & Chris Tomlin Stories 5:00 Dwight Theaker (Austin Stone Community Church) Joins 10:00 Gear Talk: What is Austin Stone Church Actually Using? 14:00 The Logistics of Broadcasting Across Multiple Campuses 15:45 Comparing Gear Priorities: 12Stone vs. Austin Stone 18:00 Why Austin Stone Uses Less Gear Than the Average Church 22:00 The Big Debate: Should Your Church Buy a d&b Soundscape Rig? 25:00 Can You Actually Trust Volunteers to Mix FOH Audio? 32:15 Church Tech Disaster Story 35:30 Keep Sundays Running Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  7. Sep 21

    Fixing Church Announcements & The Livestream Debate [Brady Shearer]

    Are mega-churches actually more creative, or do they just have bigger budgets? And when it comes to your online service, should you really be livestreaming your worship set, or just the preaching? In this episode, we are joined by Brady Shearer, founder of Pro Church Tools, to tackle some of the most debated topics in church communications and media. We dive into the unrealistic expectations that mega-churches set for local congregations, and try to identify the single biggest issue facing the church today. In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: Toby Is Obsessed With AI5:15 Brady Shearer (Pro Church Tools) Joins the Podcast!11:00 How Mega-Churches Set Unrealistic Expectations for Everyone Else15:40 Are Mega-Churches Actually More Creative?21:00 Identifying the Biggest Issue in the Church Today24:30 The Livestream Debate: Should You Stream Worship or Just the Sermon?32:30 Hot Take: Why Your Church Needs Fewer Announcements39:00 The Absolute Best Way to Recruit Church Tech Volunteers44:00 Church Tech Disaster Stories49:00 Keep Sundays Running: If It Works, Do It Again51:00 The Most Common Mistakes Churches Make During Announcements Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

  8. Sep 14

    Church Lighting Trends, MA2 vs. MA3 & Freelance AVL [Aria Hailey]

    Are modern church services finally moving away from dark, concert-style rooms and shifting back toward brighter environments? And if you are a lighting director, how do you make the jump from the MA2 console to the MA3? In this episode, we are joined by freelance AVL production expert Aria Hailey. Aria shares her journey into live production and discusses the reality of freelancing in the current industry. We explore a massive trend happening right now: why so many highly skilled audio and lighting techs are actually leaving the touring world to take full-time church tech jobs. In this episode you'll hear:  0:00 Intro: How Much Trouble Will Toby Get Into in Vegas? 4:45 Aria Hailey’s Journey Into AVL Production 9:15 The Highs and Lows of Freelancing in Live AVL 13:00 Overcoming "Blue Dot Syndrome" in Live Production 15:15 The Trend: Are Techs Leaving Tours for Church Jobs? 20:00 Designing Church Lighting for the Congregation (Not Your Ego) 23:00 Lighting Trends: Are We Shifting Back to Brighter Church Services? 28:15 How to Train the Next Generation of Church Lighting Techs 33:00 Console Talk: The Biggest Differences Between MA2 vs. MA3 35:30 Tech Disaster Story: "Hey, There is Smoke Behind Me!" 40:00 Keep Sundays Running: The Power of Snacks Take our survey here and you'll get the full report emailed to you December 4th!  Check out HouseRight here for all the reasons we love them.  Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here.  Resources for your Church Tech Ministry Sell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.    Connect with us:  Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review!

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4.9
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Toby Walters [Church Tech Advocate]
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    247
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The ChurchGear Podcast
  • Show Website
    The ChurchGear Podcast

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