After more than 150+ episodes, the ChurchGear podcast finally landed a pod with the most elusive guest we've ever had: DiGiCo's Ryan Shelton!

Come for the heck the hosts give him for finally recording with them. Stay for the expertise Ryan shares on essential soft skills, top AVL mistakes he is seeing and a fun update on all things DiGiCo.

In this episode you'll hear

1:00 🎤 Inside the “Exclusive” DiGiCo Lounge at FILO Conference

4:25 🎧 Ryan Shelton from DiGiCo Joins the Podcast!

13:30 🔧 Breaking Into Church Production: How to Get Started

16:30 🎚 Training New Church Production Volunteers: Best Practices

21:15 🛠 Essential Soft Skills for Church Production Volunteers

25:30 ⚠️ Top Church AVL Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

33:40 🎛 What’s Next for DiGiCo? Inside Their Latest Church AVL Innovations

45:30 🎶 Tech Takeaway: Why You Should Invite Secular Touring Artists to Church

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

Is live streaming still a must for churches in 2025?

In this episode, we sit down with AVL pro Tyler Kerpsack to tackle the big questions. Who should stream their services? How can your church stream on a budget? Could remote mixing be in the future church tech toolbox?

In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 Crazy ChurchGear driving adventures
• 5:00 Meet Tyler Kerpsack – Church AVL Pro
• 14:00 Tyler’s Journey into AVL Production
• 19:00 How to Tell If Your Church Mix Is Good
• 21:00 Pro Tips for Better Live Audio Mixing
• 23:15 Perfecting Your Mix With Time Limits
• 24:10 The Worst Audio Mixing Mistakes to Avoid
• 26:30 Can FOH Audio Work for Broadcast?
• 34:00 How to Stream Your Church Service on a Budget
• 40:00 Remote Mixing for Church Services – Is It Wise?
• 45:30 Church Production Nightmares & Lessons Learned
• 50:45 Tech Takeaway: Stay Passionate, Not Jaded

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

Touring Life + Willow Creek Production + Christ's Church of the Valley = A Production Pro.

Ivan Talamantes (Christ’s Church of the Valley, Willow Creek) shares his journey from touring pro to church tech leader. He gives us insights on volunteers, gear, and the best (and worst) audio consoles in church production!

In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 🎙️ Toby never set a lineup in the CG Fantasy Football League
• 4:45 🎛️ Special Guest: Ivan Talamantes from Christ’s Church of the Valley
• 10:00 🎚️ How Ivan got started in church production
• 12:00 🎤 Behind the scenes of Willow Creek Church’s production team
• 18:00 🎟️ Ivan’s journey from touring production to church production
• 25:00 🏛️ How Christ’s Church of the Valley keeps its production spaces clean and organized
• 28:45 🙌 Best practices for caring for and retaining church tech volunteers
• 32:00 🎛️ What’s the go-to audio console for church production?
• 33:00 🎧 Live sound vs. studio: Which does Ivan prefer?
• 34:00 ❌ The worst audio console Ivan has ever mixed on
• 35:00 🎛️ Favorite outboard gear for church production
• 36:00 🔌 Must-have plug-ins for church audio engineers
• 43:15 🎯 Tech Takeaway: Always leave the space better than you found it
  
  

🔥 Whether you’re a church production director, worship pastor, or audio engineer, this episode is packed with insights to level up your church AVL game! 🎚️🎛️🎤 #ChurchProduction #WorshipTech #ChurchAudio

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

How can you connect with fellow church production friends to navigate the journey of church tech together?

Todd Elliott joins us to share church tech disaster stories, tips for effectively communicating with leadership, and how to build meaningful friendships in the church production space—so you never have to walk the journey alone.

In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 What happened to the back tracks at the inauguration?
• 7:00 Todd Elliott joins us!
• 9:00 Five Truths and a Lie for FILO 2025
• 16:00 What is the FILO conference?
• 23:20 Disaster Story: “I prayed to God and my prayers were answered”
• 33:00 How did the church production team produce Willow Creek services?
• 40:50 What’s happening at the FILO conference in 2025?
• 47:00 Tech Takeaway: How to communicate mistakes to leadership

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

"What’s it like to marry someone from your church production team—and then keep working side by side every Sunday? Let’s talk about it!"

Alexa and Daniel join us for a special Valentine’s Day episode! Hear how their shared passion for church production led them to find love—not just in their work, but in each other. Plus, all the unique challenges and surprises that come with being married to your church production co-worker!

In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 How Church Production Led Toby to His Wife
• 5:00 Special Guests Alexa & Daniel from Fellowship Bible Church (TX)
• 12:00 The Journey Into Church Production: Alexa & Daniel’s Story
• 15:40 Church Production Love Story: Marrying Your Production Team Partner
• 18:30 The Ultimate Tech Proposal: How a Church Production Person Pops the Question
• 19:45 Who’s in Charge? Leadership at Church vs. Leadership at Home
• 25:00 The Newlywed Game: Church Production Team Edition
• 31:45 How to Build Stronger Relationships with Your Church Production Team
• 33:00 Can You Find Love in Church Production?
• 39:00 Church Production Horror Story: Control Room Upgrade Gone Wrong
• 41:15 Tech Takeaway: Supporting the Vision of Your Church
• 42:30 Tech Takeaway: Staying Grounded in Your Purpose in Church Production

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

How do you do church production in Las Vegas?


Ryan Fuller joins us this week to discuss Central Church's gear setup, approach to production and sources for inspiration.


In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 Toby’s first Vegas trip
• 6:20 Ryan Fuller joins us from Central Church in Vegas
• 12:20 How did Ryan get into church production at Central Church?
• 15:30 What AVL productions do you watch for inspiration?
• 16:30 How do you do church production in Las Vegas?
• 20:00 Why is Central Church moving from Red Cameras to Cannon?
• 22:45 How does Central Church in Vegas use cameras on a Sunday?
• 25:15 How do weekly baptisms affect church production?
• 27:15 How would you do a church live stream as a 50-200 person church?
• 29:30 Should churches prioritize audio or video first?
• 31:10 What productions are you liking in Las Vegas?
• 33:40 How do you structure your volunteer team at Central Church?
• 39:50 Church Production Disaster Story: “I forgot to cut it”
• 42:00 Church Production Disaster Story: “Hey, there is a fire”
• 44:42 Tech Takeaway: “Stop only watching churches, get inspiration everywhere”

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

How do you balance expectations and budgets simultaneously?


Chase Donald works in production at Red Rocks church and he joins us to discuss balancing expectations, maximizing gear, and focusing on your church's unique production goals.


In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 What games did ChurchGear play at the annual retreat?
• 4:15 Chase Donald joins us!
• 13:00 How did Chase get a job in church production at Red Rocks Church?
• 14:45 How does Red Rocks do so much production on a tight budget?
• 32:00 How do you balance budget and expectations?
• 35:30 What should production people focus on improving?
• 40:50 Church Tech Disaster story
• 45:15 Tech Takeaway: Don’t chase the shinny things

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!

How do you pick the perfect conference to further your skills and networking?


We run through the list of conferences to consider in 2025, the various reasons to go and end on some tips to pitch for budget to attend.


In this episode you'll hear:

• 1:00 Toby causing chaos at SALT and the Amplio Golf Tournament
• 10:45 How did Jerod get into church production ministry?
• 12:24 Planning and Budgeting for Conferences
• 18:30 NAB and InfoComm conference
• 29:37 Maximizing Conference Benefits for Church Techs
• 27:30 What will you takeaway from a church production conference?
• 32:00 How do you get invited to the after conference hangouts?
• 33:30 How many church production conferences should you go to each year?
• 38:42 Conference Attendance Benefits and Tips
• 41:45 Church Tech Disaster Story

You can see more about HouseRight's jobs, culture and projects at their website: https://www.houseright.com/

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!