Much of the below content was covered here in this video on my YouTube Channel”
Many years ago someone gave me a doll house chair and with it a challenge to “Fill My Seat.” When it was originally given to me, it was intended as a scholarship option for alumni to be able to pass along and replace themselves in the program. I took that concept a little further .
I have heard this concept from a few other places as other ministry team leads have taught about how they lead. My chair has always sat on my desk. I have been in my current role as leader of the tech team at LFC for 5 years and it has served me very well to apply the “Fill Your Seat” concept to those on my team. Anyone thats been on the team for a while gets the challenge given to them to find someone that they can train up and mentor.
There is no better way to grow as an individual than to have to teach what you know to someone else. That improves your knowledge on the subject and it also helps to instill an ability to teach.
On any given Sunday it takes 12 people to be able to produce a full production service. Our tech team has the following positions each week:
– Front of House Audio Engineer – x 1
– Broadcast Audio Engineer – x 1
– Lighting Designer/Operator – x 1
– Camera Operators – x 4
– Video Switcher – x 1
– Video Director – x 1
– CG Operator – x 1
– Technical Director – x 1
– Producer/Stage Manager – x 1
So with a team of 12 people needed each week and a pool of 55+ to be able to work with we have a lot of things to learn and much to do each week. with over half of our team being 18 or younger we have a few key focuses that allow us to properly focus on growth and learning. We encourage our teams to be looking for anyone that could be interested and invite them when they notice. I am also working to foster a culture of mentoring. No matter what you do you should always have someone that is mentoring you and someone you are mentoring.
I have had a few individuals that have been serving on our team since they were in middle school and I have been teaching and training them. Four of those team members Graduated high school this year and at the start of the school year I gave each of them their own chair and the challenge to replace themselves on our team in the next year before they left for college. I watch this year as one by one they each took on at least one other person to mentor. I have seen our team grow so much this year.
For our church the last children’s ministry class that content specifically tailored for their age is 5th grade. So this means that at 6th grade all students are expected to and sit with mom and dad in “Big church” For many, this can seem a little boring. But I have also found that the 5th grade class is a great place to recruit from. Put a camera in their hands and suddenly this 6th grader is interested, learning, paying attention to whats happening in service, participating in the service, and taking ownership in what happens on a Sunday morning.
I have had many parents tell me about how their kids hated coming to church prior to joining the team and now they are excited to getup three hours early to come and serve. Having the opportunity to be actively engaged in a worship service matters.
I have four students this year that will go off to college and will probably serve at another local church while they are in college. But those four are currently some of my most dedicated team leaders who have been training up others on our team now. Their presence will be great missed on our team but that will make room for others to step up into those roles and continue this training process.
I am also very excited to see what those individuals will do when they go off an join other worship teams. Someone did the exact same thing for me at 12 years old and took the time to pour into and teach me how to do church tech and its because of that I am here today.
Thank you Mr. Tony and Mr. Kevin for taking the time to teach me audio. Because of your leadership and instruction I have been able to do what I do today.
