In a technical sense, Advent starts the Christian Year. It begins with the arrival of Christ as a Babe in a Manger. His coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, which gets read to remind us that we expect Him to come again. While we wait, we celebrate with special events and services. One of my favorites is Christmas Eve with Silent Night and live candles.

Advent by it’s nature upsets the regular scheduling of volunteers. There are special services which need volunteers to help. So the regular monthly schedule goes out the window during December. Maybe that’s a good thing. We sometimes get in a rut by doing the same thing over and over and over. Advent has a marvelous way of shaking things up, as we remember that Christ came to make all things new!

This season is also a great time to thank all of your volunteers in Technical Ministry. It can be simple, like sending a Christmas Card with words of appreciation for all they have done this year. Or it can be complex like hosting a dinner party for the volunteers and their families at a local restaurant. Whatever you do, be sure to express your thanks and appreciation. It will go a long way towards making up for the demanding, often hectic, schedule of special events that need to be covered.

Merry Christmas, and may the arrival of the Babe in the Manger inspire all of us to serve the Church in new ways in the new year!

Churches often have special services – e.g. weddings, funerals. These are usually short notice, and specific to a family in the Church. They may have specific technical requests – e.g. playing a video. How do you handle these?

Since these requests usually come through the minister, you should let the minister know when you are available. Some members of the Tech Team will have flexible schedules; they can drop everything and come to the Church to handle the request. Others will have less flexibility; they might be available, but also may not be able to get off work. A best practice is to make sure the minister knows who to call first, then second, third, etc. If no one on the Tech Team is available, then the technical request may go unfulfilled; but that should be the last response. If no one shows up, then family members will often try to work the equipment themselves. As a team, you should talk about whether that’s allowable in cases where none of the Tech Team is available.

Presuming someone on the Tech Team is available, then the minister should put them in touch with the family. They can then work out the details. One scenario would be the following:

• Family provides media to the Tech Team – e.g. videos, images, etc. (If they need some preprocessing before the service, then the Tech Team will need time to do that.)
• Tech Team plans the technical aspects of the service. This determines what equipment, personnel will be needed to support the service.
• Tech Team participates in rehearsal, if appropriate. Typically, a wedding will have a rehearsal, but the participants may want to skip using microphones in rehearsal. You should identify lighting, microphone placement, etc.
• Tech Team executes the service, running any videos before and after. They will also control the audio desk to ensure good sound quality.
• If requested, the service can be recorded for a master copy for the family to remember the event by.

Since the special request is over and above the usual worship services, the family may choose to give a small gift of appreciation to the Tech Team members involved. This should be received with gratitude, not demanded. Families may also give a financial gift to the Church, part of which could be designated for support of the Technical Ministry of the Church.

Special Requests don’t fit into the regular rotation schedule. They should be considered as additional, optional service by the Tech Team. For Tech Team members, they can be a