Even though many church techs are still panting from Christmas—Easter planning should be underway. Here, tips to get your team in gear—as painlessly as possible.
Do you hear what I hear? Yeah, it's silence. We made it through Christmas 2020 and, hopefully, you personally made it through unscathed. Now there is some time to breathe and relax. But don't get too comfortable, Christmas's friend Easter is just around the corner—it's time to start gearing up for that.
Easter, while we treat it with the utmost reverence, is one of those tricky holidays that moves around on us. Unlike Christmas, which we know exactly when it will happen, Easter follows a different calendar structure. This year, 2021, it's April 4th, in case you were wondering. So what do you need to start doing now in order to make Easter spectacular? Not to add any more pressure to an already trying time in history, but it will be here before you know it.
Prep early
I am continually amazed at what my volunteers are capable of when given the opportunity to succeed.
So what are some things you can do now to prepare for it? Well, first I want to encourage you to take a very short pause to relax and renew. If you're like me, you've spent more time at the church the past few weeks than you did at home. While everyone is quick to jump on the New Year's resolution bandwagon and kick off the year at a sprinting pace, I want to encourage you to be strategic. For me, I am not jumping into any big projects right away. My wife would kill me. Reflect on Christmas while it is still fresh in your head. What went well? What didn't work out how you planned? What would you do differently?
I believe that each big event gets smoother and more streamlined using this simple process. I encourage you to start a file and write these thoughts down. Our department started capturing these ideas in a Google doc that is stored on the cloud so it can't be lost.
One of those problem areas I somehow kept repeating had to do with our rentals. Getting your rental orders in early seems to always be on the top of the “be prepared” list. Obviously, that is good advice. On a related note, if at all possible, don't schedule the gear to be returned the day after the event. No one wants to be back bright and early the Monday after Easter.
Next, think about what parts of your job you can give away. That sounds scary, doesn't it? Make a list of all the things you need to accomplish for Easter and then begin handing out those tasks that you feel others can accomplish. I am continually amazed at what my volunteers are capable of when given the opportunity to succeed. Yes, mistakes happen, but don't use that as an excuse to not empower a volunteer. This year for Christmas I handed over mixing at FOH. It was hard. I have mixed Christmas Eve every year since I can remember. However, my role as the production director required me to be able to float and serve in our “fireman” position (the person that's free to fix things). Not only was this a growth opportunity for me, but the completely capable person I put in to cover actually thought they had just won the lottery. Frankly, their reaction made me guilty I had not done this before.
Nail down your calendar now
As I said before, Easter is falling the first week of April this year; in a perfect world I would want everything nailed down the first of March. To accomplish this, I encourage you to be proactive, start the conversations if they aren't happening already. Meet with your worship leader, your pastor, and your volunteers. Being reactionary always adds unneeded stress. I am already reaching out to my worship leader, preparing him for the information I am going to need, so that I can make technical plans. Even though I told him in October that we had capabilities for eight singers without renting, I am going to tell him that again now—and will again as we get closer to Easter. That helps him in planning how he sets up his team. He doesn't need to worry about how many mics we have at one time. That's my job.
Being reactionary always adds unneeded stress.
Finally, as Easter approaches, don't kill yourself. Christ was born, and He already died. There is no need to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders. So breathe and rest in that. This is supposed to be a celebration—not a time that you hold with disdain. Many church techs struggle with perfectionism. We want the service to be impactful, distraction-free, and better than the time before. That is all great, but don't take it too far. I think everyone's line is different, so know your limits. And make this the best, most impactful Easter yet.
Happy planning!
