No matter the size of your congregation or your staff team, the limits of a church film ministry will always be defined by the capacity of your volunteer base. No matter how talented or gifted you are as a filmmaker, you will continually bump up against creative ceilings flying solo. Great film projects utilize teams of crew, cast and producers to maximize a project’s potential. For church film these teams are almost always made up primarily of volunteers.
No matter the size of your congregation or your staff team, the limits of a church film ministry will always be defined by the capacity of your volunteer base.
For beginning church filmmakers it can be tempting to focus on our own talents and abilities, but the ministry side of the job reminds us that one of our primary missions is to equip the saints for ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Many of us found our way into ministry and/or filmmaking because someone took the time to invest in us and invite us in. This is the way God designed it to work, and if it’s not happening in our ministry we’re missing a vital component of our calling.
Getting started
So how do you start building great film ministry volunteers? While it does happen, very few volunteers find their way into ministry because they saw a slide in service or found their way to a webpage on your church’s site. Most are there because of a leader who made a simple, easy and personal invitation, personally invited them, usually. As you begin to build your team, challenge yourself to keep an eye out for people God may be leading your direction.
Women and minorities have been seriously underrepresented in film ministry in the past, but that’s beginning to change and we can keep that momentum going.
A great strategy for discovering new film team volunteers is to film b-roll before and after weekend worship to film in the common areas of the church. Watch out of the corner of your eye to see who’s tracking your camera rig when you walk by, then just start a safe conversation about the equipment. Also, keep an eye open for people who don’t necessarily look like you. Women and minorities have been seriously underrepresented in film ministry in the past, but that’s beginning to change and we can keep that momentum going.
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Growth pathways
Great leaders also create growth pathways to help volunteers stay engaged over the long haul. Initially, it’s exciting just to be on set with a cast and crew, but eventually volunteers will want to make a deeper impact. Having a clear set of guidelines for developing filmmakers and producers will set your team up for increasing effectiveness and creative growth over the long haul.
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Great leaders also create growth pathways to help volunteers stay engaged over the long haul.
Most successful volunteer film teams will have three distinct roles -- crew, cast, and producers -- that beginners can explore. New volunteers will likely start out as part of the crew, and the easiest on-ramp is for them to serve on the crew is as a production assistant, or PA. These team members are usually there to help in whatever way they’re needed, from carrying gear to holding reflectors to making sure everyone on set stays hydrated. The most important aspect of being a PA is a willingness to roll up one’s sleeves, do whatever’s needed, and ask lots of good questions about the process.
New volunteers will likely start out as part of the crew, and the easiest on-ramp is for them to serve on the crew is as a production assistant, or PA.
Once a PA has gotten a few reps on set the next step is to move that volunteer into the role of a grip or camera operator. The grip role consists of overseeing camera support gear like tripods, dollies and gimbals. On smaller crews they may also oversee lighting and audio setups. Camera operators tend to the hands-on aspects of running cameras and work closely with the director or cinematographer.
Once a volunteer has mastered these positions it will be time to make more serious investments in their training. It’s a good idea to help volunteers at this stage discover what their favorite part of the process is, then begin to set them up for critical positions like cinematographer, field audio and post production roles editor and animator. One word of advice about training volunteers for editing and animation -- consider investing in subscriptions to tutorial sites like Lynda.com. These sites are a great way to help volunteers learn critical skills without burning too many of your discretionary leadership hours.
Ready for my close up
Two other important volunteer pathways to develop are the roles of actors and hosts. Whereas an actor is someone who plays a part in a story onscreen, a host is someone who looks directly into camera and makes a personal connection with the viewer on the other side. As your team continues to create projects of higher and higher quality, people wanting to be onscreen will likely find their way to you. This is the point at which you should exercise discretion. Not everyone who wants to be in front of the camera will be gifted in that area. It’s a good idea to discuss some strategies with a care pastor if you’re concerned about hurting feelings in the process of protecting your ministry.
As your team continues to create projects of higher and higher quality, people wanting to be onscreen will likely find their way to you. This is the point at which you should exercise discretion.
When working with volunteer screen actors it’s important to set them up for early wins. Music videos and concept films without dialog are great projects to start them out with. Short projects with limited dialog are easier than dramatic projects, which are a whole lot easier than comedy. Good film team leaders will take the long view when developing projects, which both serve the mission and set your team up for success.
Taking initiative
A alternate role film team leaders would be wise to consider developing is the role of volunteer producer. Producers are great with organization and creative problem solving, and can be the difference between success and failure on ambitious projects. While producers may not be as creative and technically inclined, they can take the lead on things like logistics, scheduling, location scouting, set dressing, costumes and props. Once you’ve started utilizing great producers it will be very difficult to ever go back.
A final role to carefully consider is the role of assistant director. While this role usually entails tasks like managing the scripts, shot lists, on-set schedules and slate operation, their larger function is to learn the role of director through first-hand observation. When you identify a volunteer with the potential to someday direct projects of their own it will be crucial to invite them into the assistant director role on larger projects so they can develop.
Parting thoughts
While the process of building a strong film ministry volunteer team may seem overwhelming when you’re starting out, it’s easier to think about it one relationship at a time. Block out time to build relationships as well as to enjoy the rewards of those connections. Make space for questions, reflections and then more follow-up questions. Most importantly, remember that our calling to ministry and discipleship is even greater than our passion for the medium of film, and the so are the rewards of developing a dynamic film team ministry.
[Editor's note: This piece was originally posted in May 2018.]
