Josiah Way is director of multimedia services at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif., and contracts as the regional tech director at Saddleback Church, Aliso Viejo.
CPM: How did you find your way into technical ministry?
Way: I started out like most older guys playing guitar and listing to classic rock. In high school I was a roadie at some recording studios in Los Angeles, which led me to major in recording engineering at USC. I ended up changing my major, but spent the next 20 years in the entertainment industry. It wasn’t until I hit rock-bottom in 2009 and God graciously saved me that I recognized there was a greater purpose for my skills beyond myself. In 2011, I closed my secular business and began working full time as a TD at Compass Bible Church in Orange County, Calif.
CPM: What’s the difference between being a part-time tech director at a portable church and a full-time tech director in a fixed location?
Way: I think the main thing is the stress level. When I was a full-time TD it took up the entirety of my life because I am a natural workaholic—which I think a lot of tech guys are. Now, being part-time at Saddleback’s Aliso Viejo campus, I get to come into it with a focus on serving. Being a portable church means there is literally nothing we can do about anything until the road cases start rolling in on Sunday morning.
CPM: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Way: Impact. Everything I do is to impact others, whether that be my team or the congregation. As church tech, we tangibly get to do that every time we run a service. We influence the way people experience God. And I thrive off that. I know that there are hurting people in the congregation, and through the way we construct the worship space, we can better set a place for them to commune with their Savior.
CPM: What’s your biggest challenge in your role within the church?
Way: The unknown. When you have a portable church, you never know what you are going to find when you arrive in the morning. Our services are held in a high school theatre, and sometimes we walk in and, well… I guess today we’re worshipping in the Shrek or Alice in Wonderland. Once, we had a chandelier appear right where the projector needed to shine through. We do not have a storage room of extra equipment. We showed up once and the lighting console was just missing, like gone—and the service must still go on right at 10 a.m. Your teams quickly become master troubleshooters.
