Media ministry may be organized into any number of teams, depending on church size. One possibility is three teams: video, sound/lighting, and tape duplication. The first two teams function between worship and education. A typical production might require a crew of about ten: six people for video, two for sound, one managing lighting, and one in charge of tape duplication. The ministry would then be structured on a weekly basis, with different crews serving a particular weekend of the month, all weekend. Schedules are established, with as little variation as possible, to ensure that each crewmember always knows the particular time and date he or she is to serve. All team members serve the entire weekend, including Saturday rehearsal and worship, and Sunday worship. Having one crew for a weekend prevents constant rotation of positions, which can make each worship production equally weak! Although team members are caught up in the details of production, making it difficult to actually worship the weekend that they serve, their commitment is for that weekend only, leaving them free to worship without distraction the other three weekends of the month.

The schedule remains fixed, ideally, but there is naturally a small rate of turnover, as media can develop into a large volunteer ministry. So there is a continual need for team members. Conduct training workshops periodically, alternating between team functions.

Have each media ministry member choose an initial area of expertise. This self-selection does not encourage exclusivity; rather, a method of specialization enables everyone to serve in specific, needed ways. Media ministry is not like writing a book; it requires the skills and talents of several gifted people, working in cooperation for the good of the whole.

Although the area of expertise is that which requires your team members' primary attention, have them be aware of processes in every area, as knowledge is cumulative and creates a better working team environment. Empathy and understanding are crucial to an effective ministry; a functioning knowledge of the entire media ministry enables this to happen. The best leaders are the ones who have experience at every level of operation. Team leaders are much less likely to call for the impossible or create tension out of ignorance if they understand the demands on the other team members.

Encourage team members to realize their commitment to serve in the media ministry, before they decide to join because it is "cool." Electronic media is intrinsic to worship, and team members are a vital part of the process. When a new visitor walks in, one of the first and most lasting impressions will be what is displayed on the big screen of the wired church. Our task in ministry is to create and present excellent electronic media to communicate the message of the transforming power and love of Jesus Christ. We want that first impression to be a good one, and subsequent experiences to be of effective communication through minimal distraction. Thus, their trustworthy participation is necessary, and the media ministry could not function completely without each member's presence and dedication to ministry tasks. Part of that commitment means abiding by certain norms, which are suggested as follows:

• You are expected to serve when scheduled. If you cannot serve, then you are expected to inform your team leader at least twenty-four hours in advance. We understand that there are times when you will not be able to serve when you are scheduled, but please make an attempt to give the team leader as much notice as possible. In lieu of a team leader, contact the coordinating staff person.
• We are a voice of encouragement. Never, in the intensity of live production, let your commitment to excellence outweigh your love for one another.
• Correction is to be done in a loving and caring way. We can fix anything that goes wrong with the equipment, procedures, and/or processes we use in media ministry. Repairing a broken heart can take a long time.
• You are expected to follow the rules of the ministry.
• You are expected to work the assignments/tasks you accept.
• You are expected to serve at least one weekend per month.
• You are expected to attend three worship services per month; a steady diet of worship is important to your spiritual growth.

Who do you get for your creative teams? Warren Bennis, in his book Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration, outlines the characteristics of good creative teams:

• Numerous young players, with a couple of veterans to provide wisdom. Younger people do not have the same sense of failure that older people have.
• More generalists than specialists; people who always see the big picture.
• A strong leader; someone who can provide general direction and draw out creativity and coherence in the thoughts of others.
• A constant goal or deadline, which forces creativity, but not perfection. Such a goal might be a weekly worship service or a fall education series.
• A sense of divine mission, that they have been called by God to this time and place for this purposed.

Keep your mission focused. Know precisely the purpose and limits of your project. Keep resources handy. Know how to research, as well. Much information comes indirectly; for example, there are no references in the Bible for use of electronic media, but one can find many passages regarding language, communication, speaking, and writing (such as James's admonition on the power of the tongue). Or, try acquiring a film still from an older movie that may not be at the rental store by checking film books at the library.

Inventor Stan Mason, the creator of disposable diapers and squeezable ketchup bottles, offers a few tips on creativity:

• Sketch it out. If you're having difficulty seeing something, a visual interpretation may help.
• While brainstorming, get ideas flowing to the point of saturation. In creative sessions, quantity can often produce quality.
• If you're stuck, go to lunch, and don't talk about it. Give the idea hibernation time. This may even mean sleeping on it.
• Furnish the right creative environment, whatever that means for your team. Decide as a group what your environment should look like and make it available. For example, set up plenty of space to move around and plan. Make sure the temperature is just right. Have food and drink available.

My "top seven" list of important media functions, in no particular order:

• Camera operator
  Activities include live production, under the director's lead, and field production for pre-produced clips.
• Computer operator
  Creates and/or operates computer system(s) to project images and animations onto the screen during live events, which includes text for praise and worship songs. (See the Design section/ page 37.)
• Technical director
  Operates the mixer through which the various sources of video are mixed for projection.
• Director
  Works with all team members (including audio and lighting) and the speaker. The director is the leader of the crew and gives the commands to other operators on the headset system.
• Sound
  Operates live sound events, including set-up, gain, equalization, and mixing.
• Lighting
  Programs and operates the lighting board for live events.
• Tape
  Audiotapes live events; makes copies of these for sale and distribution.

Build depth
The introduction of a media ministry in church life, particularly in worship, is one of the more demanding challenges among all the possibilities emerging in electronic media culture. Even television sitcoms take a thirteen-week break every summer, but worship occurs fifty-two Sundays per year. The best way to avoid burnout is to build depth within the team. As a coach, spend a percentage of your time each week building teams, even if this cuts into your personal production schedule. I spend on average ten hours/week in relationship building and training. A team with depth can better handle the transitions of life and continue to move ahead in ministry. The alternative is a small remnant who are asked to carry the whole ministry forward, and ammunition for naysayers who resist change and growth.

Media ministry is a complex hybrid of existing styles of electronic communication. It is not broadcast television, certainly; it is not PowerPoint for the office, it is not home videos of the backyard cookout. Its purpose is not to entertain. As a new, interpretive communication tool, it requires adaptability through which unskilled people do not have to unlearn anything. They're moldable, without pre-conceived notions.

Although it's pleasant to have professionals at your disposal, often the most committed, highly trained team members are the ones with little previous experience, beyond a desire to learn about and serve others through a media ministry.

Cross-train
Move your team members, with their consent, every six to twelve months. Many people will get bored in a single capacity, and might leave the media ministry. Training them in multiple functions, or cross-training them, makes team breadth and depth greater. Don't rely on any one person too much.

Develop a farm system
Look for media venues outside of worship, such as youth and education functions, where the number of people gathered at any one time is fewer. These events become a farm system, a means of training and tracking the potential of future skilled players. Smaller functions provide an ideal hands-on training environment, while not sacrificing the quality of the primary event.

Rehearsals
As you begin to put together technical crews, conduct a series of technical rehearsals prior to "opening day," with a few people to witness the event.

—Len Wilson, The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999), Pages 79-84. Used by permission.

Footnotes:
[1] Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Geniors: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration (Boston: Addison-Wesley, 1997).
[2] Diane Cyr, "to Solve Almost Anything," Attaché, November 1997, 46-49.