What happens to church lighting design when a giant LED wall takes over the stage? Great lighting hasn't died – it's changing, and the best designers are the ones who treat that wall as one more fixture, not the whole show.

In Season 2, Episode 4 of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Chase Donald, one of Summit's project managers, to talk about how church lighting design has evolved alongside LED screens – and why the craft is far from dead.

Drawing on years of designing and programming for worship at Red Rocks Church and beyond, Chase breaks down how to keep a stage from turning into a flat wall of light: using dimension, depth, and perspective instead of hardcore saturation, rediscovering side light and floor-based fixtures, giving the camera more information to work with, and controlling LED content straight from the lighting console (with tools like Resolume and Vista) so it moves song to song instead of flipping between static graphics. He and Deron also dig into the discipline of designing fresh every week instead of pulling last week's cues out of the library, why "blow-through" LED is exciting but probably a special-moment tool rather than an every-Sunday one, and how to spend wisely on a wall you'll actually use well.

The thread running through all of it: Gear follows vision. A 40-foot LED wall doesn't make a service better on its own. What makes lighting come alive is the partnership – production listening to the worship team, the worship team, and the pastor, and getting out of your own way so the technology serves the moment instead of shouting over it.

What's one lighting habit you're rethinking after this episode – and what would it take to design fresh again this week?

Gear Follows Vision is a podcast from Summit about church audio, video, lighting, acoustics, and the people who use them. Each conversation helps church leaders and production teams design technology around their ministry's vision, simplify their systems, equip their volunteers, and create more reliable worship experiences.

Subscribe for more conversations about church technology, production leadership, volunteer training, worship technology, and designing AVL systems that follow the vision of your church.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summit.is/

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Website: https://summitintegrated.com/

Discovery Call: https://summitintegrated.com/contact

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don't just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve. Learn more at http://SummitAVL.com/

What happens when your church technology fails during a Sunday service? A reliable church AV system needs more than good equipment – it needs backups, redundancy, hardware protection, and a clear recovery plan.

In Season 2, Episode 2 of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with David Forman, Systems and Support Lead at Summit Integrated Systems, to explain how churches can prepare for audio, video, network, playback, and power failures.

David breaks church technology reliability into three categories – backups that protect your system configurations, redundancy that protects your signal paths, and power protection that protects your hardware. He explains which church AV configuration files should be backed up, where those files should be stored, and why one backup isn't enough, then joins Deron to dig into network redundancy, Dante secondary networks, playback computers, spare equipment, UPS battery backups, surge protection, and the hidden complexity that redundancy can introduce.

Along the way, they cover why backups should live both locally and in the cloud, the differences between hot, warm, and cold spares, and why battery capacity and maintenance matter as much as having a UPS in the first place.

Every technology system will eventually experience a failure. The goal isn't to eliminate every possible point of failure – it's to identify what is mission-critical, protect it appropriately, and give your church production team a practical recovery plan.

What's one point of failure in your church's system that isn't protected yet? We'd love to hear it – find us on Instagram or TikTok @summit.is and tell us.

Gear Follows Vision is a podcast from Summit about church audio, video, lighting, acoustics, and the people who use them. Each conversation helps church leaders and production teams design technology around their ministry's vision, simplify their systems, equip their volunteers, and create more reliable worship experiences.

Subscribe for more conversations about church technology, production leadership, volunteer training, worship technology, and designing AVL systems that follow the vision of your church.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summit.is/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@summit.is

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SummitIntegrated

Website: https://summitintegrated.com/

Discovery Call: https://summitintegrated.com/contact

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don't just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve. Learn more at http://SummitAVL.com/

How can your church build a stress-free Sunday for its tech team? It starts with preparation, clear processes, and technology designed around the volunteers who actually run it.

In Season 2, Episode 1 of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Greg Splitt, one of Summit's system design engineer legends, to talk about how churches can equip and empower their production teams for success.

Greg shares lessons from years of supporting church tech teams – covering preventable equipment failures, untested system changes, wireless interference, inadequate documentation, and the quiet pressure production directors feel to constantly "save the day."

Deron and Greg dig into why church audio, video, and lighting systems should always follow the ministry's vision – and why buying more gear doesn't automatically create a better worship experience.

What's one change you could make this week to better equip your church tech volunteers? We'd love to hear it – find us on Instagram or Facebook, or reach out through the website. And if this episode was useful, a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps more church leaders find the show.

DOWNLOAD THE STRESS-FREE SUNDAY CHECKLIST

Help your church production team prepare, test, and troubleshoot before the next service:

https://summitintegrated.com/sunday-stressing

Gear Follows Vision is a podcast from Summit about church audio, video, lighting, acoustics, and the people who use them. Each conversation helps church leaders and production teams design technology around their ministry's vision, simplify their systems, equip their volunteers, and create more reliable worship experiences.

Subscribe for more conversations about church technology, production leadership, volunteer training, worship technology, and designing AVL systems that follow the vision of your church.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summit.is/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@summit.is

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SummitIntegrated

Website: https://summitintegrated.com/

Discovery Call: https://summitintegrated.com/contact

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don't just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve. Learn more at http://SummitAVL.com/

Church production problems rarely start with bad gear — they start with misalignment.

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Chase McCall to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing churches today: alignment between worship teams, production teams, and senior leadership.

From frustrating weekend service moments — bad audio mixes, missed cues, late lyrics, and communication breakdowns — to major AVL system decisions that impact the future of the church, this conversation explores how small “trust leaks” quietly grow into larger ministry and leadership problems.

If you’re a church production leader, tech director, worship pastor, executive pastor, or volunteer serving in church audio, video, lighting, or livestreaming, this episode will help you build stronger systems, healthier communication, and better team trust.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to improve communication between worship and production teams
• Why small technical mistakes create larger leadership trust issues
• How church leadership alignment impacts audio, AVL, and weekend services
• Practical ways to lead better production meetings and team conversations
• How to approach church AVL projects without competing agendas
• Why mission, vision, and outcomes matter more than personal preferences
• How healthy church production culture creates stronger ministry environments

The biggest takeaway: great church production is not just about better audio, lighting, or technology — it’s about alignment. When worship, production, and leadership teams move together with clarity and trust, everything gets stronger.

If your church production team feels disconnected, frustrated, or stuck in constant tension, this episode is for you.

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Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Church audio plugins can improve a mix — or quietly destroy clarity.

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Summit solution architect Andrew Starke joins Deron for a deep conversation about plugin culture in church audio, live sound, and AVL production. They unpack how modern mixing workflows in churches often drift from intentional and effective to overprocessed and unnecessarily complicated.

What begins as excitement around studio-style mixing techniques can quickly turn into overloaded console scenes, excessive plugin chains, phase problems between microphones, latency issues, and mixes that actually sound worse instead of better.

If you’re a church front of house engineer, audio volunteer, tech director, worship leader, or production pastor, this episode will help you rethink how plugins should — and should not — be used in a live church environment.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How overusing plugins can hurt live church audio quality
• Why latency and phase issues matter more than most engineers realize
• The hidden risks of overloaded church audio show files and processing chains
• How to build cleaner, more reliable live sound mixes for worship services
• Why fixing the source is better than stacking more processing
• How gain structure and intentional mixing improve clarity and consistency
• The difference between studio mixing workflows and effective live church audio
• How to simplify your AVL systems without sacrificing quality

Andrew and Deron also explore the mindset behind modern church audio culture — why engineers often chase complexity instead of clarity, and how better decisions lead to more consistent results for both volunteers and experienced operators.

The big takeaway: plugins do not create great mixes. Engineers do.

If your church audio mixes feel muddy, overprocessed, inconsistent, or difficult to manage week after week, this conversation will help recalibrate how you think about plugins, processing, and live sound mixing in church production.

________________________________

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Church production burnout doesn’t happen overnight — it builds quietly until it impacts your health, your family, and even your calling.

In this episode, Deron sits down with Summit Integrated Systems solution architect Seth Thiesen to talk about what it really takes to build a sustainable career in church production, AVL, and live sound ministry. Not more gear. Not more hustle. Better priorities.

With over 20 years in church tech, Seth breaks down why “always on” culture is burning out production teams, how poor boundaries and unnecessary meetings create friction, and what healthy, long-term leadership actually looks like in a church environment.

They also unpack a leadership shift many church tech directors and production leaders miss: replacing yourself. Not losing your role — multiplying your impact. Building volunteer teams. Developing future leaders. Designing systems that still work when you’re not in the room.

If you’re a church production leader, AVL tech, live sound engineer, or volunteer serving in church media, this conversation will help you rethink how you lead, how you structure your team, and how to stay in ministry for the long haul.

Because great church production isn’t just about what you build — it’s about what still works when you’re not there.

________________________________

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Planning a church technology upgrade? The hardest question isn’t what to buy — it’s who should help you design it.

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit solution architect Andrew Starke to break down the four common paths for church AVL upgrades: hiring a consultant, working with a design-build integrator, using manufacturer designs, or building it in-house. Each option has strengths — and real risks.

We unpack common mistakes like vague design packages, overbuilt systems, manufacturer-driven compromises, and in-house designs shaped around one person instead of the church’s mission. We also talk about why experience matters, how to evaluate the right partner, and what actually leads to a successful church audio, video, and lighting system design.

If you’re a pastor, executive pastor, tech director, or production leader navigating a church tech upgrade, this episode will help you choose the right partner, avoid costly mistakes, and build a system that serves your vision long-term.

________________________________

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summit.is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Automation is everywhere in modern church production — but just because you can automate something doesn’t mean you should.

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit engineer Matt Strong to explore how automation is changing church AVL systems. From simple wins like automatically powering TVs and triggering walk-in music to advanced workflows with timecoded lyrics, lighting cues, and synchronized systems across multiple campuses, we unpack where automation actually helps — and where it creates new challenges.

We also discuss the hidden tradeoffs: how automation can reduce workload, support smaller tech teams, and help volunteers succeed, while also introducing complexity and sometimes replacing meaningful volunteer roles.

If you lead church production, manage multi-campus systems, or are exploring automated lighting, lyrics, and control systems, this episode will help you decide when automation supports your ministry — and when it might work against it.

________________________________

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summit.is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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What makes a church control room workflow actually work on Sunday?

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Summit solution architect Seth Thiesen to break down church video system design, volunteer workflows, and control room best practices after a major video upgrade. From monitor walls as the “single source of truth” to roles like shading, TD, and QC, we show how to set up your video production team so volunteers succeed instead of panic.

We also cover practical technical strategies — matrix intercom vs party line, KVMs for troubleshooting, and “eyes in the sky” cameras — and unpack the hidden realities of upgrading to 4K church video: storage, ingest, and managing multiple feeds efficiently.

If you’re planning a new church video suite, moving to 4K production, or trying to make Sundays smoother for your volunteer AV team, this episode will give you the systems, workflows, and insights to keep your church video production running reliably and aligned with your ministry vision.

________________________________

Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summit.is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summit.is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitIntegrated⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitIntegrated⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Should your church build a dedicated broadcast mix — or keep it simple at front of house?

In this episode of Gear Follows Vision, Deron sits down with Jesse O’Brien, audio director at Red Rocks Church, to talk about real-world strategies for church broadcast audio and livestream mixing. As online services have become a bigger focus, many churches are asking whether they need a separate broadcast room, a dedicated console, or a more streamlined approach.

Jesse shares his background moving from studio work into live church audio and explains why mixing for church is about prioritization and consistency, not perfection. We also unpack the common trap of blaming gear for problems that actually come from tone, musicianship, communication, and expectations.

If you’re deciding how serious your church’s online mix should be, how to staff it, and where to invest first, this episode will help you design a broadcast workflow that serves both your room and your livestream.

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Summit is a Denver-based audio, video, lighting integrator serving churches nationwide. We don’t just install AVL systems for churches — we come alongside teams to build strong culture, leadership, and confidence in every room we serve.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitAVL.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summit.is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitIntegrated⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SummitIntegrated⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠