Chad Vegas - former film director at Transformation Church, now with Sony - breaks down the exact framework he used to train camera operators at Bethel, Transformation, and beyond. In this bonus episode pulled from the SALT Community course library, Chad walks through his Chad Sandbox: seven rules that turn a volunteer with a camera into a cinematic storyteller. From matching your camera movement to worship tempo, to the three-shots-one-take approach that makes four cameras feel like eight - this is practical, immediately applicable training your team can use this Sunday.

🔗 Show Notes

Transformation Church

• https://www.transformationchurch.tc

Bethel Church Redding

• https://www.bethel.com

Planning Center

• https://www.planningcenter.com

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Brady Sticker, founder of Church Candy, introduced a framework that stopped Luke and Katelyn mid-conversation - and this episode picks up right where that left off. If 8 out of 10 first-time visitors never come back to your church, the problem probably isn't your Sunday service. It's everything before and after it. Luke and Katelyn dig into the real tools churches are underusing right now - from CRMs and automated messaging to dynamic QR codes, Instagram DM automation, and personalized video apps - and make the case that treating your church more like a business isn't selling out. It's good stewardship.

🔗 Show Notes

The Biggest Story Bible Storybook

• https://www.crossway.org/books/the-biggest-story-bible-storybook-case/

Brady Sticker - Church Candy

• https://www.churchcandy.com

Tools

• Many Chat https://manychat.com

• Bonjoro https://www.bonjoro.com

• CRMs

  • https://churchcrm.io

  • https://www.hubspot.com

  • https://gracely.io

• TextInChurch https://textinchurch.com

• Planning Center https://www.planningcenter.com

• Clearstream https://clearstream.io

• Tap to go NFC stickers or QR codes

  • https://clearstream.io/tap-tags?minimal=1&comet_source=google&comet_network=g&comet_campaign=23162158292&comet_ad_group=188155781518&comet_ad_id=780188893595&comet_keyword=nfc%20stickers&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23162158292&gbraid=0AAAAADrPAL-SebAXL9xUSvvsHtHJKNzpG&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3K7RBhDJARIsAKRtP5QesXYC34gCn_zCqWeTC21n4HlG7_AtUwOPMc6YzpYn7ifFp1IwSW4aAmA8EALw_wcB

  • https://taptag.shop/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22077124289&gbraid=0AAAAADmZbZ8XuZuNPDtWPkUuGOHUel3ZS&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3K7RBhDJARIsAKRtP5QA9CZXpSXxqo2pEe786htHu6_nyKQa-TIptwrrKPIXRQjVAwuc9cMaAs1rEALw_wcB

• Zapier https://zapier.com/workflows

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Most worship leaders would say their first responsibility is to lead the congregation. David Dennis - worship leader and staff culture architect at The Belonging Co. in Nashville - says that's exactly backwards. In this episode, we pull a full lesson from his course inside SALT Community where he unpacks what he calls priestly worship: why the 15 minutes before service may matter more than the service itself, how your set list is forming the theology of your congregation whether you realize it or not, and what it actually looks like to stop performing for a room and start ministering to God. If your team is working hard on Sundays but something still feels like it's missing - this is probably why.

🔗 Show Notes

David Dennis - Worship Leader, The Belonging Co.

• https://www.instagram.com/daviddennisgeorge/?hl=en

The Belonging Co. - Nashville, TN

• https://www.thebelongingco.com

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Two church tech directors. Shared parking lot. Never met.

That story alone says everything about where the church production world is right now. Toby Walters - founder of Church Gear and author of Sacred Spaces, Modern Production - sits down with Luke to talk about why churches have largely stopped innovating, what a 13-year-old lighting volunteer and a Grammy-nominated tour director have in common, and why the most important conversation you can have as a production leader might be with the person running tech at the church down the road. Whether you're running sound for 200 people or managing a multi-campus production team, this one will challenge how you see your role - and who you're building it for.

🔗 Show Notes

• Toby Walters - Founder, Church Gear: https://www.churchgear.com

• Sacred Spaces, Modern Production: https://www.tobywalters.com

• Church Gear Podcast: https://www.churchgear.com/podcast

• Parnelli Awards: https://www.plsn.com/parnelli-awards
• Outreach 100 Largest Churches: https://outreachmagazine.com/outreach-100

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Most church creatives won't admit it out loud - but there are days when the work feels like anything but a calling. The deadlines pile up, the revisions feel endless, and somewhere between the last sermon series and the next one, the inspiration quietly disappeared. In this episode, Carrie Loomis, lead graphic designer at New Vision Church in Nashville, gets honest about what creative burnout actually looks like from the inside - and the three things that pulled her back: mindset, habits, and letting go of the idea that your work is your identity.

🔗 Show Notes

Carrie Loomis - Lead Graphic Designer, New Vision Church

• https://www.newvisionchurch.com

Unsplash - Free Photography & Inspiration

• https://www.unsplash.com

Google Arts & Culture App

• https://artsandculture.google.com

ChatGPT

• https://chat.openai.com

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17% of Americans say they have zero friends. 56% of unchurched people say they'd come to church if someone they knew just invited them. So why aren't we asking? Luke and Katelyn unpack a conversation with Miles McPherson - senior pastor of Rock Church San Diego and former NFL player - about what it actually looks like for the church to be the safest place for a non-believer. Plus: why the production team might be the greatest on-ramp for unchurched people in your entire church, what it means to keep your front door unlocked, and the simple reason most of us never invite anyone anywhere.

🔗 Show Notes

Miles McPherson - Senior Pastor, Rock Church San Diego

• https://www.rockchurch.org

Just One - Free Evangelism Training

• https://stg.lovejust1.com/

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Every church creative team has talent. So why do some teams execute consistently and others stay stuck in the same loop week after week? In this bonus episode, Darrel Girardier - Executive Director of Ministry at Brentwood Baptist - breaks down the four types of creatives that show up on every church team and what happens when your mix is off. Too many drivers and nobody questions the direction. Too many rebels and nothing gets finished on time. If your team feels like it's always busy but never quite moving, this episode will show you exactly why - and what to do about it.

🔗 Show Notes

Darrel Girardier - Executive Director of Ministry, Brentwood Baptist

• https://www.brentwoodbaptist.com

The Four Tendencies - Gretchen Rubin (referenced)

• https://gretchenrubin.com/books/the-four-tendencies

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Accountability and church hurt are not the same thing - but in a culture that has blurred the line between the two, how do you actually tell the difference? Luke and Katelyn sit down to unpack a conversation with author and speaker Natalie Runion, digging into what healthy accountability structures look like, why so many churches have none, and what it costs a team when leaders stop doing the hard things. Plus: the monkey on your desk, the complaint that should never go sideways, and why the production team might be the most underutilized discipleship tool in the local church.

🔗 Show Notes

Natalie Runion - Author & Speaker

• https://www.natalierunion.com

Raised to Stay - Natalie Runion

• https://www.natalierunion.com/raised-to-stay

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink

• https://shorturl.at/xTF1p

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AI tools can now generate a finished image, a voiceover, or a full music bed in under a minute. But knowing how to use them without losing your creative judgment is a different skill entirely. In this bonus episode, creative director and AI coach Brad Zimmerman walks through his real-world workflow for image generation, AI audio, voiceovers, and video tools - showing exactly how he uses Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Photoshop together to produce work that would have been impossible or cost-prohibitive before. Whether your team is already running these tools or still debating whether to, this episode gives you a practical framework grounded in one question: where does AI extend your creativity, and where does it quietly replace the judgment you were hired for?

*This episode is best if viewed on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

🔗 Show Notes

Brad Zimmerman - Creative Director & AI Coach

• https://www.instagram.com/bradzimmermn/

• https://churchmediadrop.com/

Midjourney

• https://www.midjourney.com

ChatGPT

• https://chat.openai.com

Topaz Gigapixel AI - Image Upscaler

• https://www.topazlabs.com/gigapixel

Adobe Photoshop

• https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html

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Wade Joye spent nearly 15 years as the worship pastor at Elevation Church - one of the most prolific worship environments in the world. In this conversation, he shares the moment Pastor Steven Furtick told him directly that he had a lid on his gifting, and that his real calling wasn't to be a worship leader; it was to build them. What followed was years of wrestling with identity, ego, and the question every person in ministry eventually faces: are you chasing your dream or your calling? And are those even the same thing? Luke and Katelyn also get into AI-generated worship music, the dangerous intersection of passion and vocation, and the countercultural action of stepping out of the spotlight.

🔗 Show Notes

• Wade Joye

  • Book: This Dream Is Not For You

• Solomon Ray - AI Worship Artist

  • Find Your Rest on Spotify

  • Find Your Rest on Apple Music

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