Lists, Lines, and Labels

The last few weeks our task has been to catalog and document our stage and tech booth. It sounds simple enough, but the truth is it hasn't been done in years (if at all). We had no jumping point except for my knowledge, which is a lot more than some, but still not quite enough for some of our situations. The easiest part has been a diagram of the items on the stage (the picture I posted is of our basic drawings, mostly done by Sarah).

Doing inventory of the stage and tech booth has been pretty overwhelming... I feel inadequate as we work through the different devices and chords. Some of which, I know the effect they cause, but not what they are or how they actually work. One of the purposes of Sarah and I working together is for us to learn to problem solve and create a better system in the tech side of our church's youth and young adult ministries. We have definitely had to problem solve, pulling in people who have been in the ministry longer and who know more than us, even being wise enough to take a break and carry out some of our other tasks.

One of my major pet peeves is tedious tasks, so this whole experience has been very trying. I've had to learn patience and understanding as we both wade through this mess of lists, lines and labels. I struggle to keep a good attitude at times, but I know I need to so that I am not bringing down Sarah. I hope that she is learning from me. I feel like I have been doing a little better at recognizing teaching opportunities. I have had the opportunity to really sit down with her and walk her through our light board (my favorite piece of equipment in the tech booth). The next day she did lights almost entirely on her own. She did a great job and had a good night.

Two things I have already learned and would love to pass on is this: One; if you are just starting up, or creating an addition to a facility, make sure you create an initial inventory and update it, at least quarterly. And two; train all new volunteers and leadership in all aspects of your tech ministry. Everyone should be able to at least identify equipment and be able to put it together and take it apart whenever it would be needed. Our greatest obstacle has been a lack of knowledge; do not let your ministry suffer from an unlearned team.

In the Beginning

This year I have started a ten month internship through my church, called the Ignited Ministry Academy. My partner and I have been selected to be trained in Stage Tech. Stage Tech is basically the behind the scenes technology and crew behind any stage operation like: concerts, worship sets, conferences, etc. My partner, Sarah, is completely new to the tech world, wherein I am a relative veteran. So, as we do our projects together what I already know I will be teaching to Sarah, and what I do not know we will learn together.

My Partner Sarah

It has already been difficult, not because Sarah is hard to teach, on the contrary she is a great learner, but more so because our stage has received little maintenance as far as organization and inventory (our first two tasks). Needless to say, these tasks are tedious at best, personally, I hate tedious things. I am also finding that I am a weak teacher. I find myself missing teaching opportunities, either out of frustration or just plain not paying attention. I guess the biggest thing I am going to be learning this year is how to teach. I just pray that Sarah's learning will not be hampered by my lack of teaching skill.