WFX Awards » Solomon Awards » Best Technical Direction

Nominee: David Leuschner, Executive Director | TA, Gateway Church

URL: www.gatewaypeople.com

Size: 2001+ seats

Description:

The Technical Director position at Gateway Church consists of managing 3 campuses. These three campuses consist of 19,400 members. Gateway Church Technical Arts Department supports 12 weekend church services as well as 145 small and large events every week. The Executive Director of Technical Arts is David Leuschner. In order to manage these events, three distinct departments were created:  audio, video and lighting. These three departments consist of many forms of gear, creative support, mechanisms for repair, structural design for large and small events as well as 225 volunteers, who give Technical Arts the ability to expand ministry while minimizing costs.

How does one affectively manage this breadth of responsibility?  There are key elements that Leuschner has instituted in order to create a happy and excellent technical work environment.  One key element that sets this team apart is it’s distribution of power and creative systems to manage the work load.  Inside there are three directors that carry out responsibilities within their respective departments, all working and flowing as one in order to create a worship environment where people can meet with God. With numerous events occurring each week, Leuschner and the team have created a system that allows each separate ministry to have a single point of contact. Techs and managers are appointed oversight for each event allowing them to interface directly with the ministry prior to and during an event for continued technical support.

David Leuschner has strategically integrated many systems to help such a large team stay organized. Implantation of an online scheduling program allows staff and volunteers to “self-schedule”. Help desk systems allow for effective tracking of maintenance. Online dash boards keep maintenance repair and upcoming events in front of the technician and the pastors. This dashboard creatively allows pastors and ministries to see crew names, stats on gear repair and even twitter updates.  All of these organizational systems are available from a website.

While managing a budget of over 1 million dollars, this Gateway team keeps a surprisingly personal touch.  Tech meetings are infused with laughter, prayer and purpose.  Leuschner consistently takes time out of his schedule to check on individual members of his team, to ensure they are doing well personally, spiritually, and in their jobs. The systems put in place by David Leuschner and his team allow for all ministries to be effectively assisted and the technical aspects of events to be executed with the highest quality. More importantly, these systems line up with the great commission, which is Leuschner’s ultimate mission.