Frequently Asked Questions
PROGRAMMING
What is the mission of the Service Programming Division?
Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating an environment where those attending are led to worship, challenged to connect, and encouraged to embrace the principles and values of God’ Word.
What is the philosophy of the Service Programming Division?
Our goal for the worship service is for the attendee to say, “I want to come back.”
How do we immediately engage the unchurched or the churched to “want to come back?”
Create an appealing, engaging and helpful environment.
Do you have any suggestions for developing programming?
We program the worship service by using three principles.
1. It has to be engaging.
Help them laugh
Take them by surprise
Keep them guessing
2. It has to be excellent.
Your competition isn’t another church; your competition is anywhere else they could be. What is your competition?
3. It has to be helpful.
The information or message must be something they can apply to their lives and, subsequently, make changes. If it’s lofty, how can it be relevant?
Who oversees the Service Programming Division? Who makes up the staff?
The Service Programming Division works as a team led by the Service Programming Director to develop the worship service. Our service programming team consists of the following departments:
We rely on our team of people with different personalities and different jobs, brainstorming together to ensure a more comprehensive service. They take the bottom line, the takeaway/creative tension for the series (and for each message), to create an unforgettable experience.
Why doesn't the music director oversee the service? How does your model differ?
We believe the services are multi-dimensional experiences, encompassing many diverse expressions of worship: music, art, drama, spoken word, etc. With this in mind, the SPD director should be someone who keeps the big picture in mind at all times and is in tune with what it takes to bring together all elements of the live environment.
How do you measure success?
We evaluate our Sunday services on Monday mornings. We are constantly viewing success through the lens of one question: Did we make them want to come back? That is an immediate, if somewhat subjective, measure. Below are a few more objectives measured over time:
Are life change and engagement being demonstrated through baptism video testimonies?
Is there growth in strategic service (volunteering), groups’ participation, and weekly attendance?
Money . . . people give to things that impact them!
Is our median age increasing or staying the same?
How do you achieve excellence on a limited budget and with fewer resources?
When North Point first started, we didn’t have the resources we do now. Fun doesn’t have to cost money. And something doesn’t have to be expensive to be helpful. But it’s true that money can raise the excellence factor. In the meantime, do things as well as possible!
Be creative! Sometimes the simplest thing is the most creative . . . and the least expensive. Use volunteers! Tap into members of your congregation who want to get involved by constantly casting vision for what you want to accomplish.
Do any of them have technical talent? If so, leverage it to improve the quality of your services. If not, identify someone who can provide some basic training on how to operate the equipment you do have well.
Remove distractions. You’d be surprised how much just paying attention to details helps create excellence (e.g., avoid knee-jerk transitions and typos).
PRODUCTION
How many Staff Positions do you have?
Each campus generally has a Production Director, Audio Director, Lighting Director, and Video Director. At some campuses there are some associate roles and some of the campuses the Production Director has a dual-role filling one of the other positions. We also have a small multi-campus production staff that help facilitate organizational-wide equipment installs, site integration and connectivity, and general production support.
How many Volunteers does it take for a Sunday Morning?
This varies slightly across the campuses, especially with video, but here is a basic template that we use (positions per auditorium).
Lighting Team – The Lighting Team operates the equipment used to light both the stage and the auditorium:
(1) Lighting Board Operator
Stage Team – The Stage Team directs the flow of people and props on and off the stage from both the back and the front of the stage:
(2 – 6) Backstage Personnel – the number depends on the campus and the complexity of the service. This team controls the flow of people, equipment, and props on and off the stage (from backstage).
(1) Speaker Host – sits below the front of the stage in the audience, carries the backup mic, and cues anyone entering the stage from the front (or the audience).
Audio Team – The Audio Team is responsible for the set-up, monitoring, and adjustment of all auditorium audio equipment:
(1) FOH Engineer – mixing for the audience.
(2) Monitor Engineers - One is running the monitor board backstage (mixing for the musicians) while the other is onstage with the musicians to help facilitate the mixing process and help with any equipment issues.
Video Team – The team that shoots all the elements of the service - except for the message:
(1) Video Director – Directs all cameras and video elements in the service.
(1) Switcher – executes the Video Directors commands on the video switcher.
(1) Shader – quality control of stationary camera image (iris, color, etc.)
(1) CG Op – executes all music lyrics, lower-thirds, and full-screen graphics.
(3 - 4) Stationary Cameras – depending on the campus and complexity of service.
(2 – 3) Stage Cameras – depending on the campus and complexity of service.
(1) Tech Director – in place to trouble-shoot any equipment issues during the live production.
Multi-Campus Message Team – This video team shoots and records the live speaker for post-service playback and live transmission to satellite campuses:
(1) Video Director – Directs all cameras and video elements during the message and also operates the video switcher.
(1) Shader – quality control of stationary camera image (iris, color, etc.)
(1) CG Op – executes all on-screen graphics and speaker’s on-stage plasma display.
(3) Stationary Cameras
(1) Jib Camera
(1) Track Dolly Camera
How do you recruit new volunteers?
Some recruiting is done through word-of-mouth. We also have places where interested volunteers can get information about our team - our production team volunteer websites, business cards placed in certain locations, and an online form on North Point’s main site that they can fill out and submit. Our "Connections” environment (an introductory point for new attendees) also mentions our team as well. We do occasionally participate in periodic volunteer drives if we are in need of a large number of volunteers (called Strategic Service Sundays).
How do you train volunteers?
Training is done primarily through our more experienced volunteers during the Sunday service. These volunteers apprentice the newer production volunteers until we feel that they are ready to operate a position on their own. We also have a video review meeting (for our video volunteers) after our first service where we watch and review the previously recorded service as a team and discuss. This is an invaluable teaching time for new volunteers and an ongoing vehicle for feedback for all the volunteers. It is a good chance for the production volunteers to observe their work as a finished production and see how their efforts are contributing to the bigger picture. Some of our campuses have also put some training online.
How do you select your volunteers?
All potential volunteers are asked to fill out an application, which helps us determine if they are a good fit for our team and where to place them within the team. Also, do background checks for all volunteers. We also ask that volunteers commit to serving for a minimum of one year.
How often do you schedule your volunteers?
Our goal is to schedule them once every three Sundays. This may, however, differ slightly depending on how many volunteers there are in each section and the campus. The volunteers serve for the entire morning (2 to 3 services depending on the campus).
How do you communicate with your volunteers?
Because of the large number of volunteers, we primarily communicate through the web - whether it is through email or our scheduling software Planning Center Online.
How do you schedule your volunteers?
We primarily use the online software called Planning Center Online. The volunteers are asked to log into PCO and input their schedule conflicts (weeks that they cannot serve) and we build the production schedule using PCO. The software keeps track of conflicts when scheduling and automates much of the communication process after they have been scheduled (by reminding them when they have been scheduled to serve).
How do you build camaraderie within the team?
We try to do three or four outside events with the volunteers throughout the year. We also set up opportunities for the volunteers to hang out with each other and with staff in between services on Sunday. Our Green Room is where we congregate, hang out when we aren't on task, and eat our meals together as a team.
What do you do to keep the volunteers that you have invested in?
We stress that what they are doing (even though they may not personally see the results) is important to the mission of the church, crucial to creating an environment or worship experience for our audience, and the vehicle for the delivery of the message.
What are some things that you look for in volunteers?
Do they have production experience or are they trainable? If they don't have the experience, are they willing to take the time and master a role on the team? Do they already have an interest in technical or production areas/hobbies? Do they have a desire to serve the church?
LIGHTING / SETS FAQ
Do you program each song out on your lighting board?
Yes, we program out each song. Depending on the song it can have anywhere from 2–50+ cues.
Do volunteers program the lighting board?
Generally the answer is no. We do have a few volunteers who are able to dedicate the amount of time that is required for programming. Also there is an artistic side as well as a technical side. Sometimes the technical side is much easier to teach than the artistic side.
Where do you come up with your set designs / How long are they left up?
As a team of lighting and scenic designers for NPM we all talk about a general direction we would like to take the next set. We get inspiration from all over. TV, Internet, architecture, and anywhere else we see some inspiration. We generally use two sets a year.
What design software do you use to design your sets?
Google SketchUp (It is free!) and Vectorworks (not so free).
How loud do you run Worship?
It all depends on the context of the moment. Some of the louder more aggressive content is 95-100 dbA. Some of the more mellow and reflective songs can be high 80s to low 90s dbA. The main goal is to keep the audio engaging but the decibel level is kept under 100db (A-Weighted scale) for the majority of the time.
What kind of shield do you use around your drums to isolate them?
Depending upon the stage and the talent on the stage, we may or may not use a drum shield.
What kind of cabinet do you use to isolate your guitar amps?
For more info on our amp cabinets, check out this handout.
Who creates the videos that you use during your service?
In our organization, we split the production roles into two separate teams. Our team handles the live execution of production elements on Sunday morning, and our Creative Services team handles all the post- and pre-production duties within our organization. They shoot, edit, and create all the pre-recorded audio and video content that we incorporate into our Sunday services. They also handle all the post-production tasks such as Internet delivery, TV, and Social Media.
MULTI-CAMPUS / MISCELLANEOUS
What equipment/software do you use to stream your Sunday service live?
We use Blackmagic input cards to capture the live feed, Kulabyte software to encode the feed, and Akamai to distribute the feed over the web. We use the H.264 codec at multiple bit rates.
How is your Audio/Video distributed between the campuses?
For an explanation, take a look at this handout.
Who distributes your on-demand messages on the NorthPoint.org website?
We use Akamai.