Your Church Livestream Probably Isn’t Growing Your Church | Stephen Sheppard
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! About This Week’s Guest Stephen “Shep” Sheppard is a church production and broadcast leader with experience serving at Elevation Church, launching church campuses, supporting multi-site production teams, and helping churches improve their camera systems, video direction, and sermon capture workflows. In this episode, Shep challenges the assumption that livestreaming is still the main growth strategy for churches. Instead, he explains how production teams can use cameras, lighting, volunteer training, sermon recording, YouTube, and short-form content to steward the...
info_outline
Light Your Church Like a Pro | Pro Church Lights
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! About This Week’s Guest This episode features Frank and Wade from Pro Church Lights, teaching from the Churchfront Conference in Melbourne Beach, Florida. They help churches build practical, volunteer-friendly lighting systems that support worship, hospitality, and ministry impact. Church lighting is not about manipulating emotion. It is about setting the table so people can walk into a space that feels intentional, welcoming, and ready for worship. In this episode, Frank and Wade explain why lighting matters from both a biblical and practical perspective, then walk...
info_outline
Why We Don’t Give Churches AV Bids
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! In this episode, Jake Gosselin and Luke Jackson unpack why Churchfront does not start AVL projects by handing churches a quick bid or quote. They explain the difference between an estimate, bid, quote, proposal, and RFP, and why accurate pricing for church AVL work depends on design, engineering, site context, system goals, and clear specifications. Jake and Luke also walk through Churchfront’s pre-design and consulting process, including the on-site visit, discovery conversations, inventory, program report, budget ranges, phasing recommendations, and the path from...
info_outline
The Church Production Debate Ends Here | Nathan Finochio
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! About This Week’s Guest Nathan Finocchio is a speaker, teacher, and longtime worship leader who brings a sharp, theological perspective to conversations about worship, church leadership, and the role of the Holy Spirit in the gathered church. In this Churchfront Conference keynote, Nathan Finocchio makes a bold case for why church production matters. Rather than treating lights, sound, video, and AVL systems as distractions, Nathan argues that production can help facilitate the first ministry of the church: worshiping God. Nathan unpacks the biblical language of praise,...
info_outline
Why is Church AV So Expensive?
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! Why Is Church AV So Expensive? In this episode, Jake Gosselin and Luke Jackson break down why professional church AVL projects cost more than many churches expect. They explain the hidden work behind a reliable system, including engineering, logistics, insurance, software, support, staffing, travel, procurement, and long-term operational stability. Jake and Luke also talk about why Churchfront does not try to be the cheapest AV integrator. Instead, they explain how accurate pricing protects churches from risky shortcuts, underbuilt systems, poor support, and unstable...
info_outline
Reggi Beasley Churchfront Conference Keynote Session | Getting a Graceful Rhythm
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! About Reggi Beasley Reggi Beasley is a worship leader and ministry builder who helps churches build healthy, thriving worship teams. In this Churchfront Conference keynote, he brings a pastoral word of encouragement for worship, production, and church leaders who are doing good work but feeling weary in the middle of it. In this episode, Reggi reminds ministry leaders that a sustainable life of service starts with receiving three simple but deeply needed truths: God sees you, God loves you, and God wants to spend time with you. Through the stories of Hagar, the prodigal...
info_outline
Stephen Sheppard | Former Elevation Church Broadcast Engineer Teaches the Biggest Lessons He Learned
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! Former Elevation Broadcast Engineer on Building a Healthier Church Production Team About This Week’s Guest: Stephen “Shep” Sheppard is a church production leader, content creator, and freelance broadcast/production specialist who has served in production roles at Elevation Church, Hope City Church, and multiple portable church environments. His experience spans volunteer leadership, broadcast engineering, campus launches, livestream systems, and coaching churches on how to build healthier production teams. In this episode, Shep shares practical lessons from years of...
info_outline
The Biggest AV Mistake Churches Make During Construction Projects
Churchfront Podcast
Follow us! The Biggest AV Mistake Churches Make During Construction Projects In this episode, Jake and Sean explain why church AV should not be treated like gear you add at the end of a construction project. AV is a specialty construction trade that affects structural planning, electrical requirements, HVAC coordination, sightlines, cabling, equipment racks, control systems, and long-term volunteer usability. They unpack when churches should bring AV into the process, why pre-design consulting matters, how realistic budgets are built, and why you cannot accurately quote a system...
info_outline
How to Build a Thriving Worship Ministry from Scratch
Churchfront Podcast
Follow Churchfront on Instagram or TikTok: @churchfront Follow on Twitter: @realchurchfront Musicbed SyncID: MB01VWQ69XRQNSN Spirit, Skills, and Systems: The Formula Behind a Thriving Worship Ministry Key Topics The three pillars of a healthy worship ministry Jake explains why thriving ministries are built on three essential foundations: the Spirit of God moving through the church, skilled leaders who elevate the ministry, and healthy systems that sustain long-term growth. Missing any one of these creates unnecessary limitations and frustration. How Rock Harbor grew from a...
info_outline
Ryan Visconti | Leading Through Growth, Culture, and Conviction
Churchfront Podcast
Follow Churchfront on Instagram or TikTok: @churchfront Follow on Twitter: @realchurchfront Musicbed SyncID: MB01VWQ69XRQNSN Guest background: Ryan Visconti is the Lead Pastor of Generation Church in Mesa, Arizona. A former Army officer who served in Iraq before entering ministry, Ryan brings a unique leadership perspective shaped by both military service and over a decade of leading a rapidly growing church. In this conversation, Ryan shares insights on church growth, staff culture, worship leadership, difficult personnel decisions, AI, and what it means to lead with conviction in an...
info_outlineApply to Join Churchfront Premium
Free Worship and Production Toolkit
Join us at the Churchfront Conference
Follow Churchfront on Instagram or TikTok: @churchfront
Follow on Twitter: @realchurchfront
Gear we use to make videos at Churchfront
Musicbed SyncID: MB01VWQ69XRQNSN
Churchfront Podcast — Josh Kelsey | How AI Is Transforming Church Ministry
Guest background: Josh Kelsey is the Lead Pastor of Vineyard Church in California. In this conversation, Josh shares how his church is actively using AI across nearly every department—from sermon preparation and curriculum creation to operations, worship ministry, and discipleship. He offers a practical vision for how church leaders can use AI to reclaim time, reduce burnout, and focus more deeply on shepherding people.
Key Topics
AI in the church: fear vs. opportunity Josh argues that many church leaders are approaching AI with unnecessary fear. While concerns around ethics and implementation are valid, he sees AI primarily as a tool—one that can dramatically increase effectiveness while freeing leaders to focus on ministry. He believes churches that embrace these tools thoughtfully will be able to pastor more effectively, not less.
Why churches are historically slow to adopt technology Churches and nonprofits are often years behind the business world when it comes to adopting new technology. Josh believes AI is creating one of the largest technological shifts of our generation, and many church leaders risk missing opportunities simply because they haven’t taken time to understand what’s actually possible.
Scaling ministry without losing community One of the most intriguing ideas discussed is whether AI can help churches scale without sacrificing the personal connection that often disappears as organizations grow. Instead of hiring more specialists for every operational challenge, churches may soon be able to use AI systems to maintain consistency, communication, and care at a much larger scale.
AI as a team of specialists Rather than thinking of AI as a chatbot, Josh encourages leaders to think of it as an entire team of specialists available on demand. Administrative support, curriculum development, data analysis, planning, project management, and content creation can all be assisted by AI, allowing pastors to spend more time on teaching, discipleship, and relationships.
The future of church software The conversation explores how tools like Planning Center, HubSpot, Notion, Logos, MultiTracks, and other church software platforms will likely become deeply integrated with AI through technologies like APIs and Model Context Protocol (MCP). Instead of manually moving information between platforms, leaders will increasingly interact with a single AI layer that understands and works across their entire ministry ecosystem.
How Josh uses AI for sermon planning Josh shares his personal workflow for annual sermon planning and weekly sermon preparation. What once required multiple staff meetings and days of planning can now be completed in minutes. He uses AI to help organize ideas, structure teaching series, review theological themes, and accelerate sermon preparation while maintaining full ownership over theological convictions and final content.
Using AI without losing your voice One of the biggest concerns among pastors is whether AI will replace authentic preaching. Josh argues that AI works best as a collaborator rather than a creator. By training AI on previous sermons, theological frameworks, and ministry values, leaders can use it to refine and organize their ideas while still maintaining their unique voice and convictions.
Curriculum creation and discipleship workflows Vineyard uses AI extensively to create small group curriculum, discipleship resources, class materials, slide decks, teacher guides, and parent resources. Tools like NotebookLM help transform existing content into multiple formats, dramatically reducing preparation time while increasing consistency across ministries.
AI-powered worship ministry Worship and production teams are also leveraging AI. Josh and his worship pastor discuss using tools like Suno to create custom music, countdown tracks, and ministry-specific content. They also explore future possibilities for creating custom stems, backing tracks, and other resources that could significantly reduce production workload.
The ethics of AI and transparency Throughout the conversation, Josh emphasizes the importance of transparency. Leaders should be honest about where AI is assisting their work while recognizing that many forms of ministry have always involved collaboration, research assistance, editors, and support staff. The key is maintaining integrity while leveraging powerful new tools.
A leveling of the playing field for small churches Perhaps the most exciting implication is what AI means for under-resourced churches. Pastors who lack staff, consultants, formal training, or large budgets can now access tools that help bridge those gaps. Josh believes AI may become one of the most powerful ministry equalizers the Church has ever seen.
Notable tools mentioned
• Claude
• ChatGPT
• Gemini
• NotebookLM
• Planning Center
• HubSpot
• Notion
• Logos Bible Software
• Suno
• Zapier
• MultiTracks
• Google Workspace
Key Quote
“Imagine if you could free up 15 hours of your week to spend more time making sure the people in your church who are most forgotten actually get seen.”
• • • • •
Disclaimer: This video and description contain affiliate links.