3 Reasons Why You Should Provide Checklists for Every Volunteer Media Position

Carl Barnhill

I’m a firm believer in processes and systems.

I do think sometimes I can be overkill and have too many systems in place where it gets confusing, but I’d rather have more organization and have to pull it back than fly by the seat of my pants all the time.

I’ve served in Media Leadership roles at two large churches, at an international ministry, and as the Volunteer Coordinator for the International Christian Media Convention – the largest gathering of Christian broadcasters in the world. I say that to tell you that I’ve seen first hand how organization and systems can play a vital role in the execution of events and experiences.

When it comes to leading volunteers to execute weekend experiences, I would provide checklists for every volunteer position.

I would separate tasks into “Pre-Service”, “During Service” and “Post-Service”.


Here are 3 Free PDFs that you can download to see what these look liked for our team:

Click Here to Download a FREE Director Checklist PDF

Click Here to Download a FREE Propresenter Checklist PDF

Click Here to Download a FREE Switcher Checklist PDF

We purchased stand up paper holders like this one. We posted these at each position. This way it was clear what each operator needed to accomplish pre, during and post service.


There are 3 Main Reasons why I believe you should provide Checklists for Every Volunteer Position:

1. You can do other things.
You, as the leader of the team, do not have to be over everyone’s shoulder at every moment giving them instruction on what to do when. I’d even take this one step further and say that the leaders you’ve put in place under you won’t have need to do the same thing either. Information and direction give people ownership as to what they need to be responsible. for.
2. It gives consistency.
Providing the same list of tasks for everyone ensures that people are, for the most part, trained the same way across the board. Every one is working from the same lists. And it allows other veterans to train new operators easily without you around. 
3. It Limits Mistakes.
Checklists provide a way for your team members to be proactive in solving potential problems before they happen. For example, if your ProPresenter Operator is checking all the lyrics and videos Pre-Service, the chances of there being a wrong lyric, a grammatical mistake, or other error on screen dramatically reduces.


These simple procedures is what I see missing in dozens of churches across the country. Let’s get back to the basics. Provide simple checklists for every volunteer position on your team.

I’ve provided dozens of Checklist Templates as well as Organizational Charts, Position Job Descriptions, Training Guides, Scheduling Templates and more in my book The Ultimate Production Team Handbook. Just for checking out our blog, use the Coupon Code SERVEYOURTEAM at Checkout and get 10% off the book right now.

About Carl Barnhill

Owner, Church Visuals

Carl Barnhill is a creative entrepreneur, motion designer and author. He is the Owner Church Visuals, a company that helps Ministry Leaders visually communicate the Gospel. He is the host of the Your Visuals Matter Podcast. You can find him in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife, Katie and two sons, Jacob and Wesley.

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