Production Lead at Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis, IN

Job Title: Production Lead

Department: Creative Arts

Reports To: Creative Arts Director

Direct Reports: Production staff and team leaders, Production Volunteers, Production and Contract Production Personnel

FLSA Status: Exempt

Prepared By: Human Resources

Prepared Date: September 9, 2026

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Eastern Star Church ministry is to form followers of Jesus to love God, love people, and live to serve. (Matthew 28:18–20). Everything we have done is to live out this vision that the Lord has given to our church family. From adding ministries to staffing, from building facilities to adding programs, from stewardship to membership, everything has been to obey Christ's commission.

YOUR ROLE IN OUR MISSION

The Production Manager provides strategic leadership for all production environments at Eastern Star Church, ensuring every worship experience, event, and digital broadcast is executed with excellence. This individual oversees the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of audio, video, lighting, broadcast, and production systems across the church, creating distraction-free environments where people can encounter God.

Reporting to the Creative Manager, the Production Manager leads the Production Team by developing staff and volunteers, implementing effective systems, stewarding production resources, and fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and servant leadership. This role partners closely with the Creative, Worship, Communications, and ministry teams to bring Eastern Star Church's vision to life through exceptional production experiences.

This is a full-time, exempt position requiring weekend, evening, and holiday availability as ministry needs require.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Production Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for all production operations, including audio, video, lighting, livestream, staging, and presentation technologies.
• Ensure excellence in executing weekend worship services, conferences, special events, funerals, weddings, and ministry gatherings.
• Lead production planning meetings and coordinate technical execution for all church-wide events.
• Develop and maintain production standards, systems, and workflows that promote consistency across all campuses and ministry environments.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director to establish department goals, annual initiatives, and long-term production strategies.
• Ensure production environments support and enhance the worship experience while remaining distraction-free.

Team Leadership

• Directly supervise production staff and ministry leaders.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and develop a thriving team of production volunteers.
• Conduct regular coaching, performance evaluations, and leadership development conversations.
• Build leadership pipelines by identifying and mentoring future ministry leaders.
• Foster a healthy, collaborative, and spiritually enriching team culture centered on excellence and servant leadership.
• Create and maintain training materials, standard operating procedures, and documentation for all production roles.

Technical Oversight

• Oversee the operation, maintenance, and continual improvement of all production systems, including audio, video, lighting, broadcast, projection, LED displays, and livestream technology.
• Ensure all production equipment is maintained through preventative maintenance schedules and timely repairs.
• Troubleshoot technical issues and implement effective solutions to minimize disruptions.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend equipment upgrades that align with ministry goals.
• Maintain accurate equipment inventories, warranties, maintenance records, and production documentation.

Creative Collaboration

• Partner with the Creative Director, Worship Team, Communications Team, and ministry leaders to execute engaging worship experiences and events.
• Participate in creative planning meetings to align production with ministry objectives and the creative vision.
• Collaborate on stage design, scenic elements, lighting concepts, and visual storytelling.
• Support digital ministry initiatives by ensuring high-quality livestreams and broadcast experiences.

Administrative Responsibilities

• Develop and manage the annual production budget in partnership with the Creative Director.
• Steward production resources responsibly while identifying opportunities for increased efficiency.
• Maintain production schedules, project timelines, and ministry requests.
• Participate in staff meetings, rehearsals, leadership meetings, and church-wide initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the mission and ministry of Eastern Star Church.

LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS

The Production Manager will:

• Champion Eastern Star Church's mission, vision, and values.
• Lead with integrity, humility, professionalism, and a servant's heart.
• Inspire excellence while creating an environment where staff and volunteers feel valued, equipped, and empowered.
• Demonstrate strong organizational, communication, and decision-making skills.
• Remain current on industry trends, production technologies, and best practices.
• Build strong relationships across ministries and serve as a trusted, collaborative partner.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Production Manager leads, develops, and supervises the Production Ministry, including staff and volunteers.

This role provides oversight for:

• Production Coordinators
• Audio Team Leaders
• Video Team Leaders
• Lighting Team Leaders
• Broadcast Team Leaders
• Production Volunteers
• Contract production personnel, as needed

The Production Manager is responsible for recruiting, training, equipping, scheduling, coaching, and recognizing volunteers while cultivating a culture of excellence, teamwork, and spiritual growth.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Production, Media, Broadcast, Communications, Technical Theatre, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience will be considered.
• Minimum of five years of progressive leadership experience in church production, live events, broadcast, or a comparable production environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading production teams, staff, and volunteers.
• Strong working knowledge of professional audio, video, lighting, and broadcast systems.
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects while maintaining attention to detail in fast-paced environments.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in a multi-campus church or large-scale live event environment.
• Experience with professional audio consoles, lighting systems, video switchers, LED walls, projection systems, and livestream platforms.
• Familiarity with Planning Center, ProPresenter, and production management software.
• Experience managing departmental budgets and planning capital equipment.
• Knowledge of networking, signal flow, and integrated production systems.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Strong leadership and people development skills.
• Exceptional organizational and project management abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Advanced troubleshooting and technical problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to stay calm and decisive under pressure.
• A collaborative mindset with a commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.
• A passion for leveraging technology to create meaningful worship experiences and advance the church's mission.