Have you ever wondered who designs and builds the backdrops on stage for the auditorium? The Stage Design Team is part of the Tech Team, which covers video, sound and lighting, too.
Andy Coleman recently began serving with the Stage Design Team and shared what it was like to build the most recent background:
I’ve been in construction since I was about 13. I loved anything I could do with my hands. I’d just watch others and learn it. I even drew the plans for my house and did a lot of the work.
I’ve known Drew (Tech Team Leader Andrew Hunt), for about 10 years. One of the things that drew me to Blue Ridge was the attitude of serving. I know there are many different ministries, but construction and design are my passion.
When we started this new design, there were a lot of people involved. Everyone collaborated. No idea was a bad idea.
I like that there’s such an emphasis on excellence. At Intro to Blue Ridge, Woody says that just because it’s Christian doesn’t mean it can’t be done well. Here, if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it well.
I also love the fact that at Blue Ridge, we're going to start everything with prayer. That was huge for me. We lose sight of that, even in our personal lives, that it should start there. But with the Tech Team, on every occasion that we got together, that's how it started.
I think that’s what brings people together. We start with prayer. We put it in God’s hands. There are a lot of personalities at Blue Ridge. If we didn’t handle things with an atmosphere of prayer and being respectful of others, I don’t think we’d have the unity we do. We have a common goal. That’s so refreshing.
I enjoy the process of stage design. I love seeing the end results. I'm already in my mind thinking of the next one!
You know a stage design is never going to save anybody. But it does create a certain atmosphere. If it creates a place a person wants to return to, a place where they’re going to hear the Gospel, that’s what we want.
It's not about the product or the project that we do here at Blue Ridge. It's about the people we do it with and the end result comes as a result of relationships that have been formed and time spent together in community and out of those relationships we hope we help move each other closer to Christ.
Hear more about serving on the Tech Team from Technical Arts Director Andrew Hunt in his blog for Church Production Magazine.