Introduction – Greg Simmons

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Greg Simmons

Hi, my name is Greg Simmons.  I’m not sure what more I can add beyond what’s already listed in my bio, but I’ll give it a try.

My first exposure to “running sound” was in the late 70′s.  I began helping set up, tear down and watch the “sound guys” as they did the audio mix for a music ensemble that my mom was a part of.  I loved it.  I was a geeky kid then and I’m a geeky kid now.  Early on, I watched, listened and learned as much as I possibly could.

Here I am, over 20 years later, still working as a volunteer in church media/tech, but now leading the team.  Over the years, I continued to do the same things I did as a kid – watching, listening and learning.  Now, with the wonderful resources available via the web, I read, google, read some more, exchange ideas and then go and do a lot of trial and error.   I have worked with many great paid staff and volunteers at several different churches.  In each case, the opportunity to expand my skill sets always presented itself and I made the choice to learn something new.  From new audio mixing techniques to programming lighting programs; from working with broadcast video/audio to creating and expanding web content, there have always been opportunities to use new tools to share the message of Christ.

Currently, I serve as the Volunteer Technical Arts Ministry leader at Rawlinson Road Baptist Church.  We have a small team of dedicated volunteers trying to do the best we can with a limited budget and resource set.   In addition to regular live house mix for band, vocalists and sermon, our team also provides projection support for music and sermons.  In the last two years we’ve added podcasting, live video streaming and archived video.   I am still recruiting new volunteers as we seek to build a deeper team.  Each year, we continue to expand what we do for our church and our community, so the need for new volunteers is always there.

As an extension of our ministry, I volunteered (or was volunteered) to update and maintain our church website.  This has truly been an education by trial and error since I have no experience or training with web design or programming.   Our current CMS is Lifewaylink which, while limited in features, has a very short learning curve to begin making updates.  I look forward to learning from the other contributors here at CTM so I can improve our church’s web presence.

Outside of my church, I also have a passion for helping smaller churches implement media and other technology tools to support their ministry efforts.  I have taught media ministry related classes for the South Carolina Baptist Convention and I am currently working with the Worship and Music department on media ministry related podcasts.    These classes have also opened doors for me to work directly with some of these smaller churches as they have added new media tools to their ministries.

While church media/tech is my passion, I still have to pay the bills.  I have worked in various roles in the telecommunications industry since 1996.  Most importantly, I have been married to Michelle for over 15 years and we have two wonderful children.  Follow me on my blog, on twitter if you wish. I look forward to exchanging ideas and learning as much from you as you will learn from us.

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