The following e-mail was
sent to nine people on the Berean Video Ministry “mailing list”; I received
responses from six, two of whom have not yet participated in any of the
services and, therefore, have not been fully “incorporated” into the Video
Ministry. So of the seven regular
participants, I received six responses – a stunning response rate.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Larson, Eric M.
Subject: Ultra-Brief Survey
Hi,
team! I need a couple minutes from each
of you to answer the following questions.
I'm working on a project to improve our Berean Video Ministry team and
your "volunteer experience", and I really don't know what you need or
want unless I ask you. :) So, if you could shoot me an e-mail back
a.s.a.p. with responses to these four questions below, I'd really appreciate
it.
No deep
pondering required -- I just want your "gut feel" here. And feel free to be 100% honest; I know
there are many things I need to work on, and there aren't any comments you
could come up with that would hurt my feelings. This feedback will just serve to focus my efforts more, so I'm
working on what you really need instead of what I think you need.
If, for
some reason, you want to be totally anonymous, you're welcome to jot your
responses down and toss it in my mail slot (located on the wall behind the
baptistry)... but, as I say, there's no reason not to go ahead and click Reply
-- do it now, while you're thinking about it.
:)
Without
further ado, here are your questions:
1) Why do you participate in the Video
Ministry?
2) What did/do you find frustrating or
challenging about the Video Ministry?
3) How can your experience with the Video
Ministry be made better or more fulfilling?
4) Anything else I should know?
Thanks
again for all your work, and for your open and honest answers to these
questions. See you soon, and God Bless!
---Eric
L.
1) Why do you
participate in the Video Ministry?
It’s fun and it’s a
way to help out at Berean
Because it's there. I like to play with gadgets and I prefer to be doing something instead of sitting.
I participate in
Video Ministry, one because I find it to be a lot of fun, as well as a
challenge, which I always enjoy. And two, I participated in it in my old
church, and when I saw that you were short on people, I thought that I'd really
enjoy doing that again.
I enjoy techno stuff
and being in the sound/video booth is enjoyable. At the last church I attended,
I was part of [some other ministries]. I miss the opportunity of helping and
the Video ministry is something I can do.
I wanted to have
some role in the church, I love the music, have some computer skills and
can't sing... so, the next best thing is the video.
If I'm there to run
the sound, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Mainly because it's something that I enjoy doing, it's something I'm fairly good at, and I was never really given the opportunity to do it at my old church.
2) What did/do
you find frustrating or challenging about the Video Ministry?
Missionaries that
work that crowd... but how else do you learn? I just need to be more familiar
with some of the aperture controls [to control the brightness of the camera
image].
One of the biggest
things is when I don't know where the person leading worship is going next...
it’s great if the spirit moves him, but we weren't moved too, (so we have no
idea, usually, where he is going next), so it would be nice if he'd let us
know...usually he does, by saying or singing the first line. That is great
because then I have time to look and type the slide number in, then Enter.
Lack of written
instructions in the booth.
Nothing specific,
just when I forget to click PC2 or Video2 and they get mixed up, and don't
work. Keeping up with Roger [the
pastor] on the screen, (not much can be done about that though)
The cabling and
wiring is hard to follow. Things seem disconnected and unorganized instead of a
system.
I find two things
frustrating. 1) Not knowing enough about the options of a camera to manipulate
the image, and 2) having all those wires laying around just drives me nuts.
When people walk
around on stage so much that you never get to let go of the pan handle [on the
tripod] and your arm gets tired!
3) How can your experience with the Video Ministry be made better or more fulfilling?
Remote controlled
panning .... Yeah!
It already was, when
we moved into the [new] sound booth. No more 100+ degree temps in there from
all the equipment...
Much like the other
teams at church that get together, I think it would benefit us to meet and
exchange ideas and/or learn from you. As suggested before, I think we can
review portions of previous recorded services and discuss what was good and
what needs improvement. I know you are particular about certain things and we
should know what they are. As you are aware, your knowledge level is
significant in this field and there may be some things you take for granted.
Most of the time our discussions are when we are busy preparing for the
service. Therefore, we may not have a focused conversation. Getting together
when we are not preparing for a service allows us to ask questions more openly
for clarification and have your undivided attention.
The only thing, if I
knew what slide to go to all the time, if I need to jump. That would be helpful
4) Anything else I should know?
If you can have a
backup plan for me [because of schedule difficulties] that would be great.
When you get the
chance, show me sometime, how to power everything up so all you need to do is
drop off the disc. …Getting there early to get things started isn't a problem.
it would be one less thing to worry about. I probably could if I needed to, but
I'd want a 101 lesson first.
I think you should take a break. Task us to start the day (complete with bringing the words in on diskette and everything). This way, when you finally require that vacation, you’re not rushed to make sure things go smoothly.