How early should the media team arrive on Sunday?

Arrive in time to finish every check before the band's sound check, and aim to be completely ready 15 minutes before the service starts. Larger setups with livestreaming usually need longer.

What should a church media volunteer do if the internet goes down?

Carry on with the room. OpenMico's core app works offline, including installed Bibles, songs, slides and the Schedule, so projection continues while the livestream team works on the connection.

How do you train new church media volunteers?

Have them shadow an experienced operator, then run a service with someone beside them, then run one alone with help nearby. A written checklist and a short practice session midweek make each step easier.

Should live verse projection be automatic during the sermon?

Many teams leave automatic projection off, especially while rehearsing. OpenMico queues detected Bible references in Preview so the operator reviews them and decides what goes live.

Church Media Team Checklist: Sunday Service Tech, Step by Step

A church media team checklist turns Sunday morning from a scramble into a routine: plan during the week, prepare on Saturday, run through fixed checks when you arrive, follow clear habits during the service, and reset everything afterwards. A written checklist also means a new volunteer can do the job confidently, and that the service carries on when something fails.

Below is a checklist you can adapt for your own church, followed by advice on training volunteers and simple failure plans. It is written with OpenMico in mind, but nearly all of it applies whatever software you use.

What should the media team do during the week?

Good Sundays start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Get the service plan early. Ask the worship leader for the song list and arrangement, and the preacher for sermon title, readings and any slides.
Build the Schedule. Add songs, readings, notices, videos and sermon slides in order. OpenMico saves the Schedule continuously, so you can build it over several sessions.
Check new songs. Enter any new songs as labelled sections and proofread them against the official lyrics. Our guide to projecting song lyrics in church covers slide lengths and design.
Confirm Bible readings and translation. Look up each reading and check it uses the translation your church normally projects.
Review imported slides. If the preacher sends PowerPoint, import it and check every slide. OpenMico keeps text, positions and pictures, but fonts and effects are rendered by the app, so check imported slides look right.
Check video files play in the running order.
Confirm the rota. Who is on presentation, sound, cameras and stream? Who is the backup?

What should be done on Saturday?

Final service plan check. Any late changes from the worship leader or preacher?
Export a backup. Save or export the workspace as an .openmico file onto a USB stick or shared drive, so a second computer can take over if needed.
Run software updates now, not on Sunday. Update the presentation and streaming computers a day early and check everything still works.
Charge batteries. Wireless microphones, clickers, camera batteries.
Send volunteers a reminder with arrival time and any changes.

What should you check when you arrive on Sunday?

Arrive early enough to finish these before the band's sound check.

Power on projectors, screens, stage displays, computers and the streaming setup.
Open OpenMico and load the Schedule. Check the right service is loaded.
Check every output. Main screens, stage display, and any Network/Browser Source or NDI output for the stream. Each output can have its own theme and layout, so confirm each one shows the right style.
Click through Preview for the first song, the first reading and the sermon slides.
Stand at the back of the room and check the lyrics and verses are readable.
Check the stage display during sound check with the band.
Test the sermon microphone feed if you use Listening for verse detection, and confirm automatic projection is set the way your team has agreed. Our guide to live captions and sermon transcription covers microphone placement.
Test the livestream with a private or unlisted stream if your platform allows it.
Brief the team in two minutes: order of service, any unusual moments, hand signals.

How should the team work during the service?

Always check Preview before sending to Live. It is the single habit that prevents most mistakes.
Change lyric slides slightly early, as the last word or two of the current slide is being sung.
Clear the screen during prayer and transitions unless something should be showing.
During the sermon, watch for Bible references. If you use OpenMico's spoken-reference detection, detected references are queued in Preview; check each one and send it live when the preacher reaches it. You can also search by reference or words at any time.
Keep a note of anything that went wrong, with the time, so you can fix it later.
Stay calm and quiet. If something goes wrong, fix it without drama; the congregation notices the fuss more than the fault.

What should happen after the service?

Report song use as your CCLI licence requires.
Note what went well and what did not and pass it on to the team leader.
Shut down equipment in the right order, and turn off projectors properly so they cool down.
Tidy cables and put away microphones and batteries to charge.
Save any changes to songs or themes, and update your backup.

The printable Sunday service tech checklist

Copy this table into your own document, adjust it for your building, and keep a printed copy at the media desk.

When	Task	Who	Done
Midweek	Get song list, arrangement, readings and sermon slides	Presentation lead	☐
Midweek	Build the Schedule in service order	Presentation	☐
Midweek	Enter and proofread new songs	Presentation	☐
Midweek	Import and review sermon slides	Presentation	☐
Midweek	Confirm the rota and backups	Team leader	☐
Saturday	Final changes to the service plan	Presentation	☐
Saturday	Export workspace backup (`.openmico`)	Presentation	☐
Saturday	Install updates and test	Tech lead	☐
Saturday	Charge batteries	Sound	☐
Arrival	Power on screens, computers and stream	All	☐
Arrival	Load Schedule and check every output	Presentation	☐
Arrival	Readability check from the back	Presentation	☐
Arrival	Stage display check with the band	Presentation	☐
Arrival	Sermon microphone and Listening check	Sound / Presentation	☐
Arrival	Private stream test	Stream	☐
Arrival	Two-minute team briefing	Team leader	☐
Service	Preview before Live, every time	Presentation	☐
Service	Log any problems with times	All	☐
After	Report song use as CCLI requires	Presentation lead	☐
After	Shut down, tidy, charge, back up	All	☐
After	Share notes with the team leader	Team leader	☐

How do you train new media volunteers?

Volunteers stay when they feel confident and supported. A simple path works well:

Shadow. The new volunteer sits beside an experienced operator for a service and watches.
Assisted. They run the presentation with the experienced person beside them.
Supported solo. They run it alone, with someone nearby who can help.
Solo. They join the rota.

Some ideas that help:

A midweek practice session. Load last week's Schedule and practise moving through songs with a recording of the band.
One-page guides at the desk. The checklist above, plus a sheet showing how to clear the screen, switch outputs and find a Bible passage.
Keep the setup consistent. Use the same themes and the same output layout each week, so volunteers are not relearning the screen.
Rehearse with automatic projection off. When learning verse detection, leave automatic projection off so references are reviewed in Preview first.
Say thank you. Media volunteers are noticed mainly when something goes wrong. Make a point of noticing when it goes right.

What is your plan when something fails?

Agree these in advance and write them on the desk sheet.

Failure	Plan
Internet goes down	The room carries on. OpenMico's core app works offline, including installed Bibles, songs, slides and the Schedule. The stream team works on the connection or posts a message online. Cloud transcription needs the internet, so switch to on-device transcription if you use Listening.
Presentation computer crashes	Restart and reopen; the Schedule is saved continuously. If the computer will not start, load the exported `.openmico` backup on a spare machine.
Projector or screen fails	Carry on with remaining screens. Ask the worship leader to announce songs, or have printed lyric sheets ready where your licence allows.
Stage display fails	Tell the worship leader immediately; a tablet or printed set list can help.
Sermon microphone fails	The sound team switches microphones. Verse detection pauses, so search for passages manually by reference or words.
Livestream computer fails	The room carries on; post an update on your channels and restart.
Wrong slide goes live	Clear the screen, find the right slide in Preview, then send it live. No apology on screen needed.

For specific technical issues, the troubleshooting guide is a useful reference to keep bookmarked at the desk.

Making Sunday routine

A good checklist does not make the media team rigid; it frees them to pay attention to the service instead of worrying about what they have forgotten. Start with the table above, adapt it after a few weeks, and keep improving it with your team.

If you are choosing or changing software, look for something volunteers can learn quickly and that keeps working offline. You can see what OpenMico includes on the features page, or download OpenMico for free and run a practice service with your team.