Pushing the Limits of Online Worship: It’s Not What You Think

Key insights from Chad Vegas’s keynote at the Churchfront Conference on building sustainable team culture in church production.

When Chad Vegas takes the stage to talk about “pushing the limits of online worship,” you might expect a deep dive into frame rates, lighting setups, or broadcast mixing techniques. After all, as Live and Film Director at Transformation Church, he oversees production that reaches 35,000-55,000 people weekly with an average watch time of over 35 minutes—all with a 95% volunteer team.

But Chad’s message challenges everything you think you know about excellence in church production.

The Real Secret Isn’t Technology

“Pushing the limits of online worship is not all about tech,” Chad declares early in his talk. While Transformation Church uses cutting-edge equipment and produces content that rivals professional studios, the secret sauce isn’t found in their gear list.

The real breakthrough? Team culture built on love, boundaries, and authentic relationships.

A Journey Through Crisis to Clarity

Chad’s perspective was forged through personal crisis. In late 2021, he was hospitalized twice with COVID pneumonia, left on full-time oxygen and barely able to walk. During his recovery at a mentor’s farm in Washington State, God didn’t just heal his lungs overnight—He began healing his heart.

“Our mentor said, ‘Now we’re going to work on your emotional healing. You have some rejection issues,'” Chad recalls. Through EMDR therapy, he discovered that fear of rejection was driving him to neglect his family while building an impressive ministry resume.

The Three-Pillar Foundation

Chad’s approach to sustainable excellence rests on three priorities, in order:

1. Yourself

• Regular therapy and emotional health
• Addressing trauma and triggers
• Understanding your identity in God’s love
• Setting healthy boundaries

2. Your Family

• iPhone focus mode when arriving home
• No work communication until the next morning
• Including families in ministry activities
• Regular worship times together

3. Your Team

• Building relationships, not just production crews
• Creating fellowship opportunities outside of “shop talk”
• Bi-monthly worship nights
• Knowing team members’ names, families, and struggles

Finding Your Why

Chad’s “why” crystallized during a chance encounter while working at Bethel Church. A family approached him after seeing Stephanie Granger leading worship, sharing how her music had literally saved their daughter’s life through online broadcast.

“There’s always somebody’s breakthrough to be fighting for whether you’re behind the camera, behind the soundboard, behind the lighting console,” Chad explains. “And honestly, if you’re not fighting for somebody else’s breakthrough, you have your own breakthrough that you need to fight for.”

Excellence vs. Perfection

One of Chad’s most powerful distinctions: “Perfection is religion. Excellence is kingdom.”

Perfection stems from fear of failure and rejection. True excellence flows naturally from understanding how deeply loved you are by the Father, how well you love yourself, your family, and your team—and how well you rest.

Practical Team Building

Chad’s team culture creates space for volunteers to:

• Turn their craft into viable careers (several team members now tour with Kirk Franklin and Maverick City)
• Fail safely in a supportive environment
• Worship freely during production
• Bring their families into the ministry environment

“My goal is never to build a great production team,” Chad says. “My goal is to build a great family.”

The Technical Aside

When Chad does address technology, his advice is refreshingly simple: Focus on lighting first, audio second, then video. Great sound with poor video keeps viewers engaged, but great video with horrible sound drives people away immediately.

The Boundary That Changed Everything

Perhaps the most radical aspect of Chad’s approach: he’s willing to quit his dream job to protect his family priorities.

“If TC came and said, ‘You’re going to have to be here more, you can’t spend enough time with your family,’ I would quit my job and leave,” he states confidently. “I have enough faith in the Father that because I know how much I’m loved, and because I’m putting my family first, the Lord would bless me and provide.”

The Heart Behind the Harvest

Chad closes with a challenge that cuts to the heart of sustainable ministry: “We can only love to the extent in which we love ourselves.”

The stunning production values, the thousands of online viewers, the volunteer team that functions like professionals—it all flows from a foundation of leaders who understand their worth isn’t tied to their performance, but to their identity as beloved children of God.

In a world of church production obsessed with the latest gear and techniques, Chad Vegas offers something more valuable: a roadmap to excellence that doesn’t sacrifice your soul, your family, or your team on the altar of ministry success.

“You have no idea the struggles they go through to get there on a Sunday… without their sacrifice, I got to be there. I get paid. They’re coming in at six, seven in the morning, staying till three. I never negate the fact that they said yes to this.”

The limits of online worship aren’t pushed by better cameras or faster frame rates—they’re pushed by leaders who love well, rest well, and create space for others to flourish in their calling.