I’m leaving for Sweden this week. I’ve never been to Sweden before. Other than the $1 vanilla cone at IKEA, I don’t have any experience with things Swedish. (I never leave IKEA without one of those cones! It’s only $1!)

I’m super excited, because I get to be a part of a gathering of Swedish technical artists. As I’ve been preparing for what to share with them, I’ve realized that there is something I know about Sweden. Anytime you gather technical artists into a room, we are all connected by technology and the fact that we use our gifts for the benefit of the local church. We might be from different countries, but as technical artists, we have a ton in common.

Now that I think about it, there is a team of tech artists from Willow Creek down in the Dominican Republic right now, and I guarantee that they are experiencing a similar thing.

Whether your church is huge or normal sized; whether you are part of the old world or the new; whether you have every new tech gadget or you are gaff-taping something together to get one more use out of it; we are all in this thing together. We are all experiencing the joys and frustrations of being a technical artist in the local church.

So often we are physically alone. We are the first ones in the door and the last to leave an event. The “every day” of our lives as technical artists tends to feel lonely. In reality, there are individuals all over the world that are doing similar things at similar times. Making copies of the input list for the volunteers early on Sunday morning; driving a trailer full of gear to the local middle school so the gear can be unloaded at 5:30am; wishing the worship leader had remembered to tell you about that song change before now. The list could go on.

When we are in the middle of feeling alone, it is hard to think past your immediate circumstance. What I am most excited about my trip to Sweden is a chance for all of us technical artists to be in one room together and remember that we aren’t alone, that we are a part of a larger group leveraging technology for the message of the gospel.

I think it is important to remember that we are a part of this larger community. Who else really understands all the work it takes to do our job? Who else can recognize us for the good job we’ve done (instead of just when something goes wrong)?

I would like to challenge every technical artist reading this to find a way to encourage a fellow artist today. If we don’t go out of our way to lift each other up, who will? I would also suggest that each of you find a way to get connected into a community of technical artists in your area or through the great resource of the Church Technical Leaders online community.

Whether you are running on empty or you have full and have something to give, plug into the community of church technical artists to help us remember that we aren’t alone.