When you're running a live worship service or streaming your church’s events, having a system that can handle unexpected failures is essential. You need to ensure that everything—whether it's audio, video, or lighting—continues smoothly, even if something goes wrong. Reliability, resiliency, and redundancy are key concepts that play a major role in building a robust setup for these situations.

Reliability refers to how likely your equipment is to fail under normal conditions. While reliability can often correlate with price, it's not always a guarantee. For critical pieces of equipment, like your video switcher or front-of-house console, investing in more reliable gear can help avoid interruptions during your service. Generally, higher-quality devices are built with more durable components, which means fewer surprises and a smoother overall experience for your congregation.

Resiliency is all about how quickly and easily your system can recover if something fails. For example, if your graphics computer stops working during a service, having a backup system ready to go ensures that you can continue without skipping a beat. This could be as simple as having a second graphics machine or a backup video source. The more resilient your system is, the less likely it is that one failure will derail the entire service or experience.

Redundancy is the backup plan to your resiliency. It’s about having the equipment and systems in place to step in if something goes wrong. For example, consider whether you have extra power supplies for your gear or a spare audio console ready to go. In a live setting, it’s not just about preventing failure, it’s about ensuring that if failure does happen, you’re prepared. Whether it’s extra cables, spare equipment, or a secondary backup system, redundancy makes sure your team isn’t scrambling when something breaks.

By taking the time to evaluate and implement these strategies, you’ll be better prepared to handle the unexpected and keep your services running smoothly, no matter what.