Level 3: Mentor
As a Mentor, you are who the operators come to. You spot when something is unusual and prepares for it, you solve the problems that other people can’t and you train the new people.
A Level 2 already runs a normal Sunday perfectly well. What you add isn’t more skill, it’s investment in other people.
You are expected to reasonably predict problems that may arise, such as custom media that may not play. If the service plan said “Anniversary” three weeks ago and nobody prepared, that’s part of your responsibility.
Trusted with
Section titled “Trusted with”Foresight
- Looking a few weeks ahead, not just this Sunday
- Spotting the unusual week before it arrives
- Preparing the unusual bits so the operator’s Sunday feels normal
- Telling the lead when a Sunday needs a stronger person on it
- Having a backup plan ready
- Noticing the slow problems: aging kit, a messy songbook
Technical
- Building a whole service from an empty page
- Solving problems that aren’t in the checklist
- Fixing things you didn’t set up
- Working out why it went wrong, not just fixing it
- Knowing what the software can and can’t do
Communication
- Chasing the set list, slides and announcements
- Briefing the operator on anything unusual, in writing
- Asking better questions than “any slides this week?”
- Agreeing deadlines and chasing them
- Saying no early, and offering what would work
- Speaking up for whoever is at the desk on Sunday
Training
- Taking a volunteer up in levels
- Sitting beside them and talking them through it
- Handing over one thing at a time
- Giving an honest debrief afterwards
- Saying kindly when someone isn’t ready yet
Recovery
- Being reachable and calm when it breaks
- Being the phone call an operator can make
- Sorting out what the operator couldn’t
- Knowing when a problem belongs to the lead instead
Heart
- The operator’s Sunday is your responsibility too
- Taking the blame that was yours, not theirs
- Building for whoever is on the rota, not for yourself
- Giving credit away
Modules
Section titled “Modules”M3.1 Reading ahead
Looking at the next few Sundays instead of just this one, and learning which of the differences actually matter.
M3.2 Preparing the unusual week
Taking a non-standard service, baptism, communion, carols, all-age, and preparing it so the operator has a normal Sunday.
M3.3 Being the phone call
Being the named person the operators can ring, and being reachable and calm when they do.
M3.4 Diagnosing the weird one
Working out a fault you’ve never seen from first principles, then writing it up so the next person doesn’t start from scratch.
M3.5 Building a whole project
Building a Sunday from an empty page: naming, ordering, every scene type, and a full run-through on the real output.
M3.6 Confidence monitors
A second screen for the people at the front: what they need to see, how it differs from what the congregation sees, and setting it up so the worship leader or preacher can trust it.
M3.7 The handover
Preparing a service that somebody else operates, and briefing them well enough that they don’t need you on the day.
M3.8 Training someone start to finish
Taking one new volunteer all the way from introduction to Level 1: their modules, their Sundays, their debriefs.
M3.9 Learning to teach
How we train before you train anyone: one thing at a time, honest debriefs, and how to say someone isn’t ready yet.
M3.10 Saying no
Turning down the request that arrives too late or costs too much, and offering what would work instead.
M3.11 Knowing the whole app
Trying every plugin we have, including the ones we never use. You’re the person who should know what’s possible.