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Wow! What a year 2020 has been so far. This year started out like many others until March 12th when the Governor shared that we should not be meeting with large groups of people. March 12th was a Thursday. Stan, our Lead Pastor, and Daniel, our Executive Pastor, along with our previous Worship Pastor, Joel, called me and asked what we could do. As my full time job in Kokomo (FCA Group) told staff to head home for the remainder of the week, it became clear that God knew I was needed elsewhere that day.

The pastors and I met that afternoon and after a long discussion, we determined that we would stream three live services that Sunday. Not knowing that the two week quarantine would last much longer, we decided at that point it was the best course of action.  Luckily, we had plans in the works to at some point begin streaming services online. We had already upgraded the Internet connection at the church, so we had the bandwidth required to do this. 

That evening, I began working on this new challenge. As I said, luckily, we had already been told to work from home for my job in Kokomo, so I was in town and able to make some calls.  Our first objective was to improve our video production. We knew that the cameras that we owned were not enough quality wise to stream live. I began calling connections at other churches and also called a local company that we had begun the conversation with regarding camera equipment. Thankfully, I was able to get in touch with Erin at Grace Church, our neighbor here on 146th Street, and they very generously loaned Venture a camera to use for a “few weeks” until we decided what to do long term. Those “few weeks” turned into nineteen weeks. Venture ended up not meeting in person in the church until late June for recorded services and then in late July for our outdoor services.

The week of July 27th, Venture finally received brand new broadcast grade cameras. With the guidance of the Elders, we were able to get two. If you were paying close attention, you may have noticed that the video quality that Sunday improved quite a bit. As we moved forward through August and September with Worship on the Lawn on Sundays, we continued to stream for those watching from home. Our team continues to dedicate time on Wednesday nights to record the worship team and also on Thursday nights to record the message.

Grace was so kind to loan us pieces of their equipment so that we could continue to share our services with you at a tricky point in time. Without their cameras, we wouldn’t have been able to stream our services the way that we did in a time when many needed Jesus most.

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Milford Hutsell

Milford and his wife, Shawn, have attended Venture for over six years. They reside in Noblesville and have two married daughters. Milford leads our Worship Production Tech Ministry. You may see him in the tech booth, working a camera, or using his drone! His favorite thing about Venture is that those who attend are friendly, kind, and giving, and the mission to spread the love of Jesus Christ is evident. When Milford isn't at Venture, he enjoys his full time work as an IT guy and his part time work helping friends and family plan vacations. He also loves to ride his motorcycle. Milford would love to welcome you onto his team as a volunteer. With new gear and new responsibilities, this has opened many doors for you to serve. If you’re interested in getting involved in any capacity, please email him at hutsellm@venture-cc.org. All skill levels are welcome – he will happily train you!