Joshua Beckman’s event production skills have their foundation at First Christian
By Eric A Thomas
From a young age, Joshua Beckman has been into music. His love for music led him to explore recording, videography and photography. As his exploration expanded, his talent for pulling things together opened opportunities and gave way to a career path.
One winter, Beckman began volunteering on the worship team at First Christian Church in Jacksonville. “We were blessed to gain a new worship pastor at the time by the name of Perry Case,” he recalled. “As he began knowing me, he saw way more in me than I could have imagined.” In 2018, Case brought Beckman on staff as his right hand and Beckman became the production pastor at First Christian Church.
All aspects of Beckman’s exploration and polishing days are paying off with his work at First Christian. “Expanding my knowledge through the years of recording both in audio and video has allowed me to offer those skills during our four weekly services,” Beckman mentioned. “I have been able to train others to capture the services on video.” In fact, he has trained one of his sons, Elijah, to be a member of the weekly videographers. Building a good team has been essential to Beckman’s success as production pastor.
Each week, Beckman and his team at First Christian prepare and execute a full-scale arena style service for over 1,200 people. Their schedule includes a weekly band rehearsal, programming stage lighting, working on front of the house audio mixing and band monitor mixing. “We stream all of our services online simultaneously to three different platforms,” he added. “This requires an extensive multi camera set up, camera operators, broadcast feed, broadcast mixer and separate audio mix and master.” All of this work happens four times a week. The services are 6 p.m. on Thursdays, followed by three separate service times on Sunday: 8 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
Beckman has grown into his production knowledge and volunteer engagement over the last five years and finds the many aspects rewarding.
“My greatest challenge is staying creative. Each week I prepare all of the social media content, graphic content, app content and keeping the website updated,” Beckman remarked. Sometimes he goes into the office wondering if anything is left in his creative tank. “God has been moving so much in our church and community, there has been no shortage of praise moments to highlight and reflect back to Him.”
First Christian installed a swimming pool at the front of the sanctuary to accommodate baptisms a few years ago all, which are held anytime but one weekend out of the year they have a special baptism service. Hundreds of people have availed themselves of this opportunity over the last several years and this service holds a special place for Beckman. “A baptism weekend was when I was first hired and was able to capture each moment on video. Later, after editing, these videos are placed on our YouTube channel for everyone,” stated Beckman.
In addition to serving at First Christian, Beckman maintains his connections with the local music scene through his home business, EYECON, a hub for digital content creation and promotion. “No matter the scenario, I find it’s always better to elevate the people around you,” Beckman concluded. “Helping others, whether it be a band, organization, or family capture a moment in time by bringing everything together using video, recording, and photography brings me so much contentment.” His work can be seen through EYECON through Facebook.
Beckman stays active with his first love, being a musician. Currently he is writing and recording music in a band called “Preacher” with Isaiah Case, son of worship pastor Perry Case. They are working to release content this summer. In addition, he produces music with artists from all walks of life weekly.
Joshua Beckman and his wife, Emily, live in Jacksonville with their five children.
