Where’s the sound guy? I’ve heard this question so many times - usually regarding the sound guy who was supposed to be at the console for rehearsal or the service, but has gone missing. Sometimes it comes up when there is a problem with the sound system or questions about how to operate it.

I want to look at this question from a different angle. I want to ask this question to the leadership in your church and get their perspective of technical ministry in your church.

Bigger Scope
First I want to broaden out the scope to include all technical ministries in your church, not just sound. I use the term technical 'ministry' not by accident or inadvertently. If the technical area of your church is not viewed as a ministry, how is it viewed? And when you begin to look at it as ministry, how will you treat it differently?

One of the changes may occur when you realize it is time to compensate technical ministers just like other ministers in your church. When you reached a certain level in your church, usually measured by size (the dreaded numbers), the decision was made to add a youth pastor, a music minister, a children’s minister, and other staff positions to keep up with church growth.

You looked for qualified persons to fill those positions of responsibility, you interviewed prospects, and hired. You looked for someone who shared your spiritual vision and that of the church; someone who was spiritually seeking and growing, to grow with your church and minister in their given area. So why is it that we assume we can place a volunteer into any technical position and then give them responsibilities of leadership?

Where is the sound (technical) guy (person)? When is your church big enough that it needs a well-trained and fairly paid technical minister? We are moving forward in the church faster today than ever in the past, especially with regard to technical integration. Twenty years ago, no one reading this had even heard of video projection, digital audio, remote control moving lights, or of using computers in a church service.

Today, we want them in our church to put music on a screen so that everyone can sing along. We use electric guitars, electric bass guitars, multifunction electronic keyboards, a drummer, and a host of vocalists, all using wireless microphones and wireless in-ear monitor systems for our worship. And all of this we still want to put into the hands of weekend volunteers, with the expectation that it will blend flawlessly with the overall ministry efforts of the full time staff.

Asking Again
So question again, where is your sound (technical) guy (person)? Does this person share your vision for the church and where you are going? Do you know? Are they trained and qualified to be in a leadership role in your church? Have you made it a point to make sure they understand their role on the ministry team? Have you included them as a ministry team member?

I've asked a lot of questions here that are meant to make you think and I only pray we hear. Statistically, in America, less than 10 percent of the churches with over 1,000 in attendance have a paid technical person on staff and even more disturbing, less than 20 percent of those churches feel they have a qualified person to operate sound in their church.

This problem has two glaring aspects that we need to look at. One, what will it take to get church leadership to commit to finding and hiring qualified God honoring technical staff? Two, where will that staff come from and who will train them?

Question one is something that pastors and leaders in the church will need to come to grips with soon to continue growth in their church. Question two will depend somewhat on the commitment of the Pastors and Leaders to make training available for their technical teams. It will be incumbent upon us in this industry to help provide proper training.

Both Positions
I’ve been working in technical ministry in some capacity for over 30 years. I have held both paid and volunteer positions. In both, what was most life-giving was the ministry aspect. Being part of a team that is bringing life change, either in a local church or in an international television ministry, is extremely rewarding. The important part is being on the team and knowing it.

Part of being on the team was the knowledge that we were working together and were all given equal opportunities to grow within our ministry areas. I once worked in a large ministry, where we needed so many techies to do ministry right that the leader of the ministry started a technical school for training.

We trained people for what we were doing and others who went back to their own churches to apply the skills that they learned. I know that every ministry of size can’t be expected to have a training school. However, there are training seminars and events that churches, no matter the size, could afford to send their techies to. As to prolonged and more in-depth training, that is a topic for another discussion.

One last time, where’s your sound guy? Is he a part of your team, part of your ministry, or is he just someone we put up with and cringe when feedback, missed mics and other technical shortcomings show up?

Worst of all, is he the one being burnt out and is he looking elsewhere for a place to worship where he can truly be part of a ministry team?

I would really like comments and dialogue on this subject. Please email me with your thoughts at the e-mail address below.

Joe Wisler is currently working for Ashly Audio as technical trainer and previous to that was with another audio manufacturer, also in training. He has also worked at PTL Television in the audio ministry and training.. He is available today for seminars and training in local churches and can be reached at jawisler@cs.com

PRINTED IN TECHNOLOGIES FOR WORSHIP MAGAZINE, MAY 2003 ISSUE