Forget the New Year's resolutions that you never keep. Use these ten ways of improving your audio ministry as a list of action items for 2011. Action items demand action. I'm not talking rocket science…I'm talking about the fundamental actions required for growing and improving a team!
1. Add a new volunteer. Advertise in the church bulletin, newsletter, video announcements, whatever it takes to show that the audio ministry is serious about adding a volunteer. Let people know they can stop by the sound booth after any church service to find out more.
2. Bench a player. A volunteer on your team who is also volunteering in other church ministries so much that you rarely see them sitting in the congregation…they might need to be benched for a season. Before benching them, talk with them and explain how you see them giving a lot to the church but not allowing themselves to be fed by the church. A certain means to burnout. This is part of caring for your team members.
3. Get a budget. Find out if you have a budget. Find out how much it is and what it covers; new or just fix old. Find out if the money rolls over from the previous year. Create an audio budget if you don't have one.
4. Review your Christmas production. It's not too late to do this.
Find out if you need more microphones or monitors for next year and add that into your budget items for this year. If there is a need for a piece of equipment for the Christmas production, determine if it's equipment you can use throughout the year. Buy if you can use it a few times a year. Rent if it's only needed once a year.
Review it for the production quality and determine how to improve for next year.
5. Develop a training schedule. Once a quarter, hold an evening training session. Once a month, a team member presents a tech topic in detail. Create an email list so whenever a team member runs across a useful article on the internet, they can forward it to the group.
6. Review your scheduling process. Do you have problems scheduling people for certain holidays? Are people scheduled far enough in advance? Do people often forget when they are assigned? Send an email out to the person a week ahead of the scheduled date so they know they are scheduled. Our secretary does this with all volunteer positions. Schedule people for three-to-four months in advance. Use a scheduling program or see if the church secretary can incorporate this task with other scheduling tasks.
7. Set and explain expectations. Set the expectations of your team and the production quality. This can include timeliness, behavior, competency, continual improvement, and even weekly reviews if you want.
8. Replace any broken or unreliable equipment. Need I say more?
9. Meet with the musicians and worship leaders. Find out if they are having problems with equipment, processes, or needs not being met by the audio crew. Work towards rectifying the issues, whether it's through working with your audio team or through educating the musicians on areas where they have to take responsibility.
10. Picture yourself in the same place next year and write down the areas you wish you had tackled/resolved/fixed/improved. That's your extended action list for this year.
Question(s): Which of these ten will you tackle first?
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I'm Chris Huff and I've been working behind a mixer for over twenty years. Since 2008, I've been helping other sound techs learn all about the art of church audio through behindthemixer.com.
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I disagree with number 2. While I feel we need to be aware of the possibilities of burnout, I know from personal experience that some people just thrive more when they’re involved. I go to church to grow as a believer obviously, but I love serving my church community so much! I only sat in the congregation twice this year and didn’t participate in the service in some way, and not because my church works me too hard, but because I love being involved. Mind you, I am single so I have no family that I am abandoning by being so involved, but if my Tech Director came and asked me to sit out for a while I would be hurt. I see my volunteering on the tech team in different capacities as my worship every Sunday. Just my thoughts :)
Derek, thanks for your perspective. A while back, the topic of burnout came up and half of the people surveyed were either burned out or on the edge of becoming so unless they changed something. The family aspect definitely comes into play so thatnks for bringing up that point.
I’m actually the exact same as Derek I think. I have no family at Church cause they go to another one while stayed back (I didn’t want to go and they were having issues with the current pastor at the time so they wanted to leave) so for me to actually sit down in service and do nothing….first of all….boring lol….yes my mind won’t be running in circles most of the day, but I find I’m so much more excited to serve then to just watch and listen.
Family has a lot to do with I truly believe. I book off Saturday nights for setup and nothing but playing a concert with my band takes priority over that. I love setting up and doing sound. So I don’t complain at all. But you look at another person, he’s like 35, has 3 kids (10, 12, and 12), wife, works 5-6 days a week on various hours….he sets up only chairs once a month. He and 3 others who are just like him are pretty much burnt out….
Family helps you burn out if your doing a lot at Church, but you also need your family to help un-burn your self too! So I’m not saying don’t have family….but it does help that you don’t need to focus on them! :)
as for the vote, I voted not burned if you didn’t realize it….but for all of the techies that volunteer and do stuff at church, how many of them have families vs are single? cause that would be a part of that burnout process.
Slow down guys! Sounds like you’re on a junk-food diet routine! First priority is the building up of the Saints and not running sound or setting down chairs or even working in the nursery. Let’s not just eat the icing off of the cake. We need to have the cake to put the icing on first. I’ve been in the ministry of helps, (AKA: audio, video, radio, church bookstore) for more than 30 years and I have seen many people with very good intentions head down the path of burnout saying all the while “not me”, “I’m good to go”, “I don’t need to take a break”, just to end in a crash and burn experience that could have been averted by taking some time off to get refueled and refocused on our true mission. The growth in our personal relationship with the Lord is the prime directive one must have and all of the other things will fall into place. It’s fantastic to hear guys with such a passion for there gift, but all things must be done decently and in order. Be sure to have a big slice of cake with that icing
I concur. Several years ago I “popped a fuse” and left the ministry, doing sound as well as playing on the team. It’s crucial to recognize the warning signs of burnout in yourself as well as your team. After 3 years sitting on the bench, I’m back and enjoying what I do even more.