What makes a church service successful? Working in technical ministry, we might list things like a good music mix, a lack of production problems, and a perfect volume level. Are all of these things good? Yes. Do they define a successful service? Not even close.
Church production and secular production are nearly the same. The best practices used in the secular world should be used in the church world. The level of professionalism should be the same. But, there are a handful of differences. And the biggest is how success is defined.
Attending a secular concert, I expect to hear a great mix, I expect the stage lighting to match the mood, and I certainly don't expect to hear feedback. In this case, the success is largely defined by the quality of the production. Not so with a church service.
Before you start shooting flaming arrows my way, consider how a pastor might define a successful service. Would they define it by the number of baptisms or new believers coming forward? I was tempted to believe that so I turned to my pastor with the question.
Matt Geibler, senior minister at Greenwood Christian Church (Greenwood, In.), says a success church service meets five criteria.
1. Lifts my eyes to God's greatness, love, and faithfulness (Psalm 146:1-5).
2. Connects me with the people of God (Psalm 133:1). We gather to celebrate in ways I can't individually.
3. Encourages and instructs me with God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
4. Celebrates the finished work of Christ (Romans 3:21-26). We serve God not to barter for salvation, but because He has graciously offered us new life.
5. Challenges me to respond to God in obedience (James 1:22-25). We seek not just information, but life transformation into the image of Christ.
Did you catch the part about the technical production quality? Me, either. But hey, we are tech geeks so let's turn to one of our fellow geeks. They will certainly have the answer we want to hear.
I posed the same question to my technical director, Erik Tittle. Erik started by saying, "It does not involve [topics like] did we execute the songs correctly or the production cues." (Gasp!)
He went on to say it involves the following two things:
1. "Has the service adhered to the Biblical instructions for worship?"
2. "Does the service match the stated mission of the individual congregation?"
He went on to say a service that doesn't have these qualities can be one people like but, "it will not be a success on what is the most important."
I'll let you in on a secret, I wasn't surprised at what he said. This is a compliment to him.
Again, did you catch the part about technical production? He mentioned nothing of tech production, yet Erik is a stickler for getting the tech stuff right. It's not because the tech production quality defines a successful service, it's because it supports it.
Every bit of technical work goes to supporting the pastor's vision for the service, the worship band's needs, and the needs of the congregation. Working in technical ministry, we should present our best work. We do this for the benefit of the congregation. We do this to aid the pastor in presenting an environment where God is placed first and the focus of the congregation can stay on Him.
Provide support for a successful service by;
1. Being the best you can be.
By taking your responsibility seriously and working to the best of your ability, the worship band and the pastor will have confidence in you. This means they can focus on their duties and not worry about what might happen.
2. Working in advance of the service.
The pastor works on a sermon throughout the week. The worship leader picks out the right songs in advance of practice. The band practices. Equally, your work begins before you walk into the building. Be it stage preparation, song review, or whatever the case, it must be done in advance. Last minute preparation leads to problems and mistakes. Mistakes lead to service distractions.
3. Use your heart, not just your head.
Techies have creative moments, but much of our work is technical, it's heady stuff. God works on hearts. Catch the vision of the service. Catch the feel of the songs. Catch the desires of God. It's not about the production, it's about the people.
The success of a service isn't defined by the quality of the technical production. If it was, then we'd be at church for all the wrong reasons.
