I have a friend who takes a vacation each year alone with his wife. Besides and opportunity to reconnect with this spouse, the purpose of the trip is to have detailed discussions their own relationship and about each of their children. They document areas where they see positive growth (spiritual, relational, vocational, as well as other interests), and areas that need to be addressed or corrected. Over time, they have been able to record progress, observe trends and essentially create a journal of how God is using their family.
If your church has a summer "lull" in activities, this may be a time when you pause, reevaluate, plan and upgrade technical systems for the upcoming holidays and beyond.
At Church Production Magazine, our planning efforts usually come on the heels of our annual Reader Survey where we ask a wide range of questions --- everything from our reader's job title, and size of church, to what they think of our magazine's design and editorial quality. We analyze this data, track it over time, and use it plan new initiatives.
We also use it in putting together our 2011 Editorial Calendar: the list of articles that we plan to publish next year. It's a fun, energizing exercise where we decide topics and specific angles we'll take in covering some of the broader trends we gather from your input.
In this year's Reader Survey you told us that you want more content on small- to medium-sized churches. We also learned that more of you are upgrading your lighting and video systems than last year. Upgrades of audio systems are flat with 2009 and down only slightly from 2008 levels.
Each year our goal is to bring you more of the content and information you want and need. We want to be the single most-trusted, comprehensive resource for all things A/V-related for houses of worship. In addition to the Reader Survey, we always welcome your input (positive and negative) on how we can serve you better.
Feel free to email or call us with story ideas, column suggestions, product review requests or any other suggestions.
Correction and Amplification:
A chart that accompanied our Mixing Console Round-up article in last month's issue (page 32) included
incorrect data about the PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2. The chart stated the unit has 24 total inputs and
two mic/line inputs. The StudioLive 24.4.2 actually has a minimum of 55 total inputs and 48 mic/line
inputs. The chart also stated that the 24.4.2 has 16 total possible outputs. The unit actually has more 50
outputs, both parametric and graphic EQ's and two Firewire outputs. An updated chart is available at:
www.churchproduction.com/console_update_aug2010
