Small churches tend to rely largely – if not exclusively – on volunteers to run their AVL ministries. And, as a general rule, the smaller the church, the lower the average skill levels of the volunteer tech team. So many small churches have struggled with these two questions on occasion: Where do we put the “Do not touch!” signs? And would it be better if some adjustable functions were locked away in a deep dark cave?
We'll start with an example of the latter, from a small church that I consulted with after the deed was done.
For years, this church had held both traditional and “blended contemporary” services in the same sanctuary. The traditional service used no more than eight total microphones, while the praise band and singers in the blended service added up to a dozen more. All inputs went into a 24-channel analog mixer, and everything was supervised by Dennis, a tech-savvy young volunteer who usually mixed the blended services.
Then Dennis, a National Guardsman, was called overseas on active duty. Problems developed quickly, as less skilled volunteers – accustomed to ‘fader up and fader down' – struggled with the mystical realms of gain structure, dual-swept mid-band equalization, and aux bus assignment. Mistakes were made. Sermons were muffled. Feedback howled.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of small church ministries, and we need to keep faith in them – and tolerate the occasional misstep.
Coincidentally, the church was about to launch a major refurbishing of the sanctuary, including a new sound system. The church administrator consulted with the local sound contractor, and they came up with a plan. The four stage-front inputs (pulpit, lectern, and two utility) along with four wireless systems would NOT go through the main FOH console, but instead would be routed straight into a new rack-mounted mixer/matrix/DSP unit hidden away in a “deep dark cave” far away from FOH. All gain, EQ, and compression would be set once by via proprietary computer software, and these inputs would not be routable into the monitor system. Only level control would be accessible to the operator via digital remote on eight plain rotary knobs.
Initially, it did solve some problems. But it wasn't cheap, and eight inputs were now basically useless should the praise band want to expand or guest ensembles wish to use the system. Furthermore, whenever adjustments had to be made, as when the pastor switched from a lavalier to a headset mic, the sound contractor had to bring in his laptop to make adjustments down in the deep, dark cave.
When Dennis returned, he was frustrated. All adjustments for the church's only two wireless handheld mics were now locked away, and the same applied to three stage inputs that could be used for the band. (Usually only the pulpit mic was active for the blended service.) With my help, we relocated two wireless receivers to FOH and plugged them directly into the main mixer, and then we convinced the church to purchase a third wireless rig. For the time being, this compromise seems to be adequate.
So, did this church overreact to the shortcomings of volunteers? It's hard to say. Here, I find Matthew 7:1 (“Judge not…”) playing off against Matthew 8:26 (“Ye of little faith…). The frustrations of the church administrator were understandable. He had to deal with the complaints. And the sound contractor surely was weary of being called in to fix feedback problems that were due to a botched attempt at proper channel EQ.
I believe this problem is better approached on two fronts. The first is showing faith and trust in your volunteers, regardless of age or experience. In small churches, this should be communicated by the senior pastor, who should be best in person at the volunteer training session. Volunteers should be challenged to learn more. Yes, they need to know their limits, but they need to be inspired to expand their skills. This is where training pays dividends. If no skilled staff member is available, pay the local sound contractor or a knowledgeable consultant from another church, like, well, yours truly.
The second solution is to institute layered access to controls at FOH. Those who don't yet understand gain structure should never touch the input gain, which means they should use only the pre-assigned microphone(s) and applications for that input. The same applies to compression, EQ, and effects sends. If outside groups are allowed to use the system, consider mounting a plexiglass panel over the top part of the mixer, leaving only faders, mute and PFL accessible. With many digital consoles, essentially the same thing can be accomplished with levels of password access.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of small church ministries, and we need to keep faith in them – and tolerate the occasional misstep. It's better than locking away adjustable parameters in a deep dark cave, which not only limits future options but also shows limited faith in your team.
