Understanding Your Church’s Sound Equipment

Your church’s sound system needs to sound great and perform consistently whether your pastor is delivering the message, the choir is singing an inspiring work of music, or the worship team is rocking out on guitars, keyboards, and drums. There are key components that are part of every sound system. A good sound system designer can tailor these components exactly to your needs.

Mixer

When you’re putting together a sound system for your church, one of the first things you need to look at is a mixer. After all, your entire system revolves around it. It provides your audio inputs and outputs, microphone amplification, routing and more. So where do you start? First of all, you’ll need to consider how many inputs you are going to need for your PA. Are you amplifying a single person talking? An acoustic performance? A full band? You’ll also need to decide if you want an analog mixer or if you want to go digital. Beyond that, volunteer-friendliness is crucial.

Speakers

The next component you’ll need to look at is your speakers—and they are a crucial component. After all, they’re what are creating the sound that everyone is hearing. Quality PA speakers make the difference between a great-sounding system and a sound-reinforcement nightmare in the making. There are numerous factors that go into choosing PA speakers. Do you want powered or unpowered ones? Portable or permanent?

Microphones

It’s safe to assume at least one person will be speaking during your worship service, and there will probably be at least one person singing. You may also have acoustic pianos, guitars and more acoustic sources to amplify. That’s why you’ll need microphones. And if you plan on moving around while you’re speaking or performing, you’ll probably want wireless mics.

Monitors

No matter what’s going on, presenters and performers need to hear themselves. Stage monitors are affordable ways to build a monitoring system. If stage noise and stage real estate are a concern, earphones, along with an in-ear monitoring system are necessary. Either way, quality stage monitoring is essential.

For more information and specific recommendations, visit Sweetwater.com.

Sweetwater
Sweetwater

Founded in 1979, Sweetwater is the No. 1 online retailer of music instruments and audio gear in the U.S. The company is respected as the nation’s leading retailer serving musicians and technicians. With 80+ Sales Engineers dedicated to the worship community, free tech support, free two-year warranty, and free shipping, Sweetwater is an ideal resource for musical instruments and technology for worship. For more information, visit Sweetwater.com.

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Gene Appel: Do Less Ministry; Reach More People

None of the programs at our church were bad in and of themselves. The volume of it just prevented us from being focused on building relationships with those who are far from God. So, we had to do less ministry to reach more people. It sounds funny, but people had to be trained in how to do life with nonbelievers or people spiritually disinterested.

When Familiar Becomes Careless

God wants to be in a relationship with his people that’s not marked by fear but love. Not apprehension, but an appreciation of his great grace and compassion.