Pastors & Church Administrators: Are your visitor and new membership numbers down? It could it be your church sound system or the acoustics in your building. Most of us do not get the pleasure to start with a church and build from the ground up, so we have to make the most of what our church building provides as far as architecture and acoustics.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Imagine your church’s new visitors taking that first big step to overcome whatever barrier has kept them from coming to your church, or perhaps a new family in town testing the waters. As a church you have that one fleeting chance to make a lasting first impression. Of course, we start with the “duh” factors such as proper lighting, pleasant temperatures and a comforting ambiance. Making sure to greet everyone at the door, great worship music and the pastor’s delivery of God’s Word are all very important too.
But can you guess what is just as important as the pastor’s delivery of God’s message of love, acceptance and forgiveness? The ability for your visitors to actually hear the message! The new visitor is most likely not versed in the way your church conducts service, so it is important that everything come across clearly. The first 60 seconds of the pastor’s message is the most crucial part, because it is during that brief period that new visitors are most inclined to decide whether they will return or not. Unfortunately, that’s also the time when most sound system problems are discovered, and it’s not always an easy fix.
Quick Cures for your Audio Ailments
How can you tell if the acoustics in your building are adequate, or if your sound system is the problem?
One quick check you can do is listen for dead spots while using your PA system….which would indicate that it’s most likely a problem with your sound system.
If your bass player cannot hear himself, or he seems to play too loudly and doesn’t realize it – you most likely have a problem with acoustics.
If, during praise and worship, your drummer is being picked up by all of the open mics on the stage, you may just need to adjust your drum placement. If that doesn’t work, it could be the acoustics of your building.
Have you noticed everyone standing within 10 inches of a mic? They’re probably doing that because of feedback, which is largely an acoustics problem.
Does the choir complain that they can’t hear themselves? That’s an acoustic problem.
Does the pastor hear himself so loud that he has to whisper? Also an acoustic problem.
Most of your problems can be solved with a little planning, managing sound reflections and proper placement of sound equipment. When you manage the sequencing of sound, and frequency response of the room, the results will be immediate and apparent and when this is corrected, you will see your numbers, once again, increasing.
