Church Technical Ministry – A Thankless Job Disappears When You Say Thank You!
By: Jason Lehman
Worship pastors and worship leaders have a unique role. Not only are they responsible for leading worship, but they are also accountable for the health of the teams they lead. One of these teams is the technical ministry team. The group of individuals solely responsible for whether or not the congregation can hear, see or experience the presentation prepared by the musicians, vocalists, dancers, actors, or the preacher. In spite of all the responsibility, working as a church sound or tech person can be a thankless job; particularly, if a ministry is a church plant without a permanent facility. The details involved and time required setting up and tearing down a sound system, staging, lights, and other technical equipment can be overwhelming. In addition to work involved, technical ministries have to deal with the stress of something not going quite right during a service and the reaction of insensitive people in the congregation. All of these factors can create a rather stressful environment for anyone serving in a technical ministry.
It is easy for people serving in technical types of ministries to get burned out quickly. It is important for worship leaders to both be aware of these stressors and to know how to respond and encourage technical team members. There are several things you can do that will help minimize burnout and keep the team working together.
1. Show appreciation: One of the most important things you can do is let them know you appreciate them. You may be the only person who acknowledges that they made a difference by serving. Send an e-card to each member of the team once in a while. A simple thank you can go a long way.
2: Teach your worship teams to value all the work that goes into making things run smoothly. Remind musicians, vocalists, other teams members, and even your church staff that technical ministries rarely get credit for all the hard work they do. It is easy for a congregation to respond to people that serve on stage. Encourage your non technical teams to go out of their way to help wind cords, move equipment or ask how they could help out.
3. BE POSITIVE! If you can stay positive in the midst of chaos, your team will be more apt to keep a good attitude as well.
Having the opportunity to serve the Lord by helping in a technical ministry can be exciting and very rewarding; however, it is inevitable that people will get discouraged, tired, frustrated, or burned out. Take the time to encourage your technical teams. Remind worship teams in your church that they are a success because of the hard work of those in the technical teams. Remember to be positive so that your team can stay positive.
A thankless job disappears when you say thank you!
Jason W. Lehman is a worship consultant and former worship pastor. He is also the publisher of http://www.leadingworship.com; a worship resource provider that specializes in providing tools for preparing creative worship services.