When the Church Sound System Goes to Hell
Most churches are not quiet little Sunday-only buildings.
They are community hubs. They host recitals, concerts, conferences, weddings, funerals, outside rentals, youth events, guest speakers, and full worship productions. That means the stage is constantly being reset. Microphones move. Cables get swapped. Monitors are adjusted. Someone always “just tweaks one thing.”
At my home church in Hamilton, Erskine Presbyterian Church, we had a beautifully outfitted sound system. It was designed to handle everything from chamber music to full worship bands. The sanctuary was often rented to outside groups. Musically, it was a gift to our community. But after every event, Sunday morning was a hustle.
The stage was torn down. Music stands had migrated. Microphones had gone missing. EQ settings had shifted. Someone left a piece of cake on the piano. (Breakfast cake!) And now we were trying to get everything back to ground zero as we sound checked the praise team before the service.
Then one Sunday, we had nothing.
The system was on. The board was lit up. Channels looked active. No sound. For forty minutes, myself, the minister (who understood the board), and several experienced musicians poked, prodded, unplugged, replugged… and yes, swore and cursed. We rebooted. We traced cables. We questioned our life choices. Nothing…until someone saw it.
A tiny master MUTE button in the top right corner of the console. One button. Total chaos. We didn’t even know it existed. We found it minutes before the service started. Praise the Lord?
The Real Problem Isn’t the Gear
Most church sound systems are capable. Many are well installed. The problem is complexity plus access.
When you have multiple users — volunteers, musicians, rental groups, tech teams — small changes stack up. A mute here. An EQ tweak “just to help.” Over time, the system drifts.
And when it drifts, you get:
Feedback that won’t quit
Random frequencies ringing when the congregation is quietly praying.
Inconsistent volume levels (too soft to ear-drum bleeding loud)
Or complete silence
It does not take long for Sunday morning to turn into a mild technical apocalypse.
How to Keep Your Sound from Falling Into Chaos
Establish a Baseline Setting
Document your default settings. Take photos of the board. Print reset instructions and keep them at the console. After every event, return to ground zero. If you have a more modern board. Create scenes.
Limit Access to the Board
Not everyone needs full control of routing, EQ, mute groups, and system settings. Good fences make good Sundays.
Label Everything
Inputs, outputs, cables, channels. Remove guesswork. Keep Notes
Train Your Volunteers
Have more than one tech person who knows the system. Show them the signal flow. Show them the master mute button. Tell them not to touch the master mute button.
Finally, schedule periodic system checkups with someone who understands both worship and live performance. Preventative maintenance is far cheaper than Sunday morning panic.
When church audio works, no one notices. The music supports the message. The congregation stays engaged.
When it fails, it becomes the entire focus. It makes your congregation angry. It turns people away from your ministry.
Your church deserves systems that don’t require forty minutes of troubleshooting, a string of swear words, and divine intervention to function properly.