As individuals, most of us have made a list of resolutions for the New Year. At the same time, many houses of worship have also resolved to upgrade, replace or re-invent their sound systems. There is no doubt that January is a great month for these plans. Actually, any month would be fine, but I get more calls in the first month of the year from churches that want to make changes to their sound systems than any other month. So, January is usually a great month for me.
The Assumption
Okay, let’s assume your house of worship is planning on improving the sound that serves your congregation. Of course, the first question to consider is, how will you go about your endeavor?
There are a few schools of thought here. Initially, you would call someone (like myself) who is a professional at designing and installing house of worship sound systems. The obvious advantage to calling in a professional is that they should know everything about audio that you don’t. In other words, they will have the experience necessary to evaluate your current sound system and advise you on how to improve your system or replace it. Also, a good installation company can advise you in how to improve acoustic problems your sanctuary may have and also offer recommendations on improving your stage lighting system.
The other school of thought is that you (or a group in your church) will make all audio decisions and do all installation work using volunteers from the congregation. This idea can work if you have some audio experts (or at least enthusiast) to choose from, as long as there’s a realization that pros might be required at some stage, such as rigging.
A Typical Situation
A scenario I run into fairly regularly is a combination of both ideas. The church leaders call in an expert and then use qualified people from the congregation to install the new sound gear. For example, I have designed a new sound system for a house of worship near me. I have also acted as the buyer for the equipment. However, the church is using their people to build a new stage, a mixer location and do all electrical upgrades. I will also use their labor to install the new system. The advantages are that the house gets a pro to design the sound and money is saved on the installation.
Now that you have decided on a new project, how much should your new (or upgraded) system cost? This is really the biggest question you will face. Too often, congregations decide what their budget will be before they have any real idea of what kind of sound system or upgrades they will need. Simply arriving at a budget because you or the leaders of your church have decided on an amount of money they want to spend is not a very good strategy. Ideally, you should get some solid bids from a couple of sound installation companies and use those bids to decide if you have the funds, or will be able to procure the funds to go forward with your project.
There is one thing to consider before you dive into your new sound system. Is the upgrade required in your sound system, or in the environment that your system operates in? In other words, what are the acoustics like in your sanctuary? I have walked into churches that think they need new sound but, in fact, they need to improve the acoustics in the room. For some houses, just adding drapes, acoustic panels or other sound-controlling treatments will dramatically improve the overall sound. Once again, this is a good reason to get a professional’s opinion before you start planning and budgeting the project.
The Money Part
Moving forward, let’s assume you have some written bids in your hand. Those bids will make it much easier to budget out the project. So, now that you have your cost, the next question is usually, how will you pay for it? I am going to give you a formula that I use with clients to figure out what new system will cost over time. All right, let’s say your house of worship seats 200 persons (average) on a weekly basis. You have decided to spend $20,000 on your new sound system. $20,000 divided by 200 works out to $100 per seat. Now divide that $100 by 50 weeks in a year (I know there are 52), and you have about $2 per seat per week. Now $20,000 may seem like a lot, but is definitely an attainable goal. Using this formula, a 200-member congregation that increases its giving by $2 per week could pay for a $20,000 sound system in a year. If they put up an extra $4 per week, you would pay for your system in six months, and $8 in three months, etc.
This formula may seem very simple, but the numbers do work. I currently am working with a house of worship in Whittier, CA, and they will have saved for their new system by March of 2013 simply by asking for $1 per week from each of their members. Of course, there are many other ways of financing sound for your church. In my home church, the money for the original sound system was donated by one person, whereas the next sound system was financed by a combination of additional giving and a variety of yard sales. (Not to mention a lot of prayers.) Whatever means you use to raise money, the formula I gave you is just a tool to look at what a new (or improved) sound system will really cost your church over time.
That said, I can’t stress enough how important it is to get some solid numbers before you decide how much you will be spending on your sound system. You may find out that it can be much less expensive than you originally thought. Or it may possibly cost more than you ever imagined, but if you have plan on how to get there, you can eliminate some of that stress that goes along with this type of project.
After all, the whole purpose of a sound system in a house of worship is to communicate the word of God and lift the congregation up. If you remember this, the project should be fun.
