A Practical Perspective: The Importance of the Audio/Video Ministry within the Local Church

Throughout this blog, we have seen multiple methods for expanding the audio/video ministry within the local church. Today, we will be looking at the importance of this ministry through the eyes of the pastor. For this interview, we specifically chose Pastor Chad Prigge of Fellowship Baptist Church in Watertown, WI for his love for the ministry and his interest in technology.

What value do you place on the audio/video ministry at your church?

The A/V ministry is important for any church seeking to expand its influence by getting out its message, an opportunity that is ripe for our media-saturated society.

It is also important as it seeks to ensure a pleasant, non-distracting listening experience for those attending the services.

How large is this ministry within your church?

In terms of our annual operating budget, our a/v ministry is not very large. In terms of equipment, we have several wireless and hard-wired microphones, a video camera, an analog soundboard that will soon be replaced by a digital board, two recently installed monitor speakers above the platform, and a couple of computers to process the recordings.

How many individuals are involved in this ministry for a morning service? Evening service? Mid-weekservice? What is each one doing?

There is usually one volunteer overseeing the audio during our church services. We no longer video record our services for broadcast on local cable tv.

We recently had several seminary students preach in church for a class requirement. The requirement included that the sermons be video recorded and then uploaded to the internet. One of our members operated the video camera and another uploaded the sermons.

What do you see as its primary purpose or goal?

First, as already mentioned, the audio ministry exists in order to ensure a pleasant, non-distracting listening experience for those attending the services. Since faith is the result of hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17), it is imperative that everyone who comes to church be given the opportunity to hear clearly what God is trying to say to them.

What services does this ministry provide to the members?

One of the greatest benefits of our a/v ministry to church members, especially members who are physically unable to attend church, is recording and distributing the sermons or lessons to them. The sermons are available for download from our church website, or they can be transferred to a disk and distributed upon request.

Does this ministry give your church more or less outreach opportunities? Why or why not?

We recently decided to discontinue recording and broadcasting our Sunday morning service on local cable tv for two reasons: it was becoming too great of a time commitment for our volunteer staff, and there were no significant measurable results from it. We concluded the program was making very little impact in our community. A likely reason is that the low quality of the program made it unattractive to the average viewer.

I believe a church’s media presentation must conform to the personality of the church if it is going to be effective. We struggled to do this well.

What do you see as the Biblical basis for the audio/video ministry?

Romans 10:17 emphasizes the importance of hearing God’s Word which has the power to convert souls and change lives. The fulfilling of the Great Commission to the church hinges on the communication of truth. We should use every resource available to aid and enhance that communication.

What might be some areas that you might expand this ministry in the future?

We hope to purchase a digital soundboard to replace the current analog in the near future. In addition, we have discussed the benefit of installing large tv screens on either side of the platform in order to broadcast the text of various musical numbers (e.g. instrumental offertories, unfamiliar choral texts, etc.) and possibly the significant points of sermons.

What advice do you have for someone wishing to expand their audio/video ministry?

It is important to evaluate and take inventory of your a/v equipment regularly to see what technologies may be growing obsolete or to discover any technology gaps that should be addressed.

What final thoughts would you like to share?

We should strive for excellence in every aspect of ministry. This is especially important in the area of a church’s A/V production. It is better to produce no medium than to produce one that misrepresents or detracts from the reputation of our most excellent God.

Conclusion

Thank you, Pastor Prigge, for your willingness to let us interview you. We greatly appreciate the time that you were willing to invest so that we might gain a better understanding of how the pastor views this vital ministry.

You can visit Fellowship Baptist Church at: http://www.fbcwttn.org/

In this interview, we saw several additional areas in which a media ministry could expand. In addition to these, what might be some more? How might we go about expanding in that area?

You can respond via the comments section below. Also, feel free to comment on other topics as well!

Have you checked out all our previous posts? Be sure to check them out below!

• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/looking-ahead-future-developments-for-the-media-ministry.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/physical-and-virtual-various-outlets-for-audio-distribution.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-necessary-component-for-live-streaming-audio.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-to-legally-broadcast-and-record-copyrighted-music.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/copyright-regulations-and-audio-video-distribution-within-the-local-church.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-photo-illustration-of-live-streaming.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/interviewing-audio-video-specialist.html
• http://maximizingmediaministries.blogspot.com/2015/04/maximizing-media-through-live-streaming.html

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Interviewing an Audio/Video Specialist

Today, we are going to interview someone who has had considerable experience in various audio and video ministries. We chose Mr. Rex Munyon because of his experience and love for ministry.

Introduction

Rex Munyon, before we actually get to the interview questions, could you introduce yourself and briefly explain what brought you to this point/position in your life?

I’ve been a Watertown resident thru my years of schooling in the Academy and college. After college, I married my wife and we lived in Indiana for 16 years. We moved back to Watertown to work at MBBC (now MBU) in 2001, and worked there for 10 years. I have a Bachelors Degree from MBBC, and a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. I became interested in sound board systems while in junior high. I followed that interest and worked the sound board at the churches I’ve been a member of. I was interested in video as well, and spent a number of years working at Maranatha in charge of the audio and video needs of the campus, including events in the gym and A/V needs in classrooms.

Live Streaming

What tools do you use to live stream?

My church (Calvary Baptist in Watertown) does live streaming. I’ve helped with it very little, and have not done anything with it in over a year. I know the church uses a service to live stream, but I don’t know much beyond that.

What are the primary benefits of live streaming?

Live streaming allows those not able to attend a service in person to still watch a service. I’ve personally benefited by watching live stream while sick and while recovering from surgery.

Who do you see as being benefited by live streaming?

Live streaming can benefit a wide variety of people. My first thought is the elderly who can’t physically attend, although some of them would not have the tech savvy or the equipment to live stream. Others who are sick for a day, or invalid due to surgery, or on vacation, or former members who are no longer in the area can all benefit from live streaming.

Audio Distribution

What software do you use for recording/editing audio?

Calvary Baptist uses a computer and “Audacity”, a free recording software package to record audio. It is very versatile for a lot of the audio editing needs as well.

What software/services do you use for distributing audio via the internet?

I’m not totally sure, but I think it is Sermon audio, an internet service.

What are some other avenues of distribution that you use for audio?

There are some who still like to have cd’s. I see more things moving to mp3, although I don’t see a service like iTunes or similar being used to distribute sermons. Many churches can keep their library of sermons on a server at the church, but services like Sermonaudio can also be used.

Copyright Concerns

What do you see as the primary copyright concerns?

Music is copyrighted. I will only record special music if the person performing it requests it. Then I will record for that person, but I won’t put it on the website or sell to others. I’m not certain of all the copyright laws, and I see them changing a lot over the next few years. I don’t think copyright will be as great a concern in the future as it is now.

What would you recommend to churches that are wishing to broadcast/distribute copyright music?

Hire a lawyer who is an expert in that area, and pick his brain for a couple of hours. A year later, hire him for an hour to see what has changed, and let that be a method of practice on-going.

Final thoughts

What advice do you have for someone wishing to expand their audio/video ministry?

Don’t skimp on decent sound system. Find what is current and use it as much as possible. These areas are changing quite rapidly, and it is a challenge to keep up.

What tools/websites do you recommend to those expanding?

Just do your research. There are multiple sites that have good information for “houses of worship”, which is the new catch-all phrase for churches. I personally like Shure microphones. Hire a consultant, or have 2 or 3 come in to give bids and recommendations before deciding what to do or how to expand.

What final thoughts would you like to share?

I look at the audio ministry as a supplement to the purposes of the church (which is the distribution of the gospel). The audio ministry should always enhance what is happening, and otherwise be transparent (like it isn’t there). If things work well, no one notices. If they work badly, everyone notices. My goal is to have no one notice, because the sound works well and adds to the services. If someone were to not come to Christ because something in the audio distracted him/her at a critical time, the audio system has failed and possibly prevented a person from going to heaven. That would be a tragedy.

Conclusion

Thank you Rex Munyon for your letting me interview you! I greatly appreciate it, and am sure that those here at Maximizing Media Ministries also appreciate it!

Now that we have had the opportunity to learn such valuable insight, let us switch gears a little and bring out a few points of focus by asking some follow-up questions:

1. What/who are the prime benefits of live streaming?
2. Can you think of any other ways to address copyright concerns?
3. What idea impacted you the most?

You can respond via the comments section below.

If you have not had a chance yet, check out our most recent post: “Maximizing Media through Live Streaming”

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