"The PERSON in the BOOTH" is dedicated to the PEOPLE side of tech. Its intent is to better equip the church in meeting its own technical requirements through helping the church meet the needs of the volunteer. We all know that a certain investment must be made in order to produce quality sound in a church. However, it is not the value of the equipment that assures the quality of the sound. It is the value the church places in its volunteer tech or tech team that produces the desired end result.

Today churches are quickly discovering that the sound requirements of yesterday no longer apply to the listeners of today. Older churches are upgrading their sound systems to meet the demands of a more contemporary sound. New churches are being built with state-of-the-art equipment. This requires an investment of thousands of dollars, with six digit figures being spent in large new facilities.

Established churches will invest in consultants to come on site to evaluate their sound system problems, often resulting in the purchase and installation of new equipment. At today's prices such an upgrade is more affordable than ever before. However, these same churches may not be willing or know how to make the same commitment to the PEOPLE that are expected to run this very sophisticated and complex equipment. In my opinion, this is the number one technical dilemma facing the church today.

The problem is the same in the small church with a basic sound system as it is in the large church with not only a complex sound system, but also with lighting, video, and graphic presentation systems: the need for PEOPLE to operate the equipment. Simply stated, "the buck stops" with the PEOPLE. The most sophisticated, well tuned sound system can sound terrible with the wrong person at the console. And it may not be the fault of the person running the console. I have never met a sound console operator who wanted to or intentionally set out to produce bad sound. If the person has the personal tools (i.e. ability to hear and an understanding of technical stuff) and has the proper support through training and encouragement, he or she will be successful.

It is to the PEOPLE in the booth that this column will be dedicated. Topics in future months will include everything from recruiting the individual volunteer to building and maintaining a strong team. This column will mostly deal with the "Sound Tech," however, most churches tech teams include many other areas such as lighting, video production, record, tape dupe/sales, graphics presentation, and production teams, so occasionally specific topics will be presented which include these areas too.

It is my personal desire that you will find this column beneficial and informative. I also hope the end result will be dedicated, committed PEOPLE who will be of value to your technical organization and will use their technical abilities to the GLORY OF GOD.