I’ve had the privilege of working with many churches across the United States. I’ve worked with the small church that seats a few hundred people on a very limited budget. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve worked with the megachurch with seating for several thousand and a multimillion-dollar budget for A/V. At first glance, you might think these two scenarios are very different. However, after working with both extremes and every type of building, denomination and budget in between, I believe there is one thing that they all have in common: the process.

When a church comes to the point of wanting or needing to upgrade its audio, video and lighting (AVL) system, the steps it takes to achieve that end goal are critical to the success of the project. I’ve seen this hold true, no matter what size of church or AVL system. Each choice that you make along the way will either be one that enhances your ministry or causes you grief somewhere down the road.

There is a great quote by Abraham Lincoln I like to share with my clients, "We are free until the point of our choosing. After that, our choices control our freedom." This is absolutely true in this discussion. My hope is to empower you to learn a few steps, hear what others have said, and ultimately make good choices that will better enable your church to reach your community for Christ.

Within the church, you need to have at least one meeting where you sit down with department leaders (worship, children, youth, outreach, pastors, etc.) and listen to them voice their vision for how they would like to use technology for ministry. This can be summed up in a few key questions:

• What do you do now that works well?
• What does not work well?
• What would you like to be able to do with the new system that you cannot do now?

This initial discussion is very important in allowing you all to hear each other’s expectations.

For the sake of efficiency, streamlined communication and internal accountability, we have found it beneficial for the church to establish one person to oversee the entire AVL system. Of course, this does not mean one person needs to operate the system alone. Instead, it means there is one person who knows the specific details and specific needs of your ministry. They know how you do church. They manage the other staff or volunteers. It is vital to give this person the authority to run meetings and communicate back to the executive pastor.

The next thing you want to do is decide whether to hire a firm to do "design only" services where you pay for a design and then put the system out for bid, or to hire a "design/build" firm, where they not only design the system, but handle the installation, too. In either case, you will be working with a consultant. Each method has advantages, but you definitely want someone on board who you can trust to work on your behalf and guide you through the process. This person lives and breathes technology, so they will be able to help you make good decisions on what type of equipment is best for you, as well as selecting a system that is a realistic fit for your budget.

Once your consultant is on board, another meeting will take place, this time with him or her interacting with your AVL team. It is important at this initial meeting to assemble all of the department leaders and system operators. Your consultant will not only listen to their wish lists, but also document the expectations of each. The intent here is to clearly document the expectations of everyone involved. Does this mean everyone gets 100 percent of what they want? Most likely — nope. In my 13 years of consulting, no matter what budget is available, people tend to want more than they can afford. It’s just our human nature.

Through this process, some items will be defined as "needs" and some will be defined as "wants." Even though there might be a few bells and whistles that you cannot afford to put in on Day 1, we need these systems documented so we can plan for the infrastructure — conduit and power. If the conduit and power is not planned for and furnished in Phase 1, it is very costly and sometime impossible to do later at Phase 2.

As the systems are defined and equipment is chosen, it is critical that all of the ministry teams understand the scope of work. What do I mean by scope of work? Here are a few points:

• Who is in charge of the AVL system? Is it one person, or one person per department?
• Is the church reusing any existing equipment, or will everything be new?
• Is the church responsible for any of the labor?
• What other contractors are involved in the project?
• Does everyone understand the division of labor?
• What is the AVL contractor responsible for?
• What is the electrical contractor esponsible for?
• What is the general contractor responsible for?

Similar to the theme of defining expectations for the AVL system, I have found it very valuable to define the expectations of the AVL team itself. I hear this from pastors, tech directors, architects and builders. As one pastor told me, the challenge is to find people who are both competent and willing. Too often, we just want a person who is willing. While we might find that willing person, we can end up becoming frustrated, asking volunteers to do something they are not skilled to do.

If the church has paid AVL staff, they should be able to operate the systems with a high degree of proficiency. If the church has volunteer staff, make sure that unrealistic expectations are not placed on them. Unfortunately, I’ve seen good people crushed by others, when all they were trying to do was serve to the best of their ability.

A proper perspective is also a good thing to maintain. Sometimes hobbyists (instead of the professionals) can tend to take over and try to run the show. If you have invested time and resources in a consultant, make sure that their authority is respected by the team.

With proper process, a good team and the right perspective, planning for your new AVL system can be a fun experience. We can impact and alter the entire worship space according to your type of service. We can create intimate or exciting atmospheres for worship. We can help you be more effective in your communication. Because, as one pastor friend told me, "The message is of no value if it can’t be heard or understood."

May the greatest Message in the world be heard at your church, and may it be delivered with creativity and excellence!

Doug Hood is general manager and design consultant with Custom Sound Designs Inc. (CSD). A national design/build firm specializing in systems integration, CSD provides churches with a complete solution for sound reinforcement, acoustics, video projection, IMAG and theatrical lighting systems. Hood has managed some of the largest American church projects. He is actively involved in music composition, worship leading and recording, and speaks nationwide on worship and technology. Contact him at doug@csdus.com or visit www.csdus.com.