If I asked you who was the grumpiest ministry team in your church who would you choose? Hands down, I would say the media team. They seem to have a chip on their shoulder, a knot in their back, all while sucking on a lemon. Having both run the sound board and lead music for churches, this has given me a unique perspective on ways that churches kill their media teams.
Here are three ways to kill your media team:
1. Act like they are not part of your team
The life of a media person is getting to church early to setup. Run around frantically setting up equipment. Fixing problems once the band arrives. Trying to get a good sound mix in the middle of practice (which is never long enough). Mic’ing up the pastor who can never be found before the service. Making sure all the lyrics are correct. Finding the feedback during the sermon. Tearing down after the service. And turning off the lights and locking the door because he is the last one to leave. How exhausting.
Sadly, most media people are working so hard behind the scenes, that they get missed in even the simplest of ways. They feel discouraged because they put so much effort into making things happen, and yet they don’t feel like they are a part of the team.
The prime example: the media team is never invited to pray with the music team. I see this time and time again. The music minister calls the band together for a time of devotion and prayer, and the media team is sitting in the back of the room not knowing if they are invited to pray with the team.
2. Only give them negative feedback
The goal of the media team is to not be seen. So naturally, we only notice when things go wrong. If we are only noticing when things go wrong, it is very easy to only point out the things that went wrong instead of things that went well. Feedback is great, but it needs to be both positive and negative feedback.
Furthermore, they need to be encouraged in the gospel. Too often, media guys have 1000 different things on their mind and they don’t reflect on the gospel. As church leaders and members, remember that the media team needs encouragement in the gospel.
3. Never give them a break
Media is an exhausting job. Often they are the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave. Most media people like it that way and are more than willing to serve tirelessly. Yet, that can become taxing on a person, both physically and spiritually. Also, in smaller churches there is often only one person who knows how to do media, so they do it week in and week out. Hence, why we see the grumpy media people.
Furthermore, it is hard to pay attention in the service (preaching, worship, etc.) when you are focused on many other things. As music leaders and tech directors we need to make sure that our volunteers are getting time to sit in the service, to hear preaching and singing without having to worry about the next cue and what microphone is cutting in and out.
This week at church, seek to find a way to encourage your media team. A simple “thank you for helping us hear the preaching of God’s word” goes a long way.
Photo Credit: Jim Denham by CC License
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