The fateful day has arrived.
It is early, but both sides are ready. The leaders squint across the expanse, eyeing the opposition. Squads fan out on either side of the darkness, staring into the void with snarls fixed on their faces, imagining the carnage about to unfurl.
There is no more time to prepare. Battle lines have been drawn. Each side sweats nervously, hands fidgeting on their weapons of choice, preparing for the sound of the first volley.
The moment is here.
It is time for Sunday morning sound check.
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While the tension between the worship and production teams may not be this intense, it’s easy to imagine the literal and figurative battles that could take place prior to service as both teams work to prepare their respective areas for service.
Typically, each team has a planned outcome for their side: certain things to work on or improve, or specific results they need to achieve. But without communicating with the other side, it can get very easy to assume that the other is onboard with helping you achieve your goals, and tension will arise if it feels like the two teams are pulling in opposite directions.
“Never, and I mean never, put off to Sunday what should be done during the week."–Rick Stauder, Rivers Crossing Church
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Advance planning and communication are critical to having an effective pre-service rehearsal or sound check process, as is the effort necessary to bridge the worship and technical teams to form one larger sense of community between those two groups.
Rick Stauder, Rivers Crossing Church, Cincinnati, OH
“Relationship, communication, and preparation are key,” says Rick Stauder, a church production industry veteran of 30 years, the last two-plus of which have been at Cincinnati, Ohio’s Rivers Crossing Church.
“Never, and I mean never, put off to Sunday what should be done during the week,” he cautioned.
Indeed, much of the tension that church teams experience on Sundays likely can be addressed during the week, and without that level of advance intentionality the weekend can devolve into two teams drawing battle lines and preparing for conflict.
So where does that tension come from?
For one, it can be a misunderstanding regarding what the purpose is of a Sunday morning rehearsal and whose team it’s intended to benefit.
If the worship team doesn’t have a midweek rehearsal and expects the team to learn parts on their own, they may see Sunday as an opportunity to fine-tune the musical side and maybe hit the same thing over and over, neglecting other parts of the set list they feel are more dialed in.
On the flip side, a production team that is lacking in details about service flow may need the opportunity to run through the experience in full so cameras, lighting, and audio all have a clear picture of transitions, stage responsibilities, and cues so they can be prepared.
“Sunday morning battles are won and lost in pre-production.” –Mike Smith, Live Production Lead, Prestonwood Baptist Church
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Lack of communication between the two sides about expectations is a glaring invitation for tension.
Mike Smith, Live Production Lead, Prestonwood Baptist Church
“Sunday morning battles are won and lost in pre-production,” says Mike Smith, the Live Production Lead and Lead Audio Engineer at Dallas-based megachurch Prestonwood Baptist. “I would highly recommend as much communication --- and community --- as possible during the week. Everyone should know what’s expected on Sunday and should plan / pre-program during the week as much as possible.”
Are there opportunities for weekend experience teams to communicate prior to Sunday about service flow details, whether via email, text, or apps like Slack or GroupMe? This can help clear up any confusion or questions about service details ahead of time.
Additionally, is it an option to set midweek deadlines for finalizing the worship set list so there’s more mental bandwidth ahead of Sunday to prepare lyric slides, lighting looks, and camera notes? Can lead singers or “spontaneous” prayer moments be noted in Planning Center so the video director already has an idea of how to prepare camera ops to be focused on certain parts of the stage?
Indeed, part of making a rehearsal successful is to eliminate the number of decisions that must be made that day by pushing them earlier in the week. Advance planning and communication can lead to a greater likelihood of a smooth rehearsal and service.
In the same vein, the production team should spend pre-weekend time on system maintenance and checks to minimize any potential last-minute technical issues that could derail the rehearsal process.
"When those leading the teams are on the same page and running towards the same goal, the whole team will be better for it.” –Bryce Schubert, Production Lead, Crossings Community Church.
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Bryce Schubert, Production Lead, Crossings Community Church
“I don’t think I can over emphasize just how beneficial it is for me and my team to take the necessary time during the week to fix and prepare for the next weekend,” says Bryce Schubert, the Production Lead at one of the five locations of central Oklahoma’s Crossings Community Church.
This can include running computer system updates (remember to always disable auto-update settings!), cleaning out the ProPresenter graphics library, replacing batteries in wireless mics and IEM packs, and ensuring that space XLR cables and DI boxes are available in a storage area if needed. Having to stop a rehearsal to address a preventable technical issue not only costs time but can cost credibility with worship and/or production team members if it appears to be a pattern due to lack of preparation.
Communication between worship and production teams about the expectations for the rehearsal is also important, because the terms “rehearsal” and “sound check” mean different things inherently, and can also mean different things to different people.
Is the hour of pre-service work a full rehearsal, where there’s a run-through of the entire worship set or service flow, so musical and technical teams can practice all details and transitions? Or is it really just a sound check, where the worship team may hit transitions between songs (some alliterative version of intros and outros like “tops and tails”) and the audio engineer needs more time to work on a particular vocal or instrument sound, thus depriving video and lighting teams the chance to work on other service elements?
For churches without the opportunity to do a full midweek tech or worship rehearsal, Sunday mornings may need to be a focus on doing a full run-through so both teams have the opportunity to practice every element’s details. Perhaps the worship team can then pull vocalists aside later to work on specific parts and harmonies without that coming at the expense of a Producer who’s trying to nail down certain transitional elements, or a video director who’s trying to script out camera shots.
But is it possible for the pre-service time to be effective as both a rehearsal and a sound check? Yes! It just takes the effort to clearly communicate and set expectations between the teams involved.
“We plan for time to run through everything at least two times,” says Schubert. “The first time is a ‘stop and go’ run-through where we will play through each song and transition and work through any last-minute ideas or changes. Once we feel good about everything, our service director will run everyone through the cue sheet (from stage) so it is fresh on everyone’s minds as we step into our second time through. Then we will run through the service from top to bottom. This includes all video elements, host moments, etc.,” he added.
For Schubert, having the whole production team involved in rehearsal is beneficial so that all team members can immediately become aware of late-arriving changes to the service flow, giving them time to adapt their responsibilities accordingly.
Prestonwood’s Smith has a similar workflow.
“We have full AVL crew for Sunday rehearsals so that everyone knows how the service is supposed to flow,” he explains. “Though the overall flow is (usually) finalized, the worship leader(s) may make some song structure adjustments during rehearsal which requires video / lyrics and lighting to pivot. It’s not normally something major, but once the worship leader is actually in the room feeling things out they may feel led to change the vibe for certain moments.”
For production teams that are perhaps not known for their flexibility, adjusting to late changes may be hard. Team members may have spent chunks of time during the week programming lighting for certain songs or creating lyric files for songs that have now have to be tossed into the recycle bin. SMPTE timecode programming may have to be adjusted if Ableton tracks are edited or graphic backgrounds need to be changed.
This is where the relational component between teams is critical.
Bryce Schubert, Sunday morning FOH at Crossings Community Church.
“One thing that our production team values is flexibility, and when we have last-minute changes during a rehearsal I have learned that the whole team being aware of those changes in real time is crucial,” notes Schubert. “From the first week I was in my current role, I have had consistent meetings with my worship pastor, and I believe this has benefited our team greatly. The intentional time spent together has allowed us to grow in our friendship and has helped us to learn how best to support one another, especially when things get a little stressful on a Sunday morning. When those leading the teams are on the same page and running towards the same goal, the whole team will be better for it.”
Indeed, as changes are made and rehearsal flow is altered, it’s easy for tensions to rise as well. Managing any possible frustrations in that moment are crucial to avoiding the “us versus them” mentality that often appears between worship and technical teams, and it’s important to remember that each team is partnering with the other to create a worship experience that will benefit the attendees.
In those moments, “what” is communicated and “how” it’s done are two pieces that must be joined together intentionally.
“I have found that to have effective communication with someone on stage, I first need to work on my relationship with them. And this is as easy as being on stage when they arrive and saying hi and asking them how they’re doing,” Schubert says. “Over time these interactions will build trust between myself and that person so when I come to them with a request about their instrument or a part they are singing, it doesn’t come across in any negative way.”
And in a loud auditorium with the clock ticking down to doors opening and tensions rising, keeping emotions level is critical. If it’s not an option for the tech team to “talk back” through the worship’s team in-ears, can an audio person walk on stage to talk with a band member, or can the monitor engineer go onstage to discuss personal mix options with a vocalist? Those options are much better than yelling across the room or “calling out” someone over an open mic, when the tone and tenor of the words may come across harsher than intended.
In this scenario, like all other aspects of ministry, teams must remember the goals of unity, camaraderie, and community. Behind every experience and technology tool is a person, and effort must be made to diffuse tension, especially when stress and stakes are high.
After all, as Prestonwood’s Smith reminds with a smile, “Yelling is discouraged!”
