This might seem like a basic question, but how you answer this question has potentially far-reaching consequences. My method is looking 5 years into the future and starting with where the needs of the sound system and input sources will likely be in that amount of time. This helps focus leadership to thinking about where growth is likely to occur, what goals can or should be achieved in that span of time, and how that affects the needs of the sound system.

Generally, my experience has shown churches tend to want a slightly higher channel count, if only to have the additional flexibility. This has tended to be a jump of about 8 channels or so. It’s rare to see a church move from a 16-channel mixer to a 32-channel or larger mixer. It does happen, but only if there is a plan for aggressive growth in the worship ministry.

When you are evaluating your needs into the next few years, you should account for all of your inputs, both local (those residing in the booth) and those on the stage (vocals, instruments, computers, etc.). Depending on the size of your church and your worship style, you might only have a few stage inputs or you could have a couple dozen. Think about what capabilities you have needed in the past that you had to find a temporary solution for. How would adding not only additional inputs channels, but perhaps an additional floor pocket or two help you achieve that capability in the future with a permanent solution?….

Check out our June 2020 Digital issue to read the rest of the tutorial.