If sound is important to your ministry then a good sound engineer is a must because no matter how good your sound system, it is only as good as the person operating it. We usually spend a lot of money on the sound equipment but not on adequate training for the sound team. You have to have a balance of both.

So, what are the qualifications of a good sound person?

To me the most important is that they have to be worshipers themselves. Their life has to be one of worship. This is the difference between an engineer and a technician. An engineer is a technician that has a heart for worship. Why this is important is because the technical can be taught but the heart cannot.

Let me say that again, you cannot teach the heart but you can teach the technical.

An engineer with a heart for the things of God will see sound as a ministry and that he or she is there to serve God and as such will be the most faithful servant to the vision of the man of God he has been called to serve alongside. I see four qualifications for a good sound engineer:

1. A strong, stable Christian. Somebody that has completed the new believers course of the church and all Membership classes. They must know who Jesus is and have a deep relationship with Him. We are called to be and all ministry must come out a persons relationship, not aside from it.

2. Recognizes sound as a ministry and themselves as ministers. If they recognize sound as a ministry they will realize they are doing it as unto God and so will be faithful and will want to grow in this area of ministry God has called them to.

3. Must have a working knowledge of music. You don't have to be a musician but you must understand music in the genre of the worship of your church. You can train your ear by listening to good worship music, especially the music sung by your congregation.

4. Heart of a servant. The sound ministry is probably the most neglected part of the worship team. Sometimes it is not even seen as part of the music ministry. You are always their first and the last to leave. And most times only get recognition when there is a problem. That is why it is imperative to have a heart of a servant, so that you can serve cheerfully and graciously. Next month: What is good sound?