Here at Grace, and in many other local congregations, these words are uttered often by those on stage. Who controls those mics? That’s where myself and a few others in our congregation come in. We are the AV Crew officially but I’d like to give you a look into what the “Sound Guys” do and what serving in this role has taught me.
I started serving on the sound team in 2013 as a young 15-year-old boy who didn’t have any idea what a sound board was. To me the sound board was extremely daunting and held too many knobs and buttons. After many weeks of observing and learning I began to understand the basics of running the board. At the time however, running the sound board was a “duty” and just a way for me to serve the church. I didn’t understand what it truly should be.
It took a couple years of being on the schedule and running the board before I finally realized the true art of worship that it is. I was actually visiting another church where I knew their sound guy and I saw how much passion he had while doing it. I asked my friend about it and his statement was this; “Although I can’t play an instrument, the sound board is my instrument. I play the sound board to make beautiful noise for the Lord!” This really struck me and since that day I have approached running the sound board in a whole new way. It is my harp or lyre as David talks about in Psalm 33:2.
I would encourage each of you to examine yourself and the areas God might have you serving. Examine your motives towards serving. Also explore what areas you aren’t currently serving in and see if God might use you in a new way. Serving in the “Sound Guy” role has taught me how to worship in a totally different way and I am thankful I get to experience and worship God in this role!
~~ Collin Sherrill