Happy holidays from ChurchMag!
Okay, so it’s not quite yet the full holiday season, but don’t try and tell Wal-Mart that. They’ve had Christmas decor up since mid-October. Oh well. Moving on.
The holidays can be a truly hectic time for everyone, but they are even more hectic for those who work to make Sunday worship special. There are countless individuals and teams that work to make sure that others can worship in a clean, inviting, exciting environment, and one of those teams that’s near and dear to ChurchMag’s heart is the tech team.
Thankless, Blameful
I was a church sound guy for almost a decade. I loved doing it, but I quit in a fury. I was sick of being unappreciated and undervalued. I was tired of feeling like an idiot because I couldn’t meet the precise expectations of every single person in the church.
Being on the tech team is generally a thankless job. The nature of the work leaves those workers in the background during morning worship, and if you’re part of the church’s Internet/social media team, then no one sees the work you do.
There are a lot of unsung heroes of the local church, but few are noticed as little as the techs…until something goes wrong of course.
I can remember many baleful looks from church members when the monitors would begin to feed back or a wireless mic would cut out. It was so very frustrating to face their ignorant scorn, especially when the equipment was to blame, equipment that I had often warned the pastoral staff about.
Thank in Advance
The holidays are an absolutely crazy time. Everyone’s schedules are jammed to the max, and many are stressed about finances and family drama. No one needs to add church stress to that mixture, and yet there more than likely will have to. The holidays are a very important time for churches, so it’s only natural that more will be asked of all the volunteers. And yet, with special music services, Christmas programs, etc., it seems like more and more might just fall on the tech team. Of course, when personal stress and church stress combine with thanklessness, burnout is sure to follow.
To combat this, I suggest first and foremost that laypeople–in all positions—are made to feel like a part of a larger team. Obviously, I’m not advocating version of anarchy wherein there are not lines of authority or hierarchy. What I do think is key is that every layperson understands that what he or she does matters for the larger ministry of the church in advancing the kingdom.
Secondly, and in a more seasonal vein, take time to thank your laity. Publicly. Specifically. Spotlight each team, not necessarily each person, but I would definitely encourage thanking the tech team. They have their fingers on the mute button.
So thank your laity in advance for all the work they do throughout the year but also the extra work that happens during the holidays. They’ll appreciate it, and it might even help some a larger, more pressing problem of encouraging others to volunteer.
As a part of this festive, thanking season, I’m going to drop some posts over the next weeks about how about to practically thank your laity. (And, for the laity, I’ll post about how to thank your staff.)
How thankful are you for your church volunteers?
[…] recently dropped a post about the idea of being thankful for your church’s volunteers, and I think I made my point pretty well. However, by the end of the post, I realized that I […]