If you don’t want a revival in your church, then don’t call me! 

Couldn’t believe it! 

I’ve been working on churches for over 30 years.  I have helped hundreds and hundreds of them have followed and implemented the acoustical recommendations with great success.  A church I did about 12 years ago removed their acoustical fix 2 years ago.  When I ask why, a former church member said it was because the church was growing too fast and the elders of the church were not comfortable with all of the new people. 

In 1999, I tested, studied, and designed a permanent fix for this church.  It takes years to learn and master the right interpretation of a church sound study.  After carefully reviewing the study, the acoustical fix pointed directly to using the standard Solomon Sound Management System.  The study also pointed to changing the design of their sound system.  Three years later they decided to implement the acoustical design after a 5^th sound system upgrade.  Spending more money on sound equipment proved to be just another expensive experiment.  The church put off adding the acoustical plan I designed for them because they didn’t like how it looked. 

Well, a group of church board members put up the acoustical treatment with the plan that if people didn’t like it, they could do a fund raiser to make them look better.  In the meantime, a majority of church members just wanted to hear better regardless of how the church looked.  After the new acoustical system was installed, and the latest sound system upgrade was changed to what the study recommended, everyone was happy.  Actually, they were so happy that no one mentioned about the aesthetics for years. 

The transformation of the church was so successful that 18 months later it started to attract new people.  The growth was slow at first but by the 3^rd year, the church had grown to two worship services.   This didn’t sit well with some church members.  Many of the elders of the church were not happy.  They had been comfortable with having their own seats always available to them.  Some were horrified that if they were so much as a minute late, strangers would take their seats and they were force to sit elsewhere such as the overflow seats that were not as comfortable.  It was getting out of hand.  The church elders, (not to be mistaken for the church board,) had a voted and they voted to change the acoustical system to one that was rejected at the time the church board chose the Solomon Acoustical system.  Down came the diffuser and up went the better looking flat panels.

The flat panel system was a huge success in the elders’ eyes.  The elders had the money to make the changes without the church board consent.  Yes, churches don’t always follow the rules that they have designed for themselves.  It does happen in some churches that different parts of a church body will make decisions regardless of how it affect others.  This happens more often than it should but hey, isn’t this were all of the sinners go?  Within 3 months of the acoustical change, the church attendance dropped to one morning Sunday service and within 9 month the 600 seat church dropped to 300 people attending morning worship – about the same attendance as 11 years earlier.  Believe or not, the same pastor who led the church while it was growing was now being blamed for the church decline.  Oddly enough, the elders voted to keep the same pastor when his tenure was up.  Again, the power of the elders vs. the strength of some church boards.

Now it is no secret that a church with good acoustics and good sound has better attendance when compared to church with just a good sound system.   When you hear of a story like this where a successful acoustical system is removed once or twice, you don’t give it much stock as being something that can impact a church that much.  This is the 6th church that has passed on their experiences like this to me and for this church, the only reason I learned of it is because many of the new Christians who left the church I fixed years earlier just bought the property across the street and they plan to design their new church from the ground up with proper biblically based acoustics.  They were asking me if I would design their new worship space. 

Throughout the bible there is a theme that if you can hear the word, it will change your life.  Romans say it best.

Rom 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 

Like I said, if you’re not ready for a revival or any kind of growth in your church, then the Solomon Sound Management System is not for you.  This is not the only acoustical system out there that gets good result, but this is one that is affordable and it comes from the Word of God.  Doing what the Word says comes with promises from God and so far, every church that has this type of acoustical system gets all of spiritual benefits of good sound.   Remember, it is not just the sound system or the praise team or the leadership that will get the congregation to sing.  It is the acoustics that cleans up the sound and encourages singing and singing encourages fellowship. 

People make Sound.

Musicians make Sound.

Congregations make Sound.

Sound Systems amplify sound.

Sound System broadcasts the sound.

Equalizers stabilize the sound system.

Acoustics cleans it all up.

Acoustics cleans up congregational singing.

Acoustics cleans up stage sound.

Acoustics determine how well the sound system works.

Acoustics determines Speech Intelligibility.

Acoustics determines how well you can hear anywhere in the room.

Acoustics is the glue that makes it all work together
or
It can be the dirt that makes it all sound muddy.

Copyright © October 2011
This Page was created by JdB Sound, Acoustic