Church Media Consultation

In the past couple of years one of the areas that I have learned a great deal about in media ministry is consultation. I have learned that there is a big difference between a church media consultant or church audiovisual consultant and a sales consultant. I have dealt with several “sales consultants” over the last few years. They mostly ask you what equipment or systems you want to purchase or even worse tell you what equipment or systems you must buy. Now a one-stop shop might be great for many things but when it comes to consultation, design, purchasing and installation of a new sound system or projection system it is not. It is nearly impossible for a “sales consultant” to be objective. They are more than willing to sell you $150,000.00 in equipment if you are willing to purchase whether you need it or not. That is an actual rounded quote that I received two years ago for two venues at my church. Naturally my pastor’s jaw hit the floor and I think a lady on the stewardship committee actually fainted. Another “sales consultant” did sell me a projection system. The entire projection system including PC and software bundle, cables and distribution was a good deal and less than what my predecessor had paid for a projector alone but service after the sale has been lacking. These experiences have made me consider what I should be doing to be a good steward. As I met with the $150,000 quote guy, all we talked about was what they sell. When we should have been talking about what our goals are for media ministry. Then discuss the options in equipment to meet that goal.

The main qualifier for a church media or audiovisual consultant is that they are selling their time and nothing else.

What else I’m looking for in a consultant is four-fold:

1. Knows Jesus – A consultant must know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. A consultant that does not know Jesus doesn’t understand why you are using media as a tool for ministry. They don’t understand using media for evangelism, fellowship, teaching and worship.


2. Knows Church – There are Christian consultants out there that do know audiovisual systems but do not know about implementing those systems in churches. They may also not understand your goals when most of their consultation is in the corporate world. A consultant should be able to put themselves into the position of the technical director, media minister etc. They should be able to see the vision of media ministry of any particular church and provide guidance when goals or vision is lacking.


3. Knows Equipment – A consultant needs to know the gear and know what will work best in your application. That means that they have to talk to you and found out what you want to accomplish. They also need to assess what you are using already and look to implement that existing equipment. Hey, we would all like to have new gear but this about being good stewards.


4. Knows the Business – A consultant needs to know manufacturers and distributors and installers. They need to know who to recommend because after all they are hired to look out for your best interest only. They can also warn you of those companies and manufactures that are not your best choice. Now a consultant may prefer a certain brand or company but that should only be from good experiences with a certain brand or company.

Churches all across this nation have been burned over and over by well meaning lay people, pastors with a lack of knowledge and greedy contractors that know a sucker when they see one. A consultant can save you so much time, money and heartache. Also to all of you that are leaders in media and technical ministry, bringing in a consultant in no way diminishes your ability or knowledge but helps to fortify your position to staff and other church leadership the needs involved with the ministry that God has entrusted to you. Once again it comes down to stewardship.

I look forward to building a relationship with two consultants this year. A relationship for a common goal of empowering kingdom growth. I hope to write about this experience in the months to come.

Sound & Video Contractor has published a few articles on the subject. More Conversations on Consultants can be read here.