Team and process
Church Sound Checklist for Sunday
Quick answer
A church sound team should be powered up and through line check 75 minutes before the service: 15 minutes for power and boot, 20 for line check, 25 for band sound check and 15 of quiet buffer. A 22 point checklist across those four blocks catches almost every Sunday failure.
Sunday failures are almost never caused by equipment choosing that morning to break. They are caused by something that changed during the week and was not checked, or by a team that started 20 minutes late and skipped the line check to catch up. A written checklist with times attached removes both, and it is the cheapest reliability improvement available to any church.
Seventy five minutes is the number. Fifteen minutes to power up and boot, twenty for a full line check, twenty five for the band, and fifteen minutes of deliberate buffer before people arrive. That buffer is not slack: it is the time in which the one thing that went wrong gets fixed without anybody on the platform noticing. Teams that schedule 60 minutes and no buffer have a bad Sunday roughly once a month, and the bad Sunday is always blamed on the gear. If your team is still being built, pair this with how to train church sound volunteers.
On this page
The 22 point checklist by time block
Print this, laminate it, and put it on the console. The times are counted back from the service start, so a 10:00 service means arriving at 8:45.
Twenty two checks across four time blocks, starting 75 minutes before the service, with power and boot in the first 15 minutes and a deliberate 15 minute buffer at the end.
| Time before service | Block | Checks |
|---|---|---|
| 75 to 60 minutes | Power and boot | 1. Power up in order: rack and console first, amplifiers last. 2. Confirm the console recalled the correct scene. 3. Check the processor is on the right preset. 4. Confirm amplifiers are out of protect and their attenuators are where they were. 5. Play known music through the mains and listen at the back row. |
| 60 to 40 minutes | Line check | 6. Every wired channel: speak or tap and confirm signal on the meter. 7. Every wireless: fresh batteries fitted and the receiver reading full. 8. Every wireless: walk the platform and the aisle checking for dropouts. 9. Confirm phantom power on every condenser channel. 10. Check the pulpit and lectern microphones at the actual reading position. 11. Confirm the spare handheld is charged and patched. |
| 40 to 15 minutes | Band sound check | 12. Drums first, kick then snare then overheads. 13. Bass, then keys, then guitars. 14. Vocals last, lead before backing. 15. Build monitor mixes before the house mix. 16. Run one full song at service volume and check the back row. 17. Check the level at the mix position against your target. |
| 15 to 0 minutes | Buffer and broadcast | 18. Confirm the livestream feed is present and averaging about -18 dBFS. 19. Confirm the recording is armed and has disk space. 20. Mute the platform channels and leave them muted until the service starts. 21. Confirm the assistive listening transmitter is on and a receiver works. 22. Sit down, stop touching things and let the room fill. |
A church with no band skips block three entirely and arrives 50 minutes before the service rather than 75. A church with a rehearsal the night before can shorten block three to about 10 minutes of line confirmation, which is the strongest practical argument for a Saturday rehearsal.
Why power on order matters
Power up the rack and console first and the amplifiers last, then reverse it at the end of the day. The reason is the turn on transient: consoles and processors produce a pop or a thump as they boot and stabilise, and an amplifier that is already powered will send that transient straight into the loudspeakers at full output. Occasionally it damages a compression driver. More often it just makes an unpleasant bang in a quiet sanctuary and startles whoever is praying at the front.
A sequenced power conditioner does this automatically and removes the possibility of a volunteer getting it wrong in a hurry. A Furman PL-8C Classic 15A Power Conditioner, 9 Outlets & LED Rack Lights at $254.97 is the common church answer and adds the pull out rack lights that make a dark booth workable. The cheaper Furman M-8Dx Merit X Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner & Surge Protector with LED Voltmeter & Dual Lights Plus Hosa 18 Gauge Electrical Extension Cable covers a small rack. Either way, verify what the amplifiers are plugged into, because an amplifier on a wall socket outside the conditioner defeats the whole arrangement.
While you are in the rack, check the load. A 20 amp circuit is limited by code to a continuous load of 16 amps, or 1,920 watts at 120 volts, and amplifiers draw far less than their rated output on programme material. Run your own gear list through the power draw calculator if you have added anything to the rack this year, and see electrical planning for church AV if the answer is close to the limit.
How to run a church line check
- Start at the stage box and work in channel order. Channel 1 to the last channel, no skipping. Working in order means a missed channel is obvious, while jumping between whatever is convenient means the one channel nobody checked is always the one that matters. Twenty minutes for 18 channels is a comfortable pace with two people.
- Speak into every microphone, do not tap it. Tapping a capsule tells you a cable is connected. It does not tell you the microphone is working properly, because a damaged capsule still produces a thump. Speak a full sentence at the level the source will actually be used at, and watch both the meter and the sound coming out of the loudspeakers.
- Fit fresh batteries in every wireless transmitter before checking it. Not during the service, not when the meter drops, before the check. A rechargeable pack in service plus a second on the charger is the standard arrangement, and alkaline cells should be replaced every service rather than nursed. A transmitter that fails at 10:40 costs you the sermon.
- Walk every wireless to the furthest point it will be used. Down the centre aisle, behind the platform, into the overflow room if the pastor ever goes there. Radio dropouts are positional and a receiver reading full at the platform tells you nothing about the back of the room. Thirty seconds of walking per channel finds problems that would otherwise appear mid sermon.
- Check the pulpit microphone at the real reading position. Stand where the preacher stands, at their height, and read a sentence. A pulpit channel checked by leaning over and speaking into the capsule from 2 inches is 12 dB hotter than the real thing and tells you nothing useful about gain or feedback margin.
- Confirm phantom power channel by channel. Every condenser, including the hanging choir microphones, the gooseneck and any active direct box, needs 48 volts. A console scene recall usually restores this, but a channel that was repatched during the week frequently does not. A silent condenser channel with phantom off is the most common dead channel in a church.
- Verify the broadcast and recording feeds separately. Listen to the actual stream on a phone, not just the meter on the encoder. Confirm the record is armed with disk space available. A broadcast feed taken from a separate bus does not follow the house mix, which is the correct arrangement and also means nobody in the room will notice if it fails.
- Mute the platform and stop working 15 minutes out. Mute every platform channel so a dropped microphone or a rehearsing musician does not interrupt people praying. Then stop. The last fifteen minutes are the buffer that absorbs the one thing that went wrong, and a team still adjusting things at five minutes out has no buffer left when it does.
What to check weekly, monthly and quarterly
Not everything belongs on the Sunday list. Putting monthly tasks in a weekly checklist is how a checklist gets abandoned.
The weekly Sunday list is 22 items, the monthly list is six and the quarterly list is five, and keeping the three lists separate is what stops a team abandoning the weekly one.
| Frequency | Task | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | The 22 point Sunday checklist | Catches what changed during the week |
| Weekly | Fresh or charged batteries in every transmitter | The single most common live failure |
| Monthly | Test every cable with a cable tester | Intermittent cables are far harder to diagnose live than dead ones |
| Monthly | Rescan wireless frequencies and confirm coordination | TV allocations and nearby venues change without notice |
| Monthly | Check the spare handheld and spare bodypack actually work | A spare that has not been tested is not a spare |
| Monthly | Clean or replace windscreens and pop filters | Hygiene, and a clogged windscreen audibly dulls a capsule |
| Quarterly | Verify the assistive listening receivers and neck loops | They are rarely used and therefore rarely noticed when they fail |
| Quarterly | Check every loudspeaker mount, bracket and safety cable | Anything overhead is a life safety item and is inspected, never assumed |
| Quarterly | Vacuum amplifier intakes and rack filters | Thermal shutdown mid service is nearly always a dust problem |
| Quarterly | Re-verify the system tuning with a full room | Rooms change with seasonal humidity, new carpet and new soft furnishing |
| Quarterly | Back up every console scene to a USB drive and off site | A console failure without a scene backup costs weeks of tuning work |
The overhead inspection item is not a formality. Any loudspeaker flown above people must be hung from attachment points specified by a structural engineer or a certified rigger using rated hardware, and the quarterly check is a visual inspection of that installation, not a substitute for it.
The checklist for a portable church
A portable church sets up and tears down every week, which changes the arithmetic completely. Nothing is in a known state, every connection is new, and the checklist has to start 2 hours before the service rather than 75 minutes. The compensation is that a portable rig is small: typically two powered loudspeakers on stands, a rack mixer, six to ten inputs and a couple of wireless channels.
Build the load in as part of the process. Cases packed in reverse setup order, every cable coiled the same way and labelled at both ends, and one person responsible for the same subsystem every week. The speed gain from a rehearsed teardown is enormous: a team that takes 50 minutes in their first year takes 20 in their third, entirely through repetition and labelling. The specific gear decisions are in portable church AV setup and a full kit list is at the church plant portable system.
One thing a portable church must not skip is the loudspeaker stand check. A powered 12 inch loudspeaker weighs 30 to 40 pounds and sits 6 feet up on a tripod in a room full of children. Check the stand height lock and the leg spread every single week, and use stands with a genuine safety pin rather than a friction collar. That is a 22nd point on a portable checklist that is worth more than all the others.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How early should the church sound team arrive on Sunday?
Seventy five minutes before the service for a church with a band: 15 minutes for power and boot, 20 for line check, 25 for band sound check and 15 minutes of deliberate buffer. A speech only church can arrive at 50 minutes. Teams that schedule 60 minutes with no buffer typically have a visible failure about once a month.
What order should church audio equipment be powered up in?
Rack and console first, amplifiers last, and the reverse when shutting down. Consoles and processors produce a turn on transient as they boot, and an amplifier that is already live sends that thump into the loudspeakers at full output. A sequenced power conditioner does this automatically and removes the chance of a volunteer getting it wrong in a hurry.
How long should a line check take?
About 20 minutes for an 18 channel system with two people, working in strict channel order from the stage box. Speak a full sentence into every microphone rather than tapping it, fit fresh batteries before checking any wireless, walk each wireless to the furthest point it will be used, and confirm phantom power on every condenser channel.
What should be checked monthly rather than weekly?
Testing every cable with a tester, rescanning and re-coordinating wireless frequencies, confirming the spare handheld and spare bodypack actually work, and cleaning or replacing windscreens. Keeping these off the weekly list is deliberate: a Sunday checklist that takes 50 minutes to complete gets abandoned, and an abandoned checklist protects nothing.
Should the livestream be checked as part of the Sunday routine?
Yes, in the final block. Listen to the actual stream on a phone rather than trusting the encoder meter, confirm the feed is averaging around -18 dBFS, and confirm the recording is armed with disk space. Because a proper broadcast feed comes from a separate bus rather than the main fader, nobody in the room will notice if it has failed.
How is the checklist different for a portable church?
Start two hours out rather than 75 minutes, because nothing is in a known state and every connection is new. Pack cases in reverse setup order, label every cable at both ends, and assign each volunteer the same subsystem every week. Add a loudspeaker stand check as a mandatory item, since a 40 pound box on a tripod sits above people.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Sound system design, rigging loudspeakers overhead, and any electrical work are jobs for a qualified professional: have flown loudspeakers and their attachment points signed off by a structural engineer or a certified rigger, and have all wiring done by a licensed electrician to your local code. Wireless microphone rules change, so confirm the current FCC position before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.