Our volunteer of the month is Yaw Sasu-Boakye, a young man from Ghana. Yaw volunteers as the leader of the Sound Ministry among other areas of service. He is very passionate in everything he does giving 100% of his time and commitment.
We shortly interviewed Yaw to somewhat shed some light on the details of his service as a sound technician. Here is how it went…
- Given that the service begins at 15:00, what time do you have to be at the church building in order to set up the sound?
I have to be in Smyrna at about 13:00 each Sunday.
- When does the preparation all begin?
It all begins within the week when I get the order of service for that particular Sunday. The order of service amongst other things, details the activities expected on stage (drama, worship, baptism, communion, dance, etc). This bit of info is crucial since Smyrna International services are quite dynamic. With this information, I am able to decide on the equipment needed for the given Sunday, the positioning of equipment/instruments on stage and the time required to complete setup. Thus, setting up sound on Sunday is basically an implementation of the plans made within the week. It’s so exciting such that when it is my turn I literally think about it all week.
- What does a Sunday set-up entail?
A usual Sunday setup will start from 13:00 to 14:00. I work with the sound-tech team available to connect the microphones, musical instruments and monitor speakers that you see on stage. As mentioned, we would usually follow the plan but there are Sundays when we have to deal with some impromptu modifications off course! Sound-check follows after the connections are done, tested and working.
Sound-check is where I step behind the audio-mixer and fine-tune the sound together with the musicians and singers. Sound check ends when musicians and singers are satisfied with what they hear, and the sound team is pleased with the balance of sound in the main auditorium.
Sometimes, there is ample time before the service for us to clear up the stage and introduce some aesthetics in the sound set-up. When I am not on schedule to handle the sound, I am usually at the “receiving end” playing the drums. Even then, I assist the Sound-tech persons with the Sound check. Sound set-up does not end until after the service for two main reasons. First, sound always needs tuning during the service to fit the many different activities and to even-out different worship songs. Lastly, we have to dismantle the set-up after the service. Ideally, we finish the sound-set up an hour after the main service has ended.
- What do you enjoy most?
Trying out new stuff. Usually, this is when we have “big programs” such as Christmas or Easter Drama. But these only occur twice in a year. So during the usual Sunday service I am always interested in sharing the little I read about Sound-tech with the team members. It is really fun when we are able to implement some of the cool stuff we read around.
- Do you have some challenging or tricky moments and how do you deal with them?
Yes! We have our ‘rush hour’ when everything seems so frantic. This ‘rush-hour’ is usually during the transition from setting-up to sound-check. It is very easy to feel pressured by the demands from musicians and singers while trying to finish on time. Having a sound-tech team around you is the best way to deal with this “momentary pressure”. Team members support and encourage while deflecting any negatives from you. Consequently, working in the sound team does develop ones tenacity to be very tolerant, patient and decisive.
Moreover, working with church sound requires much time and attention. It is easy to focus on the how the sound sounds and loose track of what the sound says. It is worse when only a few people turn up to work with the sound-tech. It would be better with some more people in the team, to reduce the load and frequency of work.
Thank you Yaw for your time and focused effort that you apply in serving and building the Kingdom of God through Smyrna International Church. We are truly blessed by your willingness and your spirit of excellence. May God continue to use and bless you!!
