Surviving the Pressure: Why Worship Tech Feels So Heavy and So Worth It
There’s a unique kind of pressure that comes with serving in church production. If you’ve ever worked in worship tech—whether in sound, lighting, visuals, or live streaming—you’ve probably felt it.
You’re balancing technical excellence with spiritual sensitivity. You’re dealing with tight deadlines, unexpected challenges, and high expectations. You’re carrying the weight of creating an environment where people can meet with God, all while remaining invisible in the background.
And if you’re not careful, that weight can become overwhelming.
In this three-part series, I want to talk about:
Recognizing the weight of our role (this post).
How to sustain your passion for serving without burning out.
How to handle crisis moments when everything goes wrong.
Let’s start with why this role is so important—and how we can keep our focus on what truly matters.
Recognizing the Weight & Importance of the Role
I think I had an innate understanding of the significance of worship tech from a young age, simply because I was exposed to it early on. I started helping my dad run slides for kids’ church when I was about six years old. But it wasn’t until I started running sound at 13 that I began to truly feel the weight of it.
At first, it was all practical—learning:
When to mute and unmute microphones.
How to fade in audio for videos at the right moment.
Managing volume, clarity, and feedback control.
Balancing the mix between instruments and vocals.
Over time, these things became second nature, and that’s when I began to realize the spiritual implications of what I was doing.
Later in my teenage years, I interned at a church for two years, running the production department. That season changed everything. I wasn’t just pressing buttons—I was responsible for shaping a culture of excellence and worship within the team. I was executing the vision of senior leadership, not just tweaking faders.
It’s hard to fully put into words, but I see myself as something like a conductor of an orchestra. I don’t play an instrument, but my instrument is the sound desk. My voice is in the way I craft and refine the sound coming from the band.
This means I’m not just making it sound good—I have to be spiritually sensitive to what’s happening in the room. I have to recognize how even subtle adjustments in levels can influence how worship is received.
That’s not to say that I control what the Holy Spirit does—that would be beyond heretical. But as techs, we have the power to either enhance or hinder worship. We create an atmosphere that can either encourage people to engage with God or distract them from doing so.
That’s a heavy responsibility.
The Privilege of Witnessing God Move Throughout a Gathering
There have been more moments than I can count where I’ve seen God move powerfully. But for me, it’s not always the grand gestures that impact me the most—it’s the small moments.
The sound of a congregation singing softly in a stripped-back moment, voices filled with love, gratitude, repentance, and adoration.
The loud, unrestrained praises of a crowd, where people feel completely free to worship without inhibition.
Seeing someone who was previously disengaged suddenly lift their hands in surrender.
One of the most powerful experiences I’ve had was at a camp three or four years ago. We had set up a large tent on a field for our gatherings, and leading up to the event, it rained—a lot. We had to put pallets and milk crates under the speakers and drum kit to keep them from sitting in water.
On the first night, people were hesitant to engage in worship. The mud made them cautious. No one wanted to ruin their clothes or shoes. But something happened as the night went on. A few people decided to ignore their discomfort and just worship. They started dancing at the front, and some were so moved in worship that they fell to their knees—burying their faces in the mud.
That moment changed something in me. It shattered the way I thought worship was “supposed” to look. Worship isn’t about comfort. It’s about surrender.
And as techs, we have the privilege of creating the space for moments like that to happen.
Keeping the Focus on the ‘Why’
One of the things I’ve learned—and continue to be reminded of—is that everything I do should be filtered through the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
The Great Commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)
The Great Commission:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ’All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
(Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)
Everything we do in worship production—every mix adjustment, every lighting cue, every ProPresenter slide—is ultimately about loving God and loving people. It’s about removing barriers and distractions so that people can encounter Jesus in a real, life-changing way.
At the end of the day, our role isn’t about proving our expertise—it’s about serving the church.
Our job as worship techs is to create an atmosphere where people can encounter God without distraction. And that means being willing to set aside our personal preferences, lay down our egos, and truly serve with love and humility.
Carrying the Weight Well
Being a worship tech is a heavy calling, but also an incredible privilege. We get to help create moments where people encounter God. We get to see lives transformed, often from a perspective that no one else in the room has.
But we have to be careful—because if we’re spiritually running on empty, if we’re carrying this weight alone, it’s only a matter of time before it feels more like a burden than a calling.
So take a moment to reflect:
• Are you still carrying this responsibility with joy, or does it feel like a weight that’s crushing you?
• Do you find yourself disengaged from worship while you work, or are you still able to connect with God in the middle of it?
• Have you noticed any signs of burnout creeping in?
If this role is starting to feel overwhelming, you’re not alone. But don’t just push through and ignore the warning signs. Ministry was never meant to be carried in isolation.
This is part of a series where we’ll be diving deeper into how to sustain your passion for serving without burning out. In the next post, we’ll look at practical ways to protect your spiritual and emotional well-being while continuing to serve with excellence.
Until then, take some time to pray, reflect, and be honest with yourself about where you’re at. And remember—you don’t have to carry this weight alone.
