Your congregation deserves a sound system that works, visuals that inspire, and a stream that actually reaches people. This is the complete handbook to make it happen.
Whether you're a seasoned technical director, a volunteer who got handed a mixing board last Sunday, or a pastor trying to understand why the broadcast sounds like it was recorded in a parking garage - Wired for Worship: The Modern Church's Complete Guide to Sound, Media, and Streaming is the resource the church tech world has been waiting for.
Written by J.T. Winters - a practitioner with 20 years of hands-on church technical ministry experience - this full 300-page edition covers every dimension of modern worship technology in a single authoritative volume. This is not an overview. This is not a starter guide. This is the complete, unabridged handbook built for the people who carry the Sunday morning load every single week.
Who this book is for:
- Technical directors and worship tech team leaders
- Volunteer sound engineers, media operators, and livestream crew
- Worship pastors and church planters building a tech ministry from scratch
- Church administrators overseeing AV budgets and facility upgrades
- Seminary students and ministry school graduates entering technical roles
What's inside all 34 chapters across 5 parts:
- Part 1 - Audio Foundations (9 chapters): The physics of sound, signal chain mastery, microphone selection, mixing console operation, speaker systems and placement, in-ear monitors, EQ and dynamics processing, and building volunteer audio teams that thrive.
- Part 2 - Visual Media (7 chapters): Worship visuals that serve the room, ProPresenter and EasyWorship workflows, slide design principles, church video production, stage lighting, projection and LED walls, and building a consistent church brand.
- Part 3 - Live Streaming & Online Ministry (7 chapters): A theology of online church, streaming fundamentals from encoder to platform, choosing the right platform, setting up a dedicated studio, broadcast best practices, CCLI and copyright compliance, and cultivating a genuine online congregation.
- Part 4 - Integration & Infrastructure (6 chapters): AV-over-IP and Dante networking, church network design, technology planning and budget cycles, navigating vendor relationships, preventive maintenance programs, and AV security.
- Part 5 - Leadership, Culture & the Future (5 chapters): The tech director as minister, building a team culture rooted in servanthood, multisite AV coordination, managing special events and high-production seasons, and the emerging role of AI and future technology in worship ministry.
Plus a complete appendix section including:
- Pre-service technical checklists (ready to print and use Sunday)
- Gear lists organized by budget tier - small church to large church
- CCLI quick-reference guide for streaming and reproduction rights
- 80+ term glossary covering audio, video, networking, and streaming
- Curated list of recommended resources, training platforms, and communities
Condensed guides give you fragments. This full edition gives you the complete picture - the technical depth, the ministry philosophy, the practical workflows, and the leadership principles that transform a tech booth into a ministry. Every chapter is written the way an experienced mentor would explain it: clearly, practically, and with genuine respect for the calling.
