Is Your Church’s Assistive Listening System Ready for the Holidays?

Holiday services often draw in the biggest crowds of the year for houses of worship. Families travel home, grandparents fill the pews, and first-time guests walk through your doors. Many of the people who rely on assistive listening are there too, some of them only a few times a year. If a receiver dies halfway through the service, they probably won’t say a word, but they’ll miss the message.

A little preparation now can make sure everyone in the room hears every word this holiday season. Below, we’ll walk through why it’s smart to check your system early, how to plan for a bigger crowd, and the most important things to test before your holiday services.

Why Should You Check Your System Early?

December gets busy fast for houses of worship, with pageants, choir rehearsals, special services, and community events filling the calendar. By the time the holidays roll around, there’s not much time left to troubleshoot a receiver that won’t hold a charge or restore a dead spot in the balcony.

Checking early gives you time to fix what you find. Replacement batteries, headsets, and receivers take time to order and ship, and holiday delivery times can vary. Volunteer teams can also change throughout the year, so the people running your system may have never set it up before. A little lead time means problems get solved early instead of in a panic right before the service starts.

Here’s a quick timeline that can help:

• Four weeks out: test your receivers, batteries, and headsets. Order any replacements.
• Two weeks out: Run a live check during a service rehearsal and listen from several different seating areas to check for dead spots.
• Holiday week: Charge everything and walk your ushers through the process.

Plan for the Crowd

Your holiday service crowd may be bigger than your usual one. Estimate attendance to make sure you’re prepared for a full house. If your typical service uses a handful of receivers, holiday attendance could double that need, especially with visiting family members.

Your first-time guests are also less likely to know your system exists, so make it easy to find. Place signs at entrances, mention it in the bulletin, and have ushers ready to offer receivers as people arrive.

Make sure to also have a plan for getting receivers back after your service. A clear checkout spot near the entrance and a reminder at the end of the service help prevent people from accidentally walking off with a receiver. Plan for a quick cleaning routine at the end of service to ensure shared headsets are ready to go out for your next service.

Six Things to Test Before the Holidays

1. Receivers: Make sure all your receivers turn on and charge in the dock. Rechargeable batteries can lose capacity over time, so make sure to test a few receivers for the full length of a service. If any lose charge early, it’s time to replace those batteries before the holidays.
2. Headset: Check to make sure you have enough to cover higher attendance during full holiday services. Clean and ensure they’re in good condition.
3. Coverage: Test signal quality everywhere people sit, including balconies, overflow rooms, and back rows.
4. Process: Show your ushers where receivers are, how to hand them out, and the collection process at the end of the service.
5. Audio feed: Make sure your system is getting a clear, well-balanced mix. Holiday services often add choirs, readers, and extra microphones. Confirm every voice comes through your assistive listening system’s feed, not just the main speakers.
6. Personal device connections: If guests can listen on their own phones or hearing aids, test the connection on a few different devices and make sure the instructions are easy to find.

Want an easy way to keep your team on track? Download the Holiday Sound Check, a free printable checklist your team can use to work through every step.

What We’ve Learned from Decades of Serving Churches

We’ve helped churches of every size get ready for the holidays, and a few issues come up year after year even with a solid checklist. Here’s what we see most often.

• Mixed-up receivers: Over time, older and newer receivers and batteries can get mixed together. If some lose their charge sooner than others, label or rotate them so the weakest ones aren’t handed out at your holiday service.
• Testing only from the booth: A system can sound perfect at the soundboard and still have weak spots in the room. Always listen from where your guests will be sitting.
• Forgetting the backup plan: Even a well-prepared system can have a receiver go out mid-service. Keep a few charged receivers and spare headsets near your ushers so a quick swap is all it takes.
• Guests who never ask: Some people who need hearing assistance won’t request a receiver because they’re new, unsure what’s available, or don’t want to stand out. In addition to clear signage, offering more ways to listen can help. ListenWIFI and Auri can both work alongside your current system and provide the additional benefit of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) options.

Catch these issues early, and your team can focus on the service instead of the equipment.

Get the Holiday Sound Check

Ready to check your system for the holidays? Download the Holiday Sound Check for Houses of Worship, a printable checklist that walks you through every step. Print it, share it with your volunteers, and check things off as you go.

Need help getting your system ready? We can help! Our Technical Support Team is here to assist with troubleshooting, ordering replacements, or exploring new ways for your congregation to listen.

support@listentech.com
Phone: +1.801.233.8992
Toll-Free: 1.800.330.0891 (USA & Canada)