Has your church started soundproofing yet?
The new guidelines by Kampala Capital City Authority are going to be a game changer in the way we Pentecostals worship, seeing as many churches are still in makeshift or rented structures. But as we find ourselves increasingly in the middle of residential communities, it is no longer a question of how, but rather when […] The post Has your church started soundproofing yet? appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
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The new guidelines by Kampala Capital City Authority are going to be a game changer in the way we Pentecostals worship, seeing as many churches are still in makeshift or rented structures.
But as we find ourselves increasingly in the middle of residential communities, it is no longer a question of how, but rather when to effect the structural changes.
KCCA has cautioned bars, churches and other entities that tend to have night time activities, about the consequences of reported noise pollution, and exceeding the acceptable decibels.
The Executive Director even met some pastors at City Hall recently, to harmonise this position. Friends, we love our night prayers, obviously – it is another level of sacrifice to leave behind one’s bed and spend the night praying – but it usually comes at a cost to those who live closest to our churches.
Nothing is as annoying as trying to sleep with your rafters and windows vibrating to the drums and bass guitar of the church next door. It is indescribable, until you have lived it. I have.
And I am convinced, the loud music and microphones are not melting any hearts for Jesus in a community failing to sleep, but rather stoking resentment, bitterness and defiance. Which is not what we set out to do when we pray at night.
The solution: soundproof the church. The neighbours do not have to lose sleep because we are having an intimate conversation with God on really loud microphones. I am grateful that the Worship Harvest church next door only goes up to 10pm when they have night fellowship.
Because they are in a makeshift shelter, I hate to imagine what it would sound like if they ever decided to do an overnight service that goes till dawn!
I know mine is an unpopular opinion among balokole, but my position remains, if your team does not have a policy on night sound levels, please start a budget to soundproof the sanctuary, and let the party for Jesus continue uninterrupted.
I know several big churches have already embarked on this or even completed insulating their premises, and now the onus is on the smaller churches, especially those in makeshift structures, to think decisively about how to handle KCCA’s (and community) concerns. We can do it.
The post Has your church started soundproofing yet? appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
