Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
                     Psalm 150:3-6

Sound is a important element of our worship!

In the Old Testament we read about David appointing musicians to lead in worship and the Psalms are filled with encouragement to sing and shout praises to our God.

The music in our services today is different than those worship services of long ago. Although we still sometimes use a tambourine, when was the last time you saw a lute or harp? Our stringed instruments now are electronic, the keyboard is electronic as well, and the folks on the worship team use microphones so that everyone can hear clearly.

All of those electronics are controlled by a sound board and require the expertise of a “sound man,” something those worshipers of long ago could not have dreamed of. The sound man sits at the back of the room and keeps everything sounding like it is supposed to. We usually don’t pay a lot of attention to that critical person back there, unless something goes wrong.

At Discovery we have three people who make up the sound team. One of those people is Austin Renz, who has been heading up the sound team for several years.

As a little boy, Austin thought he wanted to be a baseball player, but as he grew and discovered music, he decided to be a rock star instead. He was about 13 when he started playing the bass guitar and was on his way to becoming a “music geek.”

Austin grew up going to Catholic schools, but in high school went to Life Christian Academy. The adjustment was hard, the people there seemed strange to him and it took a while to make friends. At the same time, he began to understand that these people knew Jesus. One of Austin’s new friends ran the sound board for services at Life Center, and when Austin saw that sound board he was fascinated… all those controls and the wonderful things he could do with them!

He started helping with the sound board during his junior and senior years of high school and eventually went on to run the sound board for services at Life Center for several years. As a hobby he had his own recording studio, and fun was hanging out with other musicians.

Austin does not remember a time that He did not believe in God, but his faith began to take root during those years at Life Christian. He slowly came to a point of knowing that what he was hearing was truth, it just made sense. He knows that there is a point for him to be here, living and breathing, a purpose for his life.

Some of the friends he had as a teenager attracted him to Discovery. Steve Kuriatnyk, Josh Shackelford, and others encouraged him to come. When Austin’s mother became ill with cancer in 2010, he cared for her until she passed away. After his mom’s death there was a period of months when he didn’t go to church, but he realized he needed to be there and those friends kept encouraging him. As he came back, he joined the worship team, playing bass every Sunday for about two years. That time on Sunday morning became the high point of his week, sometimes it seemed to be the only positive thing in his week.

Eventually Austin gravitated back to the sound board where you will find him on many Sunday mornings. Although services like Christmas and Easter can be a bit stressful, he loves this area of service. He says it is satisfying when he is done and people are happy with the results.

Austin works in construction and has started his own company. (He is still looking for a good name for it.) He still plays the bass guitar and occasionally he will take a day to go fishing.

Austin was acquainted his wife Brittany in high school, but it was at Discovery that he got to know her. They just celebrated their second anniversary.

Like others who serve, Austin is using the skills and passions that God has given him in ways that bless others. How has God gifted you? Where will you serve?

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To find out more about Discovery’s Worship Team and how you can be a part of it contact [email protected].

For more about Discovery’s amazing volunteers see:

• Discovery Volunteer Spotlight: Kids Kingdom
• Discovery Volunteer Spotlight: Church in a Box
• Discovery Volunteer Spotlight: Discovery Design
• What Do Angels Do?