A church plant necessarily starts our small- usually a church planter and the few friends he convinces to join him. Soon, people are added to the group, and the planter's living room is a tight fit on Sunday mornings.
What comes next is what makes or breaks the missionality of a church. I call it the Sound System Rule. A face-to-face conversation (or, in some circles, an online, screen-to-screen chat) is personal; it's a two-way interaction between people. Add some cables and amplification to the mix, and you've changed the dynamic.
As soon as you do something that requires the use of a sound system, you're on the path toward an unsustainable attractional form of church. Not because a sound system is expensive, and it's not the technical know-how required for its use. A sound system hinders your missionality because the means affects the meaning of your words.
The presentation becomes a performance. The audience is forced into a passive role. Access to the microphone becomes an indicator of status. Seating is oriented to the "front" of the meeting space. People listen not because of the content of your message or the skill of your delivery, but because the sound of your amplified voice drowns out everything else.
How would you do things differently if you didn't have a sound system? Would you shout to be heard over the crowd? Break up into small groups for discussion? Find another way to worship? I suggest you give it a try- just to see what happens. The experience just may push you toward a more contextually appropriate expression of church.
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