Which Mic Should Youth Pastors Use? Pro vs Budget Options

In this video, Nick Clason breaks down Which Microphone Youth Pastors Should Use—comparing budget phone mics, mid-tier gear like the Rode Wireless Go II, and pro options like the Sennheiser G4 and MKE 600. Whether you're filming TikTok devos, sermon recaps, or launching a youth ministry podcast, Nick gives real-world demos and witty insights so your church content sounds clear, not cringey.

If you're investing in custom content through tools like Nick's Seasonal Social Media Pack, this mic guide ensures your message lands with excellence and clarity—not broom closet vibes.

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/159

CELLPHONE MICS [Budget]

//Microphones For Android: USB-C
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS MICROPHONE:
https://walmrt.us/4neBo5g

SHOTGUN MICROPHONE:
https://walmrt.us/3SDIbZ3

//Microphones For iPhones: Lightning
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS 2 MICROPHONES:
https://walmrt.us/4bm7DJV

MID TIER MICS

Rode Wirelss GoII
https://walmrt.us/3T669vA

PRO LEVEL MICS

(Require Audio Interface Equipment - see below!)
Sennheiser EW 112P G4 Portable Wireless Lavalier Microphone System Band G
https://walmrt.us/4b8jhr3

Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic with XLR Plug to Jack 18’ Cable
https://walmrt.us/44eGCFh

PODCAST STYLE MICS

(Require Audio Interface Equipment - see below!)
FIFINE XLR/USB Dynamic Microphone for PC Computer, Studio Recording Mic
https://walmrt.us/4e2Or53

Microphone Arm
https://walmrt.us/3Zqkvex

XLR Cables
https://walmrt.us/3zgmEPr

AUDIO INTERFACE

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface 3rd Gen
https://walmrt.us/3WivDZD

Focusrite Scarlett 18i8-in-8-Out USB Audio Interface, 3rd Generation
https://walmrt.us/3Qgznqs

Sennheiser HD 569 Closed Back Wired Headphones
https://walmrt.us/3w5AgLI

CAMERA

Small Rig Video Trippod CT210, 75” Video Camera Tripod
https://walmrt.us/4b7iaIe

ILOKNZI 12in Liftable Teleprompter with Remote Control and APP
https://walmrt.us/4a6ZJU1

Sony ZV-E10 New Mirrorless Camera
https://walmrt.us/3JvVSE8

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🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉
We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context!
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🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU!
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
//VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Which Mic is Best for You?
01:10 Budget Mic - Bluetooth Mic
03:01 Mid Tier - Rode Wireless GoII
04:28 Pro Level - Sennheiser Portable Wireless Lavalier
05:37 BONUS - Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic
07:39 BONUS #2 - Podcast Mics

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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:03 - 00:00:06:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This microphone right here is less than $10. And I'm talking directly into my cell phone,

00:00:06:06 - 00:00:09:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
camera video and is being recorded to that audio track.

00:00:09:21 - 00:00:22:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Meanwhile, if you switch to this lapel style microphone you see on news anchor host weatherman Stephen Smith on ESPN, this microphone is nearly $700, and it requires an audio recording interface.

00:00:22:10 - 00:00:27:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we also have this middle of the road microphone here, podcast style microphone.

00:00:27:04 - 00:00:48:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you take my seasonal summer social media pack, which is less than $20, and you download it, you realize that as I'm hoping to help youth pastors create custom content that it's going to require at some points in time, a microphone. And what I want to do in this video is I want to show you all of the different array of options that you can use.

00:00:48:18 - 00:00:49:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All the way from like

00:00:49:20 - 00:00:50:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
budget microphones

00:00:50:25 - 00:00:51:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to the most

00:00:51:25 - 00:00:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
expensive Cadillac style microphones

00:00:54:00 - 00:01:09:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to these mid tier podcast, but really cool and vibey looking microphones that your students are going to love. Because in this episode, we're going to answer the question, which mic should you use for the content that you're creating in your youth ministry? Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:01:10:21 - 00:01:31:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What's up everybody? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. You and I haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nick Klassen, and we're going to explore microphone. And they're really important because actually, right now, this exact audio is coming. Me talking directly to my camera on the other side of the room. You can see that so far of all the audios you heard is the worst style of audio.

00:01:32:00 - 00:01:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we're going to go through budget options as well as all the way up to the most expensive style of options. And you'll notice if you follow my hybrid ministry social media recommendations, that it's going to require you filming some of your own custom content, and that's going to require you to want to have a microphone, because this audio right here is just not doing it.

00:01:52:03 - 00:01:53:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So first we're going to look at budget

00:01:53:28 - 00:02:20:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Audio. This is my budget audio recommendation. It's one of these Bluetooth style microphones. They are really cheap. They clip on. They are wireless, which is nice. And they plug directly in to your phone. You can get these for less than $10. And at a minimum, what this does is the requirement for decent microphone audio is you just want to isolate the audio source away from the video source.

00:02:20:27 - 00:02:45:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now this one records directly into the actual video file. So you you like your video and your audio will be immediately linked up, which is good news. But I would say this one here, we're going to call this like the student ministry volunteer microphone. Like it's helpful. It gets the job done. But there's certainly like a lot more potential in your microphones.

00:02:45:04 - 00:03:01:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But this is the run of the mill, the most basic. And if you are on a tight budget, you should definitely consider grabbing something like this. This is usb-C direct into Android or into the newer iPhones, or you can find the lightning connections. Both are available at the links down below in the show notes.

00:03:02:12 - 00:03:18:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this one right here is actually one of my newest recommendations. It's the road wireless go to. Not because I've been against it, but because it's just brand new. I just got it. And so right now I'm actually talking direct into my cell phone camera.

00:03:18:24 - 00:03:41:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And right now I'm talking direct into my Sony ZV one camera, which that, camera is actually also linked down below in the link included in the description. I would call this one like the church in terms of microphones, but it's the church intern that actually reads commentaries and has maybe gone to at least a couple like Bible College or seminary classes.

00:03:41:15 - 00:03:58:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, like, they know a little bit more what they're talking about. You can tell the quality on this microphone is quite a bit better than the quality of the last microphone. The pro, of course, is once again it's wireless. It's easy. And it can go direct into your cell phone. And so you don't need like a whole nother camera or anything to do that.

00:03:58:06 - 00:04:17:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It also doesn't need any sort of audio interface. The downside is that, you know, it's going to run out of battery, and the quality just it might not be up to, you know, full like, professional grade level of quality. But once again, these are for social media. So maybe that's totally not that that needed, you know.

00:04:17:07 - 00:04:27:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There are two of these actually in the pack. And so like you and then like, another person could each have one clip of mine or even use them for like a podcast, or something like that, if you really, you know, want it to go that route as well.

00:04:28:22 - 00:04:55:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This pro-level microphone is the Sennheiser lavalier system. It is the senior pastor of microphones. It's buttoned up, it's expensive, it's intimidating, and it's very, very serious about what the job needs to be and about getting the job done. This one is probably the most overkill. It is more broadcast quality. It's great for live, it's great for studio stuff.

00:04:55:29 - 00:05:14:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is wireless. So you see, I have a pack that I have right here in my pocket. And this wire that's just like clipped on. Then here through my shirt. And then I have a receiver over there on my focus. Right. So this one does require an audio interface and it's not recording directly onto any of the video.

00:05:14:07 - 00:05:36:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you need to record this separately. You can use something like GarageBand or we use like Adobe Audition. But then you have to link this audio up with the audio from the camera. Now, I do have a couple other bonus options that might be worth considering, and I think I can add a little bit of punch to your studio, and we're going to check those out in the next section.

00:05:37:29 - 00:06:03:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This microphone right here is the Sennheiser M-k 600. I would call this one if the last one was the senior pastor of microphones. This one is the executive pastor of microphones. It you know, it knows where to aim. And it's going to hit every single time. But you also better know what you're doing. So the pros and cons of this are you do not need pro as you don't need a wireless interface.

00:06:03:19 - 00:06:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am plugged directly into my Sony camera a can of course, is you will probably need some sort of adapter as this goes through an audio like one eighth cable inch headphone jack. And so you're going to need some sort of adapter, probably a microphone to usb-C or to lightning to go directly into your phone. The other con, of course, is it's wired okay.

00:06:25:11 - 00:06:43:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so like you're going to need, to have like an XLR cable. It's like what you would use for your worship, music or worship department. But you can see some of the pros of it. We use this a lot. We've used this almost exclusively, on our man on the Street videos. And so we've bought this, like, microphone flag with, like, our church branded logo in it.

00:06:43:16 - 00:07:02:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's also battery powered with just double A batteries. And so that's easier than trying to remember to plug in something that's like, usb-C or like rechargeable in that way. And so, this is a really good microphone. It is cheaper than the lavalier. And so this may be something that you want to do, when you buy it again, once again, link down below.

00:07:02:20 - 00:07:24:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There is an option to mount it directly on to your camera. And you can mount it there and then it's like a shotgun style. The downside of that is if there's any distance between the camera and the person, it's going to pick up everything in between. So, like this entire episode, I've been moving around to different corners of our youth ministry, social media studio.

00:07:24:25 - 00:07:39:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, we have had incredibly bad sound bleed through these walls, which go and lead to our auditorium, which is why we ended up going for this next bonus item that you're going to see here. In the next section of this video.

00:07:40:12 - 00:08:04:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here we are. Back where we started. And these right here are the, podcast style microphones. There's once again a link down below in the show notes. You can check these out. These microphones are kind of like the youth pastor of microphones. They are professional. They're paid, they're full time. Hopefully you're full time and they're cool looking or like try hard, cool looking.

00:08:04:01 - 00:08:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe you're giving it too much. But the fact of the matter is these much, much to the opposite of the shotgun microphones before I catch almost zero sound bleed. And so for most of our like, we do drafts and we do seven questions here in this room for most of these videos, these microphones do a fantastic job of picking up the audio of the students that are talking directly into it.

00:08:27:18 - 00:08:47:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not to mention it cuts out some of the exterior wall noise that we were talking about in the last section and in the last clip. The cons of these, however, are they once again, they're XLR, so you are going to need like a music microphone. And oftentimes we use two of these. So you're going to need at least a two channel audio interface.

00:08:47:10 - 00:09:08:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use the focus rate Scarlett. Air you can check that out once again. Link down below for that in the show notes. The con of that, of course, is that is going to be an upgraded and an additional cost. And so you'll just have to figure out between this one or the Bluetooth wireless or the Rode Go Wireless two, or the condenser microphone or the lavalier microphone.

00:09:09:03 - 00:09:32:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What microphone is best for you? Now here's what I'm going to tell you. I recorded all of this audio in its raw and rarest form. And so you're going to hear it. And you can now make the decision, based on listening to this podcast episode, which one you prefer and which one you like best, and which one sets in and makes the vibe for your student ministry and your social media.

00:09:32:24 - 00:09:53:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the good news is, this is no matter what you decide, my content, regardless of the quality of your microphone, whether you go budget or whether you go pro level, my content works for all of it. The 1799 summer seasonal Social Media Pack, which will allow you to not only get some done for your content, but it will also help encourage you to create some custom content.

00:09:53:23 - 00:10:18:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And why you want custom is because you want your students, your face, your leaders, and you want your social media to feel real, and you want it to feel like you. And these microphones will help enhance that experience. And I want you to have an amazing and popping off social media. Hey, members of my Patreon who get a bonus weekly podcast also get that downloadable social media pack which is going to drop four times per year.

00:10:18:20 - 00:10:33:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Every new season, they get it completely for free and as an included part of their membership tier, and it's actually cheaper to become a member than it is to download the pack outright. So consider doing that. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.