Condenser Microphones
A condenser microphone is a microphone that uses a different method. It utilizes two electrically-charged plates: a moveable front plate and fixed back plate. When sound waves arrive at the microphone, the front plate is depressed, causing a “change in space between it and the backplate, which in turn changes the capacitance. This change in capacitance and distance between it [the front plate] and the backplate causes a change in voltage potential that can be amplified to a usable level ". When sound waves arrive at the microphone and the plates generate this voltage potential, the resulting information is so small that it needs to be amplified by an external power source. This is why condenser microphones will oftentimes require the use of Phantom Power (+48v), a battery, or an external power supply. Dynamic microphones, on the other hand, do not require phantom power.
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The primary thing that you, as an audio engineer in a smaller church, need to understand is that Dynamic microphones are a type of microphone that is used as your workhorse microphone. It is able to handle high levels of sound pressure (SPL), for example, a snare drum. On the other hand, a condenser microphone is utilized more to capture high frequency information (cymbals, choir, sometimes electric guitars) and get more volume/signal out of the acoustic source before encountering feedback.