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May 2012

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Supporting the Spirit – Creekside Christian Fellowship

New and growing church welcomes all in its multipurpose space.

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MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM Creekside Christian Fellowship’s new 450-seat multi-purpose room features an Electro-Voice (EV) loudspeaker system. The design includes two loudspeak- er clusters, each containing two EV Fri+ loudspeakers flanking a single Fri+1815 subwoofer.  

When a church finds the right audiovisual contractor to upgrade its AV systems, distance doesn't matter - today's technology can bridge any geographical gaps. Creekside Christian Fellowship, in Needville, Tex., southeast of Houston, discovered this during the recent sound, lighting and video installation in the church's new multipurpose space.

CCF connected with Bemidji, Minn.-based NLFX Professional through a recommendation from the church's building contractor. It only took a few conference calls for Worship Minister Joey Gerke to realize that the 1,500 miles between the contractor and the church would not be an obstacle. "By taking time to understand the heart of our church, they were able to give us what we needed," comments Gerke.

Multi-purpose system needs

The church's current multi-purpose space hosts sporting events, trade shows and concerts. Every Sunday at 9:30 and 11 AM, it transforms into a sanctuary seating 450 church members. The venue permits the church to fulfill its vision, states Lead Pastor Greg Garcia, to: "[introduce] the un-churched to Christ and have a significant impact on our community."
The space has been used for everything from volleyball practice to community outreach events. Gerke says, "Any room in the building can be used for any purpose at any time."

A retractable stage provides the flexibility CCF requires in the multipurpose room. "The retractable stage was by far the greatest ‘out of the box challenge,'" Stowe explains. The 9,000-pound stage is moved manually by four or five church volunteers, but Stowe's team had to devise a way to move the cabling along with the stage-and keep it neat and tidy.

"As a staff, each of us had a half-dozen ideas - some fairly pragmatic and others really out there. Ultimately the collective brainpower produced a result that we feel good about," Stowe says. NLFX created a mechanical track system to retract the cables into floor pockets in the stage so volunteers can move the entire set-up into a nearby utility room when not in use.

A Pro Co Sound Momentum digital snake transmits audio signals between the stage, equipment room and AV control room over CAT6 cable. The Momentum system allows for easy expansion to up to 256 channels of audio without pulling additional cabling between racks.

Powerful system with room to grow

The room's layout -- short from the stage to the back, but wide and with a high ceiling -- called for flexible audio systems capable of providing wide coverage and high sound pressure levels with minimal sound bouncing back off the wall into the seating area or stage, according to Stowe.

A sound system was selected that, Gerke notes, "Sounds incredible in this room but can be used in a much bigger room very easily, too." When the multipurpose space becomes the lobby of a 2,000-seat sanctuary in phase 3 of the church's building project, the systems will make the transition. [Did You Know #3]

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Dawn Allcot is the work-at-home mom of Ashley Lyn, born October 12, 2008. A full-time freelance writer and editor, Dawn is a regular contributor to Worship Facilities and Church Production magazines.

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