A variety of ADJ fixtures – including LED-powered bars, pars and ellipsoidals – were selected by specialist house of worship integrator Wilson Professional AVL to transform the main sanctuary of Fellowship Church in Rome, Georgia. Bringing a new dimension to the church’s worship services, the rig is designed to give attendees an immersive environment of color, accents and warm stage lighting.
Wilson Pro AVL specializes in supplying and installing audio, video and lighting equipment in houses of worship. The company’s CEO, Mike Wilson, has over 37 years of experience and more than 400 projects completed across the United States and internationally. Recently, Wilson was appointed as an AVL Consultant for Worship Leader Magazine, and he has long been involved with providing technical training and education for church tech teams.
In fact, Wilson met the Music Pastor of Fellowship Church when the worship leader attended one of his classes at a Georgia ministry conference. He explained that the church had a very old and limited lighting system and wanted to invest in a new, modern setup that would unlock more creative potential for their worship services. This led to Wilson Pro AVL taking on the project and Wilson working with the church’s team to create a design that fitted within their budget and delivered what they were looking for. He put together a design in the Capture previsualization software, which allowed them to see what their sanctuary would look like with the new lighting installed. This met with the church’s approval and once finances were in place, they hired Wilson Pro AVL to supply and install the new equipment.
A key component of the new system was the illumination of the large and relatively plain walls at the rear of the sanctuary’s stage and choir stalls. The goal was to saturate this area with vibrant colors to provide a flexible backdrop for the worship band. This was achieved using three different ADJ fixtures, the Encore Z7LP and Encore LP12IP LED pars and the Ultra LB18 linear LED fixture. The Encore Z7LP units were rigged to a lighting batten above the stage, angled back to hit the upper portions of the wall and dialed in remotely using their motorized zoom. The Encore LP12IP fixtures were positioned on the floor at the rear of the choir stall to create accents on the wall, interspersed by the Ultra LB18s, which provided an even wash coverage for the lower sections.
“I’ve used the Ultra LB18s in the production world and for some corporate events, so I knew what to expect from them,” explains Wilson. “What they offer in terms of functionality, as well as their output and spread, was just what we needed for lighting that back wall. The inclusion of the lime LED chip – for that added clarity and color mixing potential – was another important consideration. What they produce color-wise and in terms of coverage is perfect for this application.”
A baptistry is located in the center of the rear wall and Wilson specified two of ADJ’s Encore Profile 1000 Color LED-powered ellipsoidal fixtures to illuminate it. These are rigged to either side of a truss flown in the center of the auditorium. Using the fixtures’ integral framing shutters, the Wilson Pro AVL team was able to shape their light output to align with the baptistry alcove, allowing it to be lit on cue.
In addition to the ADJ fixtures, Wilson also specified a pair of Stryker Wash fixtures from ADJ’s sister company, Eliminator Lighting. These were also rigged to the auditorium truss, allowing their moving yokes to direct their output almost anywhere in the sanctuary. Featuring 19 x 12-watt quad color (RGBW) LEDs and a motorized zoom range of 6 ~ 50-degrees, Wilson says the Stryker Wash is a versatile automated wash-zoom fixture designed to have an attractive price to functionality ratio.
“The church didn’t really want much in the way of movement, but they did want a bit of flexibility for if they put on a Christmas production or want to highlight a soloist,” explains Wilson. “To be honest, I had never used – or even seen – the Stryker Wash before this project. But Chris Healy [of the Healy Group, ADJ Group’s Manufacturer’s Representative for Wilson Pro AVL’s home stage of North Carolina] recommended it for the budget we had to work with. I looked at the specs, threw it into Capture to create some renders, and decided to take a gamble since the church only wanted two movers. The gamble paid off, as it ended up being a good fixture for them and worked out really well in their space.”
The system is completed by 34 KL PAR FC static wash fixtures and a length of Pixel Tape 40IP from another ADJ sister company, Elation Professional. The pars, which are rigged to both the overstage bar and auditorium truss, provide an even stage wash making the worship team and teaching pastors clearly visible. Meanwhile, the pixel tape is used to highlight the cross which takes center stage behind the choir stalls. The system is operated via an NX1 console from yet another of ADJ’s sister companies, Obsidian Control Systems. Signal distribution is also facilitated by an Obsidian DMX 10-5 rack mount DMX splitter.
“Through a combination of ADJ’s versatile LED-powered fixtures and expert system design from Wilson Professional AVL, Fellowship Church has achieved a truly transformative lighting upgrade,” the announcement about the project from ADJ states. “The new rig not only enhances the visual aesthetic of the sanctuary but also deepens the worship experience by immersing the congregation in dynamic, expressive lighting. As a result, the church now benefits from a flexible, reliable, and energy-efficient system that will continue to support its creative ministry for years to come. The team at the church are extremely pleased with the result and Mike has only positive things to say about his team’s experience with ADJ.”
“We’ve used ADJ fixtures for a lot of production work in the past, but this is our first time installing them in a church and I have to say we’ve been very impressed,” Wilson concludes. “We’ve found all the fixtures both easy to use and effective, they have certainly exceeded our expectations. The whole project turned out really well and the photos simply don’t do it justice. The sanctuary looks fantastic, and the client is extremely pleased. What more can I say? I have five jobs that I’m quoting right now… and I have ADJ on all of them!”
ChurchFellowship Church www.fellowshiprome.com
314 Burnett Ferry Road
Rome, Georgia, 30165
Integration CompanyWilson Professional AVL www.wilsonproavl.com
