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"The experience in the temporary location was invaluable in helping them decide how to move forward." - Bobby Sykes, Project Engineer, Sound Inspiration LLC, Groveport, Ohio.
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A new 750-seat reconfigurable worship space, is called "The Main." "We didn’t want to label it a gym or [a] sanctuary," says Charlie Vansant, Grace Fellowship’s media and technology director, in reference to the church’s vision that all of life is a worship arena.
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While in the temporary space, Grace was able to experiment with lighting effects and foudn that, in addition to triple-wide video projection, moving lights significantly added to the church's productions.
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A 16-foot by nine-foot projection system and lights were re-purposed from the temporary high school system for the new youth area.
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Grace Fellowship’s video production features a triple-wide projection system employing three Hitachi CP-WX8255 5,500-ANSI-lumen projectors with a Da-Lite Cinema Contour 100-inch by 501.5-inch custom screen.
When the growing popularity of Grace Fellowship in Pickerington, Ohio, contributed to the congregation outgrowing its original building, the church made a temporary home in a nearby high school performance space. That's not an unusual move for a growing worship community. But rather than “make do” for 18 months, they used the temporary location to help explore innovative technologies and production techniques for a new building in the works—where the result is now evident in a remarkable, cost-effective worship environment.
“A while back, our leadership adopted a culture of change,” says Charlie Vansant, Grace Fellowship's media and technology director. “We were ready to find the new technology that would help us to be relevant, [fresh] and exciting, but it was just as important to remain Grace Fellowship to our congregation—the church they know.”
Vansant, who oversees all creative and technology at Grace Fellowship, started attending the church while still in college. At the time, he was studying audio and video production and the old church was putting together a technology team. While he describes himself as mostly self-taught, his passion for applied technology won him a full-time position with the church in 2010 when the congregation numbered just 500. With a strong vision, intrepid technology and [highly engaged] worship teams, attendance rose past 1,300 and expanded to four services. It soon became obvious that the church would need a new home. With its new building still in the planning stages, the church chose a local high school as a temporary space for worship during construction.
Technology meets foresight
To help design and set up technology for the temporary location, Vansant reached out to local AVL expert Bobby Sykes after seeing information on video technology that Sykes had contributed to a Church Production Magazine article. For the temporary location, Sykes would recommend equipment to meet the church’s tight budget, but also give Vansant and his team the insight and experience with the new technology that would help them understand and operate the new equipment. “The experience in their temporary location was invaluable in helping them decide how to move forward,” Sykes says.
Vansant adds that working closely with Sykes at the high school location made it clear that Sykes and his partners at Sound Inspiration LLC of Groveport, Ohio, were a good fit to help design and implement the technology in the new building.
Similar to Vansant’s experience, much of Sykes’s training was done on-the-job. Growing up as part of a foreign missionary team, he would help out with audio technology on outreaches with bands. Back in the United States, technical skills with lighting boards and dimmers as well as with video were added to his toolkit. It wasn’t long before he found himself helping others and, at 24, making a career of technology. “I make a point to learn something new everyday,” says Sykes. “I’ve learned a lot in and from the church, so I know exactly how I can help there. I know they have both a vision and a budget.”
Creative approach
"We were ready to find the new technology that would help us to be revelent, [fresh] and exciting.."
Charlie Vansant
Media & Technology Director, Grace.
“Our goal for the new building was certainly to move forward,” says Vansant, “but also to get the most out of what we already owned. Whatever we installed also had to be easy for our volunteers to operate.” This was a critical requirement for Vansant since his formula for building a volunteer organization is to “leave the door open for volunteers to learn.” According to Vansant, “It helps the individuals as well as the organization.” He also encourages all team members to be “fluid.” That is to say, if someone is better at something, they are encouraged to step up and lead. “There are no fixed slots here,” he says.
The production team found that having additional space to work with and 18 months at the high school allowed them to experiment with production components like triple-wide projection, moving lights, and an LED curtain to enhance their services. This gave them a chance to see what worked and what didn’t. They also leveraged familiar tools, like ProPresenter presentation software with the new technology that helped them create a dynamic performance environment that was also easy to operate.
Vansant reports that since his volunteers had gained experience with new techniques at the high school, there wasn’t a huge learning curve in the new building. Adam Langdon, volunteer and lead audio mixer, recalls, “The high school was a great experience and helped us hone our craft. It was a learning curve for us, but a fun time, too. Because of it, we were able to make a smooth transition to the new church.” Vansant and Sykes agree that the move to the larger space that the high school provided also gave the team a better vision for what their productions could be.
Grace Fellowship’s new building was designed by McKnight Group of Grove City, Ohio, and built by Aaron Carol of Elevated Integrity in Columbus, Ohio. Encompassing approximately 34,000 square feet, the structure centers around a 750-seat reconfigurable worship space, called “The Main,” that Vansant describes as equal parts worship area and recreational center.
“We didn’t want to label it a gym or [a] sanctuary,” Vansant says, following the church’s vision that all of life is a worship arena. Grace Fellowship’s new location also offers a spacious lobby, cafe meeting area, classrooms, and offices. Their youth area is designed with a highway theme and a K-6 space is called “The Garage.”
Tech spec specifics
To achieve concert-level audio in “The Main,” Sykes and Sound Inspiration Audio Specialist Matt Price specified an Allen & Heath iLive T112 Digital Mixing Surface, an iDR48 48x16 Digital Snake and M-MMO-A Multi Out Expansion Card for iLive, along with an Ashly Protea 4.8 four-input/eight-output digital speaker processor.
“The A&H iLive T112 package is great for churches both for price point and extendability to do just about anything,” notes Price. Four Electro-Voice (EV) QRX 212 dual 12-inch, two-way loudspeakers with three-inch DH7 titanium HF compression driver and rotatable 75x50-degree horns were hung in a stereo configuration above the stage and four EV QRX 218 dual 18-inch subwoofers were installed below the stage for bottom end. A Sound Inspiration partner, Dave Lowery, who possessed 20 years of construction and engineering experience, oversaw the installation.
The mains are powered by two QSC Audio PL340 high-efficiency power amplifiers that handle mids with two QSC PL380 each sub, QSC PLX1802 one channel per side for highs. “Pairing these clean EV QRX series speakers and rock-solid QSC amplifiers got us the great sound we were looking for,” says Sykes. Rapco Horizon snakes were used to move signal, and both Furman ASD-120 power sequencers and Juice Goose CQ-3000 power sequencers were chosen to control remote power for the installation—with equipment installed in Grundorf 40-space racks. Monitoring is done with a combination of Aviom personal monitors, Sennheiser EW300, and Audio-Technica M2R units.
Grace Fellowship’s striking and dynamic production style features a triple-wide projection system employing three Hitachi CP-WX8255 5,500-ANSI-lumen projectors—equipped with UL-705 ultra-long throw lenses, along with a Da-Lite Cinema Contour 100-inch by 501.5-inch custom screen installed just above the performance area. The challenges of long throw (approximately 90 feet), avoiding ductwork and coming in below a proscenium frame, had to be overcome, but the team was happy to achieve a respectable 35-foot lamberts (fL) per projector for about $5,000 per projector.
Two additional Hitachi CP-WX8255 projectors display lyrics and images on 16-foot by nine-foot painted walls on either side of the stage, and a Hitachi CP-WX625 projector is directed at the back wall as a confidence monitor. Kramer PT-571 HDMI over twisted pair transmitters and PT-572 receivers are used to transport video signals. “Customers are thrilled with the brightness and color detail of these Hitachi projectors,” says Sykes. “And installations that feature video, like Grace Fellowship, look outstanding.”
The heart of the church’s new lighting system is a Jands Vista M1 lighting controller with a Lightronics AR-1202 12-channel architectural dimmer, AE-4020 4-channel architectural dimmer expander, and AC-1109 wall stations. According to Sykes, Jands Vista consoles are easy for volunteers to train on and run. Plus, they are flexible and scalable. “Jands Vista’s visual system makes it possible to do lighting training and teach the board in just one half-day session,” he notes.
While in the temporary space, Grace Fellowship was able to experiment with lighting effects past simple color washes and found that, in addition to triple-wide video projection, moving lights significantly added to the church’s productions. So for his lighting plan, Sykes specified fixtures from a combination of vendors to get the church the lighting effects they wanted and still come in on budget. “We went with a variety of manufacturers with affordable products who all have great customer service,” he says. “Whenever we did have a problem, the fixtures were replaced right away.”
In addition to 10 Springtree 36-degree LED ellipsoidals, the team installed 10 ADJ Inno Colorbeam 12s, 10 Inno Colorbeam 36s, 11 QWH5X Flat pars, and 12 ADJ Mega-Tri bars, along with two Elation Platinum Spot 5Rs. From Chauvet Professional, Sykes included eight Slimpar Pro VW fixtures for variable white balance washes along with five Intimidator Spot 250s and 14 Intimidator Spot 350s. In the main worship space, two Antari model HZ-350 hazers were installed to add dramatic effects to the lighting configuration, rich in moving lights. A 16-foot by nine-foot projection system and lights were re-purposed from the temporary high school system for the new youth area.
The AVL design for Grace Fellowship’s new worship space, “The Main,” evolved over the months they were in the temporary space, but four weeks were allowed for the actual installation in the new facility. Of that, that final two weeks became critical when the team had to work along with the other trades to solve unexpected installation issues, like projection angles, to get the room finished. “At one point,” Sykes recalls, “we were literally waiting for the paint to dry before we could install our screens, but the result was a great system that works well for the worship leaders, performers and the congregation.”
With attendance now close to 2,000 and still growing, Vansant is pleased with the result of the new technology at Grace Fellowship. In particular, he appreciates how the new technology has enhanced services without incurring a large cost. While some might have seen a temporary home as an inconvenience and an added expense, looking back, Vansant is thankful for the opportunity the experience offered. “God presented that opportunity to help us make the jump a good natural progression,” he says. “God took us on that path for a reason and we are grateful.”
