The bulk of the lighting rig at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Okla., doesn’t belong to the church— it’s sourced through leases and long-term rentals.
Like any wise tech purchase, choosing which production lighting fixtures will best suit your facility should not be solely based on price.
While budget definitely determines what equipment churches have access to, there’s something to be said for withstanding a little short-term pain in the interest of long-term gain: by considering not only your immediate needs, but where your ministry is headed, you stand to get more bang for your buck. And, thanks to continually decreasing price points, even small churches have access to more sophisticated systems than they may think.
The congregation at Crossroads Church in Newnan, Ga., moved into its newest facility in June of 2009. It was the middle of the economic meltdown, and Director of Worship Technologies Ken Kilgore (who also offers church AVL design services through The NewGround Group Inc. out of Atlanta), relays that during construction, his tech budget was slashed considerably, requiring him to be resourceful in meeting his church’s lighting needs. But even when restricted to purchasing as little as possible, Kilgore was planning ahead. “The thought was, if we can’t buy [everything] we need, let’s at least make a good infrastructure, so our whole control infrastructure was designed on a network,” he explains. The church is currently running an ETCNet3 system, and because “the infrastructure is on a network, we’re in a position where we could pretty much switch to any control protocol. We built an infrastructure that was basically designed for the future.”
Kilgore is a big proponent of LED fixtures, and once again, this is long-term thinking: LEDs cut down on electricity costs to the point where they start paying for themselves in a relatively short period of time. “If I was designing a church now, I would do a cost of ownership chart for two or three years out and calculate the cost of putting in a dimming system with [X number] of dimmers, vs. paying the up-front cost of buying LED fixtures, run the power draw, and see where I break even,” he describes. “I think if people do that, they will see that if they can afford the up-front cost, it makes a lot more sense.” He also reminds us that some electrical utilities offer rebates for adopting LED lighting.
When LED Meets Video
The caveat with LED fixtures is when churches are also running video. Not all LEDs are made equal, and some will flicker on screen. “Whenever I’m buying LEDs, I try not to buy cheap LEDs if possible,” says Matt Groves, Technical Director at The Naz (Grove City Church of the Nazarene) in Grove City, Ohio. “But even if I do have to buy cheap, I always want to make sure that the refresh rate is good to where it won’t flicker on video.”
Conventional fixtures still have their place, too, and at The Naz, Groves uses several for backlighting. “A trick that I use to try to save on costs and still get the best look for my buck is I mix the two [conventional fixtures and LEDs],” he explains. For moving lights, Groves is using a number of Martin MAC 101s, as well as four Martin Profiles. “But four Profile fixtures don’t really get it done when it comes to a large stage, so what I do is I use some Lekos up in the catwalk upstage. I put gobos in those, and use some gel paper to give me that gobo effect. Obviously, those don’t move, but it’s a good, static effect.”
Where there are lighting fixtures, there needs to be a way to access them—either so they can be moved to create new looks, or for servicing. At The Naz, Groves and his team gain access via a catwalk system above the stage (which is 100 feet wide by 50 feet deep), as well as a bridge system that connects to the back of the auditorium, where there is another catwalk. “We’re able to access our key lighting back there, and then if we want to go above the stage to access our effect lighting or whatever we have up there, we can walk across that bridge area and access it that way,” he explains. He recognizes that this is an extremely practical way to work: “You can actually move the fixture to where you want it to be, you have two hands to work with, you can set things down if need be, and you can sit down and really get in there.”
When a catwalk isn’t possible, Kilgore encourages churches to invest in some kind of lift, which, he says, can be used for much more than access to production lighting fixtures. “If you have one of those, you’re going to use it all over your building—you’re going to use it for changing lights in the lobby and putting signs up,” he illustrates. He also notes that it’s not necessary to buy a brand new lift; Crossroads purchased one of their lifts from the rental company providing lifts for work that was being done on its property. “It was already sitting on our site.” However, he concedes that lifts aren’t practical if you need to do a quick fix during a service. Also, they may not always be feasible in facilities with fixed seats, and in these cases, it may be necessary to build a catwalk over the seating area.
LEDs cut down on electricity costs to the point where they start paying for themselves in a relatively short period of time.
Leasing Ins & Outs
Since 2006, the bulk of the lighting rig at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Okla., doesn’t belong to the church—it’s sourced through leases and long-term rentals. Production Manager Andrew Stone implemented this model to give his team creative flexibility, as well as to address the concerns of the church’s CFO. “I don’t care what size church you are, you’re [functioning] on weekly offerings and donations,” he says. This model is an ongoing expense that’s much easier to budget for than the large capital outlays that are required when the system needs to be upgraded. For Stone, this is a natural approach: “I’ve been touring since 1989. And [with tours] that’s what you do—you rent what you need and you set it up.”
This doesn’t mean that Church on the Move won’t make outright purchases; if it’s equipment that the church will be using day-in, day-out for pretty much every service and event, then that’s when it makes sense to buy it outright. “All the conventional stuff that you use to light that’s just never going to leave, we own it. [The same goes] for in-house dimming and the house lights,” Stone explains. “If you took all of our rentals away, we would still have light, but it would be fixed conventional lighting—front lighting, and some of the backlights.” Renting this equipment, he says, would eventually become more expensive than owning it.
Stone acknowledges that some churches are leery of leases because they lock users into a contract. But this doesn’t have to be the case. He relays that Church on the Move’s leases are primarily based on a handshake and a gentlemen’s agreement. “I don’t want a contract because I don’t exactly know what’s going to happen tomorrow. So we don’t do contracts,” he says. That said, he underlines the importance of being completely transparent with the leasing provider. “We are truthful, and my word is my bond with these companies.”
Service & Maintenance Costs
One aspect of lighting purchases that often gets overlooked is the manpower costs associated with service and maintenance. “Somebody has to fix the intelligent fixture that quits running—it’s either got to go in for service, or you’ve got to know how to take it apart and change out the motors, fans, or PCBs that fail,” Kilgore says.
This is another benefit of leasing, Stone points out. “When it’s a long-term lease, every couple of months a tech from the company will come down and go through every single one of their fixtures, clean them, check them out, make sure they’re cool, maintain them, and put them back up,” he says. He also notes that some rental companies will include consulting services on where to hang lighting fixtures safely, for example, or program fixtures and even help run an event.
While it’s impossible to predict the future, Kilgore can’t emphasize enough the importance of at least planning for it when making tech purchases. The more you plan, after all, the more flexibility you will have to make changes and enhancements down the road. “Whatever it is that you’re dealing with, try to think ahead,” he says, “and try not to do anything that’s going to paint you into a corner.”
When a catwalk isn't possible, invest in some kind of lift, it can be used for more than to access production lighting fixtures.
[QUESTIONS FOR THE ASKING]
Ken Kilgore, director of worship technologies at Crossroads Church in Newnan, Ga., and a design consultant with The NewGround Group Inc., urges church tech directors to ask themselves a few questions to help narrow their purchasing decisions when it comes to lighting. The first question, he says, should be:
What are you trying to accomplish in your ministry?
And the second:
What is your budget?
The answers to these questions can lead the discussion—and produce answers to other important questions, such as: whom do your services address? “Are you doing modern worship with a young audience and you need to have a lot of movement? Or do you just need good color?” he illustrates. “In some older congregations, you’ll get complaints about moving lights, and lights in people’s eyes, and haze. In those venues, you just need good, solid lighting. So a lot of it depends on who your intended audience is.”
[USED, BUT NOT ABUSED]
While Matt Groves, technical director at The Naz (Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio) says he always tries to buy brand-new fixtures if he can, he will purchase used products if that’s all his budget allows for. He recommends online resources such as SolarisNetwork.com and GearSource.com. However, he advises that
if you do buy used lighting fixtures, make sure that they're not coming off a tour.
“Typically, tour gear is used pretty rough—not on purpose, but just because they’re setting up, striking, setting up, striking multiple times, and things happen.”
