Photo Courtesy of Ward Church, Northville, MI.
If you ask most church techs what makes the biggest impact on a visitor's first impression I'd bet most would say “the audio”. However, that's not usually the first thing they experience from a technology perspective.
What happens when a guest enters your auditorium? Usually it's before the service has started. There may be some quiet music playing. There may be slides going by on the video screens, but usually use of video is minimal. Really, the first thing they are going to experience is the lighting. And lighting has a huge influence on mood—just ask those who live in Alaska in the winter, or in the cloud-enveloped Pacific Northwest. And lighting affects how you perceive a space.
When my wife and I first moved to North Carolina, we spent many weeks looking for a church home. One church we visited had a beautiful building, recently built. The people were friendly. However, when we walked into the auditorium, it was dimly lit, with dark walls, and a black stage. The feeling was rather depressing, and almost oppressive. When the worship time started there was no life or energy. There was nothing wrong with the service itself, but we never returned.
Light and color adds energy and interest. It sets the tone for what's going to happen. It gives an indication of what's expected. Even the color of white lighting makes an impact.
Traditional incandescent has a yellow-orange warm look to it, not unlike candlelight. While brighter incandescent lighting certainly adds energy compared to dim lighting, it still has the feeling of calm, quiet, or even romance. (Can you picture a candlelit dinner with your significant other with Daylight color-temperature candles?) Daylight, with far more blue in it, brings up the energy level and boosts a feeling excitement.
With colored LED lighting now available for house lighting the options for setting the perfect mood as a first impression are far wider than they used to be. You can radically affect the mood of those entering your auditorium (or atrium, for that matter) by thoughtful select of the color of white you use, or even full-color lighting that may even vary by location in the room. Perhaps you shade the house lighting near the walls with a deep, rich color, while using a more traditional white light over the bulk of the seating space to keep the energy level up. You can even implement gradients along the walls, adding some visual interest.
House lighting isn't the only area where you can make an impact. What does your stage/platform look like when people first enter your auditorium? Is it just a black hole? Or do you have opportunities to uplight architectural features, stage design features, or softgoods like curtains and fabrics draped in decorative fashion on the stage? This will certainly add visual interest, and the choice of colors will set the initial mood for the service.
The main point is this: be intentional in what you do with your lighting before and after, not merely during your services. Explore with your pastor and your team what energy level and emotional state you want to envoke from your congregation for any part of the service. What can you do with your lighting to create an environment that will foster that goal?
And while lighting may be your initial technological first impression, don't stop there. Ask yourself, how does my lighting work with what we are putting on our video screens? Do the background colors on the screen go with the lighting on the stage and in the room? If the goal for a service is to set a reflective mood and you do so with your lighting, but are running flashy, up-beat promo videos pre-service, that's a problem. Or is the lighting trying to energize the room but the audio engineer is playing sleepy acoustic light jazz?
Work as a team, be intentional, and make sure that the first impression you set in your space works to achieve the goals of your event. Make sure that what you do as a technician will be more likely to bring people back, not drive them away.
