Building Bytes, August 21

This newsletter is designed to keep the Faith family informed about exciting changes to our church facility, and the importance of these changes--and the planned expansion--for meeting our goal of equipping God’s people to do God’s work.

Technology in the Sanctuary
In this week’s edition, we examine recent changes, particularly in the area of technology, that are designed to improve the sanctuary environment.

Projection and Camera Systems

A new projection system greatly improves the quality of video and other types of visual presentation. Previously, the sanctuary equipment projected images onto a blank gray wall. This system made it difficult to project true color and impeded the clarity of the images. The new system includes white screens and high-definition (HD) compatible, wide screen projection capabilities.

Sanctuary projectors have a limited life cycle. The media team regularly repurposes old projectors, installing them, whenever possible on mobile carts for classroom use. One of the recently replaced sanctuary units is set to be permanently installed in the Ark.

The sanctuary camera system has been upgraded to an HD unit with improved capabilities to produce and control the closed circuit feed. New televisions in the foyer and coffee area accompany the upgraded cameras. The new system enables the media team to feed separate content to each TV screen. Audio for the new system is expected to be installed this week.

While the church currently does not own the cameras for this type of filming, extra video spots have been plumbed into the sanctuary floor to enable filming from multiple camera angles.

Lighting System

The main sanctuary lights may look the same, but they do not act the same! The upgraded lighting system includes the addition of platform lights as well as dimming capabilities for the house and platform lights—previously there were just two settings: ON and OFF! A new lighting board enables multiple configurations of the house lights. The system includes DMX light control capabilities (e.g. “Smart Lights”) for special events, including guest performers with specialized lighting equipment.

Hearing Loop System 

A state-of-the-art hearing loop system will dramatically improve the worship and teaching experience for hearing-challenged family members. The current system feeds the “house mix” of sound to a transmitter. Users must pick-up a body pack and headphones in order to access the transmission. The new system uses the same house mix; however any hearing aid equipped with a Telecoil (T-Coil) will receive the feed directly.

Approximately 70-80 percent of current hearing aids are equipped with a T-Coil. T-Coils are said to provide drastic increases in sound quality for hearing aid users. Anyone with a hearing aid is encouraged to check with their audiologist for more information on the benefits of this device.

Sound System 

The sound booth, really a control center for audio, video, and lighting, was relocated from the north side to the rear of the sanctuary and a new control board was installed this week. Sound experts have determined that the rear of the house an optimal location for accurate sound readings. The previous booth was located in an audio “dead spot”. The new location also improves the sight lines from booth to platform.

New sound panels on the rear wall reduce echoing and dead areas in the newly-enclosed sanctuary. More accurate sound readings and better acoustics, combined with an improved control panel will enable media team members to better adjust the mix and levels of vocal and instrumental sound.

Worship Platform

Rounding out the new sanctuary is a new platform that, while not necessarily a technological marvel, does provide much needed space for vocal and instrumental music participants to lead and encourage the body in worship. The change from a multilevel to a one-level design has created much larger usable space on the platform without significantly changing size of the platform area.

A large ramp leading to the platform from the backstage area enables staff to more easily move equipment and instruments from backstage. The ramp also facilitates handicap access to the platform.

Final Thoughts

Any well-planned infrastructure is designed to meet present needs and to anticipate future needs. These technological and structural changes have given the media team the ability to more effectively and efficiently provide the support and services we rely upon, and have come to expect as part of the worship experience at Faith Bible Church. The changes also provide some capabilities for future generations to enhance the worship experience based on their own expectations and needs.

Coming up next in Building Bytes: Identifying Facility Needs

For questions or to subscribe contact: office@faithbiblelincoln.org