A/V technology is changing the face of religious services.

The recent tragic events of September 11th and the resulting war have brought Americans back to the church like never before. Today there are approximately 400,000 churches in the United States. However, the Almanac of the Christian World indicates a dramatic decline in the church-to-population ratio in the United States in the past century. There were 27 churches per 10,000 people in 1900, compared to just 12 churches per 10,000 in 1990.

But while the number of churches has decreased, there has been a great deal of consolidation, with larger churches becoming the norm. Everyone has seen at least one mega-church sprout up in or near their city. According to Christianity Today International, the number of churches may be lower today, but the average church membership has tripled over the past century.

Being able to communicate with larger congregations is a challenge for even the most effective pastor. The question is: How do churches get people into the pews so they’ll stay there, absorb the message, and ultimately give their dollars to the church? Increasingly, church leaders are investing in A/V technology, and equipment manufacturers are recognizing the special needs of this growing market. Because we live in a visual society, more video and audio solutions are being used in churches, synagogues, and related settings. According to research by Christianity Today magazine, the adoption of video and audio solutions by religious organizations is at an all-time high.

The Choir

The growth of the church market has not gone unnoticed by audio, video, and projector manufacturers. The opportunity to serve the church market extends from the independent videographer all the way to the manufacturer. Sure, we're familiar with churches using PAs for sound, and yes, perhaps a large TV for displaying hymn lyrics. But today's churches are buying state of the art audio systems, video nonlinear editing systems, and plasma and LCD displays unlike any other sector.

“As more churches and religious organizations embrace the use of multimedia for worship and events, we are seeing an expansion in the purchasing of A/V equipment in that market, especially with displays,” says Craig McManis, vice president of the industrial display division of Pioneer Electronics. “Our church customers tell us that the use of multimedia draws greater interest and participation from church-goers during worship, and that enables the church to grow new and different types of ministries and services.”

In addition to traditional large monitors and the newer plasma displays, more churches are using large screen projection systems to display both graphics and video.

“Due to the tragic events of September 11, many Americans have expressed a renewed interest in their faith. This has resulted in tremendous growth in churches across the country. [Church] budgets have increased dramatically,” says Lee Wolloff, market business manager for Barco Intelligent Displays. And churches are using these growing budgets to invest in new A/V systems.

Sound & Communications magazine’s recent Worship Center Survey indicated that even smaller churches (of less than 1,000 members) can have A/V budgets of $100,000 or more. It also found that there is increasing use of video in religious services and education.

“The religious market is keenly aware of the suitability of video for communication,” says Dave Walton, national marketing communications manager for JVC Professional. “New technologies are continually important and religious organizations know that. The religious market is a very important, growing market that is fertile with new ideas. They've been breaking down their traditionalist stereotypes by embracing all the new technologies.”

As you'll see in the following stories, many of today’s houses of worship have fully embraced video and the Web in spreading their message.

Case studies

From the small country church to the largest urban mega-cathedral, the uses of audio, video, and presentation solutions are as numerous and diverse as the vast number of churches across the country. Here's a look at just a few.

Grace Presbyterian Church

A vibrant evangelical church with more than 2,000 members, Grace Presbyterian in Peoria, Ill., has a 150-year-old tradition of reaching out to the world via radio and television.

During a service at Grace Presbyterian in Peoria, Ill., a Pioneer videowall displays a young vocalist with a Shure Beta 87A microphone.

“Perhaps the technology that has had the most impact and improved worship in the sanctuary is the videowall,” says Alan Miller, minister of music. The wall consists of 16 RM-V2500 Pioneer video cube monitors [52in. diagonal] in a 4’×4’ configuration for a total diagonal picture area of 160in.

Centered above the choir/orchestra platform, the wall is used to present graphics, live television, announcements, and videos on the lives of missionaries the church supports. It also assists the congregation in singing and scripture readings. Digital art, such as nature photos and stained glass murals, are displayed to complement the themes of the services.

“The new display technology has ushered quite a change for a church with no window,” Miller says.

Finding something to display on the videowall is not a problem for the folks at Grace; the church has substantial video resources. With five Sony DXCD-30 cameras, an EchoLab 2500 switcher, Sony Trinitron color monitors, eight Betacam SP decks, and a complete Avid Xpress nonlinear editing suite, the church has video equipment any television station would envy.

The church’s sound system is also top notch, and includes 26 Tannoy speakers powered by Crown amps from a Soundcraft 32-channel board, with a few dozen mics from AKG and Shure capturing the audio. The church also has a TV sound-sweetening suite with Lexicon Reverb, two Yamaha O2R audio boards, and three Alesis ADAT HD24 digital audio hard disk recording systems.

“A/V technology has revolutionized our ministry,” Miller says. “These media are especially pertinent when seeking to reach all generations.”

Willow Creek Community Church

Willow Creek Community Church is a large nondenominational, independent church located near Chicago. Its enormous, almost campus-like church features an auditorium that can accommodate about 4,500 people. Its services are designed to provide a unique experience for people who do not attend any church regularly.

With such a large audience for Sunday services, the church needed to communicate on a massive scale.

Willow Creek’s decision to go digital for audio and video was based on the need for consistent quality and convenience in the midst of a schedule that involves up to eight services per week.

Willow Creek uses the Panasonic 50Mbps DVCPRO50 format — among others — for recording services and other field projects that are produced by its video department. The church has two Panasonic AJ-D90 DVCPRO dockable VTRs for use in the field, and at various satellite services, two AJ-D950As and an AJ-D960 studio VTR are frequently used. To display video and graphics, the church went with Barco projection systems.

“We chose Barco DLP products for our main projection needs. Their DLP products have worked well and produce great-looking, bright images from the SDI video feeds,” says Craig Vincent, senior editor and engineer for the church. “For acquisition, we chose two Sony DXC-D35WS digital video cameras with Panasonic DVCPRO50/DVCPRO dockable backs, Fujinon lenses, and Lectrosonic wireless mics. The cameras have performed exceptionally well for us.

“We also chose to purchase the switchable widescreen cameras and lenses, knowing we needed to start in the 4:3 ratio, but soon will be moving to 16:9 as our permanent standard.”

For editing footage, Willow Creek has three Mac-based Avid nonlinear editing systems.

Audio has not been neglected, as the church recently purchased two new high-end 96-input Yamaha PM1D digital audio mixing systems. Willow Creek's main PA consists of 16 Clair Brothers R3T three-way cabinets and Clair AP-12 custom apron speakers, driven by a JBL monitor with a BSS OmniDrive control unit and Carver PM 1.5 series amplifiers. Balcony systems are driven with Peavey CEX 5 processors and Crown K2 amps. The monitor system is a mixture of Yamaha Club Series SM12s, WaveForce, F12s, and Shure PSM 600 in-ear monitors.

But all this technology is not without its challenges. Vincent has some advice for churches adopting new video, audio, and multimedia technologies. “Find key people in your area who are involved in the video industry. Find experienced individuals who would love to help inform, train, and shape how video is used within your church,” he says. “Build relationships and find companies that can understand your needs and are willing to help you succeed.”

Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church

One of the largest Methodist churches in the country, Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church of Montgomery, Ala., is always looking for ways to encourage its 7,000-member congregation to actively participate in services. There have always been singing, Bible reading, sermons, and attendee participation. Now the church has embraced multimedia presentation with enthusiasm.

The control room at Frazer Memorial allows the operator to remotely control the cameras in the church and display graphics on a wide screen near the altar via a PC.

During church services, Nighthawk series XT-5000 High Light Output (HLO) DLP projectors and 42in. plasma displays from NEC Technologies project Scripture passages, sermon notes, and song lyrics onto screens in the sanctuary.

Featuring a three-chip DLP system, the XT-5000 projector allows a wide variety of inputs, providing tremendous flexibility. For on-the-fly setup and operation, NEC’s AutoSense Technology automatically synchronizes and adjusts the projector to optimize incoming computer and video signals, eliminating time-consuming manual adjustments.

“The new system adds a new dimension to every aspect of worship and other activities that take place in the main sanctuary,” says Rusty Taylor, a video specialist with the church. “Our sanctuary was not designed with projection in mind. We have issues with ambient light through stained glass. We have high-powered lighting for TV cameras. We have no feasible way to utilize rear projection. We have large balconies that block view of big screens in some areas downstairs. These things were overcome.”

To feed video during religious services, Frazer uses a ParkerVision camera with an AMX control system fed to an Analog Way Smartcut2 Switcher. “We also have the option of sending a video signal from the main sanctuary to the fellowship hall where the service is running simultaneously,” Taylor says. Sunday school, contemporary worship services, Wednesday night Bible study, youth gatherings, children's church, and older adult functions are just some of the events videotaped.

Taylor says there are a few secrets to successfully implementing video and multimedia solutions. “Find a reputable local vendor who has your best interest at heart and will be accessible after the sale, even if the price is slightly higher,” he says. “Have personnel in place that can effectively utilize the equipment. Operation is fairly simple, but creativity and presentation require much more time, effort, and expertise.”

Mormon Conference Center

Formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church has been broadcasting since the mid-1920s — first over the radio, then on television, and now via satellite.

Approximately 4,500 facilities worldwide now broadcast the church’s programming. The church, which has 11 million members around the world, has a film and video production studio that’s second to none in producing feature films and educational videos. Much of the church’s programming consists of live concerts and events, whether it’s a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, religious education information, or the meeting of a church council.

At one of the most beautiful facilities in the world, the Mormon Conference Center in Salt Lake City, the Mormon church recently converted its operations to HD video.

Last year, the church completed work on one of the largest theatrical-style buildings in the world. The Mormon Conference Center is a new 1 million-square-foot facility in Salt Lake City that can accommodate 21,000 people.

The huge church had been operating with just three video cameras, all Sony BVP-7As, and using the services of local video facilities. In looking at the outlay, Loren Ashcraft, director of the broadcast and events division for the audio-visual department, and Terry Lamb, manager of broadcast production operations, realized it was time to bring the production services inhouse. And one other thing -- it was time to switch from analog to digital.

After researching the options, the Mormon church’s broadcast and video team settled on Sony digital HD technology for its video-based materials. Ashcraft says the decision was based on the team’s need for excellent production quality, long-term archival capabilities, and a desire to future-proof the broadcast and video department.

“Since we were beginning with a new facility, we didn’t want to face the challenge of rebuilding in two to five years,” says Ashcraft. “This, in combination with our growing film production needs, caused us to look at HD at the start.”

The church’s broadcast and video department recently purchased two Sony HDWF-900 HD camcorders and eight Sony cameras, four HDC-900s and four HDC-950s, and plans to purchase an additional HDC-900 and an additional HDC-950 this fall. It also bought two Sony BVE-9100 video editing workstations, one for HD and one for SDI.

“It’s great,” says Lamb. “We can work at our own pace, according to our own schedule, and everything we need is at our fingertips. And when the rest of the world goes HD, we’ll be ahead of the curve.”

Palm Beach Gardens Christ Fellowship

Palm Beach Gardens Christ Fellowship is located north of the Ft. Lauderdale area in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The church recently worked with Strong Communications, a pro A/V dealer with locations in Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Tampa, to design and install video and audio production equipment in the medium-sized worship center.

Palm Beach Gardens Christ Fellowship in Florida usually has a busy tele-vision control room on Sundays.

“We installed two Digital Projection 5dv DLP projectors and two Lumiflex 180 rear projection screens with a 140-degree viewing angle,” says Thomas Wilmers, general manager at Strong. Jones says the installation has really helped the church. “Many of our members have commented on how our screens help them to connect to the pastor and the worship leader during our services,” he says.

In addition to using the latest in presentation equipment, Christ Fellowship has a complete video production and post operation. Digital video cameras feed Panasonic AJ-D95 digital DVCPRO video decks and a Sony Betacam SP VTR via an EchoLab digital Super Switcher. Video titles and graphics are handled by a Pinnacle Systems FX Deko character generator. There is a video editing suite with a Matrox DigiSuite NLE with Adobe Premiere and After Effects, as well as InSync Speed Razor. There is also an SVHS editing system.

Jones says the main challenge to making it all work was the size of the hall and number of staff members. “The first challenge was a very small room, but we just had to make it work. Now we have a room that is very functional,” he explains. “The next challenge was to develop a team of volunteers to run all the equipment. We have a great group of folks that give of their time each week to run the system. We have special training times to give the team members an opportunity to sharpen their video and multimedia skills.”

When planning to buy new video and audio equipment, it’s important to know what you want to do with it, Jones says. “Do you want to broadcast, just make tapes of the service, or just put images on screens, or perhaps do all of these at the same time? This will determine the level of equipment you need and your budget. ... Do your planning well and don't be opposed to using a consultant.”

We live in a high-tech era, where people use video and audio every day, and the church must be on the cutting edge to reach an ever-changing audience. Says Wilmers, “The answer, I believe, is for churches to continue to enhance their systems with new A/V technology when it’s needed, affordable, and within their budgets.”

Christ United Methodist Church

Christ United Methodist Church in Watertown, Wis., is typical of the smaller churches now embracing new A/V technologies. Church leaders had the idea of installing a large-screen video projection system, but didn't want the aesthetically unacceptable look of a projector hanging from the ceiling over the altar. In came Bob Marek, an A/ V specialist with Camera Corner Inc.

Leaders at Christ United wanted to install a video projection system, but didn’t want a projector hanging above the sanctuary’s altar. With a consultant’s help, they decided to hang the projector on a side wall rather than overhead.

“We decided to mount a projector on the outside wall of the building aimed directly at the congregation,” Marek says. “We chose to install a Panasonic PT-L6500UL projector with a motorized DaLite 150-inch diagonal rear projection screen that comes down just behind the podium so the minister can remain at the podium while images on the screen are visible behind him.” A wireless mouse system was also provided so the source computer can be controlled from anywhere in the room. A second motorized screen was installed in the church’s Fellowship Hall.

The total cost of hardware was less than $15,000. Amazingly, members of the congregation installed the hardware with a bit of coaching from the hardware vendor. “Although they had no experience with this type of installation, they did a first rate job and had everything perfect,” says Marek. Final adjustments and training were provided by the vendor.

“As we continue to explore the vast ways we can use this new technology, we realized that there are many more ways that we can enrich our services,” says Barbara Phelps of the church. “It allows us to communicate our ministries to our congregation effectively. As the director of volunteer ministries, I understand that the importance of the adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is especially true in a church setting.”

Christ United has a contemporary in-the-round sanctuary design, and both the pastor and staff were very concerned that these additions would take away from the worship service. So far it seems to be working well. “We always stressed that what we're doing is not a business presentation, but a worship service that needs to be praiseful of God at all times,” Phelps says.

Using the latest in audio, video, and presentation technologies, churches are reaching more people and communicating their messages of peace, hope, and salvation more effectively. From displaying hymn lyrics to broadcasting network-caliber TV from Sunday services, A/V technology is involved in every facet of worship today — and is coming soon to a church or synagogue near you. ”