Ohio Church Gets a Budget-Friendly Face Lift with New, Efficient Lighting

Located in western Ohio, Only Believe Ministries wanted to create a modern look for their sanctuary and begin the process to upgrade their lighting to include LED technology.

VLS Church Lighting Specialist Steve Arnold collaborated with the church staff to consider several options. They decided to create a “black box” stage, painting the upstage wall black, to allow for greatest set and lighting flexibility in creating various appropriate worship environments.

Working within the church’s budget, Steve created a strategy to allow their lighting inventory to be upgraded over time. According to Steve, “This new lighting design uses a greatly reduced number of conventional fixtures, along with color mixing LEDs and LED moving lights, to maximize their budget, while allowing for the best creative potential.”

Equipment List

• ETC ColorSource PARs with the deep blue engine were used for color wash on the stage, illumination on the cross and to provide color on the side walls of the sanctuary.
• MegaSystems SpotBOT LED CMY 300W moving light fixtures provide backlight, as well as highlights to the scenic elements, and create aerial beams and textures on the walls.
• Wireless DMX is a quick and efficient way to distribute DMX signal around the lighting positions to the LED PARs and moving lights. Steve utilized ETC’s ColorSource Wireless Relay DMX system.
• To accommodate the new moving lights, the church’s existing Strand NEO lighting console was upgraded to 2 universes of DMX.
• Multiple existing dimmer circuits were converted to 20A relays, to provide power for the new LED fixtures.
• GANTOM 4W DMX flood lights were used to light the drummer from the ceiling of the drum cage, providing proper front light while maintaining the sound isolation of the drum cage ceiling baffle.

Steve and the church staff worked for a day and half to hang and focus the fixtures according to the new lighting design. Every existing fixture was taken down, checked and re-lamped, if necessary. About half of the conventional fixtures were then hung and refocused, along with the new LED fixtures to create a beautiful and efficient new design to their sanctuary.