Hey there, I’m Adam from Churchfront, and I recently had the opportunity to work on a fascinating project at Wards Chapel United Methodist Church in Maryland. The church had a pretty basic tech setup that did the job for years. But as they wanted to dive into live streaming and add more music to their services, it was clear they needed an upgrade. The challenge? Doing all this without losing the classic vibe of their historic building.
We started with the sound system. The church had a simple “turn it on and go” system, which was fine for a smaller setup. But with plans to add live streaming and more instruments, we needed something more advanced. We chose the Midas M32R mixer paired with SD8 stage boxes, offering a compact solution that fit their needs without overwhelming the space.
For visuals, the church wanted to add multiple camera angles for live streaming while keeping the sanctuary’s look intact. We went with BirdDog P200 cameras, which are not only discreet but also offer remote control, making it easy to switch views without manual adjustments. Plus, we picked white cameras to blend with the walls, maintaining the sanctuary’s aesthetic.
The real game-changer was our approach to connectivity. We used an ethernet-based system for both audio and visual components, reducing clutter and making future upgrades simpler. This setup included everything from the sound mixer to the cameras and even the projector, which projected directly onto a wall painted with special screen paint to keep things low-key.
Integrating Zoom into their services was another unique aspect. We set up a dedicated Zoom computer to handle the intricacies of including remote participants in the live service, ensuring a smooth experience for both in-person and online attendees.
Training the church’s volunteer team was crucial. We made sure they were comfortable with the new tech, ensuring they could manage the system confidently. Seeing them take control and run a service smoothly was incredibly rewarding.
Final Thoughts
This project at Wards Chapel was all about balancing the old with the new, ensuring the tech upgrades served the church’s current needs while respecting its historical significance. If you’re considering a similar upgrade for your space, we’re here to help.
Visit us at Churchfront.com to learn more about our services and how we can help you blend tradition with cutting-edge technology to enhance your worship experience. Let’s chat and see how we can make your vision a reality.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
One Response
Great to see this as a professional solution to something that I had to put together for a church conference last year. NDI graphics is a complete gamechanger for the video but audio was more complicated as we needed audio to zoom and audio from zoom, as the keynote speaker was several time zones away. The presentation was actually fine, but the Q and A afterwards was a challenge to avoid audio feedback. With hindsight I should probably have used the AMM on our Avantis or side chained into the noise gate, maybe, but it was a tiny bit ad hoc (as so often) and I was just riding the faders to make sure only one source was up at any given time. It’s bound to be asked for again, though, so I’d be interested to hear if you have a slicker solution for that!