About 18 months ago, the team at Palm City Presbyterian Church in Florida reached out to us at Churchfront with an interesting challenge. Their family life center serves as a functioning rec center during the week with volleyball and basketball teams using the space, but on Sundays they host their contemporary worship services in the same room. The existing AVL systems were outdated, insufficient, and frankly, didn’t create the worship atmosphere they needed. Over the past year and a half, we’ve been working on the design, and our assembly and install team just finished what might be one of our most innovative projects to date.
Converting a gymnasium into a worship center poses unique challenges that you don’t encounter in a typical sanctuary space. The first major consideration is acoustics. Gymnasiums are naturally reverberant spaces with hard surfaces everywhere. Palm City already had some acoustic treatment on the upper portions of the walls from years ago, but we knew we needed more at listener height where the energy would be reflecting off surfaces and hitting people’s ears. The key was finding acoustic treatment that could withstand impact from volleyballs and basketballs while still providing the right absorption characteristics.
The stage protection came down to simple but effective solutions. The space was originally built as a combination theater and gymnasium, so we used thick black curtains that retract when services are done. Nothing’s getting through those curtains to damage instruments or the LED screen. They also have motorized screens recessed into the ceiling that completely disappear during the week, so there’s no worry about basketballs hitting them.
For the PA system and lighting fixtures, we went with rugged equipment that can handle occasional impacts. The Meyer Sound line array boxes are incredibly robust, and for lighting, we chose high-end moving fixtures by Chauvet. If they get bumped by a ball, the motors will be fine, and you can just re-aim them when you turn them back on. This gave us way more flexibility than trying to cage everything.
Let me tell you about this PA system because it’s probably one of our favorite installations ever. We deployed Meyer Sound Lena line arrays, which is their most compact line array solution. We’ve got seven Lena boxes per side with center-flown 2100 LFC subwoofers. The beauty of a line array system is that your volume only drops by about three decibels as you double the distance away, compared to six decibels with traditional point source speakers. That means no delay speakers needed if you’re within coverage of these arrays.
The subs are flown up in the center, which gives incredible even coverage throughout the room. If we had the option, we’d love to add some ground stack subs for that extra oomph you feel in your feet near the stage, but in this multi-use space, that wasn’t practical. We also added UP M1 P front fills to ensure the first couple rows get consistent coverage and feel like the sound is coming from the stage rather than from way above them.
One unique aspect of this installation is the tech booth being on a second story. We installed Meyer X 20 delay speakers specifically for the front of house position so the mix engineer gets an accurate sense of the room. What’s cool is we integrated it so the engineer can adjust how loud or soft these delays are on the fly, depending on whether they need reference-level monitoring or want it quieter so the team can communicate without yelling.
The audio system is built around an Allen & Heath Avantis console, which I genuinely think is the best solution for churches in that mid-size venue range. It has Dante and Waves integration built in, which allowed us to use a Waves Proton Duo for vocal tuning and real-time mastering on the livestream mix. The mix engineer can handle both the room mix and the broadcast mix from one position, which keeps the team lean and makes Sunday mornings much smoother.
Here’s where things get really interesting. We added an Allen & Heath A HM matrix mixer to the system, and this is the first time we’ve deployed one of these. The A HM allows for secondary processing and scene control without even touching the Avantis. We set up custom control panels backstage with a 10-inch touchscreen that has two modes: console mode and simple mode.
In simple mode, someone can walk in, grab a wireless handheld mic, maybe play some Bluetooth audio, and the A HM routes those signals directly to the PA, completely bypassing the mixing console. No soundboard training required. When it’s time for a full service with the band, you just press console mode and the A HM pulls the main mix from the Avantis. This kind of flexibility is a game-changer for churches that host multiple types of events throughout the week.
We also gave the front of house engineer a Stream Deck button that toggles between full reference volume and a reduced level for the tech booth delays. Once you’ve got your mix dialed in, you don’t need it cranked up there all service long. The team can communicate easier, but the engineer still has accurate monitoring when needed.
House lighting was another interesting challenge. You can’t use pendant fixtures in a gym because they’ll get destroyed. We went with recessed Meteor Rev 8 Prime lights, and these might be some of my favorite house lights we’ve installed. There are only 15 of them covering this 400-600 seat space, and they’re plenty bright for worship services. They’re full RGBW fixtures, and the color quality is exceptional. The greens and blues on these fixtures are some of the smoothest I’ve seen from LED lights.
For stage lighting, we went all moving fixtures specifically because they’re robust and easy to re-aim if they get bumped. We’ve got Rogue R2X washes for front wash, Maverick Force S spots for eye candy on the back line, Pro Church Lights kick lights for hair lighting, and four Portman P2 Evo lights that are absolutely incredible. The Portmans have full RGBW edge lights plus a super bright center fixture that can work as a blinder. You only need a few of these to make a significant impact on your stage design.
We programmed some basic presets for their team to learn the system, including pre-service looks, worship settings in different colors, and a sermon preset. We also set up some eye candy effects on a Stream Deck that let them add subtle fades and movement with their moving fixtures during worship without needing to be a lighting expert.
The LED screen is an Altitude 18 feet wide by 9.8 feet tall, processed through a Nova Star MX 20. Having that center screen completely changed the focus of the room and gave them a canvas for lyrics, graphics, and motion backgrounds that complement the lighting design. The video system runs through an ATEM Constellation 2 ME 4K switcher with 12G SDI cable throughout for future-proofing.
We deployed four Canon PTZ cameras: two CRN 700s and two CRN 300s. The CRN 700 is Canon’s flagship PTZ with a one-inch sensor, and the image quality is fantastic. The motors are fast, the autofocus locks in beautifully, and operating it with the RC IP 100 joystick is incredibly smooth. The CRN 300s work great as secondary angles or wider shots.
Now here’s one of my favorite solutions we’ve ever implemented. We needed cameras underneath the tech booth, but we also needed to protect them from sports activities during the week. Our electrician built a custom motorized enclosure using a TV lift motor from Amazon. The cameras sit on a shelf that lifts up into a protective box when not in use, and there’s a custom Lexan cover protecting a confidence monitor that sits below the cameras. Two buttons upstairs control the whole thing. On Sunday morning, press open and the cameras drop down ready to go. After service, press close and everything retracts up into the ceiling for protection.
The Stream Deck control for four PTZ cameras required rethinking our normal layout. Instead of horizontal lines for each camera, we split the Stream Deck into four sections with six presets per camera. The broadcast operator can quickly recall presets, preview them, and cut or fade between sources. It’s an efficient workflow that makes multi-camera production accessible even for volunteers.
Power sequencing is handled by LinTech control systems. They already had LinTech for their old sound system, so we were able to retain that for the Meyer speakers and swap out their old theatrical dimmer rack for a standard breaker panel with a LinTech relay panel controlling all the lighting and LED screen power. LinTech gives you the ability to automate on and off sequences, so Sunday morning setup can happen automatically without anyone having to think about it.
This system really showcases what’s possible when you thoughtfully design for a multi-use space. The Meyer Sound PA delivers incredible clarity and coverage. The Allen & Heath ecosystem gives them professional mixing capability with simple controls for non-technical events. The lighting rig is robust, flexible, and creates engaging worship environments. The video system with Canon PTZ cameras and that custom motorized enclosure solution allows for high-quality production without compromising the gym functionality during the week.
Palm City Presbyterian has been using this system for a few weeks now, and their stage has stayed clean, their team has adapted to the workflow quickly, and the production quality on Sundays feels like a dedicated worship center rather than a gymnasium. That’s exactly what we set out to accomplish.
If your church is considering a similar multi-use space upgrade or you’re working on any AVL systems integration project, reach out to us at Churchfront.com. We’d love to help you design the right solution for your ministry context.
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