What Really Happens After Installation: Training Church Production Teams
We finished installing the AVL system at Hebron Christian Church about a month and a half ago. The gear’s been up and running, the team’s been getting comfortable with it, and now it’s time for the part that honestly matters most—training.
Jake and I drove out to Winder, Georgia on a Wednesday evening for this. It’s about an hour and a half outside Atlanta, beautiful countryside, and we were there to lead a hands-on training session with their worship and production team. This is what Churchfront has always been about—not just installing systems, but making sure teams can actually maximize what they’ve got.
The System: Attainable Solutions That Work
Hebron has a 250-seat auditorium, and what I love about this project is how realistic it is for churches of this size. Nothing here is extravagant or premium for the sake of it. They focused on getting the basics right—audio, video, lighting—and the results speak for themselves.
Acoustic Treatment
We installed Prime Acoustic Broadway panels throughout the space. These are the paintable panels, which is a nice touch because they can match whatever interior design aesthetic the church wants. The key is using light spray paint so you don’t mess with the acoustic properties. We’ve got panels on the ceiling and walls, and they do exactly what they need to do—bring that reverb time down so the PA system can really shine.
The PA System
This is a Fulcrum Acoustic point source system with coaxial speakers. We’ve got 15-inch coaxials carrying most of the weight up front, 12-inch coaxials for the middle delays, and 8-inch delays for the back of the room. For subs, there’s a dual 15-inch under the stage, plus—and this is cool—a flown delay sub above the audience toward the back. In these long rectangular rooms, you lose low-end energy as you move back, so that additional sub ensures everyone gets that coverage.
Tech Booth Layout
The workstation setup here is simple but powerful. Video world has two monitors—one for the multi-view on their ATEM switcher, one for monitoring BoxCast and the live stream. They’re running a single Canon PTZ camera with a Stream Deck for recalling positions. Very clean, very achievable.
Next station handles both LightKey and ProPresenter with a toggle button to switch between them. Then there’s the front-of-house audio station running Live Tracks by Harrison Audio for virtual soundcheck over the Dante network. And of course, the Allen & Heath Avantis console—probably our most popular recommendation. It’s got everything they need: 64 channels, plenty of mix buses, and they’re running their broadcast mix off a matrix from this one console.
When your room is properly treated and your PA is properly deployed, having one engineer handle both the house mix and broadcast from the same console is totally doable.
Stage & Infrastructure
ProChurch lights for wash, a few ellipsoidals for spotlights, and about half a dozen Elite Core floor pockets to keep the stage clean. The drum set is in a Clear Sonic enclosure with proper absorption behind and above it—and honestly, the drums sound great in this room. They’re starting with a simple mic setup (kick out, snare top) but have room to expand as budget allows.
For displays, they’ve got large flat screen TVs (85-inch or bigger) for side screens and a confidence monitor in the back. In a room this size, it’s a great value solution that works perfectly.
The Training: Where It Gets Real
After we toured the system, the team showed up for rehearsal and we got into the actual training. This is the part that doesn’t happen enough in our industry—sitting down with volunteers and walking through not just what buttons to push, but why you’re pushing them.
We covered compression settings on vocals and acoustic guitar, talking through threshold, ratio, attack time, and makeup gain. Jake demonstrated how to dial in dynamics so softer parts come through without the louder parts blowing people away. We talked about panning strategies—keeping vocals, kick, and snare center, but using a little stereo image with high hats and acoustic guitar to create clarity and texture.
One of the biggest topics was mixing philosophy: groups vs inputs. When you’re running both a house mix and a broadcast mix from one console, your workflow matters. We set up their groups to feed both the main left-right and a matrix for the live stream. The key is mixing with your inputs, not your groups, so when you make changes, they translate proportionally to both mixes. It’s a workflow thing, and when you get it dialed in, one person can absolutely handle both mixes.
We also covered pre-service volume management—that classic scenario where you get audio complaints during the first song because of the shock factor. Start your band a few dBs lower than where you’ll end up, and gradually build during that first minute. It makes all the difference.
Why This Matters
Look, we spend a ton of time designing, assembling, and installing systems. That work matters. But if we just drop the gear and walk away, we’re not actually serving churches well. The training is what transforms an installation into a tool that a team can confidently use week after week.
That’s what made this video special—you get to see both sides. The system itself, yes, but also what it looks like to sit down with real people and work through real mixing scenarios. That’s where the rubber meets the road.
If your church is thinking about an AVL upgrade or you want help maximizing what you already have, that’s exactly what we’re here for. Reach out at churchfront.com and let’s talk about it.
