When a church moves into a new building, there’s a rare window to get everything right. No inherited problems. No duct-taped workarounds. Just a clean slate and the chance to build a system that actually makes sense.

That’s exactly what happened at Cornerstone Church in Nederland, Texas. Sean recently wrapped up a project with this church that had been about a year in the making — taking them from a 167-seat building constructed in 2018 to a brand new 280-seat auditorium. Nearly double the capacity, and enough room to consolidate into a single service.

Here’s what went into the system — and why each decision mattered.

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Acoustics First, Always

Before a single speaker was hung, Sean made sure the room itself was ready to sound good. The auditorium is loaded with paintable Broadway acoustic panels on the walls and across the drop ceiling above the chairs.

Here’s what makes paintable panels such a smart move: aside from a little shadowing, they’re practically invisible. They look like they belong in the room, not like an afterthought bolted to the wall. But behind the scenes, they’re cutting down reflections and making everything that comes through the PA clearer and more intelligible.

A Simple PA That Hits Hard

This isn’t a massive room, so Sean kept the PA straightforward — a single Fulcrum GX-15 point source speaker on each side, paired with a CS218 subwoofer. That sub puts out a serious amount of low end for a room this size. How serious? Sean said it’s the hardest he’s ever heard a cajon thump. That’s saying something.

Smart Stage Infrastructure

The stage setup is simple — a couple of guitars, a keyboard, and a cajon — but the infrastructure underneath is built for the future. Custom floor pockets on stage left and stage right include power, XLR in and out, and network connections for personal monitors down the road. Whether they eventually go with Behringer P16s or Allen & Heath MEs, the wiring is already there.

One standout detail: the pastor runs his own slides from his laptop on stage, and rather than importing everything into ProPresenter, they use a BirdDog NDI encoder to feed his screen directly into ProPresenter as an input. It’s a creative solution that gives the pastor full control without adding complexity for the tech team.

Lighting Made Simple

Lighting follows the same keep-it-simple philosophy. A few Pro Church Lights Pro Kicks provide hairlight and color from the back. Pro Wash Macs up front give solid stage coverage. And for house lights, they went with Spring Tree pendant lights — a budget fixture that surprised Sean with its smooth fade and warm white output.

One Operator Runs Almost Everything

At front of house, one volunteer can manage ProPresenter, camera switching, and lighting from a single workstation. A Stream Deck handles ATEM switcher control and camera presets, so swapping between the camera feed, ProPresenter, and an auxiliary input is a one-button operation.

The real time-saver is the MIDI connection between ProPresenter and LightKey. When the ProPresenter operator clicks to a new song or a sermon slide, the lighting changes automatically. No one needs to touch the lighting computer on a Sunday morning. That’s a massive win for a volunteer team.

Keeping the Behringer Wing

Not everything had to be new. Cornerstone’s existing Behringer Wing mixer made the move to the new building. Sean loaded a fresh scene file, ran a brand new soundcheck, dialed in every input, and built in expansion room for the future. The team was already comfortable with the board, and after a rehearsal with the new settings, they nailed it.

And because the system is Dante-enabled, Sean set up virtual soundcheck using Harrison Live Tracks on a dedicated computer. The team can now record a rehearsal and play it back through the board later — which means audio volunteers can practice mixing without needing the band in the room.

The Details That Make It Last

A few more things worth noting. The networking infrastructure is serious — 40-gig fiber trunks between switches, courtesy of a networking expert on the church’s staff. The Achy short throw projector sits less than two feet from the wall and throws a massive image onto a surface painted with Screen Goo (no screen needed). A Furman UPS in the rack protects against power blips. And a Genetics Touch Scene MIDI panel on the wall gives volunteers a dead-simple way to control lighting without touching a computer — just tap a button for the scene you want.

The Takeaway

Cornerstone’s system proves you don’t need the most complex setup to get professional results. Simple design, smart infrastructure, and the right gear in the right places — that’s what turns a new building into a room that serves the church well for years.

If your church is planning a new build or renovation, apply to work with Churchfront and let’s talk about what your space actually needs.