If your church already offers different weekly services—one traditional, the other modern—how each service is handled is critical to the continued growth of the church.Congregations benefit by choosing what works best for them.Lighting is a very critical starting point when distinguishing between each type of service.
Circumstances may vary from place to place when determining what to include for each service type.In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tim Oatley, worship and media administrator at Asbury United Methodist Church, said, “People should identify an identity (for each service) and stick to it.”
In Asbury, for example, Ottley points out that the lighting differences between traditional and modern services are significant.Before the pandemic, churches typically hosted traditional services on stage with more than 100 people, most of which consisted of a large choir.By contrast, its contemporary service will run about 10 people on stage, led by a worship band.”When you’re lighting 100 people, you’re using a lot of light,” he added.
Additionally, Ottley explains how lighting varies significantly for each type of Asbury service.For example, in modern services, music is “more dynamic”.It resulted in “more changes in lighting. In traditional services, the pitch of songs tends to be more consistent.”
Scott LeBeau, director of lighting production at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, offers some insights on what “more dynamic” means in relation to lighting for contemporary service.
“You’re trying to be more flattering to the music, looking for movement and texture.” In such services, he added, he worked on “making the whites and the CTO [color temperature orange] have more saturation, so it has gold territory. ”
In traditional service, by contrast, LeBeau said, “you have your wash, and there are no moving fixtures, but static LEDs. So we don’t do a lot of color changes.”
To master the necessary lighting changes, LeBeau points out not being behind the console every week.
“You need to look at how this looks, how does it feel, from a congregation’s perspective,” he said. From that perspective, it can help determine the lighting needs of a church and avoid being overwhelmed by needs.
In order to successfully make the necessary lighting changes during service, there is a specific lighting infrastructure that can be implemented.
For LeBeau, “a controller will allow you to do that. A console allows me to paint that picture.” Without a high-quality console, he warns, “you’re going to be stuck until you make an upgrade.” Although There are cheaper lighting programs on the market, but LeBeau says they are limited in the flexibility, ebb and flow capabilities required by modern services.
With so many lighting options available within a church, it can be difficult to easily determine which type of lighting is best for one’s space.
“From LEDs to moving lights to gobo lights to gobo lights and lasers, find out who you are. See what’s the best fit,” Oatley said.Describing the value of moving lights, he said that for any service, “they save you from buying 6 to 10 lights in these specific locations.” It allows people to add “a little bit of color or tint to the lights.” Variety”.That little bit of color when setting the mood…has its place.”
For LeBeau, the ideal option to reduce the cost of lighting projects is to make LED light fixtures from LED tape, especially for smaller churches.
“Right now, the project I’m working on should be around $40,000. We’re doing it for $4,000,” he said.”If someone has the ability to weld, it can have a huge impact on stage design. You have to dream and find out how it becomes a reality.”
For churches looking to make the best use of available lighting without additional investment, LeBeau points to light fixture placement.In particular, “How do we repurpose something to benefit both services?” he asked.One example he mentions is relocating LED lights and RGBW LED fixtures, using stage lighting as a front wash for one service, but then relocating it as a back wash for walls, another service.
At Asbury, however, no single piece of lighting is used for just one service.This is how they are used.
“For both of our services, we use all of our gear. I use it a little differently, with a little more color and a little more movement (for modern service),” Oatley explained.
Regardless of the type of service, the goals of any service should be the same, LeBeau explained.”The core of it should be the same, which is to visually draw people into the presence of the Lord.”
When the lighting director considered major changes to the lighting, both Otley and Lebow agreed to do it gradually.
Ottley explained that “dramatic changes can be distracting” if changes are made too quickly.”We won’t be seen. We’re trying to focus on God, who is the focal point in worship.”
Post time: Jul-25-2022