MILLARD, NE – When announcing that they would be opening their first permanent off-site campus, leaders of StoneBridge Christian Church called it a “journey of faith,” proclaiming that their church, which began in 1908 with only eight members, would continue to grow and attract new worshipers. Like all journeys of faith, however, this one was not without its challenges.

The single-story building in suburban Omaha that the church purchased for its new satellite location had been a Wonder Bread Outlet store and Hallmark gift shop. Realizing that creating a worship environment in such a structure would require an extensive audio, video and lighting overhaul, church leaders contracted CCI Solutions. The CCI Solutions team transformed the former store with help (on the lighting end) from CHAUVET Professional Ovation, Rogue and COLORdash fixtures.

“This was the church’s first permanent building for one of its multi-site campuses, and there were some challenges, in particular the low ceiling,” said Duke DeJong Vice President of Systems Integration at CCI Solutions. “Creating a dynamic worship space was a huge goal for the church, but anything we did had to provide great bang for the buck and be volunteer friendly. Whatever fixtures we chose had to be easy to operate and maintain, but make the room look great. This naturally led us to Chauvet LED fixtures.”

In keeping with this user-friendly goal, the CCI team specified 11 Rogue R1 Washes for the new church campus. Although the Rogue units are capable of fast pan and tilt movements, they are used primarily as static washes at the new campus. “The ability for live movement from the Rogues is desired and appreciated,” said Mike Sessler, CCI Solutions project manager at StoneBridge. “However, the big driver of the R1 Washes is to provide flexible, easy-to-aim light, so volunteers don’t have to get a ladder out to re-aim lights every week.”

The CCI team flew five of the Rogue R1 Washes on upstage truss to backwash the stage, while the remaining six are evenly split between two overhead truss structures on either side of the stage. From these positions, the RGBW moving LED fixtures provide the stage with a wide array of rich color washes to support the varying elements of worship services.

Added stage color is provided by seven COLORdash Batten-Quad 12 RGBA linear wash fixtures that are positioned on the deck and are used to wash walls and scenic elements. “The colors we get from the Rogues and COLORdash fixtures really warm up the room and reflect the mood of services,” said Sessler. “The color makes it feel like church, not a former store.”

Stage lighting that makes it easy for worshiper to see and follow the activities on stage is another key contributor to creating a genuine church environment at the StoneBridge campus. The CCI team relied on the soft, flat field of the Ovation F-95WW Fresnel to achieve this level of stage lighting. A total of seven of the LED Fresnels were flown on truss just beyond the stage apron. The wide zoom range of 21°-83° and 16-bit dimming of these units have allowed the church’s volunteer staff to create optimal stage lighting for a variety of different activities.

“The volunteers love the new system and are able to do a lot with it,” said Sessler. “As the church continues to grow, this will serve as a template for how to approach other new campuses.”