Located in Yuba City in Northern California, Calvary Christian Center is a thriving and growing church which is part of the Assemblies of God fellowship. Pastor Michael Ciociola and his wife Dona have led the church since 1991 and head up a large team of both full-time staff and volunteers.
The leadership recently decided to upgrade the AV system in their 900 capacity sanctuary, replacing old video equipment with a new LED video wall system to display song words, scripture readings and other visual content. At the same time, they also decided to enhance their existing lighting system with color mixing fixtures to illuminate the stage’s backdrop and improved stage lighting.
Aware that they wanted to upgrade to an LED video wall system, the church team researched local suppliers and selected Illuminate Production Services, based in Lincoln, CA. Founded in 2006 by Rick and Sherece Franke, IPS is a family business that has a strong track record of designing and installing AVL systems in numerous churches throughout the USA, which led to Calvary Christian Center’s decision to contract them to design, specify and install their new video system and lighting upgrade.
Having considered the church’s requirements, visited their campus and discussed budget, the IPS team – led by General Manager Kevin Allen and Owner Rick Franke – recommended a video system built around ADJ AV2X LED panels. A total of 36 panels were specified, split across two separate 6 x 3 displays hung at the back of the stage flanking the large cross which provides the sanctuary’s focal point. Each screen is positioned on a slight angle, which ensures clear visibility of at least one of the displays from every seat in the room.
With a brightness of 1000 NITS and black-finished LEDs for outstanding contrast, the AV2 features a pixel density of 168 x 168, which is equivalent to 112,896 per square meter. It offers a wide viewing angle of 160-degrees (horizontal) and 120-degrees (vertical) from a minimum viewing distance of just 9.75 feet (2.97 meters). This makes it well suited for use in venues such as churches where impactful large screen displays are required but that can be viewed from close up as well as over a long distance.
“We selected the ADJ AV2X because of the overall performance of the panel,” explains Allen, “taking into account its video card, refresh rate and resolution, amongst other considerations. The price point was also reasonable for what is a good quality product. It proved to be the perfect solution, the finished installation looked great and our clients at the church were very pleased with their new video wall system. Due to COVID-19, we have been advising many places of assembly on the importance of upgrading their AVL systems for new social distancing standards. With LED video providing clear visibility at much greater distances than projection, the ADJ products have been a great resource for us at Illuminate.”
The modern displays fit aesthetically into the traditional décor of the sanctuary, while offering sufficient brightness and contrast to ensure that anything shown on the screens is clearly visible, regardless of the ambient light level. At the same time as installing the new video system, the IPS team also upgraded the sanctuary’s lighting using a selection of fixtures from ADJ’s sister company, Elation Professional.
Firstly, the existing stage lighting was enhanced by the addition of eight KL Fresnel 8 warm white 350W LED-powered Fresnel fixtures. Producing over 14,000 total lumens of output, on a par with compatible tungsten halogen models, the versatile fixture offers removable barn doors and motorized zoom with a range of between 11 and 5 degrees. In addition, four SIXPAR 200 144W LED par fixtures were added to provide color washing from their 6-in-1 RGBAW+UV LEDs. Finally, a total of ten SIXBAR 1000 12 x 12W 6-IN-1 RGBAW+UV LED bars were arranged across the back of the stage to up-light the backdrop curtain.
The result is a modernized sanctuary that retains the same overall look but has been enhanced by the vibrant visuals, colored backdrop and improved stage lighting. Allen reports that the church leadership were very pleased with both their new ADJ LED video wall system and Elation Professional lighting package, which will allow them to continue to host vibrant and engaging services for both their in-person and online congregations.
