PROJECT SPOTLIGHT:  BETHESDA BAPTIST CHURCH (Ellerslie, GA)

What was done in worship 20-years ago doesn't necessarily work for today's worship styles, even a blend of more traditional worship with a more modern touch as is the case for Bethesda Baptist Church in Ellerslie, Georgia. With just a pair of loudspeakers built into the wall on the far ends and no acoustical treatment of any kind, the lack of directivity and any kind of intelligibility is beyond noticeable and in dire need of updating.  HOWAVL was contracted to analyze the acoustical and loudspeaker performance of the sanctuary and show the scientific data to correlate with what their congregation was hearing, or not hearing for that matter.  Once this baseline was established we then presented a detailed upgrade plan to first control the acoustics of the sanctuary, but also a loudspeaker solution so that every seat may hear the gospel clearly.

The overall vision of the ministry team desired a more modern space with current technology while still having a more traditional vibe and environment.  The design and installation of an LED stage lighting system and infrastructure was also included as part of the scope of work.  We designed a key lighting system with (x24) LUXE TORO 200 ellipsoidal lighting fixtures from Gamma LED Vision to cover the entire width of the stage including the choir loft.  These fixtures are unique in that they provide not only warm white for proper key lighting, but a full RGBW color palette allowing endless color possibilities.  An additional (x28) color wash fixtures will be installed along the back of the stage for full color optimization.  The Starburst 7x18 fixtures produce RGBWA plus Ultraviolet for ultra rich color saturation.  At 1,267 foot candles of output these fixtures are very powerful, yet affordable.

Our detailed analysis had determined a total of (x92) custom-built acoustical panels would be required to better control the ambiance of nodes of the room, reducing the RT60 sustain from 4.4 seconds to a much more natural 1.4 seconds.  The end results, regardless of the loudspeakers installed, is a sanctuary free of endless reflections and room nodes.  Our proposed loudspeaker solution consists of (x7) CCX1500-series loudspeakers from FULCRUM ACOUSTICS.  This combined engineered plan will will deliver consistent audio clarity and fidelity in both frequency and amplitude for every congregant regardless of which seat is chosen.