For many small and rural towns, it’s often the local church that serves not only as a place of spiritual enrichment, but also provides fellowship and a sense of community to the residents. This is particularly the case in Monroe, GA, where Lighthouse World Outreach Center has been passionately serving the community for nearly 30 years. But with a growing congregation, and dim, outdated displays, the church desperately needed to update its technology to better convey its lively messages of hope and praise. For this, they decided on the powerfully bright projector solutions of Digital Projection.
[12 Inspiring House of Worship Stories]
A unique worship space
With a unique, angled front sanctuary and seating for 1,000, the central chapel of Lighthouse WOC looks more like a theatrical auditorium than a traditional church. Having started with humble roots, this house of worship has always been focused on serving the community first. “We’re fortunate to have a very unique congregation with people from all walks of life," Pastor Raymond Hardy explained. "This area has seen a lot of cultural and racial divisiveness, so Lighthouse began as a means to reconcile that separation. We sought out to build a community first more so than simply build a church."
Working with other churches in the area, Lighthouse’s outreach quickly grew to accumulate a strong congregation that includes faithful from many different ages and backgrounds.
Serving this growing community of followers and ministries left the church with one major problem—their aging audio and video systems. Wanting to keep their guests engaged and inspired, Lighthouse knew they were in desperate need of a technology upgrade. They found this solution through the team of AV specialists at Strata.
[Digital Projection’s Radiance LED Brings New Life to Liberty Square Church]
Dramatic impact through fundamental reconfigurations
During the initial site visit, Strata quickly identified the potential that could be achieved with a revamped lighting and video solution. “When we first saw the space, we realized the church could have a much more dramatic impact with a reconfiguration of the projections screens powered by much brighter projectors,” David Roche, co-owner of Strata, explained.
Integrating two Draper 14 feet x 8 feet projection screens, the team increased the size of the side displays and moved them closer to the center of the sanctuary’s upstage wall. When it came time to select the projectors themselves, Digital Projection quickly rose to the top of their list. “DP was the perfect fit for the church’s budget and space and offered great lighting and visual capabilities," Roche continued. "They’ve also always offered top quality service whenever any questions or issues arise—and being local to Georgia—it was a no-brainer.”
A Truly Engaging Worship Experience
When the video upgrade was finished, the difference was immediately apparent to both the worship team and their guests. Enhanced by new environmental LED backlighting, the new displays are instantly welcoming and engaging. As the congregation arrives, the two E-Vision 9000 WU projectors showcase church announcements filled with vibrant colors and inspirational messages, inviting all who enter.
Once service starts, however, the space is transformed with the high-spirited energy of Pastor Hardy and the worship team choir—all supported by captivating visuals on the flanking screens. “I like to preach illustrated sermons, so we use a lot of inspirational graphics, video, and maps, along with our song lyrics and mission and community updates," Hardy explained. "Projection has become a big part of our services and the DP units have allowed us to give people a truly engaging worship experience.”
