Focused on multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-generational worship, the Connect Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, holds high-energy, contemporary services using lighting, fog and multiple video screens. When holding in-person services was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the church saw the situation as an opportunity to improve the audio system that supports the overall experience.

Pastor Kyle Horner and his team explored different ways of staying connected to their community. ‘The question became, what are the ways we can create a unified community? We had a plan to work on the sanctuary, café, kids’ spaces and the guest lounge – when people return, we want to give them something to be excited about, beyond just a fresh coat of paint.’

The church moved the stage from a position at one end of the sanctuary, which was separate from the audience, to its new central location where it is part of the audience – unifying the congregation with the worship service.

With the support of Whitaker Technologies – a Bose Professional solutions provider with which it had an established relationship – the church addressed the size and configuration of the worship space, which is a long rectangle with 16ft-high ceilings. Moving the stage to the middle of the room created an in-the-round layout with seats on all sides. Plus, it would be capable of rotating. This dynamic set-up presented challenges around the equal distribution of sound, as well as the need to address distortion and time delay. By solving these challenges, the new sanctuary promised a more inclusive, comfortable feeling, and be more like a living room and less of a stage.

‘I believe in presentation; the most important thing we can do when we bring people together is experience the presence of God,’ Horner says. ‘I believe how we present His word, and ensure it can be heard and understood clearly, helps people understand who God is

‘They can read along and feel connected to the people around them. This helps us transition from spectator to community mode.’

An audio design was developed to ensure using Bose AMM multipurpose loudspeakers. ‘We were blown away by the ease of installation and design flexibility of the new AMM product line,’ says Kevin Whitaker Sr, who owns Whitaker Technologies along with Kevin Whitaker Jr. ‘We couldn’t wait for the church to experience the final result.’

Whitaker Technologies chose Bose ShowMatch SMS118 DeltaQ subwoofers to complement the AMM loudspeakers, creating consistent coverage over a wide frequency range that supports vocal clarity during the services. The team also chose the PowerMatch and Powersoft amplifiers to provide completely customisable modes, allowing the church to allocate the power to one or more output channels. Finally, the ControlSpace processor completed the package, providing the flexibility needed for high-quality, yet easy-to-use sound system control.

The next challenge was upgrading the sound system in the lobby, boardwalk deck and children’s areas to ensure each member experiences exceptional audio everywhere they went. This custom Bose Professional solution helped the church expand its reach for the convenience of all its members, even those running a few minutes late or dropping younger family members off at the children’s area. ‘People experience Bose audio from the moment they pull into the parking lot to the moment they leave,’ Horner says.

With the reconfiguration of the sanctuary, the church now has 360 seats, all positioned for a sensational audio and visual experience. The previous system had been too loud because the distribution was off, so the upgrade needed to be loud enough to push to the back of the room, but comfortable and enjoyable to a wide variety of ages at the same time.

‘I sat in every section to listen to the sound,’ Horner says. ‘It doesn’t matter where you sit, it’s the same great quality sound experience.’

Because of the integrated audio solution of loudspeakers, amplifiers and processors, the conversion of refreshing and unifying the sanctuary – and the community – was complete. ‘Having Bose help us engineer the solution from start to finish enabled us to realise what could be and permitted us to bring to life the concept in our heart,’ Horner says. ‘The expertise that Bose brought, especially with the AMM loudspeakers, helps us realise the dream.’

Horner also notes the partnership between Bose Professional and Whitaker Technologies throughout the process that provided ‘excellence’ at every touchpoint.

‘I’m no longer worried about the audio and how everything will sound,’ Horner concludes. ‘It’s a huge peace of mind to be able to say this; audio and video are usually what concerns pastors the most before services.’

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