"Each location has a full staff and a worship team that is very contemporary, like a rock band," says Phil Rapp, central technical director at LifeChurch.tv. "The teaching is very relevant to every day life and is fed over satellite to each location. Putting it simply, we will do anything short of sin to see people come to know life in Christ."
Currently, LifeChurch.tv owns over 250 intelligent lighting fixtures from five different manufacturers. "With the vision of 50 in 5, we decided that we needed to consolidate our inventory to one manufacturer," Rapp states. "After a great deal of consideration, we selected Martin for several reasons. Martin's wide range of product and continual efforts put into research and development made them ideal for our ever changing needs and thirst for creativity. The ability to have great cutting edge quality, reliability and availability of product at short notice, and still remain cost effective was crucial to the vision for our church.
"The fact that Martin opened a division of the company for the sole purpose of servicing churches told us that their commitment to our needs was more than just about selling us product. Their staff has shown an understanding of the needs of church ministry. Brad Haynes with Martin has always been available and has been great at helping to provide solutions in every area. We are now working on plans to phase out all of the other manufacturers and replace them with Martin fixtures."
Two of LifeChurch.tv's most recent locations are in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Northwest Oklahoma City. Each LifeChurch.tv venue houses identical lighting rigs with two rooms at each location featuring Martin lighting: the Main Experience Room (sanctuary) and Toon Town, a Lifekids room.
The Experience Rooms each include four downstage MAC 600E washlights used for colour washes; two MAC 550 profile spots out front as spot lights and other effects; four MAC 300 washlights upstage for back lighting; four MAC 250 Entours on stage for effects; four MX-10 scanners upstage on trusses for effects; and a Jem ZR24/7 Hazer, all run from a HOG PC with a programming wing.
The Toon Town rooms use four MX-10s run from a HOG PC. The fixtures hang overhead to add atmosphere and energy to the space. The lobby in Stillwater also has four Martin Mania effect lights, one shining a logo on the floor and the others for signage.
"The real trick with these stages is that they were designed to use only intelligent lighting, no conventionals were installed," Rapp explains. "Given that fact and that the house lights are always down during worship, the lighting is crucial to every aspect of the programme. The variety and versatility of the Martin fixtures have given us the flexibility that we need. The real standouts have been the Entours. The brightness and effects that we have been able to get from them rival that of fixtures from other manufacturers that are twice the price."
All of the Martin gear for the LifeChurch.tv campuses is supplied by Integrity Lighting of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Owner Steve Nance has always been a great supporter of the LifeChurch.tv ministry and currently programmes for four of their locations.
(Jim Evans)
