Plan lighting, video needs before construction begins

Waiting until after your new church’s concrete is poured to choose your lighting and video systems could leave you locked into massive future expenses, said Michael Thompson, president of Thompson Sound Inc. in Trinity.
   
“If you start consulting a lighting expert after the construction of the church has already begun, too much stuff is already set, and changes could cost a lot of money,” he said.
   
When is too early? Never, Thompson said. By planning for lighting and video needs in the building design proposal phase, costly problems or changes are more likely to be avoided.
“With correct planning in the earliest phases of construction, it’s possible to pay for all three systems (lighting, video and audio) with the savings that they’ll come up with by not doing things the wrong way the first time,” he said.
   
Some steps churches can use to avoid future expenses:
   
–Find someone knowledgeable to consult — early.
   
“The State Board of Missions is a valuable, free resource churches have,” said Tommy Strickland, audiovisual director of Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega. “Churches should definitely start by researching what companies in their area have been successful for other churches.”
   
–Ask other churches what systems and companies worked for them.
   
“Some companies might try to sell you more bells and whistles than you need,” Thompson said.
“By doing your homework you can know what you like and don’t like before ever purchasing a system.”
   
–Make sure the lighting provider specializes in church lighting.
   
“Get someone who knows what life is like in the typical Alabama Baptist church,” Thompson said. “Someone who does primarily churches and attends church would know much more of what was needed than someone who did lighting for traveling shows or for other environments.”
   
Thompson said many churches let their architects and electricians (continued from page 11)
choose or recommend lighting systems, a move that might seem convenient but is definitely not ideal.
   
“Architects and electricians know the most about industrial or institutional lighting, and it’s simply a different animal with church lighting,” Thompson said.
   
–Look at where your church is headed with its lighting needs for five or 10 years down the road and plan ahead by leaving room for technological growth.
   
–Design your church’s light and video console to have more conduits than you will need at first to allow room for improvement in the future.
   
“It’s cheap to put in future conduits in initial phases and include them in the overall proposal,” Thompson said.
   
“If you go back and decide you want more later, you’ll probably be slapped with a hefty fee for that change.”
   
One Alabama church who changed their conduit system after construction had begun paid $25,000 for a system that should have cost between $5,000 and $8,000.
   
“Research, research, research, and do it early,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen churches spend a lot of money and get very little, but I’ve also seen churches that — with good planning — got everything but flying angels for a fraction of the cost.”