VantagePro eBook_Field Guide to AVLA DESIGN WITH PURPOSE_v2025

They Don’t Know All That We Know

Architects are not production guys. This may seem obvious, but it’s a reality churches need to understand. The reason they don’t know how to design with the needs of production in mind is simple...they’ve never done production. This is not their fault, but it does put the onus on production guys to clearly define the needs and make sure that those needs are incorporated into the plan. It’s a mistake to assume an architect will know how to design a stage, tech booth or video control room that will meet your every need without expertise in the field.

General Contractors and Electricians

The general contractor and electrician are two important trades that will work closely with an AVLA integrator for a successful project. It is up to us as the experts in production to communicate, communicate and communicate again. Few churches that we work with have staff who have done a single major building project. Having an integrator on the team early in the process will help ensure critical details are not missed before the concrete cures and the walls are closed in

May You Choose Wisely

Many years ago, one of our church clients wanted to hire an architect who had never designed a church before, and a builder who had only built one very traditional church building. From the onset, we could tell these were not the firms we should engage. Don’t be afraid to be picky. Make sure the architect and builder have built similar buildings to what you need. If they haven’t, they must express an extreme desire to learn about the needs of modern church technology. If they think a church AVLA system is a gooseneck mic on the chancel and a few speakers in the nave, and you’re looking to create a high-production experience every weekend, run away. Not that there is anything wrong with a chancel and a nave, but it’s a different ballgame.

This is a Big Deal

When we start talking about renovations or new buildings, we’re talking about dollar amounts in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. This is money given sacrificially by the members of your congregation with the idea that it would go to advance the ministry. When bad decisions are made and money is wasted, it’s bad stewardship, plain and simple. For some reason, we watch church after church push the AVLA guys out of the way, then call them out when the system turns out badly. It takes communication, planning, knowledge, good design and having the right people in the room from day one. It’s time we stopped wasting our congregations’ money on buildings that are not functional. In this short book, we’ll help you define your system objectives, develop an initial budget, choose key technologies, design a system that works for your church, work up reasonable install timelines and commission the final system. That’s a lot; but that’s what a successful project requires. A building project is no small undertaking, and it deserves to be handled wisely. Our hope is that as we go on this journey together, you will gain insights to help your project run smoothly from concept to completion.

DON’T ASK THE WRONG QUESTIONS

We hear from churches all the time asking for advice. We’re happy to oblige. Except when we get questions like these:

“We want to upgrade our sound mixer to a digital mixer. Which one do you recommend?”

“Which projector do you recommend for a center screen?”

“We have a 300-seat room, which speakers should we install?”

You see, the correct answer to all those questions is, “It depends.” Those are not bad questions; they are simply the wrong questions. There could be dozens of solutions to each of those questions, but without knowing what the goals for the system are, we can’t do anything but give you brands and products we like.

START WITH THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Before you ask for specific equipment suggestions, ask yourself these questions up front.

“What ministry benefits do we expect to see from this technology investment?”

“How do we build a realistic budget?”

“Who will be operate the new systems? How easy will they be to operate?”

There are more questions we could delve into, but most get very specific fairly quickly. This is a good place to start.

YOUR OBJECTIVES DEVELOP

Armed with the answers to those questions, you should be able to come up with a clear set of objectives for this technology purchase or upgrade. With that in mind, you can start looking at options. The field will quickly narrow when you have a good idea of what you want an equipment solution to accomplish

You will often find several options that will suit your needs. Consider which one will work with your existing equipment and even which one you like more.

Most of the equipment we’ve purchased over the years has been chosen specifically because it meets our design objectives. Sometimes it comes down to two products and we choose based on the one we trust more. Maybe it’s their software, the interface, or that they have a history of better customer service. Those aren’t top-line criteria, but they do help you decide in the end.

Above all, know why you want to upgrade or purchase. When you know ‘why’, it makes it a lot easier to come up with the ‘what’.

IT’S ALL ABOUT

RELATIONSHIPS

Don’t go to an integrator and ask them to design and cost out a system, then parcel out the buying of the gear to the cheapest vendor you can find online. The right integrator will meet or beat any online equipment price. In fact, good integrators won’t even do a design until they’re under contract to do the job. That’s a good business model. They may be able to give you a ballpark budget off the top of their heads during initial conversations, but if you want detailed analysis and design, expect to pay for it.

One of the threads that runs through our team is that it’s all about relationships. Having an integrator or dealer you work with regularly is invaluable when it comes to working up a budget. Because they spend their days designing, pricing and installing systems in churches, they can give you a rough idea of how much it will cost.

It’s important to get good service, therefore we need good integrators to stay in business. They are worth their time, and they should be paid for it.

Getting Into The BALLPARK

At the start of a project, it is important to have a ballpark idea of the cost for the AVLA system. You can arrive at this a few different ways. The fastest but least precise way is to use a per square foot or per seat industry “standard.” The problem with standards is they are not at all standards and the true number will depend on far too many factors to reduce to one number. With that said, we use some basic ranges for developing extremely rough budgets. For example, on a new building or a complete remodel in either case we’re implementing all new audio, video and lighting we find most of our projects land in the $850-1,300 per seat range.

That range is appropriate for churches looking for a production-style system. A more liturgical church could be considerably lower but not always. By that ranging method, a 400-seat new sanctuary should come in between $340,000 and $520,000. We’ve done projects of that size that run double that, and one or two that come in under $200,000. This method is only useful for developing a placeholder number as you work up the overall project budget; however, it is more accurate than the standard architectural percentage placeholder.

A better option is to ask your integrator to give you a ballpark range. It is important to give them the entire scope of the project. Telling them you need a new PA and some projectors for the sanctuary is one thing. Adding in full AVLA in three smaller kids’ rooms, plus a lobby and overflow room is another.

The best option is to go through a design workshop process like Vantage Pro’s Foresight Design. By taking the time to work through a design process and coming on site, it’s possible to get to a very realistic budget number in just a few days that is based on your project, your mission and your building. There are some upfront costs, but those are going to be part of the project anyway and we’ve found it is far better to know the real budget early so the system isn’t compromised by running out of budget late in the build.

The truly important thing is to develop a realistic budget for the AVLA portion of your build or renovation project early. If you wait until the rest of the project is underway to see what is left over for AVLA, you will be disappointed in what you end up with. Worse, you’ll spend far more to fix it over the life of the building than you would have if you had planned properly. It’s all about good stewardship.

Evaluate Your Options

The best way to decide between different choices is to try them out. Ideally, you can narrow the choice down to two or three then rent them for a weekend to see how they go. If that isn’t an option, go to a trade show and get your hands on them. We are happy to meet you there and show you around as we draw closer to making choices for your project. Failing that, try to find a church in town that has the equipment you’re considering and go try it out. Most tech guys love to talk about gear and will happily show you their system and tell you what they like and don’t like about it.

Don’t expect your dealer or the manufacturer to give you free demos of your equipment, especially if it’s a smaller piece of gear. They may help you out with it to close the sale, but don’t expect it. Mixers, lighting consoles, video switchers, video walls, projectors, cameras; these are all expensive pieces of gear. Make sure you know what you’re getting before you spend your congregation’s money.

Pick the Building Blocks

After you do your homework and research, you should be able to pick out the big building blocks of the system. With those in place (on paper anyway), you can be sure they all work together. This is the time to make sure the personal mixing system you want to use will interface with your console of choice. Most cameras work with most video switchers, but some may work better than others. Your AVLA integrator will help you navigate these options listen to their advice.

Often, different systems need to work with each other. For example, if you want to stream your services, your streaming system will need to take inputs from the video, graphics and audio systems. How all that happens can vary greatly, and it’s easier with some equipment than others.

Sometimes your choices will be motivated by personal preference. Just be careful those preferences don’t put the church in a tough spot when that individual leaves (and they will leave, someday). These can be hard decisions sometimes, so take the time to think them through. Consider every angle and talk to other users of the equipment.

Once you settle on the key technologies, it’s time to start designing the system.

At this point, we’re going to start off by saying something that may be controversial and may offend some people. But we really believe this is the best advice.

“Don’t design the system by yourself.”

There are some churches that are blessed with someone on staff who can design systems. But that’s a different skill set than operating those systems. Most churches have operators and team leaders. We’ve seen quite a few systems that were “designed” by people who really didn’t have that skill set. We’ve actually uninstalled quite a few of those systems. Your church will be much better off if you bring in a professional for the design, for several reasons.

First, you will get a good quality design. A good design will have the components you need and omit ones you don’t. Everything will work together, will be easy to use and will meet the system objectives. Second, you will have someone to throw under the bus if things go wrong. If a volunteer or staff TD designs the system and anything goes wrong, it will be their fault. When a third party is involved, you have someone that can rectify the problem. This is assuming you hire a good design firm to do the design and not the guys at the local music store.

YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO NOT PAY FOR DESIGN

There is a misconception that design is super-expensive and only large churches can afford it. A well-designed system will cost less in the long run than a poorly designed system. That’s because the church won’t be doing it 2-3 times over. When you bring in people who know what they are doing, they can work within your budget.

A good designer will help you make hard decisions and keep the project on track. Most churches can’t get everything they want in a system, at least right away. A designer will help you prioritize so you get the right equipment first, with a path to add later.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Do Not Install Systems Yourself

Many churches try to save money by doing the installation by themselves. Now, it’s possible to save money by doing some of the installation, and we are for that. But for instance, equipment that hangs over people’s heads needs to be installed by professionals. Period. You may have done this before and know how to install a lot of things. But when it comes to rigging, hire a certified rigger, every time. You simply don’t want the responsibility of hanging hundreds or thousands of pounds over people’s heads. That is something that needs to be done right the first time.

Make Preparations for Installation

Hanging light fixtures, pulling wire; these are things that your team can do. In fact, it’s good sometimes when the church team helps because they gain a better understanding of how everything fits together. It’s best when done under the supervision of the company that designed it especially the wire pulls, you want to get those right. Doing things like that can save you some money, but there are some potential downsides

Schedule With Weekends in Mind

The weekends keep coming, week after week after week, even during an installation. So, depending on how much prep time you need during the week, installing a system can become very disruptive to ministry activity. You may be in a situation where the installation will take place over several weeks and weekend services must occur throughout. That can be tricky to execute, and it’s where a good installation team comes in.

They can help set the schedule and throw more people at it to make sure things get done and the system is useable come service time. If your volunteers try to do it themselves and hit a snag, and the services are affected, who takes the fall? The AVLA integrator has done this before and will help set realistic expectations.

Installs can completely burn out an entire tech team. By the end of the third or sixth week when you’ve been working 12–14-hour days to get it done, it’s a lot less fun.

Here we are, at the final stage of the project. After figuring out the system objectives, developing an initial budget, landing on key technologies, working out the design, installing the gear, it’s finally time to fire it up and ensure it all works.

This is probably our favorite part of the job, to be honest. We love seeing the gear light up and enjoying the fruits of our labor. And in most projects, there is a lot of labor…

It might be too late to bring this up, but it is important to raise the question, why do churches like to launch a new campus with all the new technology, processes, and people on big weekends like Christmas and Easter? We certainly get the concept. Those are the biggest weekends of the year, and great ways to build momentum.

before

Practice What You Preach

Instead of making the first weekend in the new or newly remodeled space one of the biggest of the year, why not plan on having the project done a few weeks early so you can work the bugs out? This is a good idea for many reasons. For starters, you’ll likely have a lot of guests on that big weekend. You want their first experience with the church to be a good one. Give your teams the chance to make it a great experience.

You may also find that the initial tuning of the PA wasn’t quite right once the band and congregation got in the room. Having a week or two to really dial that in will make it better for all. A soft launch gives all your teams time to adapt to the new environment, which will enable them to be more friendly and helpful on the big weekend.

Get Some Support

As with design and installation, having some help for commissioning the system is a great idea. Your integrator will likely want to turn the key for the first time to make sure all is well and you’re happy. On complex installations, we may also get manufacturer support.

Commissioning is a great time to learn all you can about the new gear. It’s a good idea to have the tech team there as much as possible while the integrator finalizes configuration and programming. Volunteers can ask questions, look over their shoulders and pay attention. After they leave, your team will be responsible for running and maintaining the system, so they had better know it reasonably well.

It might also be a good idea to work into the contract to have the integrator send someone back a few months after opening weekend to tweak, adjust and train. Sometimes questions will arise after several weekends as your teams work on the system. Having someone come back will ensure that everyone is up to speed on everything. And if the PA needs to be tweaked a bit, that’s a great time to do it.

Ultimately, your integrator and manufacturers want you to be happy with the installation. If you have issues, make sure to bring them up and give them a chance to fix them before going nuclear on social media. Good integrators will be very reasonable to deal with and make sure your experience is a good one.

This may be the end of this e-book, but the story goes on. It’s rare that a church buys AVLA equipment only once or never remodels their building. I strongly suggest doing a de-brief after the project is done to see what you can learn to do better next time. There will be a next time, and you owe it to yourself and future staff to get better each time.

A remodel project is not a small undertaking, there will be bumps along the way. But when you approach it with the right attitude and open communication, it can be a great experience. Let us know if we can help improve your outcome.