Overview
Easter is a time for gathering, worship, and rejuvenation for churches around the world — and this year’s COVID-19 pandemic brought unique challenges for those gatherings, many of which had to be moved outdoors.
These outdoor spaces included expansive parks, sports fields, tents, cemeteries, and more. But, despite their idiosyncrasies, churches needed to deliver. It’s one of the biggest events of the year and a powerful chance to reach new hearts and have a positive impact on a church’s neighborhood and community — and that means ensuring an equally powerful level of engagement and excitement.
At Crossroads Church in Austin, in light of the pandemic and necessary precautionary measures, leaders decided to host Easter Sunday Service outside under a large tent to accommodate the number of expected worshippers.
However, a large, outdoor tent is hardly the ideal venue for powerful, intelligible sound and a consistent audio experience across the entirety of a congregation. Wind rushing under the canopy and an expansive space full of challenging and inconsistent objects lead to difficulty in gaining that consistency.
To help these churches make the most of their Easter services during a uniquely challenging year, Bose loaned both North Florida Baptist Church and Crossroads Church portable PA systems.
North Florida Baptist Church used two F1 loudspeakers on the football field during their Easter egg hunt and during Sunrise Service at the local cemetery. They also used the more compact and easily moved S1 Pro system during the egg hunt and during an outdoor meal and fellowship event on the Thursday prior to Easter Sunday.
With the help of longtime pro audio engineer and church member Matt Ingram, Crossroads Church deployed an even more powerful multi-unit PA arrangement for their outdoor tent setup: two F1 loudspeakers, two F1 subwoofers, and two L1 Pro32 portable line array systems with Sub2 subwoofers aligned in a staggered-V formation, extending from both stage left and stage right, giving them complete coverage.
The wide range of solutions Bose loaned to these two churches brought a variety of benefits to their Easter Sunday services, but solutions like these are also ready to empower events well beyond this single weekend. Because of the following powerful combination of benefits, churches can use them for on-the-go outreach, sporting events and competitions, future expansions, festivals, and much more.
- Portability
Both the F1 Model 812 and F1 subwoofers offer built-in handles, making transport, setup and teardown a breeze. At only 44.5 pounds, the F1 Model 812 is easy for most anyone to move and punches well above its weight — literally. The F1 subwoofer also packs the performance of a larger bass box into an extremely compact design, meaning you get the same performance in a lighter, easier-to-carry package. That means, whether churches are maneuvering through city streets to minister at a packed park or gathering at the house of a member of the congregation for a more intimate worship session, F1 solutions are there to help make it happen.
- Ease of Use
Mic and line inputs mean the F1 and S1 Pro can be connected to standard mixers and other sources. The F1 subwoofer’s integrated loudspeaker stand also eliminates the need for a separate tripod stand, and both the F1 Model 812 and the F1 subwoofer feature 1,000-watt integrated power amplifiers that eliminate the need for additional power amplifiers and external processing.
This ease of use also means that, regardless of experience, those organizing events for a congregation can learn how to empower a great experience with portable audio solutions.
- Indoor/Outdoor Flexibility
The F1 Model 812’s Flexible Array technology empowers users to easily adjust the coverage pattern, optimizing the loudspeaker to any space, indoors or out. In fact, Crossroads Church’s placement of the F1 Model 812 on the stage allowed the church to articulate it downward and ensure that every attendee had the same audio experience.
Picture an outdoor sporting event, complete with pre-game, play-by-play, and music, that’s then followed by an indoor meal and awards ceremony and opportunity for fellowship. It’s one small example, but it highlights what’s possible with portable audio solutions that make hybrid events simple.
- Powerful Experience
Hosting an event in an unusual or unique environment is all about finding ways to ensure that everyone has the same memorable experience, and Bose was proud to help both Crossroads Church and North Florida Baptist Church do just that by providing the perfect mix of quality sound, flexibility, and portability.
These benefits were on full display for Crossroads Church and North Florida Baptist Church, helping each deliver an Easter to remember.
“The coverage was going to be the toughest challenge, and we were not even running the F1 loudspeakers at 75%. They had clear coverage, and everyone could understand what was happening and when,” said Josh Savage, Pastor at North Florida Baptist Church. “The S1 Pro was able to push above the F1, so everyone could hear clearly for the start, which is important when you have [toddlers] doing an egg hunt.
“For our Sunrise service, everything was clear, and coverage was great for how many people we had. … What I was looking for was clear coverage over a large space, and Bose delivered and then some.”
To learn more, visit https://pro.bose.com/en_us/solutions/bose-church.html.
