Established in the late1870s, the Nappanee Missionary Church, located in Indiana, offers a number of progressive and contemporary services for residents of neighboring towns. With five services each Sunday morning, receiving audiences of almost 3,000 people, the worship center’s A/V components are crucial.
After the 700MHz band reallocation, the church updated its equipment but faced unexpected sound quality issues and struggled with frequency management, which is unacceptable for attendance that numbers in the thousands. To remedy crowded frequency issues and to ensure clear audio delivery, Nappanee Missionary Church relied on the expertise of dBA Acoustics, Inc., an audio and design consulting firm.
In addition to frequency diversity to help ensure uninterrupted audio, the church needed a robust sound system that could work seamlessly with other multimedia assets showcased to the congregation, as the church is a video venue. Using video as a focal point, services can be delivered live through large video screens at other remote locations and online. Likewise, a sister church, located 45 minutes away, conducts its own worship service, but the sermon is watched on a recorded video feed from Nappanee Missionary Church. Given this added technical component, dBA Acoustics’ Principal Engineer Thomas Lorenzen was tasked with finding a multi-functional, intuitive system that could flawlessly support presentations, bands, and educational sessions for live and remote congregations.
Lorenzen recommended Shure’s ULX-D Digital Wireless System with 24-bit audio clarity and efficient RF performance to combat issues of frequency management and deliver best in class audio quality for services without interfering streaming video. With the scalable, intelligent hardware, Nappanee Missionary Church uses eight channels of ULX-D to easily monitor frequency congestion and ensure a rock-solid signal for the many services and musical performances. The integration of digital wireless technology accompanies the congregation’s existing 32 channels of analog gear and provides greater control over the wireless frequencies used among the classrooms, children’s ministry, and main worship areas.
Media Ministry Coordinator Rodney Jernas says, “The transition from competitor equipment to Shure gear has been night and day. Since turning to Shure ULX-D there have been no audio hiccups. We are operating on clear frequencies, and the system has been really easy for our team to use.”
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