Like most churches in today’s worship environment, Healing Place Church has a vision.
From humble beginnings in 1993, Pastors Dino and DeLynn Rizzo have grown the organization from a congregation of 12 to more than 5,000 members in eight locations from Baton Rouge, La., to Maputo, Mozambique.
Part of that growth can be attributed to the church’s forward-thinking mentality. Its early embrace of technology and the power of the Internet have earned it repeated recognition as one of America’s Top 25 Most Innovative Churches.
And that vision has been firmly implemented in its newly-built HPC Arena in Baton Rouge.
The facility includes a 3,500-seat sanctuary equipped with state-of-the-art audio, video, and media technologies including two Avid VENUE systems, as well as a fully-equipped TV studio with a Pro Tools|HD and ICON audio production facility.
The space is designed for flexible functionality, hosting everything from multiple Sunday services and community events to presentations and internationally recognized guest worship leaders.
Services and select events are recorded through its integrated VENUE and Pro Tools systems, and streamed through the church’s website and broadcast television.
Like many churches, Healing Place’s large technical crew is comprised of a variety of individuals with varying levels of technical expertise.
As Adam Shulman of New York-based SIA Acoustics (responsible for the church’s sound system and acoustical design) explains, it’s a factor that influences system planning and design.
“These days,” Shulman observes, “one of the fundamental challenges in planning a system for houses of worship is to create a system that’s accessible to all types of users.
Very high-level technology is now widely available, but the challenge of a worship environment is that these systems will not always be operated by the same person or skill level. You must design a system that is relatively foolproof to be able to deliver a consistent product across a wide variety of personnel.”
The sanctuary’s front of house and monitor positions are both equipped with 80-channel VENUE Profile Systems, each with dual Stage Racks, FWx FireWire cards, and IOx expansion cards. The Media Room is outfitted with a full Pro Tools|HD system, including five 192 I/O interfaces with 192 AD Expansion Cards.
The church uses an ICON D-Control ES console with two Fader Modules and surround panner to control the Pro Tools system. As Shulman explains, he and the church chose to go with an all-Avid audio workflow as much for its power and flexibility as for its ease of use.
“The system is used for a multitude of functions, from live services and other events to recording for web streaming and broadcast,” he says.
“The ability to quickly and easily configure the system for different scenarios was an important consideration for [the church], and both the VENUE and Pro Tools systems offer more than enough plug-in processing power to do everything they require.”
