CALUMET, IL–With more than 10,000 seats and 200,000 square feet in total floor space, Salem Baptist Church of Chicago's new $50 million worship facility and neighborhood activity center more closely resembles a concert/sports stadium than a traditional church sanctuary. That impression is further bolstered by the fact that three regulation-sized basketball courts can be revealed when the main seating area is cleared, not to mention that there are two giant 19 x 11-foot video screens in the venue as well as several dressing rooms and an onsite ticket box window. And the $1.4M custom-designed sound system, specified by Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams (WJHW), certainly fits the rock concert bill as well. Installed by Audio Analysts, who have provided touring sound reinforcement for artists like Bruce Springsteen and Shania Twain as well as installs at other 'gigachurches' like Houston's Lakewood Church and Colorado Springs' New Life Church, the audio system is helmed by a pair of large-format analog Soundcraft mixing consoles. FOH duties are tackled by a 48-channel Series FIVE out in the center of the main floor seating area while stage wedge and IEM mixes are accommodated by a 48-channel, 24-bus Series Five Monitor positioned just out of the congregation's view at stage left.
When for Salem Baptist Church of Chicago were asked why House of Hope opted for analog desks rather than digital ones, Denson responded, "Not all engineers are familiar with digital desks yet, but just about anyone who can mix can operate the Series FIVE without a learning curve. Even though it's a fairly large console with a lot of features, its controls are laid out in a very logical and easy to understand way. So if you've run a board before, you can definitely operate this one."
Salem Baptist Church of Chicago's House of Hope is pastored by Reverend James Meeks, also currently serving as an Illinois state senator, who has seen the membership of his parish expand from 700 to 25,000 people over the past 15 years. Kirk Denson is technical director and director of audio for House of Hope, along with Darius Lawrence, also listed as director of audio. Not only is the new facility the largest worship center in the Chicagoland area, but the church also reports that it is the second largest indoor arena in the city next to the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.
For more info, visit www.soundcraft.com.
