September 29, 2023
3 min read
A church's mission has always been serving its congregation and its community. But the way that churches pursue that mission is changing. Modern church AV technology empowers pastors to serve more people than ever while inspiring them in new and innovative ways. Panasonic Connect has created a rich ecosystem of integrated products supporting church AV setups to facilitate these exciting new possibilities.
Worship services are one of the primary means for churches to serve their congregations. They provide a space for congregants to gather and celebrate through singing hymns, listening to sermons, and engaging in prayer and meditation. These services offer spiritual nourishment and guidance to the congregation. Now, technology can make those essential services even more accessible and powerful.
Church AV Drives Enhanced and Inclusive Experiences
Integrated AV technology can enhance worship in multiple ways. Many churches have evolved beyond simply singing hymns from the pews into a more interactive, multimedia-driven style of worship. At Arlington's First Baptist Church, high-resolution 4K cameras capture live video of on-stage performances, which then appear on screens over 20 feet wide.
At Denton Bible Church, cameras power live event production systems that stream video to congregants. This new capability, first introduced to combat the pandemic lockdowns, serves those who cannot physically attend, such as people who are sick or elderly, traveling, or living far away. Live streaming church services can be a lifeline for those living alone who want to participate and feel connected to the church community, which is especially critical in a time when over one in five Americans have suffered from mental health issues.
Forward-thinking churches like these are spearheading a new technology-rooted effort to serve their congregations and broader communities. With modern entertainment constantly striving for spectacle, churches are realizing that they must innovate to keep up.
Delivering Integrated Church AV for Polished Video Production
Modernizing to better serve a church's community is an end-to-end exercise, knitting together numerous product categories to create a seamless video production experience. It begins with cameras flexible enough to capture high-quality recordings of church services. They can enhance visual presentations by displaying close-ups of musicians, choir members, or speakers on large screens to create a more immersive and engaging worship experience.
Cameras can also capture events that are important to church communities, such as baptisms, weddings, or community outreach programs. These important moments put the church at the heart of the community. Filming them and making them available on demand can create a sense of unity and shared experiences within your congregation.
Panasonic offers a class of cameras known as pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ). An operator can remotely control a PTZ camera to focus on different areas of the stage. Panasonic also offers PTZ camera systems with auto-tracking so that they can follow pastors and other speakers around the stage, automatically focusing on the action.
Large-format Digital Displays and Projectors Keep Your House of Worship Accessible
Impressive display technology is critical to churches that want to serve new communities with different expectations. When Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina, realized that its congregation was aging, it upgraded its church AV capabilities to include two large, bright 4K laser projector systems alongside its HD cameras. The projectors created a new, immersive worship experience that has dramatically changed its congregation's demographic. Five years ago, fewer than 15% of its members were millennials. Now, this age group accounts for over three in four worshipers.
Live Streaming Services to Broader Audiences
Houses of worship don't just serve their congregations with high-quality services inside their own walls; They reach out to the broader community using live streaming services that relay their events far and wide. This is one of the most powerful ways to inspire and energize local communities, broadening engagement and spreading the word.
Live event production is where Panasonic Connect's KAIROS platform comes into play. This video production system pulls all of the other system components together, managing multiple inputs and outputs. Operators can use it to combine different camera shots, adding a professional look to productions with transitions and other effects. They can relay these images to local displays and projectors while simultaneously providing IP-based feeds for live-streaming services. For churches, KAIROS-powered live streaming is a multiplier, amplifying the effect of worship services that are already enhanced through powerful lighting and camera technology.
Church AV Products and Services in One Easy Package
Thanks to church AV technologies like these, a house of worship can build broadcast-quality systems to rival professional entertainment venues at a reasonable cost. However, it takes expertise to put them together.
Panasonic Connect's services team works with churches to assess their existing AV infrastructure and pinpoint the best ways to make maximum use of their worship space. We explore the potential for expanding their community with live streaming services that can reach across their county, state, and beyond.
Panasonic Connect offers sophisticated church AV solutions to empower every house of worship. Talk to us about how we can help you to serve your community.
