The Candeo Church Story

In September of 2013, 5 families were sent from Cornerstone Church of Ames, IA to help reach the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) through the ministry of The Salt Company and plant a church in Cedar Falls.  Candeo Church began meeting in rented schools, and immediately experiencing God’s blessings as students and community members alike surrendered their lives to Jesus.  In 2014, amidst rapid growth, Candeo Church got their first building.

God has continued to grow both Candeo and The Salt Company, and in the summer of 2017, God opened up an amazing opportunity for the church to purchase a 60,000 square foot church campus from another church who was struggling to get out of debt.  This new campus both greatly expands the space the growing Candeo Church needed for ministry, in auditorium seats, kids ministry space, and more.  But more importantly, it moves the church, whose main target is reaching young adults, significantly closer to the UNI campus.  With this new campus, Candeo Church has positioned themselves well to reach the students of UNI, and the people of the Cedar Valley.

The Technology

Upon purchase of the building, Candeo Church turned to CCI Solutions to equip their new worship space with the audio, video, and lighting solutions to help them engage their congregation.  "We believe that college students are going to change the world through the gospel," says Paul Sabino, Pastor at Candeo.  Two days together with the CCI Solutions team defining how technology would help them reach the young adults of the Cedar Valley proved that their mission is laser focused.  Crystal clear audio and a worship environment that is engaging, simple, distraction free, and authentic, were paramount to equipping them to do so.

Crystal Clear Audio- When you’re raising up a generation to change the world, teaching them the Word of God is the most critical thing you do.  Delivering crystal clear audio, consistently, to every seat in the house was priority one.  Additionally, worship needed to sound warm, and full, to engage young adults and encourage participation.  An L-Acoustics ARCS Wifo speaker system with SB18 subs was designed and deployed to the room, delivering above and beyond their expectations.  Phase 1 of the audio system rounds out with a Midas M32 digital console and Symetrix digital signal processing.

Impactful Video- Young adults today are definitely a visual generation, so simple yet powerful video presentation in the room was also of highest priority.  And with dynamic lighting planned, a single 18’ by 9.9’ Absen D3+ LED wall was chosen to keep a central focus in the room while delivering crisp, beautiful video content regardless of what the lighting in the room is doing.  A Roland XS-82H provides switching and scaling duties, ensuring great video on both the LED wall and confidence displays, and maximizing the flexibility of what can be routed to each.  Video distribution to the confidence displays, and to displays located throughout the lobby, is handled by Visionary Solutions networked distribution.

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