The Ontario First Church of the Nazarene Story

This partnership began when Ontario First Church of the Nazarene reached out in 2011 to engage with CCI Solutions in a design build process. The church was looking to address and implement significant upgrades to audio, video and lighting systems in their sanctuary, most components of which had literally not been touched since the original construction of the facility in 1979. Ontario First Church of the Nazarene is over 100 years old, founded in 1914, in Ontario, Oregon. It was built in the days of choir, piano, and organ, so the space worked well for those purposes. As the church began to incorporate a full worship team into the services, they quickly surpassed their technical systems’capabilities, and began to struggle with a maxed-out sound board, borrowed lighting, and ill-fitted acoustics.

The upgrades were put on hold for several years as the church focused on our critical improvements to the campus, but the time finally arrived in 2017 to focus on aligning technology with the church’s current and future ministry. Following several strategy meetings capturing the church’s vision and ministry approach,CCI Solutions set out to build a technical systems master plan, which the church’s leadership immediately embraced and championed. Just over a year later in late 2018, Ontario First Church of the Nazarene enjoyed a completely refreshed sanctuary, formed perfectly to their specific ministry needs, equipping them for their next season of ministry.

The Technology

Needing to make a big impact with a limited budget, Ontario First Church of the Nazarene sought to tackle its two largest barriers to engagement in their traditional worship space, audio and video quality. Covering all of those seats with consistent, quality audio was critical, so CCI Solutions partnered with Martin Audio to provide a speaker system that delivered a clarity and consistency that the church had never experienced before. The room is covered by left/right Martin CDD12’s, with a single CSX218B dual 18” subwoofer flown in the rafters, providing extraordinarily even coverage throughout the space. Speakers are powered by QSC PLD amps with DSP coming from a Symetrix Prism 8x8. Approximately 1200 square feet of 2” thick acoustic absorption panels tamed the overly live, mostly wood sanctuary, bringing reverberation time down to an optimal level for the church’s ministry style.  

While the congregation benefited from the significant upgrade in audio clarity and quality, so too did the technical and musical artists. For the technical team, a Yamaha TF5 console and TIO stage boxes were installed to handle Front of House and Monitor duties, providing a much-welcomed improvement in audio workflow and needed flexibility in audio routing, with the capability of adding Dante networked audio to their systems. For the musicians, a combination of floor wedges and in-ears were deployed for monitoring, utilizing a combination of Martin Audio CDD-LIVE8’s and Shure PSM 300 systems with Westone UM Pro10 earbuds, to help their talented team hear as clearly as the congregation. Rounding out the audio upgrade was a new package of microphones, including Audix D6 and Heil PR28’s for drums, DPA 4099P stereo mic kit for piano, and Shure ULXD wireless units with Beta58 capsules for vocals.

And while audio plays a large part in engaging Ontario First Church of the Nazarene’s congregation in worship, the visual element is just as essential to the worship experience. To dramatically increase creative possibilities and immerse and engage their congregation, the church opted for full-color LED house lights, utilizing Inspire RGBW fixtures from Chroma Q. For stage lighting, CCI Solutions partnered with Chauvet Professional to build a simple and elegant rig with power and flexibility, with Colorado 2 Quad Zooms as color back lighting, Ovation F-145WW LED Fresnels as front wash, and E160WW LED Ellipsoidal for specials. Additionally, the church had a unique, 20’ tall art piece of the Good Shepherd serving as a central focal point upstage center. Ovation E910FC RGBAL LED Ellipsoidals installed behind the surface highlights this feature perfectly.

Lastly, after remaining virtually untouched for almost four decades, Ontario First Church of the Nazarene made a quantum leap in their video displays, as CCI Solutions provided two 12’ x 6.75’ wall mounted Absen Acclaim 3.8mm LED Video Walls to display content for the congregation. Since those side screens serve as an important engagement point for much of the congregation, it was critical they were bright and clear enough for people in the back of the room to easily see and read, and the stunning Absen LED walls effortlessly perform in their role.