When a church committee considers installing or improving their sound system, their thoughts usually focus on the worship area. During this time of planning, be sure your committee doesn't make the mistake of overlooking the fellowship hall. Adequate planning for the needs of the entire facility must include this very important area of your church.

Consider all the activities that occur in the fellowship hall of your church. For example, the fellowship hall may serve as a reception area for a wedding. Or it may also be a multi-purpose room where youth activities are held. The participants in these events may need to use microphones, listen to audio from a cassette deck, or perhaps they will want to view a video. Each of these demands can easily be met if proper planning goes into the design of your sound system.

Outlined below are some of the questions that need to be asked when you are considering a new or improved sound system for your fellowship hall or gathering area. Let's consider each of the following questions and see how it affects the overall system design layout.

Figure 1

Is the Fellowship Hall an Important Area of the Church Facility?

If this room will be used for wedding receptions and banquets (Figure 1), as well as other special events, a sound system with good loudspeaker coverage and uniform sound level is necessary. Depending on the ceiling and wall structure, there are numerous options for loudspeaker type and location. Keep in mind, other than the sanctuary during holidays and special events, visitors most often find themselves in the fellowship hall.

Will the Fellowship Hall be used from Time to Time as an Overflow Area?

If the fellowship hall is used as an overflow area, the individuals who will be there need to hear the activities being held in the sanctuary. A separate output from the sanctuary sound system mixer that feeds one of the inputs in the fellowship hall sound system mixer will allow this to be easily accomplished.

Figure 2

Is the Fellowship Hall Ceiling Less than 15 Feet High?

A low ceiling will generally require a distributed loudspeaker system (Figure 2). There will be multiple loudspeakers in the ceiling providing even coverage at the higher frequencies. That usually means a loudspeaker would be located over an area where a microphone is used. If so, the system should be designed so the loudspeaker(s) directly over microphone locations can be turned down or off. The sound system should be able to be turned up loud enough for everyone to hear properly without the threat of "howl" or feedback.

You should also consider every possible location for the head table at a banquet or wedding reception, as well as locations for discussion leaders and lecturers. Each of these locations is a potential feedback problem waiting to happen.

Do the Kitchen Volunteers Need to Hear What is Happening in Either the Fellowship Hall or the Worship Center?

Since the kitchen area is usually next to and has access to the fellowship hall area, at least one or two loudspeakers should be included for the kitchen. If the volunteer workers can hear the events being held in the fellowship hall or sanctuary, they will be able to react quickly to schedule changes or last-minute needs. (By the way, these kitchen loudspeakers will need a separate volume control for the convenience and sanity of the kitchen crew.)

Figure 3
A simple control panel

Will More Than One Event Occur in the Fellowship Hall at the Same Time?

Can your fellowship hall be split into separate rooms with portable walls? With proper forethought, a system can be designed so one section of the sound system can be used independently from another area of the fellowship hall (Figure 2). This may seem complicated, but it does make the system more flexible for the scheduling of events and classes. And with today's digital technology, this process can be done with simple control panels (Figure 3) or with the ease of a touch computer screen!

Does the Fellowship Hall Sound System Need to be a "Stand Alone"System?

If so, a separate mixer is needed for several microphone inputs and tape, CD or video playback. This mixer should be located in the fellowship hall or in a nearby storage room. If the mixer is located in the fellowship hall, make certain to choose a location that has good sound and sight lines. It's also important to limit access to the controls so curious fingers don't cause big headaches. The mixer could be located in a wall-mount cabinet with a locking door or perhaps even a portable cabinet with casters.

If the mixer is located in a storage area, a remote volume control may be necessary so the sound system loudness can be adjusted from a location within earshot of the loudspeakers. It's also possible to install volume controls that are only adjustable with a key-activated switch for tamperproof operation. At the same time, you may want to include a remote on-off key switch so the sound system can be turned on without digging back into the storage area.

If the sound system electronics rack is located in a storage area, it is important to locate the rack in an area near the door. If the rack becomes buried by tables and chairs, etc., it is much more difficult to get to the electronics for adjustment or service. It's also a good idea to install a loudspeaker monitor in the "rack room." This loudspeaker should be set at the same loudness level as the loudspeakers in the fellowship hall. Its volume should also follow any loudness changes made to the fellowship hall loudspeakers.

Figure 4
Wall Mount Mixer

How Many Mixer Inputs will the Fellowship Hall Sound System Need?

Typically, a mixer used in a fellowship hall system will have anywhere from 4 to 8 inputs (Figure 4). This usually determines how many microphone inputs are available. For example, a six channel mixer may be set up so one input is dedicated for the sanctuary sound feed, another dedicated for a line input such as a CD, cassette deck, DVD or VCR, and the remaining inputs used for microphones. In Figure 4 you can see that one of the inputs was also reserved for a future wireless microphone system.

If you do need more microphone inputs than the mixer has, other solutions are available. For example, a separate microphone mixer could be used. If the mixer has a microphone level output, it could be plugged directly into a microphone jack. The mixer output could also be plugged into a "direct box" and the output of the direct box could be plugged into the microphone jack.

Does it Need to be so Complicated?

It doesn't. The sound system need only be as complicated as necessary to meet the needs of the church ministries. Furthermore, a comprehensive sound system isn't necessarily complicated to operate! Most importantly, you won't know what you need unless you consider all the possible uses of the facility.