Creating an irresistible, welcoming environment for young families and their children is extremely important.

Launching a new church or campus in a rented facility offers many benefits that permanent locations don’t: lower cost, speed, flexibility, community partnership, and volunteer engagement. That said, creating an excellent and inviting children’s ministry in a rented venue requires different planning and preparation than a permanent campus. From our 25+ years assisting churches launch in rented spaces, here are some best practices & insights of churches that launch children’s ministry well.

Create A Great First Experience

The children’s environment sends a message. Think about the message I received from a church I visited with my children when I arrived ten minutes before service time and found many adults milling around and inside the classrooms. People were still organizing the room, and a back door to the classroom was open. I got the message that this church was disorganized and maybe didn’t think any visitors would show up today.

Contrast this with Cypress Church’s new campus launch in Ohio. They engaged Portable Church® to design their children’s area at the high school they rent so that new families had a curbside personal welcome, easy check-in experience, a volunteer escort to the classroom (past a security guard). The kids area was separate from the main worship area, and had special treatments in the classrooms that were bright, colorful, and engaging for the kids. Visiting Cypress Church, you get the message that the team expected visitors and were more than prepared for them. Meaning visitors will likely conclude that their church is organized and intentional with all aspects of their ministries.

Volunteers & System Design

Finding enough volunteers for children’s ministry is challenging in all churches. When you add the extra volunteers needed for setup and teardown, it is critical to take the extra time and expense to design setup/teardown solutions that are volunteer centric – designed to maximize BOTH the volunteer and participant experience. Churches that plan ahead and engage portability experts when designing their portable children’s ministry have better success and don’t wear out the volunteers as quickly as churches that do it on their own.

Relationship With Your Venue

As a church who will interface with the landlord and community, you will want to be treated professionally and have a professional relationship. But, if Sunday setup requires extreme early arrivals because you have hundreds of totes and equipment not designed for quick setup, in heavy cases built in the back garage that scratches floors, the church appears anything but professional to the school. We have witnessed over and over that when the church invests in a professional portability solution, the school/theater/community center treats them better, more professionally, and with more grace.

Theater Best Practices

Can you do children’s ministry well in a movie theater venue? Yes. It can be done well and is being done well by hundreds (maybe a thousand) of churches across the country weekly. Valley Christian Church in
Poughkeepsie, New York is one of those churches that does children’s ministry well. They partnered with Regal Entertainment Group and Portable Church to design an excellent and inviting church environment for young families. You can learn more about their story here.

School Best Practices

Two (of many) best practices for schools are utilizing treatments and partnering directly with the staff of the local school. Many school rentals are organized by the district office. But, it is the local teachers and custodians who are most impacted. Churches that serve the local school without strings attached create the most favor and best partnership experiences. A number of churches get teacher classroom supplies wish lists and make sure they are filled. Others flood the school with willing volunteers to read and serve. An interesting story about one church (Faithbridge Church) that launched strong in an elementary school is here.

Who doesn’t love Mother’s Day? It is the one designated day when we get to pamper our moms andtry to thank them for just being so awesome! And it is almost that time of year again!

Did you know that Mother’s Day is the third most likely day– after Easter and Christmas – that people will attend church?

So, pastor, are you ready to celebrate all the wonderful mothers who will be attending your church services on Mother’s Day weekend? This year, why not go a step beyond a special prayer and time of blessing for mothers? We’ve put together five meaningful Mother’s Day ideas to help you bless their socks off:

Mother’s Day Greetings That Honor all Moms

Mother’s Day can mean different things to different people. For many it represents the celebration of life and great joy. For others it could be a reminder of a struggle or a mark of grief. Take care to ensure that you don’t honor some moms, while alienating others.Inan open letter to pastors {A non-mom speaks about Mother’s Day}, Amy Young paid a moving tribute to all moms. You could also consider sharing similar thoughts in your Mother Day’s greetings. Here is a glimpse of Amy’s poem that went viral:

“To those who gave birth this year to their first child – we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heartache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you.”

What other ways can you honor all mothers through your welcome speech?

Let’s Hear it From the Moms

Pick three or four mothers from your congregation and ask them to share their experiences of motherhood. It will be inspiring, encouraging and powerful to hear the real, honest struggles and joys of these mothers.These stories will be reassuring to other moms who might be facing similar struggles. And more importantly, they are bound to stir up new admiration and respect for the thankless job that moms do!

Get the Kids on Video

In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, take video clips of a few children thanking their moms and telling them what they love most about them. This will be especially great if your church is meeting online only.Surprise the moms by playing the video on Mother’s Day. Could a mom want anything more than knowing that her child loves her? This is going to be a tear-jerker. Get the tissues ready!

Teach Kids About Honoring Their Parents

Teach the kids what it really means to honor their mother and father and why it is important. Practice scripture memorization such as Colossians 3:20 “Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” and Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

The moms are definitely going to appreciate that! Wrap up by getting the kids to make Mother’s Day cards or crafts they can give to their mothers to have as a keepsake.

What other practical examples can you use to teach kids to obey and honor their parents?

Get a Space for Kids That Will Make Moms Happy

What could mothers want more than a safe and fun environment for their kids? At Portable Church, we take the children’s area very seriously. We have helped many mobile churches set upsecure and comfortable children’s spacesin different venues, including a school gymnasium and a movie theater!

Mothers want to know that their children are safe, happy and entertained. When we helped achurch in New York move into a movie theater,it turned out to be the ideal venue for their kids’ ministry. We converted the theater into a kid-friendly church by transforming three theater areas into fun and safe environments for different age-groups. The moms loved it!

Are your children’s areas fun, spacious and secure?

Do you have any other Mother’s Day ideas for churches? We hope that you can really bless all the moms that attend your church this year.

Pastor, are you looking to host your church services in a unique, portable venue? We have been helping churches successfully launch in all kinds of venues for the last few decades. Give us a call today at 800.939.7722 and we’ll help you find the perfect venue for your weekend services!

In the meantime, Download our FREE E-book today for all the tips you need to choose the right facility for your church! Find the Right Venue For My Portable Church

GOING FORWARD CHANGE is the trend and FLEXIBLITY is the goal!

This post is offered to bring attention to the impact the pandemic of 2020 is having on The Church, and the decisions Church leaders are making in response.  Specifically, the response they are making about buildings, building processes, and the economic hardships that can accompany them.

The undisputed #1 trend for 2021 is CHANGE!

Because of recent events, change is not only expected but embrace by church leaders and followers alike.

Most leaders have re-evaluated their mission, methodologies, and resources. Strategic leaders are addressing changes to finances, facilities, and functionality.  Many have concluded they got caught flat footed and feel exposed in at least one of these areas.

The #2 trend is FLEXABILITY!

The pandemic has accelerated and exasperated everything in the Church.  Strategic leaders responded with innovative thinking.  Thus, one could say that The Churches response has been nothing short of amazing!

The mission is still the mission!  It will not change!  But the methodologies will and must change. Going forward Flex will be a verb of the church!  Churches that consistently innovate to new and effective methods will sustain advancements on mission.

Budgets and Buildings must be positioned for leadership to flex to new effective methods with as little constraint as possible.  But how does a building become a flexible tool?  Strategic leaders are demanding their facilities be as “innovatable” as the methods they envision in the future!

In 2020 the church attendance pendulum has swung from almost exclusively in-person meeting to almost exclusively digital meeting.  In 2021, the pendulum will settle nicely.  Strategic leaders will identify the most Kingdom-advancing practices of both and embrace them.  As Cary Nieuwhof says, “the era of set it and forget it strategy are over! Agility is far less exhausting than decline is.”

Here are 8 ways church facilities can flex to your newest and most effective methods:

Flex #1 – Be Transformed

Imagine how effective a church could be if they magically transformed any space into multiple uses – day to day, week to week, season to season, year to year!

The Transformers (toys and movie characters) for example made instant changes to be most effective where they are right now.  At one point they are robots and at another point they are a car, plane, gun, or animal.  They became whatever was necessary to win a new way.

Think worship center, to ESL classrooms to coffee house to business incubators…whatever your space needs to be to advance mission.

Flex #2 – Rightsizing Facilities

Imagine designing a smaller facility – having less or no debt, less maintenance expenses, but more uses!

In one form of rightsizing, large regional churches are trying to figure out what to do with space left vacant by new ministry models that attracted people to more and smaller community-centric facilities.  In another form of rightsizing, church architects and designers have learned the lessons and are designing spaces that are appropriately sized using extreme functionality.  More churches over build than under build – yet more square feet do not equal more ministry capacity.

Flex #3 – Save Money Now

Imagine redirecting scarce resources to mission rather than a building campaign!

The math gets easy now – smaller facilities are a lot less expensive to build, buildout or renovate.  Which means less capital funding up front, less leadership capital spent, and less lead time to launch.  Reaching the community quicker.

Flex #4 – Save money Later

Imagine the exponential savings in maintenance costs that could be made with a smaller, more effective facility over the course of the next 40+ years!

Tim Cool of Smart Church Solutions shares that, because of ongoing maintenance expense, the real cost of a facility usually will cost about 4x the amount it took build it.  Smaller FlexSpace facilities are the gift that keeps on giving.  A smaller footprint with simpler infrastructure will keep ongoing maintenance expenses lower for decades into the future.

Flex #5 – Trend Resistant

Imagine seeing a community need you can meet and being able to respond quickly, effectively, and with few speed bumps!

A Strategically led church is likely not doing ministry today the way they did 10, 5, or even just 3 years ago – pandemic or not! Do not let your future ministry innovation be held captive by the facility you have designed.

Flex #6 – Take it to the people!

Imagine being able to take the power of your worship room to an adjacent space, or outside, or across town.  We’re talking speakers, video, LED wall, control center, etc.

The days of “build it and they will come” are history (if it was ever true).  FlexSpace Design allows a room outfitted with great AVL gear for worship to be pulled and taken off-site into the community. The same thing goes for Hospitality and children’s ministry gear – perfect tools to be used across town or in the next room.

Flex #7 – Engage more and different people

Imagine creating spaces that attract people of different cultures, different interests, or having different needs!

Think of the different people-groups within 10 minutes of your facility:  Cultures with unique meeting needs, athletes, schools, civic interests, etc.  When a church facility is designed (to flex to your community) with a community centric focus in mind, you expand your capacity to be all things to all people so that by all means (or uses) you might save some.

Flex #8 – Show me the money!

Imagine adding another 10-20% on to your budget simply by making your facility available for outside groups!

Even the church needs revenue. FlexSpace Designs in a church allow you to transform all spaces making them available for revenue generating purposes.

Is the buildout of that new commercial space going to flex to your ministry methods for the next 20-40 years?  Consider FlexSpace – the intersection of a permanent facility with portable flexibility!

If these points ring a bell with you – connect with one of our FlexSpace Design experts here. We’d love to hear your story and partner with you!

Reproducibility! This is a big deal and likely the most important principle to know…

There may be many reasons you are going to be a portable church. You might be a new church plant, a new campus, selling your building because you outgrew it or maybe due to COVID-19 you’re in-between buildings. Or maybe you’ve read that portability is one of the most affordable ways to launch or how it provides effective environments for growth and outreach. Regardless of your reasons for portability, it is still wise to make decisions about your system that make it easy to reproduce in the future. If you are a multiplication/movement minded leader (if you are planting or campusing this is likely you) it especially makes sense to have systems that can be easily re-done week after week, and also understood and passed on as you plant more churches and campuses. We encourage systems that people will want to do again (and again, and again, and….)!

For the purpose of this blog, let’s say you are a church that has outgrown its building and you are going portable so as to get more space. In the best case scenario, your church continues growth spurts while you are portable. In fact, you have so many people that, even when you move into your new building, you’ll want to keep a portion of your congregation portable (Multi Site, per se). If you make decisions now that take the first three principals into account (weight, cubic volume, and ease of use), you are well on your way to a sustainable, reproducible model of church.

Let’s delve into this concept a little bit more. At Portable Church® Industries, we once worked with a client that placed a very high value on the aesthetics of children’s environments. They had found these children’s tables that were “amazing”. The only problem was, in order to fit these tables inside of their trailer, they had to take the legs off every week. One of our Project Managers gently encouraged them to get one table and then practice, for six weeks in a row, taking the legs on & off and to time their progression. Only two weeks in they found that (a) they rarely had the right tools available for the project (b) the screws used on the legs stripped after the first week (c) it took almost ½ hour to both put the legs on & take the legs off. After only two weeks, the church, said “Thank goodness, we only bought one of these – we definitely don’t want them!” When they put the tables into rotation, they realized that the tables were no longer amazing, that they didn’t make sense for their environment and that it wouldn’t have been a decision they would have reproduced in the future or have been happy about in the future.

If you harness your efficiency properly, you will reduce venue rental costs, increase volunteer happiness, reduce equipment damage, reduce storage space costs, reduce set up & tear down times and reduce number of volunteers needed. All of these benefits tie in directly to reproducibility, and you won’t find yourself like the pastors in our last post saying “we won’t do that again”. When you are able to see a return on investment of time and money, you can anticipate a growth plan that includes future campuses or an aggressive churches-planting churches mission without feeling the dread that may come along with inefficiency. That’s what we LOVE about portability!

A Portable Church system does exactly all these things. The entire system is designed around incredible environments that people enjoy setting up week after week. And once you decide to launch another plant or campus, people are excited to be sent and join the launch! Our systems are designed to allow highly engaging environments that are reproducible, and with fewer volunteers, long into the future.

If this series is striking a cord with you, give us a shout! Engage one of our launch coaches and talk through your plans! We are here to guide you in the right direction.

*This summary is taken from our e-book 6 Principles of Portability. Download the e-book here for more detail and the other 5 principles.

If you are starting a church, there are so many things to consider you may not even know where to start…

When purchasing equipment for your portable church, with all the financial pressures a church planter faces, it is easy to focus only on economics. In truth, your equipment purchases must not only reflect the creativity, vision, and personality of your new plant or campus, but the equipment must also be safe, efficient, professional and easy to use.

We have found the equipment purchases for new churches to be simultaneously the most exciting and stressful times in the church launch experience. As such, we hope to ease some of that stress by explaining the different aspects of making sure that your equipment is as portable as possible. Including the importance of cubic volume and ease of setting up and tear down.

If your new church (or new campus) is going to be in a rented facility like a school, movie theatre, art museum, community center, etc – it will be imperative to make sure that your equipment will pack up & move out easily, is light enough to install easily and can handle the consistent packing and unpacking, road noise and travel.

The Cubic Volume Conundrum – a ratio of space to cost

Chairs

Let’s say you are purchasing chairs for your new church. You have found one that is relatively comfortable (comfortable enough, at least, to get you through a forty-five-minute sermon), it’s padded, it stacks and it’s even lightweight – making it perfect for your volunteers. The cost of this chair? Only $20 per chair. You want to purchase 225, and the price tag of $4500 fits the budget quite nicely.

The other chair you’re considering is considerably more expensive at $42 per chair. While the chair seems more sturdy and durable, you’ve not noticed anything considerably better about this chair than the other one. It has all the features of the other one – it’s lightweight, it’s stackable and it’s comfortable, but at a substantial additional $4950 more than the other chair, it doesn’t seem worth it. Is that additional cost really worth the durability?

Surprisingly, you may find consultants like us encouraging you towards the $42 chair. Economically, the choice is clear, so why would we encourage you towards the more expensive chair?

For an average church of 225 people, the cost per cubic foot of storage space is about $10 per cubic foot*

225 of the $20 chair takes up 600 cubic feet vs 225 of the $42 chair takes up 300 cubic feet

Trailers

In our experience, we have found that the average church trailer is between 725 – 1010 cubic feet. A decision to purchase the inexpensive chair will use between 40% – 85% of your total storage space allotted for your all of your equipment purchases. In contrast, a decision to purchase the more expensive chair will use only 30% – 42% of the total storage space allotted.
If you can fit the rest of your church into 15% of your storage space – your choice is simple! Go with the least expensive option! If, however, you find yourself having to move into another trailer or another Konix container, or pay another monthly fee to store an additional trailer somewhere, in order to make space for your other equipment, the numbers could add up to over & above the initial +$4950 for the more expensive chair. That is the reason we might persuade you towards a more expensive chair, because in the long term, your more expensive chair could pay off in a variety of different ways, such as staying in your allotted storage space and keeping your storage space costs within budget.

More storage space leaves more room for additional equipment, helping you “flex” with people growth. One might argue that you can find a lightweight, comfortable chair for less than $42, but in our experience – durability is every bit as important as cubic volume considerations.

Storage costs can vary dramatically depending on your situation. Many churches purchase a trailer and park it somewhere for free. Others rent a trailer parking space. Some churches have access to onsite storage at the facility they rent. Whatever the case, make sure you understand the upfront and ongoing costs of storage so that you can evaluate the cubic volume impact of your equipment choices.

Other Portability Resources

Principle #1 – Consider the Weight

While we are on the topic of things to know when planning for portability, download our resource 6 Effective Principles for Portability for even more helpful information.

*This is based on Portable Church’s experience with churches across the nation, and is based on the average church trailer and / or storage space

By Portable Church Industries:

Finding the right location to launch is crucial for any church plant. After all, the church location and venue play a key role in how effectively your church plant reaches and engages the community.

Are you looking for the ideal place to launch your church? Well, look no further! Here are seven tips to help you zero down on that perfect location:

1. Ask God to give you a burden for a specific place

Jesus is building His Kingdom! If God has called you to plant churches, He will also reveal where He wants you to start.

Ask God to give you a burden for a particular area. Pray without ceasing! After all, solid prayer and passion are the foundations of any successful church plant.

Has God placed a burden on your heart for a specific town, area or community?

2 Look for areas devoid of churches

Did you know that only 50% of Americans are church members? There are many pockets across the country with a high concentration of people, but little or no church activity. The Northeast corridor, for example, has nearly 20% of America’s population, but very few churches to match.

Zero down on the areas where there are fewer churches. Are you ready to go where the need is the greatest?

3. Talk to other pastors ministering in the area

This is the time for Kingdom collaboration!Irrespective of their denominational differences, church planters and pastors are increasingly coming together to reach out to their cities.

Let your church plant be a result of such a collaboration!

Consult with other pastors who are already serving in the city/town that you feel called to. Ask them where the greatest need in their city is, and identify the challenges of the specific communities in the area. Most importantly, ask them to support you in prayer as you seek to obey the Lord’s calling on your life.

Are you ready to collaborate?

4. Consider the layout and facilities

Finalizing the area that you will call home is just half the battle won! The next step is to find that perfect venue. And, there’s so much to consider!

It is a good idea to look at the venue from a visitor’s perspective: Is it easily accessible? Does it feel cramped and dingy? Does it have adequate parking spots and clean rest rooms? Is there ample meeting space for both adults and kids?

In addition, you will also have to think about facilities such as a kitchen space, lighting and stage setup.

Are you looking at potential church venues from the eyes of a visitor?

5. Think about the costs

It’s no surprise that the potential cost of setting up a church can be a deal-breaker. You might find the perfect facility with the accessibility and welcoming atmosphere you were looking for. But, if the numbers just don’t add up – you’ll be heading back to square one!

It is important to factor in all the costs involved in moving into a new facility. Will you be paying monthly or quarterly rent? Will there be additional equipment that you might need, in order to set up in a particular facility? Don’t forget to include any ongoing expenses, like electricity or cleaning services, while doing the math!

Have you made a list of all the costs involved in launching your church?

6. Consider equipment requirements

Setting up your church in a community center would require you to arrange for different gear than launching in a restaurant would. For example, aschoolmight allow you to use their projector for your weekend services. Amovie theater,on the other hand, would save you the trouble of bringing in chairs and an additional screen. Think about the specific equipment requirements for each potential church venue.

It’s also important to ask about on-site storage facilities. If you are launching a portable church, it will be helpful to be able to store your gear at the venue. If such a facility is not available, you could considercustomized, portable cases like the ones Portable Church offers.These enable mobile churches to roll their equipment in and out every weekend with ease!

Are there any specific equipment requirements for your potential church venues?

7. Make sure that the venue matches the vision of your church

It is important that your church venue compliments the character, vision and mission of your church.

If your church has the heart to engage the unchurched, the warm and casual atmosphere at abowling alley or a pizza parlormight be a good choice. If children’s ministry is a priority, then consider a facility which will let you create multiple safe and fun environments to cater to different ages.

Will the people whom you want to minister to, feel welcome at your church venue?

At Portable Church, we know that the needs of no two churches are the same. Over the last few decades, we have helped many church planters find and move into the perfect venue to suit their needs.

Give us a call today at 800.939.7722 and we’ll help you find the right church location to call home!

In fact, here’s a FREE e-book with all the tips you need to choose the right facility for your church. Get your copy andFind the Right Venue For My Portable Churchtoday!

Know the differences between Portability vs Permanent vs Touring Gear vs DIY

By Portable Church Industries: In a new church ministry (aka church plant), the audio/visual/lighting needs will likely be your largest expense. Determining what gear you need can only come after clarifying the purpose for having AVL in your ministry, and the context in which your ministry will take place. 

When considering the competing points of tension in making AVL decisions, the two primary elements that will dictate what a supporting AVL system can look like are budget and venue. Knowing where to look to get the right AVL System will help with both, (regardless if your budget is small or large).

All AVL gear for a church (regardless of size) needs to be integrated into a design that fits both of the above; your budget and context. These will fall into one of three types:

Portable System Design, Touring System Design, and Permanent System Design.  After describing each of these design types, we will also dive into the Do-It-Yourself method

PORTABILITY DESIGN

• The Portable Context – the venue is a rented facility (school, YMCA, theater, community center, event center, etc.) and is the same each week you meet. However, you can only occupy he venue for a brief period (6-8 hours) in which you need to load-in, do church as many times as necessary, and then load-out.
• Things to Consider – Budget and convenience usually drive the use of this design. Rented venues are usually well known by the greater community in which you want to launch and inherently provide ample parking, access, function and flow, and dedicated space. You are going to ‘pay’ for portability somewhere, either on the right system or in human resources. A good Portable AVL design is quick and easy to load in and out, highly systematic, presents a very professional image, and allows a volunteer team to thrive in the process.
• The Pros of Portability (using a PCI SYSTEM)

• • Volunteer friendly
  • A complex system created to be intuitive for volunteers to set up
  • Load in and set up in facility in 30-50 minutes (on average)
  • Load out of facility in less than 20-40 minutes (time is $$ here)
  • No special access needed
    • No loading docks
    • No wide doors
    • No extraneous ramps
    • Parking lots, or whatever, work great
  • Integrated plug and play AVL design
  • EVERYTHING fits through standard doorways
  • Cases designed to protect expensive gear
  • Excellent efficiency, effectiveness, and impression
  • Comprehensive to include worship, children’s ministry, first impressions, trailers, and storage
  • Cases and trailers balanced for weight distribution
  • Launching as a portable church is the least expensive way to launch a new presence into a new community

• The Cons of portability (all portability systems) 
  • Set up and tear down each week
  • Higher need for volunteers
  • A bad design causes significant burnout
  • To do it right, some pieces will cost more

TOURING DESIGN

• The Touring Context – Because touring groups are in a new venue for each performance, the touring design in response to the need to be ready for any new situation or environment that might come up from week to week.
• Things to Consider – Will you be in the same facility from week to week, or encounter a new facility and environment each week? What will the access be at each new facility? Will there always be a dock to load in and out of?

• The Pros of a Touring System
  • Expensive gear is protected really well
  • Load in/out processes can be similar to portable
  • Usually have a gear-solution on hand for every situation

• The Cons of a touring System (in the context of a church meeting portability) 
  • Gear storage is usually overkill in rented situations
  • Cost of gear storage is prohibitive
  • Often designed around the use of a hi-lo
  • Usually requires extra gear for unforeseen circumstances ($$)
  • Gear is stored/transported in individual cases – need for flexibility decreases efficiencies
  • Usually assumes loading docks, or box trucks with lift gates (slower and inefficient, also unsafe for non-professionals)
  • Size of gear storage sometimes at odds with size of doorways available(they assume large doorways)
  • Usually designed for sophisticated users and crew (paid professionals)
  • Load in and load out times are longer (touring assumes multiple hours or overnight set-ups)

PERMANENT INSTALL DESIGN

• The Permanent Context – Facility under your control 24/7. Typically, spaces can be dedicated to specific use(s).

• Things to Consider – Facility spaces as well as AVL uses are typically designed for known ministry patterns. As often as ministry patterns change over a period of decades, can the AVL design respond appropriately to change?

• The Pros of a permanent Install System
  • Opportunity to set and forget lighting, video gear, controls
  • Usually, infrastructure constructed to support AVL structures
  • Can accommodate a large range of sophistication
  • Most gear can be adjusted by individual technicians
  • No set up and take down process

• The Cons of a permanent Install System (for a portable church)
  • Cabling is buried inside conduit and left alone, durability is less a consideration
  • Ease of handling isn’t needed – Handles, durability, weight is not a primary consideration
  • Speed of set-up and take down isn’t a consideration in the design of the system
  • Once a permanent system is installed it is ‘set and forget’ – These designs are not inherently volunteer friendly
  • Complacency over time
  • Lots of cost outlay
  • Less flexibility

DO IT YOURSELF SYSTEM DESIGN

The last design method to consider is the DIY system. We understand the allure to doing it yourself. It’s a real option that some simply have to consider. Pastor, we LOVE what you are doing and our main drive at PCI is to help you focus on building kingdom in your cities and peoples lives. However, we also want to help you consider all the costs to take into consideration.

The popular thought is “if I do it myself it will be cheaper.” There is no doubt that a cheaper system can be purchased. But low up front cost obviously doesn’t mean it will be the least expensive. Initially, you only know what you know, and you absolutely don’t know what you don’t know.  With an extreme amount of AVL knowledge, AVL Integration/Production Experience, and access to well-priced and diverse gear selection for audio, visual, lighting, acoustics treatment, and staging, a good system can be designed and built. But the skillset for designing an excellent portable system is rare to find. This typically leads to a design that is not built for maximum portability. The costs of this is extreme volunteer fatigue and burnout, incorrect gear choices, longer set-up time, higher facility rental costs, frequent damage to gear, and an unsustainable system among other things.

We have found that when churches buy the right system up front, the initial higher investment is frequently paid back many times over and both the user and church visitor experience is better week after week.

Ultimately, we want you to be a success.

Whatever you are considering we encourage you to connect with one of our portable experts to help you process your thoughts to get you ready to launch strong and thrive for years to come!

Know the differences between Portability vs Permanent vs Touring Gear vs DIY

By Portable Church Industries: In a new church ministry (aka church plant), the audio/visual/lighting needs will likely be your largest expense. Determining what gear you need can only come after clarifying the purpose for having AVL in your ministry, and the context in which your ministry will take place. 

When considering the competing points of tension in making AVL decisions, the two primary elements that will dictate what a supporting AVL system can look like are budget and venue. Knowing where to look to get the right AVL System will help with both, (regardless if your budget is small or large).

All AVL gear for a church (regardless of size) needs to be integrated into a design that fits both of the above; your budget and context. These will fall into one of three types:

Portable System Design, Touring System Design, and Permanent System Design.  After describing each of these design types, we will also dive into the Do-It-Yourself method

PORTABILITY DESIGN

• The Portable Context – the venue is a rented facility (school, YMCA, theater, community center, event center, etc.) and is the same each week you meet. However, you can only occupy he venue for a brief period (6-8 hours) in which you need to load-in, do church as many times as necessary, and then load-out.
• Things to Consider – Budget and convenience usually drive the use of this design. Rented venues are usually well known by the greater community in which you want to launch and inherently provide ample parking, access, function and flow, and dedicated space. You are going to ‘pay’ for portability somewhere, either on the right system or in human resources. A good Portable AVL design is quick and easy to load in and out, highly systematic, presents a very professional image, and allows a volunteer team to thrive in the process.
• The Pros of Portability (using a PCI SYSTEM)

• • Volunteer friendly
  • A complex system created to be intuitive for volunteers to set up
  • Load in and set up in facility in 30-50 minutes (on average)
  • Load out of facility in less than 20-40 minutes (time is $$ here)
  • No special access needed
    • No loading docks
    • No wide doors
    • No extraneous ramps
    • Parking lots, or whatever, work great
  • Integrated plug and play AVL design
  • EVERYTHING fits through standard doorways
  • Cases designed to protect expensive gear
  • Excellent efficiency, effectiveness, and impression
  • Comprehensive to include worship, children’s ministry, first impressions, trailers, and storage
  • Cases and trailers balanced for weight distribution
  • Launching as a portable church is the least expensive way to launch a new presence into a new community

• The Cons of portability (all portability systems) 
  • Set up and tear down each week
  • Higher need for volunteers
  • A bad design causes significant burnout
  • To do it right, some pieces will cost more

TOURING DESIGN

• The Touring Context – Because touring groups are in a new venue for each performance, the touring design in response to the need to be ready for any new situation or environment that might come up from week to week.
• Things to Consider – Will you be in the same facility from week to week, or encounter a new facility and environment each week? What will the access be at each new facility? Will there always be a dock to load in and out of?

• The Pros of a Touring System
  • Expensive gear is protected really well
  • Load in/out processes can be similar to portable
  • Usually have a gear-solution on hand for every situation

• The Cons of a touring System (in the context of a church meeting portability) 
  • Gear storage is usually overkill in rented situations
  • Cost of gear storage is prohibitive
  • Often designed around the use of a hi-lo
  • Usually requires extra gear for unforeseen circumstances ($$)
  • Gear is stored/transported in individual cases – need for flexibility decreases efficiencies
  • Usually assumes loading docks, or box trucks with lift gates (slower and inefficient, also unsafe for non-professionals)
  • Size of gear storage sometimes at odds with size of doorways available(they assume large doorways)
  • Usually designed for sophisticated users and crew (paid professionals)
  • Load in and load out times are longer (touring assumes multiple hours or overnight set-ups)

PERMANENT INSTALL DESIGN

• The Permanent Context – Facility under your control 24/7. Typically, spaces can be dedicated to specific use(s).

• Things to Consider – Facility spaces as well as AVL uses are typically designed for known ministry patterns. As often as ministry patterns change over a period of decades, can the AVL design respond appropriately to change?

• The Pros of a permanent Install System
  • Opportunity to set and forget lighting, video gear, controls
  • Usually, infrastructure constructed to support AVL structures
  • Can accommodate a large range of sophistication
  • Most gear can be adjusted by individual technicians
  • No set up and take down process

• The Cons of a permanent Install System (for a portable church)
  • Cabling is buried inside conduit and left alone, durability is less a consideration
  • Ease of handling isn’t needed – Handles, durability, weight is not a primary consideration
  • Speed of set-up and take down isn’t a consideration in the design of the system
  • Once a permanent system is installed it is ‘set and forget’ – These designs are not inherently volunteer friendly
  • Complacency over time
  • Lots of cost outlay
  • Less flexibility

DO IT YOURSELF SYSTEM DESIGN

The last design method to consider is the DIY system. We understand the allure to doing it yourself. It’s a real option that some simply have to consider. Pastor, we LOVE what you are doing and our main drive at PCI is to help you focus on building kingdom in your cities and peoples lives. However, we also want to help you consider all the costs to take into consideration.

The popular thought is “if I do it myself it will be cheaper.” There is no doubt that a cheaper system can be purchased. But low up front cost obviously doesn’t mean it will be the least expensive. Initially, you only know what you know, and you absolutely don’t know what you don’t know.  With an extreme amount of AVL knowledge, AVL Integration/Production Experience, and access to well-priced and diverse gear selection for audio, visual, lighting, acoustics treatment, and staging, a good system can be designed and built. But the skillset for designing an excellent portable system is rare to find. This typically leads to a design that is not built for maximum portability. The costs of this is extreme volunteer fatigue and burnout, incorrect gear choices, longer set-up time, higher facility rental costs, frequent damage to gear, and an unsustainable system among other things.

We have found that when churches buy the right system up front, the initial higher investment is frequently paid back many times over and both the user and church visitor experience is better week after week.

Ultimately, we want you to be a success.

Whatever you are considering we encourage you to connect with one of our portable experts to help you process your thoughts to get you ready to launch strong and thrive for years to come!