“A church is not surrounded by walls. A church is made up of people. We want our church to be able to connect with one another no matter where they are.” So says Bryan Cox, Communications Director at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Built in 1926, with several expansions and renovations over the years, Myers Park Presbyterian has a congregation of 4000 to communicate with, but they didn’t have a centralized way to share information.

The church’s web site was static and there was no comprehensive signage or wayfinding system. Traditional construction paper bulletin boards were hard to manage, static and didn’t afford much room for multiple flyers.

“Digital signage is a compelling tool. The only reason to have digital signage is to communicate. It allows us to be more responsive to the needs of our congregation and please more people,” says Cox. He came to the church in May 2006 bringing considerable experience with other systems from his background in government and corporate communications. “Many of the same communications rules apply in a church setting.” Last summer, he attended the InfoComm trade show in Orlando and, after exploring all the digital signage software on offer, chose AxisTV.

One application feature that caught his eye was Visix’s EMS scheduling interface. “We live on Dean Evans & Associates EMS Master Calendar,” says Cox. After several months for committee processing and purchasing, they implemented AxisTV Professional Edition, v.6.4 in January of this year. “AxisTV is very helpful as the first step, allowing us to implement digital signage within the church building. But it also affords us the ability to leverage its capabilities down the line for steps 3, 4 and 5, such as adding video capabilities and broadcasting to remote locations.”

The church is large but neighborhood centric and tries to meet the needs of all of its parishioners, 90% of whom live within four miles. The pastor gives one sermon but church members can choose between a traditional service in the main sanctuary (which seats 900, with overflow in the chapel, seating 150), or a contemporary service in the gym (which holds 400-500 people).

“The church is a community. It’s our obligation to make sure that every member is informed and inspired to take part in ministries. Digital signage is the most efficient way to spread news in a real time, on demand, user friendly way. It allows us to ensure that every person in our church can be involved, regardless of where they are,” continues Cox.

AxisTV is part of the church’s comprehensive strategy to use technology to reach out to members of the church community. Visix delivered a fully integrated solution that included a Professional Server and two 2RU Channel Players with the Video Window Option on each machine. The equipment has been integrated in a rack to deliver signals through an audio compatible CAT5 router from Hall Research. Communications are delivered out to six (6) LG M4200C-BA 42” LCD displays with speakers.

LCDs are located in “hub areas” throughout the building. One Channel Player broadcasts to three displays in the front office reception area. “You see the event calendar right when you walk in,” Cox says. The second Channel Player sends content to three screens in the classroom area. “We placed the screens in areas where people were already used to getting calendar information. This helps to train the audience to rely on the screens for information so that our communications reach more of our target audience. This is especially important for our elder members, who aren’t as used to digital signage as the younger crowd.” The six LCDs are formatted to display AxisTV messages in three content blocks with a bottom ticker that shows weather and periodic announcements.

“AxisTV supports a range of skill levels. I can import from high-end programs like PhotoShop, while less experienced users can use the built-in content creation tools to create bulletins. It’s a huge help to me as a content manager, allowing dozens of people to create while the communications department retains oversight.”

Content is currently created by six people in various ministries, as well as Bryan and his colleague in communications, who also approve and schedule everything. “It’s important for each ministry to have ownership of their content. That way, they are part of the communications process.”

EMS schedules, PhotoShop graphics, PowerPoint imports, free form and text bulletins, and pre-recorded and live video all feed the AxisTV application. While the event calendar is the focal point, the system also relays information from various ministries on their own projects, as well as messages that work to bolster support for certain causes and relate the results of outreach missions.

“It’s a constant challenge in a large church to share the results of outreach programs with the entire congregation,” explains Cox. “Dozens of people come up and say, ‘Why do we have this?’ The first suspicion you have to address is whether purchasing digital signage is good stewardship of the church’s resources. You are, after all, using money that could go to ministries. As a communications professional, it’s my job to explain to them that digital signage allows us to reach more people than we ever could through traditional mediums. One image can tell a story much better than a five-page essay on why the congregation should get involved in a ministry or cause.”

“One of the first projects we used AxisTV for was to broadcast a slideshow showing the results of a missions’ trip by twelve members to Malawi. I had someone come up to me and say ‘I didn’t even know we were in Africa.’ That shows me direct positive results of our efforts. Once I explain the reasons we have the system, people always say ‘I’m glad we have it.’ We’ve had very positive response – no bad reactions at all.”

The next twelve months will be busy for Cox and his team. Communications flow will be improved by adding more screens in more locations throughout the church, developing proficiency with the tool, and training more users to use the system more efficiently for better results. The church is also currently laying wire to deliver the Sunday sermon live over AxisTV to both services.

Outreach is a major focus now and in the future. “We have several retirement homes in the area where people want to feel a part of the church but can’t attend services in person. AxisTV will allow us to place a Channel Player and screen in their environment so they can feel connected to the church by experiencing things in real time.”

Cox sums up, “Digital signage should be considered as a central part of any communications program. It isn’t something people traditionally think of for worship settings, but is an essential element. If done properly, you can push information, messages, video and images, with the powerful emotional response that those elements evoke, to a much wider audience than you can by using traditional mediums. AxisTV is both a short-term and long-term solution.”

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