My new book, Set the Stage: A Manifesto for Church Stage Design, released a couple of weeks ago. It’s a new ebook about the philosophy of excellent church stage design.
Inside, you’ll find tips from some of the top stage designers on making your stage design the most effective it can be. Check out the tips below, see our review of the book or just go buy a copy.
Learn From What Others Have Done
- “The best way to learn this skill is to be completely immersed in stage designs and learn what others have done.” –Steven Hall, lighting director at JourneyChurch.tv
- “There are no new ideas out there. So beg/borrow/steal ideas from other churches.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
- “There is a big difference between inspiration and imitation. Simply reproducing what others have created without investing in the purpose, meaning, and intentionality of how a stage design can contribute to your worship experience/environment will ultimately fail your church.” –Jeff Abbott, service programming director at Ada Bible Church
Support, Don’t Overpower
- “After one service, my pastor commented to my team and me that he liked the stage design so much, he wished he had prepared a different sermon to preach. My team beamed, but I knew that I had failed as a designer. I had taken the stage design too far. It had gone from being a support element to a focus element. That is not stage design’s role. It is only meant to support and complement the worship and preaching, not draw attention to itself.” –Jeff Abbott, service programming director at Ada Bible Church
- “Don’t be afraid to not do stage designs. It’s possible that it’s not the right choice for your room, your congregation, or your team. And that’s okay.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Stage design should only follow the budget. From $10-$10,000, a stage design should be seen as a resource you use if your budget permits—not a resource you demand a budget for.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
Be Excellent
- “If you are going to commit to doing a stage design, do it with excellence. There is nothing worse than a poorly executed design.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
- “God is obsessed with environment. When God described the Tabernacle to Moses, He was so detailed. Every sight, color, sound, scent, and texture was laid out in specific detail. The place of worship is not just a boring, quiet, empty space; it is a bright, colorful, vibrant environment that stimulates all of the human senses. That amount of excellence is what we try to bring to our services. We want everything we do to be purposeful, from what you see to what you hear and all of the above.” –Sean Bolinger, stage production/media at Christian Faith Center
Pray About It
- “Continually bathe your stage design process in prayer. Not one person in my ten years of designing stages has walked into our auditorium, seen a pretty stage, been convicted of their sin, and surrendered their life to follow Jesus. The power of God is in His Gospel, not in the design. But the stage design can help people engage with what’s happening at the church. So pray that God uses that tool to help people engage.” –Andrew Hunt, technical director at Blue Ridge Community Church
Shine the Light
- “80% of good stage design is good lighting.” –Jeff Abbott, service programming director at Ada Bible Church
- “Use less light. Just because you have 30 lights doesn’t mean they all need to be on all the time. And the lights that are on don’t need to be at 100% intensity all the time, if ever. Nothing gives away the flaws in a set like too much light.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Some of the best moments we create are when we turn all the lights off except for one. The intimacy we can help foster between the worship leader and the congregation when the focus becomes small, intimate, and personal is incredible.” –Jeff Abbott, service programming director at Ada Bible Church
- “Don’t light the foreground and background equally. Pick one. During the message, for example, your background should not be as bright as your speaker. That creates a very flat image and doesn’t focus attention on the communicator. However, for a creative element, try lighting the background more and the people in the foreground less or not at all to create a unique visual moment.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
Build a Team
- “Your team is more important than the design. If you design stages with a team, the goal is for the team to do it in a way that is loving and honoring. The stage design is a byproduct of the team dynamic. In a way, our team is more about encouraging one another spiritually. Then along the way we are doing some stage design. Remember that there’s something more important at work than the stage design itself.” –Andrew Hunt, technical director at Blue Ridge Community Church
- “As a stage designer, having a great relationship with the worship leader and the audio engineer is a huge advantage. It’s not just about 100% all the time. Taking time for the quiet moments both audibly and visually is very important. And when you have cultivated relationship with the others involved with the process, it makes your job a lot easier when trying to create those intimate moments that allow the congregation to really connect with God.” –Sean Bolinger, stage production/media at Christian Faith Center
Welcome People
- “Think through what a first-time guest is going to gather from your stage design. It’s the first impression to the service. Does it welcome them or make them wonder what they are getting themselves into?” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
- “I have seen stage design useful in helping tear down some walls that people may show up with. Many have preconceived ideas as to what church is or was like when they were a kid—something sterile, boring, difficult to engage with, etc. It possibly can help some people let their guard down just a little bit.” –Andrew Hunt, technical director at Blue Ridge Community Church
Be Flexible
- “Build time into your setup schedule for experimentation. Every design idea changes when you start to actually put it together. Don’t be afraid to alter your idea drastically in the build process as you see it take shape in the room. Build in some margin and don’t get locked in on what you thought the set would be. Rather, build it the way it needs to be.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “If everything is at 100% all the time, there is 0% room for dynamics. Your most impactful visual is only as good as the dynamic between it and the most simplistic visual.” –Steven Hall, lighting director at JourneyChurch.tv
- “It only has to look good from 20 feet away. (Or your first row of seats.) Don’t spend hours making it look perfect from up close—no one is looking at it from there.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
Keep It Simple
- “Stick with one, simple design concept. I often see designs that are really three designs in one. The designer had several great ideas and instead of using them separately, they put them all together. This creates a busy, disjointed look. Give each design space to shine.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Less is more. Just because you have a lot of resources doesn’t mean they all have to be used with every stage set. Think of being impactful before making a big impact.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
- “Use fewer colors at once. Don’t light your set with seven different colors at the same time. Pick two. Or pick one. Simplicity is the essence of elegance. Rarely do you see a great graphic design piece that uses a lot of different colors. Usually there is a specific, limited color palette. Restraint is always the right course.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Generally speaking, we try to avoid any type of religious symbols in stage designs. That means no crosses, doves, fish, WWJD, etc. It’s not because those things are bad, but because most people either wouldn’t connect the dots between, say a cross as a symbol and the cross on which Jesus became sin and died for all of our sin. So the symbol, which was well meaning, can get in the way of the gospel. The same goes for pop Christian phrases, including ‘God’s not dead.’ The goal is kept to one thing: Just make the environment pretty and welcoming through stage design. Don’t try to communicate more than that unless specifically requested from your leadership or programming team.” –Andrew Hunt, technical director at Blue Ridge Community Church
Know the Space
- “Don’t forget the floor and ceiling. If you use all your lights on set pieces, you’re missing some visual canvases. Down lighting and uplighting can be effective parts in your stage design.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Make your design style fit the room you meet in. If you have a traditional sanctuary with ornate wood and arching ceilings, use light and design that features those things. Don’t try to hide them or to do exactly what you saw a church that meets in a black box do. It will never look right in your space. If you meet in a school cafeteria, build sets and use lights in a way that draw attention away from the room’s features and toward the stage area.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “You don’t have to fill in all the gaps. Having dark space between set pieces creates a sense of depth and makes your stage feel bigger. I never want my audience to be able to see where the stage actually ends.” –Kaleb Wilcox, technical arts director at Willow Creek North Shore
- “Hide things that are intrusive. If you’re going to do a literal stage design, you can make it less intrusive by hiding it in the dark, with moveable curtains or other portable stage design elements.” –Steven Hall, lighting director at JourneyChurch.tv
Create a Brand
- “Brand your stage design. Don’t be afraid to brand your stage design for the church or series. It will make visitors more what they are getting into.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
- “If you do multi-site, I highly encourage matching your design throughout all of your campuses. It creates continuity from campus to campus—holding true to the brand of your church and, more importantly, from the broadcast video on screen to what attendees see on stage at their local campus.” –Brad McCraw, live production lead at Christ’s Church of the Valley
More:
- Read our review of Set the Stage: A Manifesto for Church Stage Design by Jonathan Malm.
- Buy a copy of Set the Stage: A Manifesto for Church Stage Design by Jonathan Malm.
- Check out another book by Jonathan Malm, Unwelcome: 50 Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Visitors.
