Harvester Church (O'Fallon Campus)

Turning a Bowling Alley into a Modern Worship Space

After their main campus reached capacity, Harvester Church expanded to a new worship center in O’Fallon, Missouri. The building, originally constructed as a bowling alley in the 1984, was renovated into a modern worship space seating about 350 people. The goal for the new sound system was to deliver clear, engaging sound for music and speech while keeping the system visually unobtrusive.

The space needed to support contemporary worship with a live band along with teaching streamed from the main campus and displayed on a screen behind the pastor. It also hosts youth events and larger gatherings, making clarity for both music and speech essential.

Circle Audio Video Solutions, a regional integrator that has worked with Harvester Church previously, designed and installed the audio system. The building’s previous use as a bowling alley introduced several structural constraints that shaped the system’s design.

Designing for Low Ceilings and Clean Sight Lines

A structural beam at the curve of the stage dictated trim height, forcing the loudspeakers to be installed very close to the stage edge. With speakers positioned close to the platform, controlling rear energy became critical. The passive cardioid design helps minimize sound on stage and reduce feedback for both band and speech microphones.

“We chose the CCX because the passive cardioid controlhelped keep low and midrange energy from washing back onto the stage. In a room where the speakers had to be that close to the platform, that made a big difference,” says Chad Silvey of Circle AV.

Maintaining clean sight lines was also important with the relatively low ceiling. The compact footprint of the main CCX12 loudspeakers and CX8 delay fills allowed them to blend into the black ceiling while still providing the required coverage. Sub218L subwoofers were installed beneath the stage to provide low frequency support while keeping the stage visually clean. Ultra compact RX5 loudspeakers were used as front fills along the stage lip to cover the front rows.

The resulting system provides consistent coverage across the seating area while remaining visually unobtrusive.

Object-Based Mixing for Natural Sound

Circle AV also incorporated object-based mixing supported by a Venueflex immersive processor. OBM enables precise localization of sources, allowing the mixer to position vocals and instruments where they appear onstage or on screen. This creates a more natural listening experience and consistent sound for every seat.

“After working with this system, I don’t know that I could put in another stereo PA. It just behaves differently. The clarity that comes from the OBM signal flow and built-in processor settings changes the whole mixing approach,” says Silvey.

Using Fulcrum One software, the team can recall OBM presets and make spatial adjustments without relying on advanced mixing skills.

“For volunteers it’s a big win. You can walk in, turn it on,and it just sounds good. That kind of consistency gives people confidence when they’re mixing,” says Silvey.

Fast Commissioning and Simple Operation

Circle AV used Fulcrum One to model the room, predict coverage, and refine the design during the renovation.

“Fulcrum One software really helped us visualize the space and predict how the system would perform. It’s very intuitive, and the model ended up being very close to what we experienced in the actual room,” saysSilvey.

OBM control is handled within Fulcrum One, which remains part of the church’s weekly workflow. Presets allow the team to move quickly on Sundays with minimal rehearsal time, and volunteers can easily reposition sources in the software if musicians move on stage.

Clear Sound for Every Service

Circle AV delivered a system that meets the church’s technical needs while remaining easy for volunteers to operate. Passive cardioid loudspeakers, OBM processing, and intuitive software tools provide consistent coverage and natural sound across the room. Since launch, the system has delivered clear, reliable sound while remaining simple for the church’s volunteer team to manage.