Production
3 Ways to Repurpose Stage Materials
Despite what we would like to believe, every church has to live within a budget when it comes to stage design, and that budget will never be the biggest in the church, no matter how much we may wish for it!
A few months ago, our team built some panels. They looked amazing (You can see them on churchstagedesignideas.com). We had thought about focal points and angles so they made the stage look incredible- it was great. Then we took them down. For a few days I was a little bummed that all that hard work was now just going to sit in a shed. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences.
I want you offer you 3 ways that you can give new life to the stage design that you love.
1. Trade Designs with Another Church.
A worship leader friend of mine came by a few weeks before we took down the design, and he mentioned they were looking for their next design. I told told him I liked their current design and said we could just swap! A trailer journey and some minor tweaks, the design that I loved had found new life on a new stage and helped create an awesome environment for new people. And we got a brand new design!
Our original panels were up for about four or five months, and the design we traded for was up for about 2, so half of the year was completely covered by the price of one design! This allows you to really spend the money you want to get the materials you need.
To save money and repurpose stage materials, try swapping stage designs with another church! Click To Tweet
2. Tip Them Over.
We just got our panels back, and began working to utilize them into our Christmas design. The panels were designed to stand upright, but my pastor had a great idea to tip them over and run them up the wall. They were angled so it made a cool design on the stage, almost like a Christmas tree. All we had to do was pay for a few 2×4’s to build frames and cut some of them down to make room. Readjusting how someone sees the old design will give it new life!
Readjusting how someone sees your old set design will give it new life! @jhwilliams Click To Tweet
3. Add Little Details.
For our Christmas design, I didn’t want to simply rotate the panels- so we added Edison bulbs in between each panel, giving the effect of Christmas lights during the Christmas season, or just a cool back light other times of the year. This part did cost some money, as we had to buy a few new dimmer packs and the bulbs and wiring- but the end result was amazing.
Many people didn’t even realize it was the same panels until I mentioned it. God wants us to be good stewards with the money given to the church. He also wants us to be creative. Thinking creatively about how we can continue to utilize past designs is an amazing solution.
Thinking creatively about how we can continue to utilize past set designs is good stewardship. @jhwilliams Click To Tweet
JOSH WILLIAMS
Worship Pastor
Velocity Church | Greenville, SC
velocitychurchsc.org
Josh is a native of Greenville, SC, where he lives with his wife, Dorothy, and daughter, Juliette. With just about 10 years of some sort of creative ministry experience, he serves at Velocity Church leading the worship, production, and stage design teams. Starting in music, he began to become interested in the technical side of making worship services happen. While serving at Lowcountry Community Church in Bluffton, SC- he began to learn and experiment with stage design and lighting. Since then, he has created many stage designs and consulted to help churches think creatively despite their size or budget. Josh’s goal in his ministry is to point people to Jesus, and believes that all the pieces of a service, from booth to stage and everywhere in between, need to work together to point to a singular goal of Christ.
