It is important to understand one of the most important design details of the lighting system.  No matter what fixtures or dimming system is used, the lighting in the congregational seating area must be even. That is to say, there shouldn’t be any hot spots or dim areas.

Many churches are plagued with uneven lighting levels to the point that some areas are lit to only 5 foot-candles (or less), while other areas are lit to well over 100 foot-candles. Besides creating a difficult situation for reading printed materials, the eyes of a presenter standing on the platform will gravitate to the most brightly lit areas, and they will tend to pass over those in the dimmer (dark) areas. This leaves some of the congregation feeling stared at while others feel ignored altogether. The other issue is if video recording or IMAG of the congregation is ever attempted, the congregation will appear to be blotchy or striped in the video image due to the vast differences in lighting levels.

Even lighting levels in the congregational seating area are very important. Fixtures which provide a “spot light” in the center and diffused or considerably less level on the edges should be avoided or installed with sufficient density to overcome the level differences.