Since its founding in 1976, Westside Family Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Lenexa, Kansas, has embraced change to best serve its community. The church’s growth story began in earnest during the late ’90s, when expanding attendance prompted several relocations as well as the development of a multi-site ministry model that includes satellite campuses and an online presence. Throughout this journey, Westside has consistently invested in technology to enhance its worship experience. Their latest advancement—the adoption of L-Acoustics L-ISA immersive sound technology paired with A10i loudspeakers—exemplifies this commitment. The new system delivers superior clarity and coverage while working within the auditorium’s architectural constraints.
Innovative Design Overcomes Space Constraints
“The design presented several unique challenges,” explains Marc Breda, Project Lead at Vantage Pro AV, the church’s integration and technology partner. “First, the main worship space has an unusually low ceiling for a room of its size. We also had to work around a centrally located catwalk that further limited our usable trim height. Additionally, the church uses a large 34-foot-by-14-foot projection screen for their services, so maintaining clear sight lines for important visual content throughout the seating area was crucial.”
Using L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D audio modeling software, the ideal solution quickly proved to be an L-ISA design utilizing A10i as the primary loudspeaker. A mixture of both Wide and Focus models comprise the main Scene array, buttressed by KS21 subwoofers, with everything powered by a pair of LA7.16i amplified controllers. Breda says the compact form factor of the A10i, combined with its power and precision coverage gives every seat in the venue excellent sound.
Superior Sound Quality Meets Visual Aesthetics
“The new system nicely fits the room’s geometry,” he says. “It’s a moderate fan shape with stadium seating in the back, which lends itself well to an L-ISA design. There’s a little bit of extension seating out to the wings of the main floor, and we had to bring the main speakers a little lower in order to shoot up underneath the catwalk, but ultimately, everything fit perfectly.”
That would have been enough for almost any church, but Westside Family Church also wanted to enhance the audio experience, says Vantage Pro Audio Team Lead Duke DeJong—and that meant immersive. “It’s been fun to watch their tech staff really lean into the L-ISA immersive technology, which they first used on September 29,” he says. “It’s taking their worship experience to another level.”
“Houses of worship are embracing immersive sound for both creative and practical reasons,” explains DeJong. “While many are excited about the enhanced mixing capabilities and more immersive worship experience, there’s also a practical driver behind this trend. Traditional line arrays can protrude ten feet or more from the ceiling, creating visual obstacles. Our L-ISA installations have consistently emerged as the ideal solution when churches need powerful, even coverage while maintaining clean sight lines.”
“Interestingly, aesthetics have been the initial catalyst for all our L-ISA installations,” he adds. “The A Series allows us to deliver powerful sound while maintaining a minimal vertical footprint—typically within just five feet of the ceiling. This is a game-changer for churches, as they can achieve exceptional audio quality without compromising their visual aesthetics. They get the best of both worlds: clear visual communication and superior sound.”
Enhanced Creative Control Inspires Production Team
The impact of L-ISA technology extends beyond better sound—it can transform how worship teams engage with their ministry. For Obed Castillo, Westside Family Church’s longtime AVL Engineer, the difference was profound enough to bring him back to the mixing console. “With our previous system, I had stepped away from hands-on mixing because the lack of clarity made it difficult to distinguish frequencies,” Castillo explains. “But L-ISA completely changed that. The clarity is exceptional—even subtle EQ adjustments are immediately noticeable. Plus, the system’s localization capabilities give me new creative options. Instead of relying solely on EQ, I can enhance elements in the mix by adjusting their spatial positioning. The results have been so inspiring that I’ve gone from mixing just three services a year to being at the console any time a volunteer is not available and I can step in at front of house.”
User-Friendly Technology Empowers Volunteer Staff
The intuitive nature of L-ISA technology has proven particularly valuable for Westside’s volunteer audio team. “The system is remarkably user-friendly, especially with the comprehensive training provided by L-Acoustics staff,” Castillo shares. He cites an unexpected success story: when one of the church’s video operators attended the training sessions and created a practice mix at home, the results were impressive. “Their mix had a unique visual perspective, making creative use of the spatial capabilities. Despite coming from a video background, they produced excellent sound. This really demonstrates how intuitive L-ISA is—making immersive audio mixing accessible to our entire production team.”
Expanding Creative Possibilities for Worship
On the creative side, L-ISA offers the church new capabilities that are changing the way it presents its messaging. “It has us thinking in a different way about sound and presentation,” says Derek Davis, Worship & Creative Arts Director. “Now, we have a variety of options that weren’t there before. For instance, we can pan any instrument or person to any part of the stage, and everyone listening will perceive the sound to be at that place onstage, no matter where they’re actually sitting. We can pan hard left or right, and everyone will hear it clearly.”
“We’re taking a methodical approach, using weekdays to explore L-ISA’s extensive capabilities and fine-tune them for our Sunday services,” Davis explains. “The system offers so many creative possibilities that we’re discovering new ways to enhance our worship experience every week. The results we’ve already achieved are incredibly rewarding, and we’re excited to continue exploring L-ISA’s full potential.”
For more information on Westside Family Church, visit www.westsidefamily.church. Vantage Pro AV can be found online at www.vantageproav.com.
