Founded in 1962, Wheeler Avenue Baptist is a historic church in downtown Houston, Texas. Each week more than 15,000 church members gather for worship, prayer and Bible study, led by Senior Pastor Marcus D. Cosby and his ministry team. The church holds spiritual study sessions for children, youth and adults in their 56,000-square-foot Christian Education Complex, which houses classrooms, a nursery and a multi-purpose meeting space.
Pastor Cosby has been a part of the intentionally intergenerational congregation in Houston’s inner city since 2004, having served as Associate Pastor since 1998. He passionately leads the four well-attended Sunday worship services and extends the church’s impact beyond just the campus. This includes founding the Wheeler Avenue Christian Academy for children from six weeks old to the second grade; opening a transitional housing facility for unhoused single mothers in the Third Ward community of Houston; and cultivating a missional outreach in multiple South African villages.
Meeting the Future of Hybrid Worship
In 2020, the pandemic quickly made it clear that the traditional means of operating were no longer sufficient. While their meeting rooms and offices served in-person sessions effectively, the church desired a technological solution to equip their spaces for hybrid meetings. Their primary goal was to increase and improve the overall audio sound performance with a high-quality and long-lasting solution. In particular, they required the solution to be easy to install and intuitive for staff members to operate.
While this was the initial project challenge and focus, their needs expanded after realizing the transformative power of today’s advanced technology. Within a mere two months following the initial installation’s success, the church decided to proactively upgrade several spaces throughout the Christian Educational Complex: the classrooms and multi-purpose spaces, the youth room chapel and children’s chapel, the video production suite, the choir rehearsal hall, as well as the bookstore and bookstore reception area. This expansion was driven by foreseeing a need for future hybrid meetings, Bible classes, and the growing demand of remote member participation — supported by audio that created an ideal experience both in person and remote.
Thus, what originally began as a relatively simple project evolved into a robust, well-rounded overhaul of the key gathering spaces in the church facility.
Enabling Blended Gatherings with Bose Professional
Wheeler’s Technical Director knew to enlist the help of Houston-based integrator Covenant Communications for their expertise in audio solutions. Covenant’s Business Development Representative, Kundayi Musinami, immediately recommended Bose Professional for the diverse products available that would create the ideal audio experience throughout each of the unique spaces.
Moving through Wheeler Avenue Baptist’s diverse areas, which range from formal and informal gathering places and workspaces, it’s clear they understand the importance of quality sound.
The Youth Room Chapel and Children’s Chapel both use the ArenaMatch Utility AMU208 alongside the MB210-WR subwoofer, providing clarity of voice and a rich musical experience. Moving into the choir rehearsal hall, the space is outfitted with EdgeMax EM180 loudspeakers, delivering room-filling audio coverage and seamless integration into the ceiling.
For the multiple meeting spaces and classrooms, more than 25 Videobar VB1 all-in-one USB conference devices provide truly intuitive technology for ease of use. The 4K ultra-HD camera and six automatic beam-steering microphones enable people presenting or talking to the group to move freely while simultaneously capturing others when they talk. This natural interaction between those in the room and participating remotely removed the barriers that too often inhibit easy interactions and understanding of information being discussed.
“What distinguishes the Videobar VB1 is the accuracy it offers in terms of room coverage, the ability to tailor coverage to the shape or orientation of the room and the ability to zero in on the people speaking in the room while delivering clear, crisp sound during meetings or events,” Musinami said.
An area unique to Wheeler Avenue Baptist is its bookstore and the reception area located directly adjacent. Here Covenant Communications utilized a variety of DesignMax loudspeakers, ranging from the DM5P pendant, the DM6C and DM8C in-ceiling and the DM8S surface-mount loudspeakers to ensure appropriate coverage throughout this elegant retail and gathering area.
“We have a strong history with Bose Professional, and we knew their products like DesignMax, EdgeMax, Videobar VB1 would create a superb, robust, long-term solution for Wheeler Baptist’s needs,” Musinami explained.
Unifying Devotion Embodies ‘Wheeler Wherever’
Since incorporating the Bose Professional solution throughout Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, church leaders and staff have the ability to meet quickly and effortlessly, regardless of where participants are located. The choral group can practice in a space that delivers crystal clarity without distracting reverberation; children and teens have a space for worship and enjoyment; all members can peruse the bookstore or gather in a full-sensory environment; and the technical team can manage the video production efficiently, elevating the remote experience.
Recently church leaders and congregants dedicated its brand new 80,000-square-foot, 2,800-seat cathedral and Christian Education Complex, expanding the quality of the experience in the spaces available to the church and their surrounding community. Each week the church offers virtual and in-person Sunday school classes, as well as its popular ‘Wednesdays in the Word’ evening class. This flawless flexibility ensures that all congregants can participate in spiritual growth and fellowship, regardless of their location or schedule.
"With Bose Professional, every student clearly sees and effectively hear; each meeting is not hindered by ensuring the tech will work; and beautiful audio — at the appropriate levels — are experienced throughout our spaces,” McKinney exclaimed. “We had an incredibly positive experience working with Covenant Communications and Bose Professional — everything installed met our deadlines. The installation was clean, communication was effective, and this resulted in an extremely easy-to-use solution that has left a positive experience on church staff, members and students.”
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church continues to be revered for its historical impact and 60+ years of service in its Houston community. And the dedicated work of its more than 15,000 members and leadership will continue to expand its vision of “reaching every single soul” nomatter the distance, powered by the latest solutions from Bose Professional.
System Components:
Videobar VB1
From huddle spaces to medium-sized rooms, the Videobar VB1 is an all-in-one USB conferencing device that brings premium audio and video to meetings. With six automatic beam-steering microphones, a 4K ultra-HD camera, and proprietary Bose sound, the Bose Videobar VB1 helps you huddle up and get more done.
DesignMax
A complete loudspeaker assortment to enhance any space, DesignMax loudspeakers offer rich lows and clear, intelligible highs — along with premium aesthetics that complement any commercial sound installation. Choose from 15 models — including coaxial two-way loudspeakers, subwoofers, and compact models for tight spaces — great for both background and foreground audio applications indoors and outside with several models IP55 rated.
EdgeMax EM180
EdgeMax EM180 in-ceiling premium loudspeaker features nominal 180° horizontal coverage, specifically designed for in-ceiling mounting near room corners, eliminated audio dropout in difficult yet important spaces. Bose proprietary PhaseGuide technology with high-frequency compression drivers combine the room-filling coverage patterns typical of larger surface-mount loudspeakers with the streamlined aesthetics architects prefer.
Integrator/Distributor/Consultant:
At Covenant, we believe that excellence is possible through hand-in-hand partnerships with our clients. Over the years, we have built a foundation of trust and commitment through our relationships with construction managers, worship leaders, schools, choir directors, and so many others, many of whom have been with us since day one. We take the most pride in helping people accomplish their goals and our biggest honor is helping our customers find their success.
