Transformation Church Elevates Production Communications

Transformation Church, one of the fastest-growing and most influential digital ministries in the United States, has deployed a comprehensive communications system built around Riedel Communications’ Artist intercom ecosystem, including an Artist-1024 matrix, Bolero wireless beltpacks, headsets and SmartPanels.

The new system, announced by Riedel Communications, is designed to support the church's expanding production operations as it delivers live and online experiences to tens of thousands of concurrent viewers each week and hundreds of thousands more throughout the year.

Transformation Church relies on communication among directors, camera operators, lighting teams, audio engineers, stage managers and broadcast staff. As production demands grew, the church sought a system that could provide greater flexibility, scalability and reliability.

"From day one, our previous communications system was operating at its limits," said Keithan Carroll, Director of Production and Technology at Transformation Church. "When we moved to Riedel, the difference was immediate. The audio clarity was night and day. You don't have to run everything at maximum volume just to understand what's being said, and that makes a huge difference during long production days — less listening fatigue."

Designed and deployed by system integrator Diversified in collaboration with Transformation Church, the system is centered on an Artist-1024 intercom matrix. It includes more than 50 Bolero wireless beltpacks operating across 39 antennas, more than 40 1200 Series SmartPanels in 1RU and 2RU configurations, and more than 90 Riedel headsets in PRO and AIR variants.

The system supports production teams throughout the church’s three-story facility, which includes a 3,000-seat auditorium, production control rooms, studios, meeting spaces and children's ministry areas.

General crew members use lighter-duty earmuff headsets, while staff in specialized roles use custom single- and dual-ear configurations on the same system. The beltpacks also support Bluetooth® pairing, enabling IFB-style host monitoring and personal calls to be routed through a single headset without requiring users to change devices during a show.

"We can walk from one end of the facility to the other and stay connected," said Carroll. "The coverage has been incredibly reliable, and the transition between antennas is seamless. We can step outside, get in an elevator, go pretty much anywhere in the building, and we're confident we'll still have comms."

The system has also become a central part of the church’s broader production workflow.

"We like to say we're a content house packaged as a local church," said Tyler Tritten, Technical Director at Transformation Church. "Everything we do is a coordinated effort — whether it's video, lighting, audio, stage management, or cameras — communication touches every part of the production. The flexibility and reliability of the system make it easier for our teams to stay connected and focused on what they're doing."

SmartPanels have helped streamline operations with color-coded interfaces that allow users to quickly identify channels, groups and priority communications. The Artist matrix also provides per-source volume control, allowing individual levels to be adjusted without affecting the rest of the team — a capability that was not available with the church’s previous party-line setup.

The system’s configuration and management capabilities have also allowed Transformation Church to delegate communications management to technical staff, freeing production leaders to concentrate on show execution.

“It’s gotten to the point where Tyler and I don’t really deal with comms day to day — one of our techs owns it,” said Carroll.

For Transformation Church, the system’s manufacturer support has been another important part of the deployment.

"What has stood out is the relationship," Tritten added. "Many manufacturers focus primarily on the integrator relationship, but Riedel has consistently shown that they care about the end user. Whether it's proactive check-ins or quick responses when we need assistance, that level of support has made a real difference."

Tritten said that relationship was reinforced when a Riedel regional sales manager visited the church without an appointment, identified an outstanding issue and arranged a solution on the spot. He described that level of direct manufacturer engagement as uncommon in his experience with AV vendors.

"Transformation Church has built a production environment that's designed for the future," said Josh Harrison, Regional Sales Manager, South, at Riedel Communications. "As the church continues to expand its production capabilities and extend its reach to audiences around the world, its communications infrastructure provides a scalable foundation that enables seamless collaboration today while supporting whatever comes next."

Riedel will showcase its live-production solutions for media, sports and entertainment at IBC2026 in Amsterdam from Sept. 11-14 at stands 10.A24, 10.A31 and 10.A38.

www.riedel.net