Lenexa Baptist Church Launches Multi-Ethnic Campus, Using Sennheiser TourGuide 2020 System to Facilitate Multi-Lingual Translations

Sennheiser TourGuide System Enables People to Hear Sermons in Four Different Languages, as Church Expands Outreach to Local Community. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) December 20, 2013 - Lenexa, KS - On September 15th, Lenexa Baptist Church (LBC) launched a new campus to accommodate the growing needs of its local, internationally flavored community - many of whom are second and third generation immigrants. Each Sunday night, the church now holds multi-ethnic services using Sennheiser's TourGuide system to facilitate 'real-time' translations for non-English speaking congregants. LBC plans to use the system during Christmas Eve service next week during which the sermon will be delivered in multiple languages.

Larry White, who is known as Pastor Larry, is campus pastor, Fellowship International, LBC: "We have been working in the Hispanic community for about three years. We felt that God was leading us to start a new church campus, and we realized that we needed to reach beyond our Hispanic base into other ethnic communities," he says. The Sennheiser TourGuide system provided the technology the church needed to facilitate real time wireless broadcasts in each language, and now services can be heard in English, Spanish, Russian and Haitian Creole.

From an audio perspective, LBC was looking for a standalone system that would not have to be integrated directly into the audio console, since this would have added a dimension of complexity that was too cumbersome. "We liked the TourGuide system because it was simple to use and we could take it anywhere," says Justin Pedigo, Media Director at LBC. "Once we realized Sennheiser had an autonomous system, we compared features and functionality of several products and at the end of the day the TourGuide was the best." Sennheiser's Andrew Kornstein arranged for a demo of the system in the sanctuary, where they tested the range, intelligibility and operational functions. "We were convinced that Sennheiser was the way to go and continue to be pleased with the TourGuide system," Pedigo says.

LBC purchased (3) SKM 2020-D handheld microphone transmitters, (10) HDE 2020-D-II stethoscope TourGuide receivers, (10) EK 2020-D-II body pack receivers and an EL 2020-20L charging case, which charges the headsets in a storage room when they not being used. Now, at each service, live interpreters are stationed around the perimeter of the sanctuary where they provide real-time translations so congregants can hear the message in their own language. Headsets are located at the entry door to the sanctuary, where interpreters are there to greet attendees in their own language and provide them with the appropriate headset.

All in all, the translation initiative has elicited a warm response among the church community: "The reception has been over the top," observes Pastor Larry, who has seen attendance grow from roughly 130 active congregants in September to about 175 active congregants in December. "Our multi-lingual efforts afford us the opportunity to have entire families and their guests come to worship services with absolutely no language barriers. This has really opened the doors for us, and we plan on adding even more languages in the future."

Pastor Larry says that perhaps the most gratifying part is the knowledge that nobody is being left behind: "It is very satisfying to know that we can reach out to the community as it exists," he says. This area has become more multi-ethnic, and our desire is to reach everyone. In order to do that, we had to adjust our own methodology and strategy to properly communicate. Having the TourGuide system was an essential ingredient to accomplish what we needed to do."

About Sennheiser:
Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Sennheiser's pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at http://www.sennheiserusa.com.

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