When we first looked into upgrading our church lighting setup, I wanted something that would integrate smoothly with ProPresenter while also giving us more flexibility.
That’s when we made the switch to LightKey, running on our 2019 iMac and connected through a Chauvet network DMX converter. After a lot of testing and troubleshooting, we’ve landed on a workflow that works really well for us, and I want to share both the pros and the cons.
We had been running on a physical lighting board, which worked fine but felt limited. I wanted our ProPresenter slides to cue lighting so that transitions during songs and sermons happened perfectly on time. With LightKey, automation takes care of these changes seamlessly.
That means smooth crossfades when the first song begins or when we switch into the sermon.
At first, I tried an Enttec USB DMX converter, but it was unreliable. Random flickering made it unusable. After some research and a recommendation from Budget Church Live Streaming, I moved to a Chauvet network DMX converter. Since then, reliability has been much better.
Inside LightKey, we use the free version, which gives us plenty of DMX channels for our needs (a total of 24). Our setup includes:
I’ve built our stage layout in LightKey, including the LED wall for reference, so it’s easy to design looks that match motion backgrounds. Each Sunday, I select a background and adjust the lighting to match. During rehearsals, we use a warm backlight preset, and for services, we switch between worship, message, and pre-service looks.
We also run everything through a Stream Deck, which gives us quick-access buttons for rehearsal, worship, message, and an all-on option for big moments. This setup enables volunteers to trigger lighting without needing to access LightKey’s interface.
Automation: ProPresenter cues lighting perfectly in sync with slides.
Flexibility: Easy to build custom looks and scenes.
Beginner-Friendly Interface: Once set up, it’s straightforward for trained volunteers.
Integration: Works well with Stream Deck and ProPresenter.
Reliance on Software: If the iMac isn’t running, the lights won’t turn on.
More Failure Points: Software bugs, converter issues, or communication problems between apps can be tricky to troubleshoot.
Volunteer Training: For someone without experience, LightKey can feel complicated compared to a physical board.
Stream Deck Bugs: Occasionally requires restarting the software to work correctly.
Was switching to LightKey worth it? For us, yes. The automation makes services run smoother and frees up volunteers to focus on other tasks. But if your physical board is working just fine, introducing LightKey also means introducing more potential failure points.
I think LightKey is an incredible value, especially for small to mid-sized churches. It’s user-friendly compared to other lighting software, and once you’re willing to put in the setup time, it will make Sundays run much smoother. Just be ready to do some troubleshooting along the way.
If you’re considering LightKey for your church, I hope this walkthrough helps you decide if it’s the right move.
