First off you need a REAL rigger to do this! Don't try to do it yourself. If you try to do it yourself it could easily end in disaster.
Where are you at? Besides the many rigging shops around the country, there are also a lot of good riggers working in performance halls, for the unions, teaching at universities, and working at large theaters. I know a guy who teaches rigging at a university and does all kinds of consulting work on the side helping people make their facilities safe, inspecting systems for repair
etc. He doesn't charge a lot and could easily help you fix your problem. Check around a
bit you should be able to find a rigger who will at least come look at your building and tell you what can and can't be done for not a lot of money. If you have a good local theater dealer they may have someone on staff who will come do this for free as part of their sales process.
You won't be able to do a lot without a large expensive permanent fly
system. However, a few properly installed hanging points and the right equipment could allow you to temporarily install a
batten or two or some
truss that you can hang things from safely without permanently altering the appearance of the church. Find a REAL rigger and pay him/her to install those points, help you
purchase the equipment you need to do it, and teach you how to use the
system properly. If you just want to be able to hang a couple of battens or some
truss that shouldn't be very hard
with the help of a REAL rigger and my guess is it would cost around $5k-$10k for everything (depends on how much you install and if you motorize the whole thing so it is easy to install and remove and then there are possible permits and city code to deal with which could cost even more).
You won't be able to rig a
drop to
fly in and out without a larger permanent fly
system. You could
build some
roll drops or oleo/
olio drops to allow you to have drops that come and go from a static pipe and they don't have to cost a lot (SEARCH and you'll find all you need to know).
A second option would be to
purchase a
portable truss system. These consist of two stands on each end that support long pieces of
truss across the
stage, you then crank the stands up to a height of about 10-12 feet (depends on the product). They are easy to setup and store fairly compactly.
Here's one 13' high and 13' wide for $1500. I think you can get them 20' or so wide. You can get small ones made for DJ's that are about 10' wide and 8' high for only a few hundred bucks... again check the load
rating. You will need the help of that rigger or good local dealer to
purchase the right equipment and teach you how to use it safely. You can hang a limited number of lights on one of these and/or a static
drop. I wouldn't use an Oleo/
Olio on one because the movement might be dangerous... but there may be newer designs that wouldn't have a problem with an Oleo...
call a dealer/manufacturer and talk with them about what products they can sell you. Again where are you? Do you know a good local theater dealer? Depending on where you are there should be a dealer willing to come look at your church and give you pricing on a large install as well as a
portable system that would work.
A third option would be some sort of standing
truss structure. This might need to be secured from above by that rigger again... depends on the design.
Here's a website from a company that specializes in trade show booths. I don't know if that particular product is rated for hanging things from it... I just liked the pictures in that
gallery. There are other
stage specific products that you should actually look at for purchasing. You are still talking a few thousand bucks... more than the crank up stand most likely but more sturdy too... depending on the design. You need to talk with a dealer or rigger for more help. Take a look at
Global Truss website they are one of the better manufacturers in the industry and you can get some ideas about what can be done with
truss. Again you need the help of a good dealer or rigger though to make sure it's the safe product for your application, don't just buy straight from the manufacturer.
However, all that said, my guess is that you are not one of the lucky few who attends a mega church with vast budgets for productions and facilities upgrades and even a $2,000+
portable system may be out of your reach. I suggest you consider building a free standing wall of flats that is 10 or 12 feet high instead of hanging things. We can give you all the help you need to do that right here and you should be able to do it for around $500 or so (depending on the size) and have something that can be reused again and again.
Why don't you give us a better idea of the space. Either post a picture or a drawing and give us dimensions of how large the
stage is as well as height to overhead things. I bet we can help you slap something together that would solve your problems on the
ground for a lot less than a hung project. Do you have anyone in the church who is a welder that would be willing to help
build your wall?