The WAVE Story
What's with the waves, bro?
In 2005, two friends set out to equip churches with better sounding rooms. Their offerings grew with their passion, and WAVE was born.
What separated WAVE from others then is the same thing that sets our work above and beyond now: customization.
We believe that every church's environment should be as authentic as their mission.
This is why we design and deliver customized solutions, not just gear. Every project is as unique as the vision and mission of our client.
We create innovative spaces for you to create powerful experiences for others.
If you ever meet our founders, it won't take long to guess which one spent his teens in a surf shop. While only a few of us surf now, we all share the coastline vibe he passed on: relaxed and relational.
We've found a little time together can go a long way in our custom work. We get to know your culture, understand your needs, find solutions within your budget, and support you even after commissioning.
This culture unites us as storytellers who design and deliver innovative worship facilities. While our team is made of designers, engineers, installers, and project managers, our passion is all the same: bringing your ministry to life.
MEET SOME OF OUR CREW
PRESTON RUSS
DIRECTOR OF DESIGN
Preston is key to ensuring our clients receive solutions that are authentic to their mission. He has played several roles over his fifteen years of experience in AVL, from Production Manager for Grammy and Billboard winning artists, to a Production Director over a multi-site church. His impressive experience and knowledge equips our team and our clients to explore what true customization can do for our projects.
Preston served as Production Director as his church expanded from 2 locations to 6 and online, and his keen understanding of projects of all size serves our clients well. His work has created consistency in protocols, gear, and procedures across multi-site churches to provide stability for both staff and volunteers.
MATT SMELSER
DIRECTOR OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Matt has been building and running AVL systems for over fifteen years. His experience includes arenas, concert venues, office buildings, large and small churches, and even a recording studio in a developing nation. He loves leading teams through the process of completing a project, and has an ability to bring vision, design, and ideas to reality.
Matt is passionate about equipping others to steward their AVL operations to accomplish their mission. He is known for serving our clients above and beyond as he manages projects with precision and detail.
RICK RUSSELL
DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING
Rick brings decades of experience in the network and broadcast production world to his position leading our world- class engineering team. After a tenure in network consulting, Rick transitioned to a career as Technical Director at several leading megachurches, most recently at Seacoast Church.
Rick owns the place where engineering meets culture and creativity. His thinking and pursuit for innovation is anchored by stewardship. It is this skillset that makes him such a talented engineer and designer as he leads our engineering team.
