Allendale, USA - The newly installed projector sent a flickering, scrolling image to the theater wall as Brian Kamstra tinkered with the video feed.
After a couple of minutes, the static went away and the sharp image of a church service came to life.
A pastor's encouraging words echoed through the spacious room lined with large windows and filled with comfy lounge chairs.
With that impromptu test out of the way, Kamstra, the campus pastor for RP48, turned to face his new congregation -- the students of Grand Valley State University in Allendale.
The new satellite campus of Ridge Point Community Church in Holland Township held its inaugural service Nov. 23, an event that brought more than 50 GVSU students to The Village at 48 West housing development.
RP48 is unique because Kamstra doesn't preach, but instead relies on pastors at Ridge Point's main campus. College students at RP48 will watch Ridge Point's Saturday service each week.
"The message part, the teaching will be done via video. We do not have a live connection, but that is something we can look into in the future," Kamstra said. "It frees my time up to work at engaging the students and serving in the community."
The church is part of a trend of congregations across the state and country that are young and closely connected to emerging technology.
The Barna Group conducted a survey in 2008 of 605 pastors of Protestant churches across the country and found small churches have had the hardest time embracing technological trends. George Barna, a futurist who analyzes culture and demographics to predict church trends and directs research at the California-based group, said in a statement that technology is here to stay.
"A lot of the new churches are really using technology ... within their organization," said Paul Boice, director of communication for the RCA. "There is an increasing interest in, 'How do I connect with my congregation by using various media?'"
Besides the visible technology, RP48 also uses a wide array of digital, online and social networking tools.
The church's Facebook group lists recent news, events, photos, videos, contact information and updates from Kamstra.
"The Internet has become one of the pivotal communications and community-building tools of our lifetime," Barna said in a release. "Churches are well-advised to have an intelligent and foresighted Internet strategy in order to facilitate meaningful ministry."