Ashland Christian Fellowship in Ashland, Ore., is a medium size church with three buildings and an outdoor courtyard that's used for church services during the summer months. With a sanctuary built to host 500, the overall congregation at the church including multiple services is around 1,000. Earlier this year, Ashland Christian Fellowship began a series of sanctuary renovations to upgrade the interior, including the installation of a two-projector system. Pastor of Worship Rob Mackinnon sought out the help of David McLain from CCI Solutions to ensure that Ashland Christian Fellowship got the best projector for the space and for the best price.
“I'm an audio guy, and while I'm well versed in audio when it comes to video and projection my go-to has been David for the last several years,” says Mackinnon. “I told him we were looking to enhance the entire worship experience. That's when he told me about the laser projectors from Hitachi that fell right in our budget. I mean, technology is a needful thing, but it can also be expensive. So when David showed us these projectors we absolutely fell in love. We knew they would carry us through the long run because of the laser instead of a lamp.”
Once Mackinnon received the projectors, he prepared for what he believed would be the hardest part: installation. But he says with Hitachi, the installation was a breeze.
“I had to do a little math to figure out where to hang the projectors so they would be balanced and set equally apart,” says Mackinnon. “What thrilled me most as a tech guy is when I put the batteries in the remote and hit power button, and the projectors worked. With projects like this, I just expect trouble, but I quickly read the manual to get them set up and that was it. I had both projectors formatted to both screens in less than an hour. It was thrilling.”
Mackinnon added that the new sanctuary, including the two new laser projectors and screens, now has the wow factor that the church was looking for. When guests walked into the new sanctuary for the first time, he says they are blown away by the transformation. The two new Hitachi LP-WU9750B laser projectors have enhanced the worship experience for the entire congregation.
“I'm really happy with how everything turned out,” says Mackinnon. “Hitachi has helped us transform our little sanctuary into a house of worship that will be an inspiring and wonderful experience for all. I know we are very fortunate to have had the money to buy these projectors, and all I can say is that if other churches have the money to invest in these projectors as well they definitely should. They're exactly what we needed at Ashland Christian Fellowship and I am so thankful that we are able to have them.”
