NorthRidge Church Pushes Creative Envelope with Martin Gear

NorthRidge Church in Plymouth, Michigan, is a progressive and forward-thinking ministry that uses the latest in lighting technology to push the creative envelope. An all-Martin house since 2006, NorthRidge boasts a range of Martin Professional lighting and Jem smoke gear that would be the envy of any house of worship…or any venue for that matter.

In partnership
Steinas Systems of Branson, Missouri, has been providing lighting and stage equipment to NorthRidge since 2006 and values the close relationship they have developed over the years.

“With NorthRidge, as we do with all of our clients, Steinas has invested significant time getting to know the team and understand the Ministry, how they function, and what their needs are,” comments Steinas’ Josh Holowicki. “From that, we keep our eyes and ears open for new and exciting technologies that NorthRidge may be interested in using.”

Exploring the possibilities
When Martin Professional’s EC Series™ LED video panels became available, Steinas began talking about the product with the Church’s creative leadership and exploring the possibilities the equipment could offer their design team. Once they knew there was a good fit between technology and Ministry, a project was initiated to immediately include 64 EC-20 LED video panels and Maxedia Broadcast™ media server.

The EC panels allow NorthRidge virtually limitless opportunities to incorporate video into their stage designs without the limitations found with projectors and screens. “This is a substantial investment that shows that even though a church might not be the biggest, or have the deepest pockets, they still see a significant value in automated lighting and use it as a viable tool,” Josh says, adding, “The purchase brings LED video technology into their space on a permanent basis and allows their team to begin dreaming bigger and stretching their creative abilities even further.”

First permanent EC panel HOW install in U.S.
NorthRidge’s main worship center in Plymouth seats approximately 3,300 with two additional satellite venues in the Detroit metro area. NorthRidge took delivery of the new equipment in April as the first church in North America to purchase the 20 mm pixel pitch EC-20 for permanent installation. The panels are being used in a variety of ways and are reconfigured with every new stage design, typically every six weeks.

Technical Director at NorthRidge is Jason Horn, who oversees the large Martin inventory for the church. He commented, “We are overjoyed with the EC panels! The ease of set up, versatility, and impact are incredible. We typically run them during service at a brightness setting of only 10% to avoid ‘showing up’ our MAC 2000s. The highest we have ever used them is at 30%.”

Easy up, easy down
The EC-Series is designed for rapid setup and tear down, and integration of the panels with Martin’s award-winning P3 processor makes setting up the EC screen even more straightforward and intuitive.

“The EC series product is absolutely amazing to work with,” says Josh Holowicki. “It is easy to assemble and its design ensures all connections are made reliably each and every time it is put together. The lightweight design makes its versatility unmatched and the ability to hang the panels in dozens of configurations, including curves, opens up countless design possibilities. All of these were contributing factors to the NorthRidge purchase decision.”

Additionally, a recent acquisition of the EC truss clamp allows NorthRidge to hang the panels horizontally as well as vertically, a flexible feature they have integrated into their current summer series stage design.

Jason concludes, “Overall, we are very happy about our excellent relationship with Martin and Steinas, and look forward to continuing to grow with them in the future.”

Lighting Vendor: Steinas Systems
Technical Director: Jason Horn (NorthRidge)
Lighting/Maxedia Programmer: Luke DeMoss (NorthRidge)