THE pastor is standing in front of a darkened movie screen, explaining the relevance of The Book of Habakkuk while his congregation is awash in the glow of their laptops and cellphones.
For Norm Funk, the lead pastor of Westside Church, that's exactly how he likes it.
"It's absolutely necessary to be understanding of what's current in the culture. If the medium today is through WiFi, your phones, or whatever, and you don't provide that, you're archaic."
Led by pastor James Bonney, Westside Church brought its unique style of worship to the Park and Tilford theatres in North Vancouver April 1.
The church offers a free wireless network, enforces no dress code, and features a Christian rock band.
For Funk, 45, Westside represents a sharp contrast with his first experience in church.
"Adults were dressed in suits and at that time it was organs and hymn books, and kids were better seen and not heard," he says.
Funk preached his first sermon 19 years ago, and tends to focus on different books of the Bible. "Helping people understand what was going on at the time of writing, and how this is relevant in 2012. That's kind of my goal when I teach," he says.
While the sermon remains the same, the congregation has shifted, according to Funk.
"The medium needs to change," Funk says.
When it comes to bringing young tech-savvy Christians back into church, offering free Wi-Fi is essential, according to Funk. "Maybe 50 years ago if you showed up to a church and you didn't have a hymn book or a pulpit or an organ, you were archaic," he says.
"If I'm dealing with predominantly 25-to 35-yearolds, most of them don't open Bibles today, they go into their iPhone and they open up their Bible app," Funk says. "If I don't provide that . . . they're going to look at me like, 'You don't understand my life right now.'"
Rather than being distracted by technology, Funk says the plugged-in congregation is working to amplify his message.
"When I'm speaking on a Sunday, people are uploading tweets on what I'm speaking at in real time."
Funk was working at a Church in Burnaby when he formed Westside in Vancouver.
"There's a need for more churches that are committed to love in the city," he recalls thinking.
Funk says he had a vision, but not many resources.
"We had very little money, we didn't have a building," Funk says.
"We needed to find somewhere to meet and so we found a movie theatre. And we didn't have a lot of money so my office was my house. We didn't have a space throughout the week, so we met in coffee shops or homes."
Westside's unorthodox approach attracted a crowd who didn't grow up in church, according to Funk.
"That style of ministry, which was born out of necessity, attracted, maybe, a different demographic than is making up a large majority of churches today."
