Stop by ChristianNetcast.com headquarters on Washington Street in Bangor and what you see is what you get: a suite of not-too-fancy offices used by a small, tightknit staff.

What you hear is something else: ChristianNetcast.com is currently the nation’s largest provider of radio Web “streaming” technology to Christian radio stations and churches.

That kind of technology allows Web users all over the world to listen to Christian music and services online.

Not bad for a business that began in a garage in Newburgh.

Mike Elliott, vice president of programming development and a Houlton native, had the idea for ChristianNetcast.com after he returned to Maine in 1997 following a successful radio career in major markets in Arizona, Ohio and Florida in the 1980s and ’90s. He still spends his mornings co-hosting the popular radio show “Mike and Mike” on WKSQ-FM (94.5) in Ellsworth.

Elliott says the business was a natural step.

“I had the idea to combine my radio background with some sort of Internet venture,” he said in a recent interview. “It wasn’t until I met Todd Van Tasel, our current vice president of technology, that that idea began to take off.”

Van Tasel and Elliott were attending Abundant Life Church in Bangor when they met and began planning their business. Van Tasel owned a computer store in Unity and had the expertise in computer technology Elliott knew they needed. Add David Palmer, also a member of Abundant Life with a background in Internet sales and marketing, and ChristianNetcast.com was born.

“Our idea initially was to allow churches to broadcast their services,” Elliot said. “At that stage most churches and ministries didn’t really utilize the Internet, let alone streaming radio.”

Palmer said just six radio stations signed up to “stream” their broadcasts online. “By our second year we had around 12. Now we have over 250,” he said.

“We started ChristianNetcast.com on our credit cards, in backrooms and closets,” Palmer said. “We had hoped our investments would pay off, and eventually they did.”

The business moved to its current home on Washington Street in 2002, where it now has six employees, including Elliott, Palmer and Van Tasel.

As the number of clients grew, they opened tech support centers in San Francisco and Cleveland, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

How does the service work?

According to Van Tasel, for less than $200 a month a radio station or ministry can stream its content on nothing more than a basic personal computer. There’s very little technology involved on the user’s end – the company’s two tech support centers take care of that.

“We’ve really grown through word of mouth,” said Elliott. “We do go to trade shows and to the National Religious Broadcasters’ convention, but our growth has really rested upon radio stations telling other radio stations about us.”

ChristianNetcast.com hosts radio stations all over the country, as well as from England, Australia and Canada. Some of the radio stations have received big accolades: three of the four winners of the Dove Award (the Christian equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Christian Radio Station were stations hosted by ChristianNetcast.com.

Their faith informs their corporate philosophy. Even the name “ChristianNetcast.com” is taken from a passage in the Bible – in Matthew 4:19, where Peter and Andrew cast their nets in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus approaches them and says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

The business has grown so rapidly that in 2005 the three plan to expand services further.

“We want to start up a Christian-based Internet service provider,” Elliot said. “When you log on, you’ll open up a home page with Christian news, games, chat rooms, even dating services. We imagine it as a kind of Christian Yahoo! or AOL.”

The big plan, though, is to move into the mainstream.

“We plan on launching a secular, mainstream version of ChristianNetcast.com in the coming year as well,” Palmer said.

ChristianNetcast.com has no plans on moving out of Bangor as they grow and expand.

“We are really committed to the community,” Elliott said. As Christians, the three feel it is their duty to give away 10 percent of their profits to ministries and missions and to charities – in particular to Bangor Christian School’s athletics.

“We figure we’ve had such success in the realm of Christian broadcasting we should try to expand our horizons a little bit. If things keep going the way they’ve been going we may end up becoming the largest Christian streaming radio provider in the world.”

What is Web streaming?

Web, or Internet radio, is a radio re-broadcasting service that can be received via the Internet.

The audio source (what you hear when you turn on your radio) is converted into a digital format.

This is “streamed” over an Internet connection, then reassembled and played within 2 seconds on your home computer – hence the 2-second lag time on Internet radio.

Other popular Web radio hosts include Live365.com and SHOUTcast.com.