this is "nightline." >> at the hipster church, the music is thumping, the pastor is heavily tattooed. it's a combination of new school style and old school theology that many love but some find deeply controversial. plus, there's no letting go when it comes to the "frozen" phenomenon. ♪ let it go let it go even on the ice rink, this hip movie is becoming big business. and so you get the high-tech must-have holiday gifts you wanted most? how do you actually play with them? it's tech the halls. but first, the "nightline".

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good evening. thank you for joining us. merry christmas. we're about to take you inside a church many believe is revolutionizing what it means to go to church. the house band has sold millions of records. the services have lines around

the block that include the biggest celebrities. it's called hillsong church where holy is hip. this is hillsong, new york. your granddaddy's church, it's not. hand raising heart thumping hipster style christianity. a come as you are tattoos welcome 90-minute experience. the lines to get in are long, blocks long. filled mostly with young people. >> you have to come and see them. >> the pastor, brad pitt looks, billy graham theology. >> bless you you know you wanted to be blessed. we will heal you in places you didn't even know you were broken. >> among the faithful, a who's who, bono and hugh jackman have

attended services, nba star kevin durant was baptized by pastor carl as well as celebrity bad boy justin bieber. >> celebrities are part of new york city. we'll save everybody here from the faceless to the famous. >> they come in droves, close to 8,000 worshipers spread over six sunday services. what goes on in here? >> a typical service for us. >> is that the typical service? >> well, that's probably true. >> the sanctuary a rented new york ballroom. how do you explain the success of this church? >> it's growing, but we're not trying to have the big hot trendy cool packed church. it's awesome. >> hipster church? >> hipster's always a term that i'm like what does that mean? the story is not the clothes people wear. it's the lives they're living w we talked to members who say hillsong helped them reconnect with their faith. >> positive environment where you come in and you leave feeling much better than you came in. >> it seems like it's a pretty tumultuous time in culture.

response to that has been the really shallow world of social media, smoke and mirrors living. so you come into church and there is a -- there is a realness to it. it's hitting a chord that people didn't know they had. >> on the streets of new york, pastor carl certainly keeps it real. he's known to offer a word of prayer or scripture to anybody anywhere. i've been with pastors who don't know anyone outside their doors. he said hey carl, and you stopped. >> i don't look at this giant metropolis as much as our local parish, if you will. >> it did seem for a moment at least in our interview, leading a church this big growing in quickly can sometimes overwhelm a pastor this young. >> you can't fake who you are. you are who you are. >> who are you? >> i love people. >> tell me what's up? >> i really want to have the

same heart for people that jesus did, which is to not see what everybody else saw but try to dig a little bit deeper. i feel that's how i was reached. i feel there are people who look over all the stuff i had going on and saw stuff that maybe i didn't see. >> pastor carl may have given a glimpse of his humanity, but he soon shut it down with humor. >> don't show this. this is fake. this is all for show. >> hillsong, new york, is the u.s. flagship of a global movement start in sydney, australia by senior pastor brian houston 30 years ago. >> i feel like music and reaching young people, he's gracious for it. >> london to paris, kiev to capetown. >> if you walk into all of them, you see a similar demographic of people. you can close your eyes and think i'm in any one of the hillsong churches anywhere.

>> but the familiar feeling stems from the music. >> we started singing and writing songs in our church. we were surprised when they started singing them in other churches all around the world like they are now. >> it's called hillsong united. simply put, they're one of the hottest bands on earth. with hits like "oceans" hillsong united has sold over 16 million albums. it was nominated for an american music award earlier this year. it felt like i was backstage at a concert. there were technicians off to the side. >> less groupie, though. >> joel houston, pastor brian's son is co-lead pastor in new york but also guides hillsong united. >> music has an incredible ability to break down walls and to reach people's hearts. >> a snappy beat, a smidge of scripture have made for a winning and profitable combination.

how vital is the music to funding what you do with hillsong? >> well. >> a half, a third? >> to be honest, i don't know the exact amount because we're a nonprofit. so all of the finances come into the nonprofit and are used for the ministry. >> like many mega churches hillsong is shy about discussing their finances. at the services we attended in new york, we were asked not to film the offertory. >> the collective sacrifice of many is what you see in our church. >> one area critics both liberal and conservatives have seized upon are social issues like homosexuality. while the optics scream hip, modern, diverse, the church comes out of a pentecostal tradition. >> the only way i'm getting out of that life is through the blessed jesus. >> theology steeped in old testament traditions. you went on the record some years ago saying that

homosexuality is a sin. >> right. >> how does that impact how you lead a church where there are gays who may want to come to hillsong? >> that's exactly why we -- what we see as a conversation. the apostle paul described homosexuality as sin. i can't unwrite the bible, but on the other hand, we're not a church that can just make big blanket sweeping statements that dismiss people. >> if a gay couple came to hillsong, would you want them to change? >> the short answer is i think all of us should be changing. but we aren't the kind of church when they join the choir, are you heterosexual. we'll never be that kind of church. >> the other thing he sees is growth. his other son ben houston just opened hillsong los angeles. and already those familiar lines are forming for sunday services inside this rented theater.

with a church so dependent on young people, the question's been raised, will they someday outgrow it. the shep hersd and the sheep insist it's not the nuance that makes it work, it's the name you hear over and over again -- jesus. >> the story has to come back to jesus. >> next, we're going inside the big business of "frozen," from primetime tv to dolls, even wedding dresses. fairy tale success story. and later, how do you make the most of those new high-tech goodies you found under your tree?

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the hit movie "frozen" has turned into a merchandisizing bo nanz da, turning out dolls, wedding dress, even cannes of soup. what's the next logical brand extension? an ice show, of course. we go for a spin. >> you might think these people are waiting in line for a new iphone 6, but look again. this is the disney store. and these parents are here to buy anything and everything "frozen." a new shipment of dolls, dresses and toys came in overnight. and word quickly spread. ♪ let it go let it go >> "frozen" just won't let audiences go. the movie from our parent company disney is now the top grossing animated film of all

time. >> are you sure? >> the animated tale about two fearless sisters has snow balled from a surprise hit to a cultural phenomenon to a mega franchise. in the works a broadway show, theme park ride, animated short and ilsa inspired wedding dress. ♪ let it go >> it's no surprise that they took it to the ice rink. i joined up with the new touring ice show on a recent stop in providence, rhode island. the stadium was filled to capacity. >> many ilsas and annas eager to be transported to the fantastical land. how many times have you watched this? >> ten times. >> i think you've watched it more than that. >> i think more. >> a hundred. >> is everyone excited? >> the challenge for frozen on ice, re-creating the intangible magic of the film including that snowy landscape. >> we have all these special

effects like the -- >> like this right here. veteran director patty vinson took on the challenge. >> we need snow. >> you need snow. >> so we had a lot of snow. this is one of our blizzards. you can really feel it. >> it's kind of like a soapy -- it is soap. >> it is. we had to get used to it because it gets a little slippery on the ice which becomes a challenge. >> the skater leads the cast as a spunky princess anna and becky plays ilsa. when you went to look for the skaters to play these parts, what were you looking for? >> it's tricky because not only do they have to look like the character, we look for certain skating types and abilities. >> in real life the two skaters are former foes. they both vied for a national title as competitive skaters. now they're reuniting on the ice playing sisters. this really is a totally

different world than that, right? because now you have -- you're acting while you're skating. >> yeah. >> so it was a whole other skill set. >> yeah, it's pretty different. and month one's judging you, giving you this mark, that mark. it's little kids dressed up as you wants to wave and say hi. >> they generously offered to teach me a few of their moves from the show. okay, this is my second time ever on an ice rink. >> ready, and go. >> when you are doing this, i mean, it just looks so easy. this is an extreme skill. it takes a lot of strength, a lot of focus. whoa, whoa. >> yea! >> kind of. but of course, i don't have to skate in elaborate costumes like the performers. these are heavy costumes. >> yes, they are. >> is it hard to skate with something like this on? >> it is. you know, it takes a lot of practice. the rotation, when we're spinning, if you have a heavy skirt, the rotation really limits you and it throws you

off. >> the show is now selling out stadiums across the country. what's the most exciting part of all of this for you? >> it's always about the audience. i said to the skaters on opening night, i just wanted to be them for that night because i can't even imagine what it must feel like to go out there and have, you know, 9,000 to 12,000 screaming, fervent fans all clamoring to see you perform. ♪ do you want to build a snowman ♪ ♪ or ride our bike around the hall ♪ >> "frozen's" original music with songs like "do you want to build a snowman" has bolstered the movie's success. the sound track has been on billboard charts for more than a year. >> a cultural phenomenon. kids are singing the songs over and over again and they're playing pretend and pretending they're ilsa or anna. >> the smash success has disney racing to meet demand for

everything branded "frozen" especially those hard-to-find queen ilsa dresses. at one point they were only available through a lottery and limited editions are listed on ebay for upwards of $5,000. "frozen" is now poised to join the canon of disney classics like lion king which came out 20 years ago. >> we're pals, right? >> right. >> really ties back to the great disney musicals of the '90s, that brings back that spirit. >> there are no signs yet of "frozen" fatigue, with dresses and toys on so many holiday wish lists, demand isn't letting up. for those who still want get their fill, anna and ilsa came to storybrook on this "once upon a time." the episode posted its highest ratings in two years. >> because people love these girls so much from the movie, i think they're just excited to get to hang out with them a bit more. >> it can be the love for anna and ilsa, their sisterly bond,

their message of empowerment that is driving the success of the franchise. >> i guess just that relationship of the two sisters that was so powerful. >> but i think that a lot of people can relate to it because it's an incredible bond. sisterhood is an incredible bond. >> it's clear this animated tale won't let go of audience's heartstrings soon. when we come back, they measure your heart rate, let you watch the latest streaming movie, but how do we get the most out of these high-tech holiday goodies? "nightline" brought to you by progressive. hi there! [ laughs ] -i'm flo! -i know! i'm going to get you your rental car. this is so ridiculous. we're going to manage your entire repair process

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you opened your presents this morning, now it's time to play with all those high-tech gadgets. if you're like me, you could use a few pointers. okay, a lot of pointers. >> santa was good to you. phones, fit bits and streaming video dev devices were all gift this year. how to get the most out of them? a few things you should do right now. let's start with fitness bands. they need to be customized to you. our team tested them out and showed that they can have a pretty big variance on distance and steps. to maximize accuracy, measure your stride and input that into the device according to the instructions and do it today.

now, streaming media devices, the chrome cast, fire stick, roku or apple tv. also big this year. first, you will lose the remote. >> there it is. this thing ap tiny. >> in many streaming media devices don't even have remotes but they do have apps that let you control it from the smartphone. install it now. hard wire that bad boy. trust me on this, you don't want your neighbor's new baby monitor or your teenager's youtube downloads to stop you from binge watching "nashville," right? finally you got a new phone but bad news, more than a quarter of you will crack the screen in the next few years and it will cost you 50 bucks or more to get the screen replaced. you have three choices, apple care or insurance from the manufacturer, that costs about 99 bucks. or you can get a case. >> the iphone 6 is easier to

hold with a case. this thing's skinny. >> the third option at the very least get a screen protector. you'd be surprised but in my anecdotal experience, these things can guard against cracks and screen breakage as well as a case. >> happy holidays tech recipients and a geeky new year. reporting for "nightline." it was stewart brand who said once a new technology rolls over, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow and we're online at abcnews.com. good night, america.