Press Release: Where Are All The Men?

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR VISITS LOCAL CHURCH TO REVEAL THE REASONS WHY MEN HATE GOING TO CHURCH

Peoria, AZ –Women comprise more than 60% of the adults in the typical worship service. Volunteer ranks are heavily female. It's often impossible to get church-going men to do anything other than attend services. No other religion suffers the enormous gender gaps that plague Christianity.

In his book, Why Men Hate Going to Church, David Murrow focuses on this very topic. Using 100 sources from the Bible to Gallup polls, Murrow challenges the thinking of today’s church. Why Men Hate Going to Church does not call men back to church…it calls the church back to men.

Murrow is encouraging the church to change and will discuss how American churches can revolutionize the world. Pastors, members and church skeptics alike will learn something new when Murrow speaks live at Christ's Church of the Valley on the weekend of August 29-30.

David Murrow is the author of two books, Why Men Hate Going to Church, published in 2004, and How Women Help Men Find God, published last year. Murrow has produced and written award-winning television documentaries, commercials and specials, including material for the Discovery Channel, Food Network, NBC, ABC, Dr. Phil, and the Travel Channel. Most recently, Murrow became Sarah Palin’s Director of Communications. As an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife and three children.

CCV holds four identical services every weekend at 7007 W. Happy Valley Road: Saturdays at 4:30 and 6:15 pm and Sunday mornings at 9:30 and 11:15 am. Members of the media wishing to cover this event should contact Crystal Van Dyke at CCV at 623.298.2991.

Press Release: Local High Schoolers Will Kick Off The New School Year With An Unforgettable Underground Party

Peoria, AZ – Summer isn’t over yet! Hundreds of high schoolers will kick off the new school year with an unforgettable glow-in-the-dark, techno party just for teens.

CCV will host AfterParty Underground on Sunday, August 16 from 5:00-8:00 pm in Bldg 4000. It all starts with live music, followed by an engaging, relevant talk about living a life of adventure and purpose.

The event is free. However drinks, food and glow-in-the-dark accessories will be available for purchase.

This event will take place at 7007 W. Happy Valley Road in the Youth Building located in the middle of the campus. More information is available at ccvgarage.com. Members of the media wishing to cover the AfterParty Underground event should contact CCV, Crystal Van Dyke, at 623.298.2991.

Video Script: Global Outreach Mission's Weekend

I was asked to create text for a video voiceover that would inform church attendees about the basic history, religious movements, and specific crisis facing the continents of North, Middle and South America as well as Europe, Asia and Africa. The total length of the entire video was approximately ten minutes and included the most important information affecting these specific locations. I also included the ways in which CCV is making an impact in these targeted areas. The video is included below.

Global Outreach - GO 360 from CCV on Vimeo.

Video Script: Global Outreach 360 Promo

CCV Missions Promo from CCV on Vimeo.

CCV needed a video bumper to promote Missions Weekend. I was asked to create a script that would be used to tell a story and encourage attendees to come back the following weekend for a special weekend highlighting missions. Here is the text that I created to go along with the dynamic video footage.

Do you realize what you’ve been doing?
Do you realize the many lives you have been impacting?
Do you know the places you’ve gone by giving?
10% can go a long way....

10% of each and every dollar you’ve given to CCV goes here. (video footage)
Here (video footage)
And here (video footage)
10% can go a long way....

It’s not just about writing a check.
It’s about taking action and making a difference.
Impacting one life at a time is what we can do. It’s what you are doing.
This is just the beginning.
Come back next week for the rest of the story.

Print Collateral: GO 360 Brochure

The Mission's Department at CCV wanted to print a brochure that would have a shelf-life of three to six months and could highlight all of the areas where CCV has mission partners. The focus was on Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Middle America. For the first brochure, they chose to highlight Africa and the need for missions.

Print Collateral: Coffee Sleeves

CCV has it's very own Starbuck's coffee shop where hundreds of church attendees stop by to get their caffeine kick. In a collaboration to promote Mission's Week, CCV created various coffee cup sleeves to raise awareness and create curiosity in missions. Here is what we came up with. (Click on the image to enlarge graphic and read text.)

Short Story: Angels Among Us

Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) likes to run short, 250-word stories in each weekend's bulletin to tie in with the sermon or events happening within the church. The approximate bulletin count is 9,500 every weekend.

Angels Among Us

There is no way to deny the facts. Did you know that every year in the U.S. there are over 3,000,000 reports of child abuse/neglect? In Arizona alone, last year there were 35,000 reports of child abuse/neglect. And currently in Arizona, there are over 10,000 children in the foster care system. These statistics should not only alarm you, but move you. There are little angels among us who need daily love and support.

CCV Members Jason and Shawna Seeger recognized this reality when they ventured out to Bulembu, Swaziland for a short-term mission trip last year. On their journey, they fell in love with the many orphans and wanted to adopt, but weren’t allowed to due to strict laws on foreign adoption. Instead, this couple came home with a new vision: To foster and/or adopt local children immediately.

“Each and every case is different, and there are many uncertainties. But one thing we know for sure: God continues to stretch us, bless us, and allow us to know how to love in a whole new way,” explains Shawna.

The Seeger family is currently caring for a baby girl. “We love her because we love God. It’s an amazing experience to be the physical arms that God needs us to be to hug her each and every day we have her. We will continue to provide foster care and/or adopt children as God continues to use us in this way,” the Seegers said in agreement.

If you are interested in foster care or adoption, CCV will host an orientation on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 pm in the Children’s Bldg. Christian Family Care will facilitate this meeting and can get you started on a new journey much like the Seegers. Also, the West Valley Foster & Adopt Support Group has a BBQ scheduled for May 31 from 2:30-6:30 pm and will be held on the CCV campus. Please visit WestValleyFosterAdoptSupportGroup.blogspot.com for more information or to register.