Church Solutions: Reaching the Men

I was asked to write a 200+ sidebar for an upcoming issue of Church Solutions magazine. The article was to feature how CCV's design elements focused on the male audience, rather than the female. Here is the sidebar text:

Reaching the Men
While many men feel uncomfortable attending a traditional church in America, Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV), located in Peoria, Arizona, recognized this trend and decided to shake things up a bit when designing their new campus. During the design stage, architects deliberately created an environment where men would feel comfortable attending church on any given weekend.

“Most men are intimidated by stained glass. We try to make our campus look friendly so they don’t feel out of place,” stated CCV’s Pastor Don Wilson. The elimination of traditional stained glass, uncomfortable wooden bench pews, and feminine color schemes are just a few examples of design elements that were taken into consideration when planning the Auditorium that was completed in 2004. Since then, a new Children’s and Youth building have been built to reflect a modern style while incorporating state-of-the art technology.

The CCV campus, including the main Auditorium, closely resembles a business center or resort. “We try to make our campus look friendly and familiar,” Wilson explains. “We always strive to provide an environment where a man can feel at home and be himself.” In addition, the hiking-style prayer hill, sports dome, and athletic fields add to the male-oriented ambiance all located on the church campus. CCV wants to show men that they can be challenged and changed through an adventure with Christ and that they can feel comfortable while doing it.

Since making these deliberate design changes, the church has grown with considerable measure. More than 13,000 people attend CCV every weekend and call this church home. And while the gender balance is off scale in most churches today, it is almost even at CCV.

Magazine: Present Like A Pro

The above article was written for the September 2003 issue of Corporate Logo magazine. The theme of the article was using presentation products, such as recruitment & training kits, service kits, annual reports and agent kits, to reinforce branding identity, create awareness of product/services, and to position your company with professional presentation products.

Magazine: Assisted Living Success

Assisted Living Success was a trade magazine for assisted living professionals. This magazine is no longer in circulation: however, it was once a highly successful publication. While working as the associate editor for Corporate Logo magazine, I often proofread other magazines printed within our publishing group.

Magazine: Scottsdale Life

Writing the article "The 21st Century Bride" for the January/February 2000 issue of Scottsdale Life magazine was my first crack at professional, creative writing. I was given the assignment to predict bridal fashion trends for the year 2000. With much research and several interviews with local wedding retailers, I completed the short story and was able to see my byline printed in a magazine. What a thrill!

Magazine: Corporate Logo

A couple years after graduating from college, I landed the position of Associate Editor for the trade magazine Corporate Logo, Business Solutions for Today's Promotional Products Distributor. I was responsible for writing many of the articles found throughout the magazine as well as product highlights and company reviews.

Magazine: Referral Magazine

Referral Magazine, mailed out to over 40,000 homes in the Glendale, Arizona area, is a publication consisting of advertisements only. I was hired on to proof customer-supplied ads and create new ad copy for new clients who did not already have an ad created.

Click here to view the first issue of Referral Magazine mailed out late summer '08.

Click here to view the second issue of Referral Magazine mailed out early fall '08.

Click here to view the third issue of Referral Magazine mailed out winter '08.