Visual Language LLC

Writing and Design by Ellen M Shapiro

American Baptist Extension Corporation

The Financial Organization With a Mission

ABEC, headquartered near Philadelphia, provides building planning services and loans to American Baptist Churches — the church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the largest Protestant denomination in the country — so they can expand, renovate, and become more accessible and energy-efficient. The loans are funded by investments made by individuals and churches who want to “invest in something they believe in.” We’ve been helping ABEC with this important work for more than 20 years.

Based on a dovetail joint — the strongest bond in construction — the brandmark suggests praying hands, a church spire, working together, and the letter ‘A.

ABEC’s website is built on a custom template that can be easily updated with new information such as current loan rates and new investment products.

ABEC always takes a leadership role at the American Baptist Churches biennial conventions. This year, we applied ABEC’s 2025 theme, “Pass It On,” to banners, displays and ads.

It’s an honor and a pleasure to work with longtime client Valoria Cheek, ABEC’s CEO, together devising new ways to transmit their message, including creating the audiovisual presentations she narrates.
The art is always different but the format and messages conveyed by ABEC’s annual reports are consistent: ABEC is the financial organization with a mission — to help churches better serve their communities, and at the same time help investors enjoy consistent returns while they support the church.

The 2019 ABEC annual report responded to the difficulties churches and congregations experienced during the pandemic. The 2020 report focused on the resilience of churches that conducted groups, meetings and worship services online.

To help ABEC mark its 50th anniversary I wrote and designed a keepsake history book, its words and pictures chronicling the organization’s growth and impact decade by decade. A series of woodcut-style illustrations was commissioned, used as backgrounds on the pages as well as on displays, ads, and the annual report.
Close-up of the anniversary book cover, with a tip-on pasted to corrugated cover stock.