In addition to being a Church Management System, Arena is also a Content Management System (CMS). Not only does this provide tight integration between an external website and the membership system, it also allows for a very flexible and extensible application.
This is accomplished through a portal architecture consisting of templates, pages, modules, and roles. Every webpage in Arena whether it be a page in the ChMS area, or a page you create for a public website uses this architecture. Each page uses a template; each template defines content areas; you place modules into the content areas on the template or on the page. Security is controlled by giving roles different access to pages and modules. Sounds confusing, but it’s not once you see the interface.
Because of this architecture and because of ASP.NET 2.0′s ability to compile-on-the-fly, it’s extremely easy for churches with a .NET volunteer or staff member to extend the functionality of Arena. You can add new templates to control a sites overall appearance, and you can add new modules to extend functionality.
Examples of this flexibility can be seen by looking at some of the websites that are currently being driven completely by Arena:
www.ccvonline.com
www.ccvstars.com
www.ccvgarage.com
www.canyonridge.org
www.canyonridgefoundation.org
