Telling Internal and External Stories

People are relationally wired. That was God's design. Stories simply fuel relationship.  They provide context and recall history. They help cast vision and they beg the right questions. They surprise, delight, and even sober people when necessary. If you want people to have a long term relationship with your church need to communicate who you are and speak "outwardly" to the community in a story that manages perceptions and creates opportunities to begin conversations. The church needs to woo culture not condemn it. 
But there is another story too. An "inward" conversation with constituents inside the church. The organizational self-talk that reminds everyone "who we are," "why we're here," and "where we're headed" A familiar story among family that conjures up a sense of unity, safety and significance.  A story which compliments Ephesians 1 (who we are in Christ) with a "who this church is for this time and place" story.

There is no choice. Both stories are required for optimum health.  Fortunately, at CrimsonInk™ we're bilingual and can help you tell both well.

So how does a Church tell stories?
Easy. At every point of interaction! People are informed and gathering preference data with every ounce of their being, all the time. This means that some stories are portable and "spoken". Some are in print and will either fascinate and surprise or they bore people to tears and find the trash. Some stories help give context - like metaphors - where the modern equivalent may be a sermon series and the communication tools necessary to preview, deliver and debrief that series. Some stories need a bigger canvas, like the environments in your church and what the walls are communicating to people.  Is your signage and campus navigation helpful or frustrating? And some stories "eek" out of the culture and require a constant reinforcing so that when a visitor asks a question they get a cohesive and predictable answer.

Stories are happening everywhere and so to help you decide your level of engagement we work with our partners on three different levels:

We work diligently “for you.”
Every team has skill set gaps where it doesn't make sense to hire a full-time person or invest in certain production or technical assets in-house. That's where our wide array of off-site services will add the most value. We offer world-class Printing, Prepress, and Bindery Services. Mail house Services, Creative Services, Graphic Design, and Web Development among many others.  CrimsonInk™ adds communications horsepower where you need it and when you need it putting the control completely in your hands and allowing us to respond with our most renowned features, our legendary customer service.

                       + Deisgn
                       + Print
                       + Variable Data
                       + Large Format
                       + Mail
                       + Fulfillment
                       + Ad Specialties
                       + and much more... customized for you!

Click here to view our portfolio.

Inkventory
Here’s where we start.  A good old-fashioned meet n’ greet.  If we are close by we’ll stop in with coffee, get the tour and just listen.  We want to get to know you first then engage where you are comfortable and not just dole out recommendations that may or may not match up to your unique church identity.  Even if there is a landmass between us physically we still want to listen.  Let’s set up a conference call or Skype meeting with one of our rubricators and get to know the heart of your church and community.  While we are listening we’ll also collect samples of what you are doing to communicate within your church from your website to your bulletin.  Completely painless, we promise.  Think of it as reverse visitation!  From there, wherever you want us; we’ll jump in.  You may be ready for an InkSWOT™, a one off project, or a complete communications overhaul.  We’re ready, willing, and able.

InkSWOT™
Every organization has Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. But most organizations struggle to see them objectively and underestimate the potential benefits or liabilities because they've been drinking their own Kool-aid too long. InkSWOT™ facilitators are good listeners and can quickly assess the unique social dynamics of your team and the audiences with whom you are communicating.
They go deeper and probe things like motivations, shaping perceptions, blessings and challenges with volunteerism, "death-by-meeting" syndrome, and a host of other imperatives. The agenda? Ask penetrating questions that haven't been asked. Deconstruct the problem. Farm solutions. And then leave the meeting on the same page with a renewed synergy and actionable solutions.

We effectively work "alongside you.”
CrimsonInk™ Surrogate Staffing™ puts one of our rubricators (a project management or creative guru) on YOUR STAFF but on OUR PAYROLL. Typically structured as a monthly service contract this relationship tends to be a longer-term relationship where you have an ambassador assisting with a particular campaign or "busy season." Regardless of how you use them, having a resident expert on all-things-communication will revolutionize your capabilities and galvanize your team.