LifeWay integrates pub, intranet for a stellar combo

Nashville publisher wins Ragan award and a throng of devoted employee-readers

Employees at LifeWay Christian Resources are used to seeing a copy of their trusty newsletter LifeLines in their mailboxes every month; after all, it’s been that way for 40 years.

The publication has gone through many incarnations in its long history. At one point a single-page daily, it is now a 16-page, full-color monthly magazine. And it has added an important partner: an intranet called IntraLife.

The newsletter, though an important fixture in the organization, was on the chopping block until a 2007 survey found that the 2,500 employees still wanted a print publication. They said they would, of course, read the stories if they were only available online, but why waste the history and readership of the pub?

“I’m sure there are a lot of employers who want to ax the print publication; there are pros and cons to that,” Shrout says. “I appreciate that I can tell the employees’ stories both in print and online.”

LifeLines is a terrific standalone newsletter, as well, winning the Ragan Recognition Award Grand Prize for nonprofit newsletter for its focused content, strong writing and interesting mix of articles.