Our family loves movies. Nothing like chilling with a movie and a bowl of popcorn after a long day of work. We used to go to Blockbuster to rent our movies...a long time ago.
One day we discovered what millions of other people have discovered...Netflix, Redbox, and on demand cable.
Convenience and cost effectiveness quickly made the decision for us. We haven't been inside a Blockbuster store in years.
The day of downloadable movies, on demand cable, and quick, cheap convenience have eaten Blockbuster's lunch in recent years. They recently had to close 282 stores and I am sure more will be closing soon.
But...yesterday I was at our local supermarket and lo and behold...there was a Blockbuster machine with $1 movie rentals. Someone at Blockbuster knew it was time to change or die. Time to adjust to the culture. Time to change to something that will work instead of going down on the sinking ship of past success.
Lesson learned...our Children's Ministries must be willing to change what is not working...make adjustments as needed to stay relevant to the culture around us. If not...you may find yourself Blockbusted. You may find your ministry losing momentum or declining.
Change is never easy, but it's necessary for continued growth and relevance. Blockbuster has my business back. Why? Because they were willing to change the way they do business and become relevant to my life again. They got out of the "come to our store" model and came to where I was.
Are we willing to do the same for the children and families in our community? Are we willing to ask the hard questions and make the necessary changes...even if it offends someone or pulls us out of our comfort zone? Let's learn a lesson from Blockbuster and look at our ministries with the lens of reality.
