Why You Should Constantly Be Updating Your Children's Ministry

One of the big reasons apps and games are so good  today is because developers have the ability to constantly improve them through updates.  Through pouring over the game themselves and feedback from users, they are able to implement suggestions, fix bugs and make improvements.

There is a great principle in this for us.  If we are going to stay relevant and operating at peak level, we must constantly be updating our ministries.  Every week we must be actively looking for ways to fix bugs and make improvements.

How can we stay on top of updating our children's ministries?

Ask for feedback from users.  App and game developers are constantly looking for feedback from users.  They know one of the best ways to make their product better is to listen to the people who are using it.

Don't just wait for feedback...actively seek it out.  Here are a few ways you can do this.
Constantly evaluate what you're doing.  Here is an example of how Disney does this.

Make time to update.  It's easy to ignore updates for a variety of reasons - too busy...procrastination...being satisfied with the way things are.

Normally, when I haven't updated the apps and games on my devices, it's because of one of those reasons.  I can get by with this for awhile, but eventually it catches up with me.  One of my devices is an iPad 1.  There are many apps and games that won't work on this iPad because the operating system is out of date and the new stuff isn't compatible with it.  The result...I am limited on what I can do with this device.

What if app and game developers refused to change?  What if they ignored what wasn't working and refused to address the bugs?  In order to stay relevant, they have to be willing to change and update.

Children's ministries must be willing to change if they are going to continue to reach kids and families at an optimal level.  Show me a ministry that is dying and I'll show you a ministry that has refused to update.

What needs updating in your ministry?