Leaders, Are You Asking the Right Questions?

Hey,

Tyler here.

So much of our ability to lead comes from being able to ask the right questions. If you’re like me, as a leader, you probably encounter a variety of problems throughout the day.

These problems often need clear responses from us to our teams or organizations if we’re going to navigate them well. But so often, we react to those problems without asking the right questions.

I was with a group of pastors recently who were asking about how they could add additional services on a weekend. The problem they were trying to work around was:

It was a great problem to solve, and it deserved attention in the form of asking the right question. But the group wasn’t giving it the focus. They were too deep in the immediate “problem” of adding services to the weekend to zoom out and ask the better question.

Rather than focus on the church issue right in front of them, they should have been asking a more complex question: “What do we need to stop doing during the week to enable our team to be healthy AND add services?”

You see the shift in clarity? I know I’m guilty of trying to answer or solve the problem right in front of me without understanding the core cause. So, here’s my challenge for you today: As leaders, how can we ask better questions, solve upstream problems, and ultimately lead our teams and organizations to greater outcomes?

Think about it. Look for opportunities to ask better questions. If you can do that, expect better results.

Alright, on to this month’s news and updates.

Chances are you’ve heard of the YouVersion Bible App. You might be a daily user of the global scripture-based platform.

I recently had the honor of interviewing Terry Storch for the Church 3.0 Podcast. Terry is the Chief Product Officer at YouVersion and a driving force behind the app’s growth and development.

He’s also one of the best leaders, mentors, and friends I’ve ever gotten to work with in my personal experience.

Terry gave us a peek behind the curtain as we talked about the YouVersion origin story and what it looks like to manage a ministry that literally impacts the world every day.

The episode is a great way to learn about the background of the Bible App itself and the journey Terry’s crew has had to a billion downloads (which is right around the corner). He demonstrates how to look past the data, too, and how to keep your vision and celebration on God and the future.

The YouVersion Bible App has been at the intersection of faith and technology since the beginning. With church technology continuing to dominate the conversation, this is an insightful look into this critical crossroads that you don’t want to miss.

Check it out here:

The latest article on the Apollos blog dug into an important mindset shift in how we approach digital church.

Technology initiatives are more than products in a ministry setting. They are a means to a mission-driven goal. They are part of a holistic experience, an experience that is quickly becoming part of daily church.

That’s why we’ve worked to make Apollos more than a digital solutions platform. We partner with the churches we work with for the long haul. We guide them through the setup, training, and maintenance of their church technology platforms to make sure they’re achieving the results they need.

Church technology has become an important piece of a much larger vision, one that requires understanding and passion. Make sure your digital ministry partners have that same view. It makes a difference.

You can read the full article here:

Here are the latest product updates!

New “connect” button is live: We're making it easier for you to use Tap to engage. The “connect” button is like a digital version of a physical connect card, allowing attenders to move from unknown to known quickly and easily, whether that’s sending an end-of-year donation, volunteering to serve, or signing up for an event.

Reorder your Daily Habits: Gratitude, Prayer, and Scripture. They’re all important, and now churches can reorder their daily habits experience to best fit the cadence they want for their members.

Improved prayer experiences: I know we mentioned this last time, but it’s such a significant (and positive) change for app users. Make sure to use the new ability to respond to prayer requests, mark prayers answered, and even offer unprompted prayers.

We’re always working to improve the platform. You can read more about the latest batch of updates in detail here.

If you have any recommendations for what you’d like to see added to the platform, hit reply or send a message through our support form.

That’s it this time. Keep an eye out for more podcasts, updates, and resources in the weeks ahead.

With the holidays around the corner, I want to say thank you for your continued partnership and for being part of this community. As we all look to close the year out strong and start 2026 with the right vision in place, we’re glad we’re building the future of the church alongside such incredible ministries.