A Different Way of Thinking About Growth

Natural Church Development (NCD) is a new paradigm, a new way of thinking about church growth. Growth should be about quality (health) and not just quantity (numbers). In fact NCD suggests that quality should take priority over quantity in church growth thinking.

At the heart of the paradigm is the Scriptural picture of the church as a living organism, not just an organisation (albeit a spiritual one). Looking at the church "organically" gives us a different perspective on what "growth" means. The growth of organisms focuses on their health, their capacity to reproduce, and how the individual 'body' parts interact. They are grown, not built. They are nurtured, not assembled.

The NCD paradigm suggests that if church growth is about growing an organism, the health (quality) of the organism is going to have a direct impact on its size (quantity). If a church can become increasingly healthy over time, it is more likely and better able to reproduce disciples, ministries and eventually itself.

The NCD paradigm helps you think about growing your church as a healthy living organism.

A Long-Term Strategic Process

Natural Church Development is also a long term strategic process for progressively improving a church's health. It is a process of continual improvement, not a program which guarantees "a healthy church" if implemented to the letter. Growing a church, like growing a plant, requires a long term commitment which is intentional and consistent.

At the heart of the NCD process is a sophisticated diagnostic tool, the NCD Survey, which complies with international statistical standards for validity and reliability. Annual surveys provide an accurate up-to-date "snapshot" of the health of the church on an ongoing basis. They are based on an assessment by key people within the life of the church. Each Survey enables the church leadership to assess improvement in the church's health over the previous year and focus on the area needing greatest attention for the coming year.