How does it work?

Every church is unique. It has its own strengths and weaknesses, its own personality and calling. It is a living organism, not a machine. It grows and develops in its own way, not according to some blueprint or program.

Natural Church Development simplifies the challenge of long-term healthy growth by helping you focus on the principles by which God grows everything in creation.

NCD is a process, not a program. So, rather than making your church look like a carbon copy of some other kind of church, it will draw out its unique God-given identity and purpose. Only by making such a discovery and living it out will you get to see the increasing fruitfulness and life in all its fullness Jesus speaks about.

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8 Quality Characteristics (Explained)

Empowering  Leadership

…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:12
God has given each of us a measure of power, a level of influence that cannot be switched off. The question is
whether that power will be used to empower others or, even in subtle ways, to oppress them. The power we have
will end up doing something. We must use it carefully.

Gift-based Ministry

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
Gift-based ministry challenges the leadership of the church to consider what matters most: the programs that
have been developed or dreamed up over time, or the giftedness of the people you have in the church right now.

Passionate Spirituality

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t
quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Romans 12:11-12
Passionate spirituality challenges your church leadership to observe how they, and their people, most naturally connect with God.

Effective Structures

The Sabbath was made for the needs of human beings, and not the other way around. Mark 2:27
In the verse above, we see Jesus affirming a longstanding structure, emphasizing that its purpose is to
support life.

Inspiring Worship Service

Be joyful, always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
True inspiring worship isn’t about replicating what other groups
do; it must flow naturally from what is happening in the lives of your people throughout the week.

Holistic Small Groups

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another… Hebrews 10:24-25
In Natural Church Development, a small group is simply a group that’s small—any gathering of two or more people,
whether formal or informal, that could allow for the deepening of relationships with each other and God.

Need-Oriented Evangelism

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible…I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 
One of the challenges in fostering need-oriented evangelism is helping people understand that no Christian
has been fully “evangelized” yet. Everyone has further to go in realizing
the difference between their current life
and what it could be if fully under the
Kingship of Jesus.

Loving Relationships

This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other. John 13:35
Loving relationships are the net that holds church life together. Without them, new people can flow into your
community, but then drift straight out the back door.