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Churches have a tendency to become focused on fruit - growing attendance, dynamic programs, funded budgets, expanding facilities. In this pursuit, it is often forgotten that the root produces the fruit. Abundant fruit can only grow from a healthy root system.
Natural Church Development provides a reliable survey tool for measuring the health of your church in eight critical areas. These Quality Characteristics have proven themselves essential in building healthy churches.
Natural Church Development provides a reliable survey tool for measuring the health of your church in eight critical areas. These Quality Characteristics have proven themselves essential in building healthy churches.
--Empowering Leadership
--Gift-oriented Ministry
--Passionate Spirituality
--Functional Structures
--Inspiring Worship Services
--Holistic Small Groups
--Need-oriented Evangelism
--Loving Relationships
All eight of the Quality Characteristics are needed for a healthy church. Just as a person cannot live by bread alone, a church cannot grow to health on any one quality.
Natural Church Development also relies on six principles of growth to facilitate the health and growth in these quality areas:
--Gift-oriented Ministry
--Passionate Spirituality
--Functional Structures
--Inspiring Worship Services
--Holistic Small Groups
--Need-oriented Evangelism
--Loving Relationships
All eight of the Quality Characteristics are needed for a healthy church. Just as a person cannot live by bread alone, a church cannot grow to health on any one quality.
Natural Church Development also relies on six principles of growth to facilitate the health and growth in these quality areas:
--Interdependence
--Multiplication
--Energy transformation
--Multi-usage
--Symbiosis
--Functionality
These six principals are often referred to as Biotic Principles because they release the church's ability to grow all by itself. Together, these eight qualities and six Biotic Principles provide potent tools for bringing health and growth to your church.
Natural Church Development and the Church Growth Movement have large areas of overlap, yet are different. One of the major differences between the two can be highlighted in the area of quantitative versus qualitative goal setting. In NCD the quality of a church is the root, the quantitative growth the fruit. Growth in quantity is not the strategic goal of NCD, but a natural consequence of a healthy church.
Dr. David Daubert, a consultant in NCD, was the major presenter as the Academy of Parish Clergy's 2008 Annual Conference (Cleveland, OH, April 29-May1).
He may be contacted at ddaubert@ARenewalEnterprise.com and www.ChurchSmart.com.
