Church Health

A different way of thinking about the Church

Natural Church Development

Natural Church Development (NCD) is a paradigm – a way of thinking about church health and growth. Growth should always 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.

How many times have church leaders counted the numbers in Sunday services and then wondered whether the church community was healthy and continuing to grow to maturity? Is size really a true measure of health?

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

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 programme which, if implemented to the letter, guarantees ‘a healthy church’. It requires a long-term commitment which is intentional and consistent.

At the heart of the 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.

Some 800 churches have now used this tool in the UK and in many cases they are finding it makes a great difference to their church.