Learning to grow our congregations, naturally
The thermometer had just hit 104 degrees when Canon Holladay Sanderson and I drove into Vancouver, WA, in July for a three-day training session on Natural Church Development (NCD). The improvised classroom in the worship space at Cascade Park Baptist Church, though, was cool and comfortable as we settled in with eight others for a tour through this international program.
Natural Church Development aims to help churches grow and become stronger. Simple as that. And the way it goes about this is to identify what church members need to work on to build a healthier, more effective church. The process begins with a survey, filled out by between 10 and 30 active, involved members. The survey results help identify priorities for areas that need work. Through the process, a coach assists church leaders as they address the areas that they want to strengthen.
After some focused work, there is a period of evaluation, another survey and a new set of priorities.
Natural Church Development founder Christian Schwarz uses the analogy of an old-fashioned barrel to illustrate how eight “quality characteristics” are necessary for church vitality. Each characteristic is represented by one wooden stave of the barrel. If one stave is much shorter than the others, the barrel can hold water only as far as the height of shortest stave. That shortest stave is called the “minimum factor” for a church. It is the one that needs the most work, so will receive the most attention. When that one weaker area is addressed, other parts of church life improve, too. The characteristics are interdependent.
Schwarz’s quality characteristics include: Empowering Leadership; Gift-based Ministry; Passionate Spirituality; Effective Structures; Inspiring Worship; Holistic Small Groups; Need-oriented Evangelism; and Loving Relationships. According to Schwarz, none of these characteristics can be missing if a church is to be healthy and growing.
Those eight characteristics might not be the list that all of us would make, but after a decade of research and experience in 32 countries, Schwarz and his colleague Christoph Schalk have amassed a body of data that shows that this approach does work. Those factors touch into most areas of the life of a congregation.
Why did we spend three hot summer days in Vancouver learning about NCD? There were several reasons. One was that in our work in the Diocese, both of us have discovered that most churches say they want to grow. NCD is a tool to help us assist congregations that want to explore ways to strengthen their ministry. Another is that this is a process that has a lot of flexibility and options. We were encouraged to adapt this to our own church culture.
The toolkit that accompanies NCD is large. There are many books, video resources and a website with material that helps address a whole range of issues. NCD is also an inexpensive process..
We came home with three bags full of materials that we hope that we can use with congregations in our diocese. Both of us would be pleased to talk to churches about NCD and share more information about the process. Please contact one of us at holladays@spokanediocese.org or kristip@spokanediocese.org if you would like to know more. You may also visit the NCD website at http://www.ncd-international.org/public/ .
