Natural Church Development

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Natural Church Development

• Anglican Church of the Resurrection
• Sunday, February 22, 2009

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The NCD Cycle
We are here!
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NCDs 8 Quality Characteristics

• Empowering Leadership
• Gift-Based Ministry
• Passionate Spirituality
• Effective Structures
• Inspiring Worship Service
• Holistic Small Groups
• Need-Oriented Evangelism
• Loving Relationships

Where do you think we are strongest?
Where do you think we are weakest?
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The Minimum Barrel
Church Growth
Minimizing Factor
8 Quality Characteristics
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Our Survey Results
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65
68 of Churches
Minimizing Factor
Maximum Factor
(n20 respondents)
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Our Survey Results - Sustainability
(n20 respondents)
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What is Passionate Spirituality?

• Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all
  your heart and with all your soul and with all
  your mind. (Matthew 2237)
• Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
  fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope,
  patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
  (Romans 1211-12)

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What is Passionate Spirituality?

• Quality, Not Quantity The important thing is not
  the churchs style, but the degree to which faith
  is actually lived out with commitment, passion,
  and enthusiasm
• Threefold Orientation of Passionate Spirituality
• Based on the Word
• Directed by the Spirit
• Focused on the World

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The Four Components of Passionate Spirituality
Our two greatest areas of need are Experiencing
God Passion for Devotions
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The Church Health Team

• Commissioned by the ACR Vestry to
• Analyze the survey results
• Review our strengths and weaknesses
• Develop an Action Plan for addressing our
  minimizing factor (Passionate Spirituatility)
• We have four members Ellen, Clay, Heidi, David
• We met several times in January and February
• We have developed a set of strategies to address
  our minimizing factor

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Our Guiding Principles

• Make use of ACRs current strengths and existing
  structures to grow our passion
• Dont overwhelm the church by too many changes at
  once
• People, not programs, are our priority
• Make sure each strategy ties back to the goal of
  increasing spiritual passion

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Our Goals

• We believe that if we address the following six
  goals, we will be on our way toward successfully
  increasing passionate spirituality at ACR
• Sharing Increase openness in sharing about
  personal spiritual experiences with each other
• Prayer Increase in prayer, both corporate and
  personal
• Devotions Increase in practice of personal
  devotions
• Disciplines Increase in knowledge and practice
  of all the spiritual disciplines
• Groups Increase in small group attendance
• Gifts Increase in members ministering according
  to their spiritual giftings

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Lent A Perfect Season to Grow in Passionate
Spirituality!

• Conduct a sermon series on spiritual disciplines
• Add a structured devotional to the ACR daily
  prayer emails
• Hold a worship and prayer meeting Wednesday
  evenings during Lent
• Hold a prayer vigil on Good Friday
• Have all members (who want to) take a spiritual
  gifts survey
• Hold a 15-minute Sermon Snacks Chat after the
  service
• Other minor initiatives that will be introduced
  later

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Next Steps

• Implement our strategies over Lent
• Assess after Lent which strategies will continue
• Consider new strategies
• Re-take the survey in the Fall

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• Questions