NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT NCD

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NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT(NCD)

• Bon Air United Methodist Church
• July 16, 2007

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NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT
(NCD)

• What is it?
• Where did it come from?
• How does it work?
• What has been done so far at BAUMC?
• What do we do next?
• Why should we do this?

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What is NCD?

• Natural Church Development is a way of
  thinking about church growth.
• Growth should be about quality (health) and not
  just quantity (numbers).

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What is NCD?

• Natural Church Development is a long term
  strategic process for progressively improving a
  churchs health.

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What is NCD?

• At the heart of NCD is the scriptural picture of
  the church as a living organism, not just an
  organization.
• NCD looks at the church organically.

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What is NCD?

• God generates growth not the church.
• The all-by-itself principle
• Mark 426-29 The Parable of the Growing Seed
• 1 Corinthians 35-7

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What is NCD?

• NCD does not study the fruit, but rather the
  roots, the soil, and the environment that produce
  the fruit.

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What is NCD?

• The purpose of NCD is not to strive to produce
  growth, but create an environment that maximizes
  the opportunities for God to work among his
  people.
• Natural Church Development is all about releasing
  the potential that God has already implanted in
  our lives (in our church).

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Where did NCD come from?

• Christian Schwarz, based in Germany
• Worldwide research in early 1990s
• Originally based on surveys of over a 1,000
  churches in 32 countries
• Non-denominational
• Small, medium and large churches
• 2006 update based on surveys of over 45,000
  churches in 70 countries from all six continents

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How does it work?

• Eight Quality Characteristics
• of healthy, growing churches

• Empowering Leadership
• Gift-oriented Ministry
• Passionate Spirituality
• Functional Structures

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How does it work?

• Eight Quality Characterisitics
• of healthy, growing churches

• Inspiring Worship Service
• Holistic Small Groups
• Need-oriented Evangelism
• Loving Relationships

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How does it work?
The shortest stave determines the amount of water
the barrel can hold
Gods blessings

• Minimum Factor

Quality Characteristics
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How does it work?

• How do we determine our minimum factor?

• Survey 30 members plus the pastor to get a church
  profile
• Analyze answers and compare to 4.2 million other
  answers
• Calculate scores of all eight quality
  characteristics

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How does it work?

• What else do we do?

• Step 1 Complete the survey
• Step 2 Analyze survey results
• Step 3 Develop an Action Plan
• Step 4 Implement the Action Plan
• Step 5 Review the cycle and repeat the Survey

Remember This is a long-term strategic process.
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What has been done so far?

• Survey completed in early 2006
• Minimum factor has been identified
• Health Team has been established and has
  discussed our profile and our minimum factor
• Health Team is developing an Action Plan

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Church Profile

• Quality Characteristics BAUMC Profile

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Minimum factor

• Passionate Spirituality

• Are Christians in this church on fire?
• Do they live committed lives and practice their
  faith with joy and enthusiasm?
• Is the spiritual life of those in the church
  characterized by prayer, enthusiasm, and
  boldness?
• The measure is on the passion and not on the
  spirituality. How excited and enthusiastic are
  we, no matter where we are in our level of
  spirituality?

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Minimum factor

• Types of questions in the NCD survey related to
  Passionate Spirituality

• Q4 Approximately what percentage of your gross
  income do you give in tithes offerings for
  church support, missions, etc.
• Q13 I know that other church members pray for me
  daily.
• Q24 I enjoy reading the Bible on my own.
• Q34 I experience the transforming influences
  faith has in the different areas of my life
  (profession, family, spare time, etc.).
• Q43 I am enthusiastic about my church.

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Minimum factor

• Types of questions in the NCD survey related to
  Passionate Spirituality

• Q51 The Word of God is the most important
  authority in the decisions of my everyday life.
• Q58 Our pastor is a spiritual example to me.
• Q59 Very often, I have reason to thank God for
  his work in my life.
• Q68 I firmly believe that God will work even
  more powerfully in our church in the coming
  years.
• Q78 I often tell other Christians when I have
  experienced something from God.

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Minimum factor

• Types of questions in the NCD survey related to
  Passionate Spirituality

• Q83 People in our church are highly motivated to
  do church work.
• Q84 Times of prayer are an inspiring experience
  for me.
• Q85 When a church member is obviously in the
  wrong (moral misconduct, willful disobedience,
  etc.) they are corrected with love, but firmly.

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What do we do next?

• Analyze survey results in more detail.
• Develop prioritized list of key issues to be
  addressed before next survey.
• Develop an action plan
• Set specific goals
• (with accountabilities)

Ownership of the plan by church leadership is
vital.
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What do we do next?

• Implement the plan
• Monitor momentum
• Assess progress after 12-18 months
• Repeat survey to test assessment
• Reveal new minimum factor
• Repeat process

Remember This is a long-term strategic process.
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Why should we do this?

• NCD assists believers in rediscovering central
  Biblical concepts and relating them to their
  everyday lives.
• NCD is a process to increase the health of our
  church naturally by releasing the potential that
  God has already given us.
• It works! Churches that have done three or more
  NCD Surveys, have increased their average growth
  rate by 51 between the first and third surveys.

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• QUESTIONS?