NCD Quick Start

NCD Quick Start

Welcome to the trailhead of a journey called Natural Church Development.

What is NCD?
Natural Church Development (NCD) is a "label for an approach to the Christian life - both on an individual and corporate level," according to author and researcher Christian A. Schwarz. It combines biblical principles with insights from the most extensive church health and growth research ever done. As of 2007, more than 45,000 churches have participated in NCD on one level or another.

There are three directions you can go to learn about how NCD can lead to greater health in your church. 1) Read through this page and click through links at the bottom to access more info, 2) Take the NCD CoachNet Journey, an interactive presentation or 3) CoachNet members can access resources through our NCD Network after typing in a username and password. If you are not a CoachNet member, and would like to access these resources, click here.

Natural Church Development is about improving the spiritual health of individuals and churches. Based on an international study of 1,000 churches in 32 countries, NCD research was first published in 1996. The sample reached a wide variety of churches, across a number of denominations and theological perspectives.

Eight Quality Characteristics
The goal of this extensive research project was to discover principles of church growth that are universally valid across cultures. The research findings confirmed eight quality characteristics of healthy, growing churches:

Empowering leadership
Gift-based ministry
Passionate spirituality
Inspiring worship
Effective structures
Need-oriented evangelism
Holistic small groups
Loving relationships

NCD In Five Steps

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Sign up for a CoachNet membership now to gain access to an NCD Network, more than 30 PDFs, PowerPoints and other resources.

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