Natural Church Development

Page 1 of 2

Next >>

Natural Church Development (NCD) is an approach to church growth that arose out an international research project focused on the question, “What church growth principles are true, regardless of culture and theological persuasion?”  Christian Schwarz and his associates engaged in a world-wide study of 1000 churches (congregations) from 32 countries.  That research has continued and now includes more than 40,000 churches in 70 countries.  The research has consistently shown eight growth principles that distinguish healthy, growing churches from unhealthy, stagnant or decreasing churches.

The following websites and resources are available to find out more about Natural Church Development and to help you implement it in your congregation.

Click on the resource title for more information.

	NCD International Website (http://www.ncd-international.org/public/index.html). This site has a number of online resources to introduce NCD concepts and answer the most common questions about NCD.
	CoachNet (www.coachnet.org) is a membership-based online network that partners with ministry leaders around the globe to help develop leaders in the areas of Natural Church Development, Coaching, and Church Planting. It has a large number of NCD resources to assist congregations in implementing NCD. For more information, click here.
	ChurchSmart Resources, St. Charles IL, is the United States NCD partner.  The following NCD books and resource kit are available at: http://www.churchsmart.com/store/dynamicIndex.asp.
	The ABCs of Natural Church Development, Christian Schwarz, ChurchSmart Resources, St. Charles IL, 1998. ISBN 1-880638-04-8.
	Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches (Revised and Updated Edition), Christian Schwarz, ChurchSmart Resources, St. Charles IL, 2006. ISBN: 1-889638-00-5.
	Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development, Christian A. Schwarz and Christoph Schalk, Church Smart Resources, St Charles IL, 1998. ISBN: 1-889638-03-X.
	Return to Discipleship Resources

Page 1 of 2

Next >>

 

Resource Categories

• Discipleship development
  • Getting to know Jesus
  • Getting to know Christianity
  • Discipleship instruction
  • Spiritual Formation
• Evangelism
  • Articulating our faith
  • Sharing our witness
  • Community of Christ missionary resources
• Starting new groups/congregations
• Congregational leadership
• Worship
• Christian education
• Children and Youth Ministry
• Bridging ministry (outreach to people who have become separated from the church)
• Hospitality Ministry
• Community/Neighborhood Involvement
• Internet ministry
• Skills acquisition
• Natural Church Development
• International Christianity