Natural Church Development An Introduction

God and Church Growth  What’s going on in this picture?  Everything we need to see the church grow has been provided by God  The problem is that we do not make use of it!  Principles vs. models

The Eight Quality Characteristics of Growing Churches

Quality Characteristic #1: Empowering Leadership  Not “empowered,” but “empowering”  Growing churches have leaders who raise up leaders and give leadership away  Equip, support, motivate, and mentor

Quality Characteristic #2: Gift-Based Ministry  Growing churches help members identify their gifts and integrate them into ministries  “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  Frederick Buechner  NCD research: no greater joy than living according to our spiritual gifts

Quality Characteristic #3: Passionate Spirituality  There are divergent styles of spirituality  The important thing is not the way spirituality is expressed, but that faith is really lived out with commitment, fire, and enthusiasm  What good is the best engine if the gas tank is empty and when there is no energy?

Quality Characteristic #4: Effective Structures  Growing churches have forms and structures that fulfill their purpose well  Structures are always a mean to an end  This characteristic gets the most resistance  “Traditionalism means church forms have to stay the same way I have become used to them.”

Quality Characteristic #5: Inspiring Worship Service  The key is not the style (or model) of worship  The key is the principle of worship: Is worship an inspiring experience for those who attend it?  This characteristic clearly separates growing from non- growing churches  “People who attend inspiring worship services unanimously declare that the church service is ‘fun.’”

Quality Characteristic #6: Holistic Small Groups  Intimate community, practical help, and intensive spiritual interaction  “Christian small groups are not a nice, yet disposable hobby. No, it is the very essence of the true life of Jesus Christ that is worked out in small groups.”

Quality Characteristic #7: Need-Oriented Evangelism  Growing churches share the gospel in a way that meets the questions and needs of non-Christians  See John 1:35-51

Quality Characteristic #8: Loving Relationships  How much time do members spend together beyond church-sponsored events?  How much laughter is there in the church?  “Unfeigned, practical love endows a church with a much greater magnetic power than all the marketing efforts of this world.”

The All-by-Itself Principle  God has given the church everything it needs to grow  Mark 4:26-29  Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvesttime.”  Every church has the nouns  Growth comes through the adjectives

Key Concern: The Quality of Churches  Quality is the root  Quantity is the fruit  What is our weakest area?

Where Do We Go from Here?  Healthy Church Team  Congregational Survey  30 representative active members  Measure SPLC’s eight quality characteristics  Focus Groups  Set SMART Goals based in SPLC’s Minimum Factor  Communicate, communicate, communicate  Participate, participate, participate  Congregational Survey in months