eNCDine - The NCD Online Magazine

Multiplying Mentors Needed!

Neil Cole

A powerful growth force in the NCD paradigm is multiplication. Many illustrations of how God uses this principle can be found. Not just in Jesus' ministry, but in Paul's as well. The following article by Neil Cole compares Paul's missionary journeys. And the observation he makes is a striking one: Paul shifted his ministry emphasis from that of making disciples to raising up of leaders out of disciples – from addition growth to multiplication growth. What he finds in Paul's missionary strategies is a mentoring for multiplication model.

NCD Growth Projections... where are you going?

Adam Johnstone

You have embarked on the NCD journey. You are trying to make progress on your NCD results. But sometimes you wonder what this journey will bring about in the life of your church. Get a better idea of what you can reasonably expect from your passionate efforts towards more health.

Gift Tests Are Not All The Same

Christoph Schalk

There have been many positive changes since Christian A. Schwarz first published his gift test in 1988. A survey at the time showed that 80 per cent of church members were not aware of their spiritual gifts. Things have changed considerably in the meantime, with a wide variety of gift tests now available, although the topic is still of high relevance. In 1988 only about 20 different test procedures were known throughout the world, whereas nowadays many associations, organizations and even churches offer their own – often home-made - gift tests. What is often overlooked, however, is that tools developed by amateurs tend to produce false or highly inaccurate results. The effects this has on church ministry are far-reaching.

Long-Term NCD Involvement Facilitates Growth

Petr Činčala

In October 2006 NCD International did a study on a group of churches that had done several NCD church profiles in recent years. Those churches not only took the survey but also analyzed its results and worked on improving their minimum factors before they took another survey to monitor their progress. Findings from our research show again: Churches that commit themselves to the NCD process and continue to implement its principles experience sustained quality growth. In most cases they also attract more people than before.

The ABC’s of Organic Quality Management (Part 2)

Christoph Schalk

Organic quality management (oqm®) measures and develops the health and quality of an organization – and is the "biotic brother" of Natural Church Development (NCD), designed for Christian not-for-profit organizations. Read more on what makes oqm® so unique.

The ABC’s of Organic Quality Management (Part 1)

Christoph Schalk

Organic quality management (oqm®) measures and develops the health and quality of an organization – and is the "biotic brother" of Natural Church Development (NCD), designed for Christian not-for-profit organizations. What makes oqm® unique is its holistic assessment of an organization according to the following three dimensions: structural ("Organization"), human ("Organism") and spiritual ("Spirit").

Looking at the Health of Churches by the 3 Color Approach (Part 2)

Petr Činčala

We were looking at the strengths and weaknesses of churches by their religious stream. In light of NCD´s 3 color paradigm we clustered the churches archived in NCD´s international database – based on their religious stream – in three groups of green, red, and blue churches. Which one of those colors is now the better one? A closer look will disclose both the strengths and weaknesses of each color group.

Looking at the Health of Churches by the 3 Color Approach (Part 1)

Petr Činčala

In a  previous article we took a glimpse at the health of churches based on their religious stream, as nominated by their pastor. Based on the NCD database research, we are going to look a bit closer at the strengths and weaknesses of churches by their faith tradition to understand them better and learn from them.

Startling Results from 70 Countries

By Christian A. Schwarz

By now some 40,000 churches have participated – with differing levels of intensity – in the NCD process. Since all of them have conducted at least one NCD Survey we have the data of most of these churches in our computers and are able to monitor their actual results, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Detailed Analysis - The Next Generation

Thomas Fode

Years ago the Institute for Natural Church Development developed a tool called Detailed Analysis. A diagnostic tool designed to help NCD churches understand the underlying factors contributing to their current church profile. Meanwhile a new generation of detailed analysis tools has been released. Take a closer look and discuss with us the pros and cons of each tool.

The Impact of Religious Stream on Church Health

Petr Činčala

In his book Streams of Living Water, Richard J. Foster describes various streams of faith (i.e. paradigms of Christian life) which come as a result of our understanding of Jesus and then lead us to "constant application to our daily experience." This article explores the relationship between those streams and the overall health of churches.

What Customized Research Reports Look Like?

Petr Činčala

Some time ago an article about customized research was published (click here) explaining the benefits various target groups may have of such a research. In this article we will explore what such a report may look like.

The Pastor As Spiritual Example

Petr Činčala

Question number 58 in the NCD lay questionnaire reads, "Our pastor is a spiritual example to me." How relevant is this item for the church's health? Read this research report and find out...

The following report attempts to answer two research questions:

1. How does the answer to this question compare by continents, countries and denominations?

2. How does the view of the pastor as a spiritual example relate to the overall health of churches?