eNCDine - The NCD Online Magazine

An Unbelievable Turn for the Better

J. Abel Ramirez

How an ingrown, legalistic type of congregation changes through NCD into a people-oriented and growing church that is passionately engaged in serving its neighborhood.

Meet NCD's National Partner for the Dominican Republic

J. Abel Ramirez heads up the NCD ministry in the Dominican Republic since 2001. He calls Natural Church Development (NCD) "a milestone in the history of church growth in the Dominican Republic".

Natural Church Development and ... The Orthodox Church?

Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff

Since its inception about two decades ago, Natural Church Development (NCD) has worked with and partnered with many Christian denominations across the world, working with many different pastors and lay leaders all across the theological spectrum - with one notable exception: The Orthodox Church. This is now beginning to change …

Meet NCD's National Partner for Australia and the South Pacific Islands

From the introduction of NCD by Colin Noyes, to the excellent work of Ian Campbell (now Director of NCD Canada) through to the work of the mostly volunteer team headed up by its current director Adam Johnstone, NCD Australia has continued to gather momentum and break new ground for Australian churches and churches around the NCD world.

I, We, They, All of Us

Jack Stephenson

As NCD churches get healthy what are they doing with that health and what is that doing to the churches around them? Dr. Jack Stephenson, senior pastor of Anona United Methodist Church, is exploring this issue with other churches from the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

How a Denomination Benefits from NCD Insights

Dave Wetzler

What is the practical value of NCD Insights from a denominational point of view? An interview with Dale Cohen, Director of Congregational Development in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Meet NCD's National Partner for Canada

Ian Campbell became the Director of NCD in June 2007, working for The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada, the NCD National Partner in Canada since 1998. Previously, he ran the Australian NCD Partnership between 1999 and 2005 before handing the reins to his colleague Adam Johnstone. Ian is living in Vancouver with his wife, Kathy.

A Developing Church ... Naturally!

Eric Hobson of Ilkeston Christian Centre in the United Kingdom shares the exciting journey that his church has been on and how Natural Church Develoment (NCD) has been helpful in turning around this church. Read how a church that felt like "a boat without a rudder" found their way out of disorientation and misery.

Meet NCD's National Partner for Sweden

Since the early days of NCD in Sweden back in 1999, the Swedish Baptist Denomination has been the official National Partner and heavily engaged in introducing Natural Church Development (NCD) to the wider audience. Commissioned by all the other major denominations in Sweden, the Swedish Baptists represent a fully integrated ecumenical project called NCD Sweden (www.naturligforsamlingsutveckling.se).

Key Insights from 10 Years of NCD in the USA

Dave Wetzler

NCD has been a growing grass-roots movement in the US since the original book was released in December 1996 and the first coach training event was held in March of 1998. In 1998 there were only 356 churches that had completed an NCD survey in the USA and no trained coaches. Since then, over 27,000 churches have completed NCD surveys and over 5,000 coaches across 60 different denominations have been trained. Some churches complete a survey annually as a church health checkup and they have consistently applied NCD principles for seven years. What can we learn from these churches?

Becoming Intentional about Church Health

Luis Edgardo Martí Salguero

How a Latin American church finds its way to facilitate sustainable growth and health in their congregational life.

And Now Even 365 Percent More Growth!

Christoph Schalk

After a four-year period of intense work on the basis of Natural Church Development (NCD), participating local churches from the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Denomination in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany experienced an additional 365 percent growth. Even though the starting-point has been rather low, the growth result is nevertheless quite impressive.

Meet NCD's National Partner for Switzerland

Andreas Fürbringer's NCD journey goes back to the early days of Natural Church Development (NCD). Back in the 1990s he and his team from the Institute Koinonia (www.koinonia.ch), a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ in Switzerland, contributed survey data to NCD's original research among 1,000 churches. Since those early and exciting days Andreas has been heading up NCD's national ministry in Switzerland. Read more about his vison and key insights from his ministry experience ….

Evangelical Free Church in Germany: 32 Percent More Growth After 4 Years

30 German EFC Pastors were trained by NCD International to become NCD Coaches. During the 4-year training process all trainees got involved in coaching churches through the NCD process. A key training element to make sure lessons learned are also implemented in real-life church situations. The results: 32 percent more growth in participating churches. A documentation by Christoph Schalk.

The Second Chapter of NCD

NCD is transitioning to a new phase in its ministry. Christian A. Schwarz, Founder and President of NCD International, usually refers to this process as "opening the second chapter of NCD". And he quickly adds that the "second chapter" will be different. What does he mean by that? What will be different? 

What are we doing when we do what we do?

Today this is a key question for Bodakyrkan, a 125-year old Baptist congregation located close to Gothenburg in Sweden. A question that was prompted by an NCD process years back and helped the church rediscover its mission. Klas Eriksson, NCD's National Partner in Sweden, talked to Hans Dahlgren, Senior Pastor of Bodakyrkan, about their NCD experience.

Vineyard Church Movement: 118 Percent More Growth After 18 Months

13 Vineyard church leaders in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were trained by NCD International to become NCD Coaches. During the 18 month training process all trainees got involved in coaching churches through the NCD process. A key training element to make sure lessons learned are also implemented in real-life church situations. The results: 118 percent more growth in participating churches. A documentation by Christoph Schalk.

Personal Development in NCD’s 8 Qualities

Dave White

The new NCD book, Color your World with NCD, focuses on the personal application of the NCD principles. This is clearly emphasized through the Trinitarian Compass. But how about the 8 quality characteristics? How can we help church members develop these qualities on a personal level?

The NCD Wheel

Bene Müller, Kathrin Lenoir, and Thomas Fode

Natural Church Development (NCD) is a process. A cyclical process that needs to be conveyed to a congregation again and again. A good visual image will be of immense value in keeping the process alive. It will not only enhance communication but give much-needed orientation as a local church moves through the NCD Cycle. The following NCD Wheel shows how a Swiss church appropriated the NCD Cycle. Take a look …

Additional NCD Cycles through Ongoing Networks

Dave White

It is essential that we help churches move beyond their first NCD Cycle. Churches must continue to progress through ongoing cycles to move continually toward greater fruitfulness. In the Philippines, we are finding that second cycle networks are essential to help churches progress beyond their first NCD Cycle.

How a Church Rekindles Its Spiritual Passion

Dave White

Appropriate goal-setting coupled with the application of God’s growth forces is a powerful pair of keys. Powerful enough to unlock the growth potential of a local church. The following story from a church in the Philippines is a case in point.

Meet NCD’s National Partner for Russia

Leonid Boichenko, a trained military surgeon and a former assistant pastor of a rapidly growing church, was introduced to NCD in 1997. He was intrigued by NCD’s key principles, the so called life forces, and by their potential value for church development. A year later he was asked by the Agape Center, a Christian ministry in Russia, to coordinate the NCD ministry throughout Russia. A search for the right delivery system began …

NCD -- A Unifying Approach in Multicultural India

NCD is a fairly new ministry in India that started only 3 years ago. In November 2006, Christoph Schalk visited the northern part of the country to train pastors in Chandigarh and to discuss the strategic use of NCD with denominational leaders in New Delhi. Joel David, National Director of Church Leadership Development International (CLDI) and NCD Partner for the Hindi-speaking part of India, speaks about his experiences with NCD in a challenging country.

Keys in Building an NCD Ministry

Thomas Fode

Less than 4 years ago a national NCD ministry was started in Latvia, a relatively small East European country bordering the Baltic Sea. Henrik Andersen, a Dane ministering with The Salvation Army in Latvia, played a key role in establishing this ministry in a relative short time. eNCDine wanted to know "his" secret. What is key in building up an NCD ministry in a different culture?

Volunteer's Month

Connie Kosewähr

How a church rediscovers and activates the potential of its volunteers. An initiative from the Vineyard Berne in Switzerland

to facilitate gift-oriented ministry in their local church (www.vineyard-bern.ch).

Spirituality for a Mission-Shaped Church (Part 2)

A secret of healthy churches is to meet the needs of non-Christians. That's why one of NCD's quality characteristics is called "Need-oriented Evangelism". The following article has its origin in a workshop held by Yvonne Richmond at the Mission 21 Conference in Sheffield. Read in part two how a need-oriented evangelism approach applied to UK culture translates into action.

Spirituality for a Mission-Shaped Church (Part 1)

A secret of healthy churches is to meet the needs of non-Christians. That's why one of NCD's quality characteristics is called "Need-oriented Evangelism". The following article has its origin in a workshop held by Yvonne Richmond at the Mission 21 Conference in Sheffield and provides a good example of applying this principle within the UK context.

Indonesia: Small Stones and Large Circles (3)

Christiane Prang

Abbalove Ministries in Jakarta, Indonesia, is a megachurch with 15,000 members and another 5,000 believers who are not able to attend church services but are still part of the body. Pastor Leo continues to describe the factors which led to church growth.

Indonesia: Small Stones and Large Circles (2)

Christiane Prang

Abbalove Ministries in Jakarta, Indonesia, is a megachurch with 15,000 members and another 5,000 believers who are not able to attend church services but are still part of the body. Unfortunately it is not possible to experience this vast number of believers all in one go, as the political situation in the country does not allow Christians to congregate. Pastor Leo describes the development of Abbalove Church and the factors which led to church growth.

Indonesia: Small Stones and Large Circles (1)

Christiane Prang

Abbalove Ministries in Jakarta, Indonesia, is a megachurch with 15,000 members and another 5,000 believers who are not able to attend church services but are still part of the body. Unfortunately it is not possible to experience this vast number of believers all in one go, as the political situation in the country does not allow Christians to congregate. But it is this very situation of persecution in a Muslim country which makes the believers focus their attention entirely on the essential things: the basic pillars of Christianity and meeting together in cell groups. This has resulted in an amazing church growth with many miracles and healings.

3 Colors of Church Life (Part 3)

John M. Stephenson

One of the most striking changes at Anona (www.anona.com) since working on the NCD theology and process through the years is the authentic nature of relationships. Having loving relationships doesn't mean they are always pain free.

3 Colors of Church Life (Part 2)

John M. Stephenson

As I teach NCD across the North American continent I hear the same global statements. Even within my local church (www.anona.com) I hear them. "NCD is really about making disciples through small groups." "NCD is about using spiritual giftedness to make disciples." "It is about empowering leaders in order to multiply disciples." No matter which one of these is your favorite, they all have a common denominator…making disciples. I do believe NCD is about the Church relearning to make disciples.

3 Colors of Church Life (Part 1)

John M. Stephenson

Having read "Color Your World with NCD", you may be curious to find out what a 3 Color church looks like in real life. Anona United Methodist Church is a good example of applying NCD's 3 Color approach to everyday church life. Learn in this first article what it means for this church to "color its worship".

Church Learns to Take the Initiative

How Natural Church Development (NCD) helped a local church become intentional about reaching out to their community and find more balance in church life.

NCD in the Catholic Church

Harald Schatz

NCD claims to be applicable to any Christian tradition. When we hear about NCD and the ways it is being implemented, however, it is almost always related to Protestant church life. What about NCD in the life of Catholic churches?

NCD In A Muslim Environment

Eddie Leo

At the NCD World Summit in South Africa (Oct 2004), pastor Eddie Leo of Abbalove Church in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, did a presentation about Natural Church Development between persecution and revival. Abbalove Church grew in an Islamic environment to more than 13,000 people in a few years.

Free NCD Surveys in Estonia

The first generation of NCD Coaches has been trained for Estonia from May 9-11, 2005. However, the country, formerly part of the Sowjet Union and now a member of the European Union, still lacks a national norm. Help creating this norm and get your NCD survey for free.