Natural Church Development
NCD Pathway
Discover your church’s unique strengths and work on your growth areas
Service package $2,500
Through a Biblically grounded and research-based process, you’ll uncover the core principles that foster lasting growth in God’s Kingdom. This journey begins with a church-wide survey and continues through leadership coaching and hands-on workshops. Your coach will walk alongside you, helping you interpret the data and apply it meaningfully in your context, with a focus on your church’s current growth area.
Natural Church Development (NCD) nurtures healthy transformation at every level of your church community—from individuals and relationships to small groups, the congregation, and the surrounding neighborhood. When embraced with steady commitment, this approach cultivates a vibrant, life-giving church where every member flourishes.
The Pathway is a 3-6 month season of intentional work. What’s included:
NCD Survey & Result Guides
Regular coaching for your leadership
Whole-church workshops in key aspects of the process
Curated written resources
Email support
Ready to explore what this could look like in your church? Book a free strategy call and let’s begin the conversation.
NCD Snapshot
A concise, insightful starting point for churches exploring Natural Church Development
Service Package $700
Curious about your church’s current health and growth potential? The NCD Snapshot offers a clear overview of where your church is thriving—and where it’s ready to grow. It’s ideal for leadership teams who want to dip their toes into the NCD process before committing to a full pathway.
What’s included:
NCD Church Survey – completed by a cross-section of your congregation
Results Guides – easy-to-understand resources to interpret your church’s profile
One-on-One Coaching Session – personalized support for a key leader
Results Presentation – tailored for your leadership team or congregation
This experience lays the foundation for deeper engagement, offering both clarity and inspiration for what’s possible in your church’s next season.
What is NCD?
Natural Church, Character & Community Development
A research-based pathway to thriving, purpose-driven communities
Natural Church Development (NCD) is an international, inter-denominational approach to church growth rooted in decades of research. It focuses not on programs or personalities, but on the natural principles that foster health and vitality in any community. At its core, NCD emphasizes relationships, structures, and ministry practices that reflect the heart of what the church is—and what it’s called to be.
Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all model, NCD helps leaders identify and strengthen key quality characteristics that are proven to support sustainable growth. These characteristics are not just functional—they are deeply human, and they reflect the spiritual and relational DNA of a flourishing church.
For Churches, the eight quality characteristics are:
Passionate Spirituality – faith lived with authenticity and vibrancy
Loving Relationships – grace-filled, life-giving connections
Holistic Small Groups – spaces for growth, care, and accountability
Inspiring Worship Services – gatherings that uplift and renew
Need-Oriented Evangelism – outreach that meets real needs
Empowering Leadership – leaders who release others into their calling
Gift-Based Ministry – roles aligned with people’s strengths and passions
Effective Structures – systems that support rather than stifle mission
Each adjective matters. These aren’t just activities—they’re qualities that shape how people experience belonging, purpose, and transformation.
For Non-Church Communities (e.g. schools, nonprofits, networks), the framework adapts beautifully. The different characteristics can be described as:
Values-Driven Energy – anchoring in shared values and meaning
Loving Relationships – cultivating trust and mutual care
Holistic Small Groups – teams that nurture growth and collaboration
Inspiring Gatherings – moments that celebrate and energize
Need-Oriented Outreach – service that responds to real-world needs
Empowering Leadership – guiding others to thrive in their roles
Gift-Based Delegation – aligning tasks with talents and motivation
Effective Structures – workflows that enable rather than constrain
Whether you're leading a church, a nonprofit, or a community initiative, this approach offers a clear, adaptable path toward healthier culture and deeper impact. It’s not about chasing growth—it’s about cultivating the conditions where growth happens naturally.
The Six NCD Growth Forces
Natural Church Development (NCD) identifies six growth forces—universal principles that shape how life flourishes in churches and communities. These forces are drawn from creation itself and are meant to guide leaders in cultivating environments where growth happens naturally, not artificially.
Interdependence
Every part of the body (or community) is connected. Growth happens when individuals and ministries support and rely on one another.Multiplication
Healthy things reproduce. This force emphasizes empowering others to lead, serve, and create—so that growth spreads organically.Energy Transformation
Challenges, pain, or resistance can be transformed into creative energy. This force helps leaders harness adversity as fuel for innovation and renewal.Symbiosis
Mutually beneficial relationships—where different parts of the community contribute to and benefit from each other—are key to long-term health.Fruitfulness
The goal isn’t just activity, but impact. This force focuses on outcomes that reflect real transformation, not just busyness.Sustainability
Growth that lasts. This force encourages rhythms, structures, and practices that can be maintained over time without burnout or dependency.
These forces are meant to be observed, nurtured, and aligned with, rather than controlled. They reflect the organic nature of leadership and community development—whether in churches, nonprofits, or any relational system.
The Trinitarian Compass — the theological heart of Natural Church Development (NCD)
The Trinitarian Compass is designed to help people experience God in a holistic, everyday way—not just as a doctrine, but as a dynamic relationship.
It reflects how we encounter the one God in three distinct ways:
🟢 Creation Revelation (Green) – experiencing God through the beauty, order, and interdependence of creation
🔴 Salvation Revelation (Red) – encountering God through Jesus and the story of redemption
🔵 Spirit Revelation (Blue) – sensing God’s presence and guidance through the Holy Spirit
Together, these dimensions form a compass that guides spiritual balance:
Word-based (red), Spirit-directed (blue), and World-focused (green). When one or more areas are underdeveloped, spiritual imbalance can occur.
The Compass isn’t about theological theory—it’s about helping individuals and communities live out their faith with depth, diversity, and unity.
God’s Energy in Natural Church Development
In NCD, God’s energy refers to the dynamic, life-giving power described in Scripture—especially through the Greek word energeia. This concept moves beyond abstract theology, inviting leaders and communities to experience God as an active presence in everyday life.
Rather than relying on human effort or rigid systems, NCD encourages alignment with this divine energy—an empowering force that flows through creation, relationships, and ministry. When leaders tap into God’s energy, they shift from striving to thriving, transforming resistance into creativity and burnout into fruitfulness.
This energy is not confined to religious settings—it’s a universal principle of growth, applicable to churches, nonprofits, and any community seeking sustainable transformation.