Jeff Fisher
April / May 2006
For the last seven years, we as a church have participated in the Natural Church Development program. This means that each spring we conduct a survey of 30 different active households to assess the health of our ministry. We then use these results to help us determine what we want to focus on in the next year. Our scores for this year are printed on the next page. There is also a two-page chart of our scores in each category over the past seven years. As you can see from that chart, we have made an incredible amount of progress in the health of the church in the last several years.
The basic principle behind the numbers is that a score of 50 is “average” and that anything at 65 or higher is “exceptional health.” For the last two years our overall score has been 62. And for the first time, we had four categories that scored a 65 or better this year. This is a wonderful testimony to the support and dedication of those serving in our church.
Another principle of the NCD program is that the church should put its energy for the following year into the category that received the lowest score (the minimum factor). The theory is that like a barrel with staves, the water runs out at the lowest point, and will never be any fuller than that point. In order to make the maximum impact for increasing the health of a church, the focus should be on developing the minimum factor. This factor indicates the area that is likely limiting healthy growth in the church. As the barrel analogy illustrates, in order to increase capacity it is necessary to increase the height of the minimum stave(s). If we increase all the other staves of a barrel, but not the shortest one, we still cannot hold any more water. The same is true for the health of a church. In essence, we can’t “hold any more” of God’s blessing in our church than our minimum factor allows. So it only makes sense to work on that minimum factor. This year our minimum factors were Passionate Spirituality, Empowering Leadership, and Need-Oriented Evangelism. These are the areas of ministry where we should pour our energy this year.
Over the past seven years, we have practiced this principle and seen its truth played out. When we began the NCD surveys in 2000, we scored a 29 in Gift-Oriented Ministry and a 21 in Small Groups. By working on these areas, particularly in adding additional staff to develop these aspects of ministry, we have seen major leaps in both areas. Gift-Oriented Ministry, which was our 2nd lowest factor in 2000 and our lowest in 2001, became our highest factor with a 70 this year. That is a 41 point increase!! Remarkably, however, we had one area that increased even more: Small Groups. This ministry has jumped 45 points from a 21 to a 66. Until this year, Small Groups has always been either our lowest (4 years) or second lowest (2 years) factor. Even with a 15-point increase last year and a 17-point increase the year before, it was not until this year’s 9-point growth that we are now demonstrating a healthy Small Group ministry. While there is still much to be done and many people to get involved in small groups, we currently have over 45 households and 80 people involved in small groups. This is about half of our 90 households and 165 adult members. As we continue to develop this ministry, it is our expectation that the effects of the small group ministry will impact other areas of ministry as well. Because many of these factors are inter-related, as one area is focused on, inevitably other areas will increase as well. The benefits of small groups will include growth in Loving Relationships, Passionate Spirituality, Need-Oriented Evangelism, and Gift-Oriented Ministry.
Unfortunately, at the same time, the areas that are not specifically emphasized during a particular year sometimes decline slightly or only increase marginally. This is where Passionate Spirituality has been for us. In our first year, Passionate Spirituality scored only a 35, but since it was our third lowest factor it was not an area of emphasis. While we put our energy into these other minimum factor areas, Passionate Spirituality only increased slightly over the years. It was not our lowest factor until last year and so it has not been an area of focus. But this year our primary attention should be on this aspect of ministry. At the same time we want to maintain our momentum in the areas where we have been growing and work on the areas where we dipped this past year. As we have discussed at the Council level, we recognize a great deal of potential for the health and growth of Unity Church, but we cannot try do everything, because we will spread ourselves so thin that we will be unable to effectively work on any of these areas.
So, if we should focus on our minimum factor, how do we increase our Passionate Spirituality? Since this was our minimum factor last year as well, we had some ideas about how to do that which apparently did not accomplish what we would have liked to see. One of those ideas was having a church-wide reading and devotional program, which the Old Testament Challenge provided for us. However, this overview of the Scriptures and the concurrent reading guide did not produce or inspire an increase in spiritual passion among the people in our church (or at least this wasn’t demonstrated in the survey). The literature that comes with the NCD program offers several suggestions about implementing certain spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, Bible reading, and rest. These are things that can be addressed in programming, but ultimately still depend on individual choices to practice them.
The NCD organization sends a few questions with the results of the survey that are designed to help a church grow in its weakest area. A few of these are especially applicable to our context. The first is, “How are people held accountable for their practice of spiritual disciplines in their personal lives?” We have to admit that there is little or no means of confrontation or encouragement for our members to consistently work on developing a healthy, growing spiritual life. Another question that would be extremely valuable to answer is, “What do you believe are the blockages people struggle with as they incorporate spiritual disciplines in their lives?” From the people I talk with about this topic, the number one answer is busyness. Nothing squelches passion like busyness. Nothing hinders taking time to be with God like busyness. Nothing prevents rest like busyness. There are, of course, other factors in obstructing the growth of spiritual passion in our lives, but this one will always have detrimental effects on passionate spirituality. But possibly the best question we should answer is, “What kinds of things have motivated people to make radical changes in their lives?” By answering this question (which means sharing our stories about times when this happened!), we can identify practical and effective ways of spurring on greater passion in our lives and our church. The beauty of the church is that as “each part does its work,” the church naturally “grows and builds itself up.” It’s not so much about programs as it is about people. The church will grow strong and healthy as each person grows strong and healthy.
In our individual lives, our goal is to become more and more like Christ. And in our corporate life as a church, our goal is to grow up into Christ. Both individually and collectively we are to always be seeking ways to become more like Christ. As we work together over this next year, I pray that we will find fresh and creative ways to generate a renewed passion for him and his kingdom!
For more information on Natural Church Development, a small booklet is available from ChurchSmart Resources. Please contact us if you would like a copy.
Brief Descriptions of the Eight Qualities of Natural Church Development
Empowering Leadership - Effective pastors and leaders equipping, supporting, motivating, and mentoring individuals to become all God wants them to be.
Gift-Oriented Ministry - Church leaders helping members identify their gifts and integrate them into ministries that match their gifts.
Passionate Spirituality - Individual and communal faith actually being lived out with commitment, fire, and enthusiasm that is demonstrated in spiritual activities and expressions.
Functional Structures – Church structures fulfilling their intended purposes in a way that keeps ministry fresh and engaging.
Inspiring Worship – Gathered worship is an inspiring experience of celebration for those who attend.
Holistic Small Groups – Places and opportunities are provided for finding intimate community, practical help, and spiritual interaction that meets the needs of individuals.
Need-Oriented Evangelism – Outreach efforts intentionally cultivating relationships with non-Christians to meet their needs and lead them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Loving Relationships - Practical demonstrations of love among members, such as encouragement, generosity, and authenticity, outside of official church programs.
