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The
Church Profile/Survey can serve as a marvelous basis for planning...for
moving into the 21st century with a mission mind set. Here are some introductory words: Introduction to Natural Church Development Critics
of the church growth movement have often emphasized the need for quality
congregations. "Don't focus on numerical growth, concentrate on
qualitative growth." Christian Schwarz agrees wholeheartedly!
Through careful research, Christian Schwarz has verified the link
between church health and growth. Having worked among German churches
for a number of years, he has broadened his studies to include churches
from around the world. There has never been such an extensive,
statistically valid, worldwide church growth research project ever
conducted. The
study examined 1,000 churches in 32 countries from 6 continents. A total
of 4.2 million pieces of data were collected and thoroughly analyzed.
The research followed stringent scientific procedures assuring the
accuracy of the results. Christoph Schalk's thesis at the University of
Wuerzburg demonstrated the reliability and validity of the
questionnaire. +
Reliability = the consistency of the results, i.e. you
get the same results if you repeated the survey +
Validity = the relevance of the results, i.e. the survey
measures what it's supposed to be measuring The
research results confirm what many leaders have known intuitively --
healthy churches are growing churches, making more and enhancing
disciples in loving obedience to Christ. Eight essential qualities were
identified, which can be measured quantitatively: The
Natural Church Development Survey is a wonderful tool that you can use
in your congregation. Improving quality in your church's "minimum
factors" often results in a healthy, vibrant, and even in
quantitative church growth. You
will find through Natural Church Development a greater understanding of
how God wants his church to grow. You will learn how to release the
growth potential within your church. Read it, ponder it and take the
next steps to becoming a healthy, growing, reproducing church!
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