Christian Schwarz is the founder and Director of the Institute for Natural Church Development. It is located in Northern Germany and is the driving force behind a new paradigm in Church Growth. The Natural Church Development Process focuses on church health. Schwarz has done research in over 1,000 churches on six continents to determine if there are universal principles that apply to all growing churches regardless of size, denomination or location. His research determined that there are eight key principles of church growth. These are 

1. Empowering Leadership- A healthy church develops teamwork with leaders training others to follow in their footsteps. Leaders empower others by investing in them through equipping, motivating and mentoring. 

2. Gift-oriented ministry-Church jobs must be assigned according to individual’s spiritual gifts. 

3. Passionate Spirituality-Churches should ask themselves whether prayer, enthusiasm and boldness characterize member’s lives. People should feel that what they do is God centered, God driven and for His purpose. 

4. Functional Structures-The way a church makes decisions and ministers should be flexible, relevant, and help multiply its outreach. 

5. Inspiring Worship- It really doesn’t matter whether the worship is contemporary, balanced, or liturgical. The real question is does the worship service provide inspiration, where the congregation can meet God? Inspirational worship is fun. 

6. Holistic Small Groups-Growing churches have developed a system of small groups where individual Christians can find intimate community, practical help, and intensive spiritual interaction. Effective small groups are better at focusing on member needs. 

7. Need oriented evangelism- The key question is whether or not a church's evangelistic approach is related to the needs of the people that the congregation are trying reach. An example of this approach is that a woman from a church neighborhood became a Christian because of the influence of a Christian-based weight-loss group that was a ministry of the church. 

8. Loving relationships-Love is good and no one loves like the church. People may not know anything about the building or programs, but they will know if a congregation genuinely cares about them.

Bob Dempsey has been trained to consult with churches about the natural church development process. He can administer a survey to 30 key leaders that will indicate the congregation’s status with regard to the eight growth characteristics. He can also interpret the survey and give insights to the area that the church needs to address first in order to become a healthier congregation. Cost of the survey is $150.00, which includes the survey, analysis and interpretation of the results. Contact Bob at 271-6227, or email him at  bdempsey@mgmbaptist.org  to schedule a consultation about Natural Church Development.