Cycle Starter Plans

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Having understood your church a little better with the help of the NCD Church Survey, its now time to start cycling together towards a healthier church. You’ve chosen to start experimenting and learning more about the topic to the left. Now, select one of the cycle starter plans below and write number 1 in its box. Put this sheet on your wall, then, go do it!

Next time you are meeting with others who are also working through a topic, ask each other the questions from the cycle, starting at “do” and finishing at “plan”. After a cycle you may decide the most important thing to do now is to keep going with the same plan, modify it, or choose another option from below. If choosing another from below, just write 2 in its box and so on.

If you’d like more cycle starter options, or to work on another topic highlighted by your NCD Church Survey results, just visit ncdchurchsurvey.org/cycle-starters

Q18

  • Clearly determine and communicate when your leadership will meet to further discuss your NCD process and ask each other questions about their personal growth cycles.
  • Consider establishing smaller sub-teams for planning church life based around the overarching NCD areas of Fellowship, Service and Faith (see the NCD Summary Guide). Encourage regular feedback from those groups to the core leadership and the congregation.
  • Consider whether your church program is too full to allow the leaders to meet regularly with enough time to adequately reflect on the past and plan for the future of your church. Consider whether this quality versus quantity of ministry balance needs addressing.
  • Consider who really needs to be at a given leadership meeting depending on the topics to be dicussed. Allow others the freedom not to attend but instead to put their energies into another area of church life.
  • If you have a gifted evangelist in your church, ask them how, based on your gifts, you could work with them to grow fully devoted followers of Christ.
  • Investigate the usage of video conferencing software for use in some of your leadership meetings to ensure planning continuity if physical attendance or timetables is sometimes a challenge.
  • Work with your church leaders to provide better training and support for your current and potential small group leaders.
  • Ask a key leader in your church how much meeting time the leadership spends on planning for the future growth of the church and what resources they draw upon to do so.