Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches

by Christian A. Schwarz

Publisher:

Churchsmart Resources

, 1996

Overview

Critics of the church growth movement have often emphasized the need for quality congregations. We should not focus on numerical growth, but rather, we should concentrate on qualitative growth.

Christian Schwarz has done extensive research world-wide and found that healthy, growing churches seem to share eight quality characteristics. These characteristics are:

Empowering leadership

Gift-oriented ministry

Passionate spirituality

Functional structures

Inspiring worship service

Holistic small groups

Need-oriented evangelism

Loving relationships

Schwarz uses the illustration of a barrel with eight staves to symbolize the eight quality characteristics. The barrel can only hold water to the height of the lowest stave. So too, Schwarz argues, a church can only grow as far as their ‘Minimum factor,’ which is the lowest of the eight quality characteristics in their church. He challenges churches to resist the temptation to work on improving areas in which they already excel, for by doing this they do not increase their minimum factor or their church quality.

This revised version of Natural Church Development now includes Schwarz’s “3 Colors” teaching.

Key Features

• Explores that healthy, growing churches seem to share eight quality characteristics.
• Shows inspiring worship service.
• Challenges churches to resist the temptation to work on improving areas.

Product Details

• Title: Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches
• Author: Christian A. Schwarz
• Edition: Seven Edition
• Publisher: Churchsmart Resources
• Print Publication Date: 1996
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subject: Church Development
• ISBNs: 9781889638003, 1889638005
• Resource ID: LLS:NTRLCHRCHCHRCHS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-11-02T00:38:30Z