By J.A. Dunn

LEESBURG — Churches in need of transformation will need a patient coach who will grieve with them before the healing can come.

That was the sentiment from the Office of Congregational Transformation’s (OCT) first coaches training July 10-12 at the Life Enrichment Center here.

OCT was established during the 2002 Florida Annual Conference Event. At this year’s annual event in May delegates approved classifying churches using five categories: beginning, transforming, reproducing, maintaining and dying. Delegates also approved the eight characteristics of healthy churches: empowering leadership, gift-oriented ministry, passionate spirituality, functional structures, inspiring worship, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism and loving relationships.

Led by the Rev. Kendall Taylor, OCT strives to breathe new life into maintaining and dying churches using a church revitalization process called Natural Church Development (NCD).

NCD is the source of the eight characteristics of a healthy church. Its process helps churches reach their potential and gauge their health, using a 91-question survey that reveals churches’ strengths and weaknesses. Coaches will help churches navigate through that process.

This first set of coach candidates will complete training Oct. 3-4. A second training series for new coaches is scheduled Nov. 13-15, with its completion Jan. 23-24, 2004.

Taylor plans to begin sending coaches into churches within the next two months.

The three-day coaching workshop was led by David Wetzler, owner and publisher of ChurchSmart Resources, publisher of the NCD materials. He said coaches cannot enter a church and expect it to instantly improve.

The six-phase process involves the coach meeting with the pastor and church leadership to help them complete the survey, prepare for the process and discuss key issues; guiding them in an action-planning workshop; and helping the team review the process.

Wetzler said the timetable in which a church completes each step depends on the honesty of the church.

“The more pain a church has had, the longer it’s going to take,” he said. “They must be willing to take a step and admit they are a declining church. You must gain the trust of the pastor and the church members. If you listen, the people will tell you the cry of their heart. In order to introduce change, there must be trust.”

Some among the 37 clergy and 15 laity attending doubted the validity of the process and worried church members would view it as a program being forced on them by the conference. Taylor responded by affirming the conference’s commitment to the process, saying a major systemic shift is taking place in the conference.

Wetzler said acceptance of the process depends, in part, on how it is presented.

“If you frame this like an Internal Revenue Service audit, who wants to do that?” he said. “But present this as a tool that can be an opportunity for growth…This has to be a grassroots movement. If you communicate what this is, barriers will come down. It’s all about getting churches healthy to make disciples…”

Wetzler’s office has evaluated 18,000 churches in the past five years.

“Even if a church has low results, there are people in the church who still matter to God,” Wetzler said. “Low results means a church is suffering from very serious problems, yet that church still has a chance when you trust God to do a miracle in your midst.”

The Rev. Tom Otto, pastor of Flagler Beach United Methodist Church, is excited about the potential NCD can unleash in his church.

“The NCD process of church renewal and revitalization brings hope and a breath of fresh air to Florida Annual Conference churches,” he said during a break. “...This NCD is a scientific and spiritual tool that can be used to bring better health and effectiveness to our congregation.”

After the meeting, Taylor said he wanted it to be clear that NCD is not a program.