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Build Healthy Churches

Church Assessment & Planning: Tools for Strengthening Churches and Reaching Communities

At VCN Mid-Atlantic, we believe that thriving churches begin with intentional reflection and strategic planning. Understanding both the internal health of your congregation and the needs of the community you serve is essential for long-term impact and Gospel-centered growth. Through a combination of proven tools – Natural Church Development (NCD), MissionInsite, and SWOT Analysis – we help churches assess their vitality, understand their mission field, and plan for a vibrant future. These resources empower leaders to make informed, Spirit-led decisions that foster church health, discipleship, and community transformation. Explore each tool below to learn how they can equip your church for greater effectiveness.

Natural Church Development (NCD)

Do you want to know areas where your Church has the most potential for success so you can focus your energy there? The NCD Survey for local churches draws upon the research and implementation learnings from over 65,000 churches in 72 countries. In so doing, it can lighten and simplify your ministry workload by showing you exactly where your time, treasure, and talent would be best spent right now for maximum fruitfulness. For example, it will show you which of the following essentials of church life currently come most naturally to your church, and which do not…

  • Empowering leadership
  • Gift-based ministry
  • Passionate spirituality
  • Effective structures
  • Inspiring worship service
  • Holistic small groups
  • Need-oriented evangelism
  • Loving relationships

Rather than conforming your church to a particular model, NCD’s principle-based approach brings out the unique identity and purpose of your church so it can be all that God intends it to be. Just like a beautiful healthy forest, a healthy church is unique and rich in fruitful diversity.

Aside from the results experienced by churches who have taken seriously the principles uncovered through NCD, one of the strongest and most unusual affirmations of the process is seen in the number of churches who return to the process after some years, often acknowledging they didn’t take their results seriously enough the first time. The most common reason mentioned for returning is that NCD is still saying the same things it did years ago. That is, it is genuinely based upon universal principles that, if ignored, will lead only to frustration. But if embraced, will lead to the transformation of your community, sooner than you expect. For those churches, the guiding principles of NCD are some of the few stable, reliable and consistent parts of church life in a changing ministry world.

Contact Us to learn more about how the NCD Survey may help your church grow to greater health and effectiveness.

All of the above information comes from the NCD Survey website. Click Here to visit their site and learn more. But note: we offer this service at a lower rate through our partnership with NCD.

MissionInsite

MissionInsite’s PeopleView System™ is a web-based community information system built on Google Maps available for National, Regional, and Local church clients. Designed specifically for church, faith-based, and nonprofit leaders, the PeopleView System™ bridges the gap between data and decisionable information by answering the “where” and “what about” questions about your organization and community.

  • Flexible web-based information system
  • Comprehensive socioeconomic and lifestyle data
  • Interactive mapping platform
  • Strategic information resource for ministry

The PeopleView System™ is a GIS (Geo-demographic System) that provides community information using state-of-the-art spatial query technology. Community information is available for any custom geography anywhere in the United States.

MissionInsite helps you bridge the gap from data to decision. With your faith-based nonprofit’s data and current demographics information, you can understand your community and the people you serve.

VCN Mid-Atlantic member churches can request a report for their local area. Simply complete the form below with your church name, street address, and desired area radius (in miles) for reporting.

10 + 4 =

SWOT Analysis

Looking for a way to get a quick “snapshot” of your church’s

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

… then maybe the S.W.O.T. Analysis is for you.

This analysis tool is designed to be completed in one evening and one day or compressed into one 8-hour day. The essential idea was borrowed from the Harvard Business School but with significant tweaking to be used for church ministry. Recognizing that the church is a Body and not a Business, this analysis was developed for church leadership to identify the 4 areas with which leadership strives to understand relevant issues unique to their ministry. While the Ministry Mapping Assessment drills deeper for a total ministry picture, the S.W.O.T. Analysis is a faster, more expedient tool for leadership to gather information necessary for decision-making specific to vision development.

VCN Mid-Atlantic Consultants are experienced in guiding your leadership teams through this process.

Contact Us for more information.

SWOT Analysis

Looking for a way to get a quick “snapshot” of your church’s … then maybe the S.W.O.T. Analysis is for you.

This analysis tool is designed to be completed in one evening and one day or compressed into one 8-hour day. The essential idea was borrowed from the Harvard Business School but with significant tweaking to be used for church ministry. Recognizing that the church is a Body and not a Business, this analysis was developed for church leadership to identify the 4 areas with which leadership strives to understand relevant issues unique to their ministry. While the Ministry Mapping Assessment drills deeper for a total ministry picture, the S.W.O.T. Analysis is a faster, more expedient tool for leadership to gather information necessary for decision-making specific to vision development.

VCN Mid-Atlantic Consultants are experienced in guiding your leadership teams through this process.

Contact Us for more information.