One of the most common disruptions to the NCD process is the moving of pastors from one church to another. There is a positive that can come out of such changes in that the pastor with NCD experience may introduce their new church to NCD. However, often, the church they leave experiences a setback in their own NCD process.

This is one reason it is so important to try to get church elders and lay leaders engaged in the NCD process and even taking primary responsibility for it. Long term elders and lay leaders are the culture shapers (for good and bad) in the life of a church. If they grow, the church will grow. And if they become strongly engaged in the NCD process, it will give it a much stronger foundation for progress and consistency. Of course, it also will reduce the workload of the pastor in terms of analysis, action planning, etc.

When instructing a church about the NCD process, it is therefore highly valuable to emphasise the importance of elders and lay leaders to the process. Not all will necessarily come on board. But even if just a few of them engage initially, the foundation for the process will already be much stronger.

The Strategy Guide within the NCD Result Guides highlights the key influencer principle within church life and provides a way for it to be explained to the leadership of a church.

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