Meet Kjetil

Chief Grounding Officer

Kjetil is Chief Grounding Officer at ncd.life, helping us keep our freshest ideas connected to real life.

I'm Kjetil.

Church development has fascinated me ever since I finished my studies and began working in the church. Even before that, learning was central in my life. Over the years, I’ve realized that genuine church development is impossible without a willingness to learn something new along the way.

I grew up in Molde, a small and scenic town on the west coast of Norway. That is where I live today together with my wife, best friend, and co-worker, Liv-Kari. We have two sons and a daughter, all of them now exploring their own paths through work, studies, and life.

My journey into Natural Church Development (NCD) began during my time as general manager at Molde Cathedral. We were exploring different methods and strategies for building church life, and in the early 2000s we did our first NCD Profile. Around the same time, I wrote my master’s thesis in education on The Learning Church. A few years later, I was certified as an NCD coach, and in 2014 I was called to step into the role of national leader of NCD for Norway and Iceland—a journey my family and I discerned and embraced together.

What has always been on my heart is to see people and churches released to become more of what the Triune God has created and shaped them to be. The unique gift of NCD is that we don’t need to focus on producing growth ourselves—we simply remove the obstacles, and the God-given potential begins to unfold. My experience is that when we create space for God—within us and among us—His Kingdom expands. It’s about God’s principles, about life, and about the Spirit.

The picture of me in our old wooden boat (a traditional færing from the late 1950s) reflects something of who I am and what I value. I enjoy being out in nature and fishing for trout, though that’s more Liv-Kari’s passion. What matters most to me is restoring the boat I inherited from my grandfather—making sure it is preserved, used, and enjoyed. In the same way, I see how I am gifted: perhaps not the one most eager to go “fishing” myself (Liv-Kari is the evangelist in our family), but someone who loves to empower others to use their gifts, to train coaches, and to teach God’s principles. I thrive on exploring and analyzing, developing training material, and helping others reach their full potential.

What has God planted in you?

Formal education

• Higher education diploma in Economics and Administration (2 years)
• Professional degree in Education (Cand.Ed.)
• Certified Teacher (equivalent to Lecturer with promotion in Norway)