If God gives the growth—how do we participate?
One of the best things that ever happened to me was getting pushed off the end of the dock.
How do we participate in growth that ultimately comes from God? We can’t manufacture life, but we can cultivate the conditions that help it flourish—and sometimes that starts with a little nudge.
One of the best things that ever happened to me was getting pushed off the end of the dock. Someone saw something in me that I wasn’t quite ready to act on myself. They didn’t create whatever potential was there, but they did something that helped bring it out. Sometimes growth needs that kind of encouragement—a little change in the conditions around us that gives something already there the opportunity to develop.
That brings me back to the question I posed recently: “Can you make a church grow?”
The focus then was on the “all-by-itself” principle. It may seem to be “all by itself,” but what we’re really claiming is that growth is provided by God—not you or me. We participate, but we don’t manufacture life.
So, if God gives the growth, what is left for us to do? How do we participate?
In Mark 4:26–29, someone scatters seed and later gathers the harvest. Between those actions, the seed grows—we don’t understand exactly how. It’s that time between the scattering and the gathering that Natural Church Development takes seriously.
Our responsibility between scattering seed and gathering the harvest is to cultivate the best conditions for God-given life to really flourish.
What does cultivating the best conditions for growth mean in a church?
It could mean making it easier for a person to share their gifts, to belong and form relationships, to grow in faith, to be prayed for, or to take meaningful responsibility in a ministry. Sometimes someone is ready to take a step but needs an invitation, an opportunity, some encouragement—or even a little nudge.
Trusting God does not remove our responsibility to participate. This is active work.
It may involve changing a habit or rethinking the way we’ve always done things. It could mean sharing leadership, strengthening a relationship, sharing responsibility, or removing a constraint.
We are not trying to engineer growth. We are paying attention to the environment of the church and asking what we can do to encourage the life that God has already provided.
The same is true in our personal contexts. How can our prayers, conversations, habits, or invitations to others encourage the life that God has embedded in us to take root and flourish beyond what we could ask or imagine?
Sometimes we may be the person offering the encouragement. Sometimes we may be the one who needs it.
Our actions matter because they help us purposefully respond to God in love and true worship.
So, what’s one small faithful step?
Identify just one place where life seems ready to develop, but the surrounding conditions could be enhanced to encourage it.
Maybe it’s a ministry with some potential.
Maybe it’s someone you know who could use a little nudge.
Maybe it’s you.
Choose one practical action that could improve those conditions. Take the step and notice what happens.
Try discussing it with someone else or with your team. Hold one another accountable to follow through and compare what you experience.
Next week, we’ll ask what kind of growth we are seeking—and why NCD puts quality before quantity.
Shane Watson
NCD Canada
Build Spiritual Momentum
Sometimes encouraging growth begins with helping people recognize the gifts already present in them.
The Three-Color Gift Test has helped more than half a million people discover their spiritual gifts and explore how those gifts can be used fruitfully. It’s a practical resource for identifying potential—in yourself and others—and encouraging gift-based ministry in the church.