Natural Church Development has been called a paradigm shift in the Christian community on the scale of the Reformation. It moves the understanding of the nature of the church closer to its first century roots by emphasizing the truth that only God causes His church to grow and that God has provided a way of growth for churches that is natural.

Taking the good things from the Church Growth Movement of the latter twentieth century, it decries the unhealthy emphases that imply that church growth is accomplished mainly by the skills and acumen of men in using scientific studies and formulas. This obviously does not mean that NCD doesn't use "scientific" methods or measurement. It means it recognizes that church growth is a spiritual phenomenon similar to the natural phenomenon of a plant growing or a garden growing. People can aid the natural growth process if they understand it, yet they still don't make the plants or garden grow.