Founded in 1982, the vision for NCDC was to raise needed resources, identify entrepreneurial leaders, and establish a clear, agile path for new congregations to build and grow. Through grassroots efforts supported by the larger community of Presbyterians in and around Atlanta, new Presbyterian worshiping communities began to form.

Between 2001 and 2013, the work was led by three presbyteries: Cherokee, Northeast Georgia, and Greater Atlanta. In 2014, the NCDC returned from a Tri-Presbytery Commission to a non-profit primarily led by visionaries in Greater Atlanta. We partner with the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

Between 1985 and 2000, 11 churches chartered. By 2010, the growth of new congregations had flourished to the point that the NCDC was incorporated as its own 501(c)3, which expanded opportunities for fundraising, calling leaders, purchasing property, and taking fast steps toward establishing new worshiping communities. Currently, the NCDC has over 30 communities under care and charters an average of one new church per year.

Over time, the purpose of the NCDC has remained the same: to increase the visibility and viability of fresh expressions of church; to encourage innovation in the church; to assess, train, and bring on board the leaders needed for such a time as this; and to catalyze the development of new worshiping communities.