History and Beginning of OQM

OQM has its roots in the Natural Church Development (NCD) movement. In the course of their research work to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the church worldwide, theologian Christian A. Schwartz and psychologist Christoph Schalk have processed over 60,000 surveys (as of March 2009) in approximately 45,000 churches of differing characters and denominations in over 70 countries throughout the world.

The results of this continuing research are amalgamated into the ongoing coaching program of the Institute for Natural Church Development and countless churches around the world are successfully employing the concept of Natural Church Development to improve their quality.

The NCD process has been adapted for non-profit organizations such as charities, social programs and other church institutions and a series of projects have begun under the Organic Quality Management (OQM) name.