Significant investment for further church growth in the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham
The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is delighted to announce that it is set to receive £33.16 million – of which £12.1 million is subject to further approvals – from the Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board for a decade-long programme which builds on fruitful mission and ministry in recent years.
The funds will support investment in parishes across the diocese in our city, towns and villages, delivering church revitalisation and a focus on evangelism, discipleship, vocations and the development of younger leaders. The funding includes provision for training and the deployment of over 40 frontline lay and ordained leaders as well as children and youth workers. A major pilot project will be launched to renew groups of rural churches in the diocese, drawing on lessons from effective outreach in urban Nottingham and existing projects in rural Nottinghamshire and the Connect initiative of church in school. Additional mission resource will be available to any parish church in the diocese through enhanced Growing Disciples grants.
This builds on Strategic Development Funding the diocese has received since 2016, which has benefited the whole life of the diocese: bringing fresh confidence that churches can grow, that younger people are interested in faith, and that inspirational worship and commitment to prayer are foundational for spiritual health and numerical growth. It has been an ambitious and engaging vision for growth, and outcomes have included a significant increase in younger leaders and renewed ministry in parish churches that had previously been closed or struggling, all the while maintaining and even seeking to grow overall stipendiary numbers. Encouragingly we have seen a rise in overall weekly attendance for all ages by 8% between 2022 and 2023, including a 14.6% increase in children and youth.
The investment has been agreed on the basis of current faithful and projected increased levels of giving, incorporating the new Journey of Generosity which launched earlier this year, with the aim of reaching financial sustainability across the whole diocese by 2035 and ensuring the long-term viability of mission and ministry in all our churches. We are praying that this will bring further blessing to our churches and the communities that they serve, offering the new life, healing and wholeness that is found in Jesus Christ. We believe the church is uniquely placed to share this in every parish for current and future generations.
Bishop Paul shared, “This further investment from national church funds will be an immense encouragement to congregations all across the diocese as we continue to develop present ministries and support opportunities for growth, especially reaching younger people and those not presently part of a local church. Our ambition and prayer is that God’s living hope through knowing Jesus will become real and personal for many more living across the communities of the diocese. This funding will be a huge boost helping us to respond to the new things that the Holy Spirit is doing, equipping churches to serve with compassion, confidence and courage.”
We would like to thank all those that have contributed towards the development of this proposal, including churches from across the diocese that were involved in the parish consultation and discernment of our refreshed diocesan vision, as well as the national team who have supported us and the Board for their prayerful deliberation. We will be providing further updates in due course, but for now we want to encourage everybody to pray as we enter this new season together.
There is opportunity to join a wider gathering as part of our Diocesan Day of Prayer on the 14th November where we will spend time thanking God, and asking for his continued guidance for the way ahead.