What is the Diocesan Growth Programme?
Rooted in prayer, the Diocesan Growth Programme is a 10-year plan that aims to strengthen parishes to help more people of all ages know, love and follow Jesus, resulting in many churches becoming healthier and more sustainable.
Whatever your starting point or context, there is something for every parish who wants to grow.
Why is the Diocesan Growth Programme needed?
The church faces a number of pressing challenges we need to address, the main two being:
Church attendance has fallen significantly over the last 10 years, especially among children and young people.
‘Healthy and sustainable’ churches are in the minority and struggling churches unable to contribute ministry costs are in the majority. This is an unsustainable position moving forward without missional interventions.
What do we mean by churches becoming more ‘healthy and sustainable’?
A ‘healthy and sustainable’ church is a parish community adding to their number and seeing growth in knowing, loving and following Jesus. Wise and effective resource management, of both finance and volunteers, is in place to meet current and future ministry and missional needs.
What are the funded programme streams?
Over the next 10 years the Diocesan Growth Programme plans to invest in:
- Apostolic Partnerships & Revitalisations: Adopting tried and tested models of church growth to strengthen and breathe new life into a wide spread of parishes.
- Children, Youth and Families workers: New CYF posts and extensions of existing contracts.
- Focal Ministry: Raising up excellent local leaders in multi-church benefices.
- Excellent Leaders: Resourcing and nurturing leaders (authorised, licensed, ordained) to lead mission effectively
- Mission and outreach: Small grants to fuel missional initiatives and Innovation grants to try and test promising ideas for replication.
What can’t be funded?
Capital repairs and building maintenance are not funded by the Diocesan Growth Programme. Other funding options exist for church building fabric and maintenance – contact our Church Buildings team or consult Cornerstone where grant funding options available to your parish are listed. The Diocesan Growth Programme is not the only funding source available to your parish.
Our parish has an idea, what do we do?
Once you have thought about, prayed for and discussed your initial idea as a PCC, please contact us to talk about your idea.
Click on the programme stream page you are interested in and you will find a contact e-mail address there.
Please treat us as partners in mission rather than just funding providers – we are here to help our parishes, to pray for them, to set them up for success in their missional ideas and to partner with them at each stage through the process.
Who can apply for funding?
Any recognised church officer (parish priest, churchwarden, PCC treasurer) in a Diocese of Chichester parish can apply for funding, with the support of the PCC.
Will funding cover 100% of our project?
Since we want parishes to have ownership of funded initiatives there will nearly always be a requirement for parishes to contribute an element of funding. The degree of funding will depend on the deprivation level of the parish and the ability of the PCC to co-fund the initiative.
We would love to support the Diocesan Growth Programme – what can we do?
We warmly welcome prayer for the Diocesan Growth Programme.
We will be introducing prayers you and your parish can pray and a Diocesan Growth Programme prayer letter. Please e-mail melissa.davies@chichester.anglican.org if you would like to sign up to receive these.
What key scriptures inspire the ongoing work of the Diocesan Growth Programme?
We’re called to fulfil the Great Commission as well as live out the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37 – 39).
Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’
Matthew 28:18-20
How did the Diocesan Growth Programme come to be?
The Diocesan Growth Programme was approved by Diocesan Synod in March 2025 and is available here.
The vision for the Diocesan Growth Programme was prayerfully discerned by the Bishops in Spring 2024, who instructed a small team at Church House to develop the Programme in partnership with the National Church.
Consultations to help shape the Diocesan Growth Programme took place in early 2025.
The Diocesan Growth Programme received funding from the National Church in June 2025 and January 2026.
The Strategic Programmes Team at Church House have responsibility for the operational day-to-day running of the Diocesan Growth Programme, with oversight provided by the Strategic Programmes Board and the project boards.
How is the Diocesan Growth Programme funded?
The Diocesan Growth Programme is funded by the National Church (who have indicated willingness to fund c. £11m, and have so far approved plans for £5.3m), the Diocesan Board of Finance (largely in sustaining parish clergy posts longer than would otherwise be the case to enable revitalisation) and participating parishes who contribute towards local workers. Funding is not through parish share.
Isn’t the Diocesan Growth Programme trying to do the Holy Spirit’s work?
Whilst the Holy Spirit works in the heart of individuals, leading them to know love and follow Jesus, the Church is invited to co-participate in God’s mission to the world. We thank God for graciously providing us with this resource and we pray for wise stewardship, so parishes are strengthened, workers are raised up and new communities are created where Jesus is proclaimed.