Church of England publishes report on mission funding impact

The Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB) has published its annual review for 2025, outlining the outcomes of its investment into mission and church growth activities.

The SMMIB said it had distributed £98 million to Church of England dioceses and £5.9 million to mission partners in a bid to “revitalise” parish churches and fund ministry, youth work, renovation and other mission projects.

As a results of the funding the Church says it expects to coach 6,000 latest leaders, 100 of whom can be curates.

The church pointed to various case studies, showing the impact of its funding.

One such was All Saints Hove within the Diocese of Chichester. Five years ago the church had just five children coming for Sunday worship. Additional funding allowed the church to support a children’s and youth minister and to maintain the church open for mission activities throughout the week.

The church now has a playgroup and a community café and has gone from just five children to 140 children, parents and carers. Last yr 17 children were baptised, the best figure for greater than a decade.

Another example was St Luke’s Blackburn, which has gone from a small aging congregation to a gathering of over 100 worshippers every Sunday.

The SMMIB said that so far programmes supported by national funding for strategic investment have led to the creation of seven,600 latest leaders and the launching 1,500 latest worshipping communities. It is believed such programmes have also accounted for 46,000 people joining the Church.

Carl Hughes, Chairman of the SMMIB, said, “We are delighted to share our annual review for 2025, and to see that strategic investment in local ministry is bearing fruit. There is far to rejoice and praise God for within the stories of 1000’s coming to know the love of Jesus Christ, and we stay up for continuing our partnerships with parishes, dioceses and mission organisations.”