Manchester Diocese awarded £2 million

The Bishop of Middleton Mark Davies planting poppy seeds with pupils at St Bartholomew's CE Primary School

The Diocese of Manchester has been successful in its bid for £2.1 million from the Church Commissioners’ Strategic Development Fund to develop projects that will help grow a younger and more diverse church, particularly in areas of high deprivation.

The Bishop of Middleton, The Rt Revd Mark Davies, said: “Jesus placed a child in front of his disciples and told them that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they needed to become like little children.

“This is a constant reminder of the importance of children and young people in the life and ministry of the Church. The news of this exciting grant from the Commissioners will enable us to create a pathway of Christian discipleship for children and young people in our churches, our church-based toddler groups and our Church of England schools, that will support them and their families in developing their Christin faith and discipleship.

“This is an exciting time, there’s lots to do, underpinned by much prayer and our ongoing commitment and longing to be Church for a Different World.”

The money will enable the Church of England across Greater Manchester and Rossendale to invest in two broad areas of work:

• Small church plants – Building on proven models of church planting that have been successful in other parts of the diocese, we aim to plant 16 small churches over six years in the poorest areas and those that currently have the lowest church attendance. The church plants will be on estates and in communities of deprivation, some ethnically diverse and others mainly White British. The church plant project will also create a network of church planters who will share their experience by training and mentoring others.
• Work with children, families and schools – A range of projects will engage with children, their families and schools in the Bolton area, particularly when children reach the key points of moving into primary education or from primary to secondary education. It will focus on building strong links between the home, church and school to create discipleship pathways from toddler group to secondary school and beyond.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said: “I'm delighted that the Diocese of Manchester has been supported with this award of over £2 million. It will enable them build on their proven success of growing small churches in the most needy areas, as well as engaging more deeply with children and families involved in Church of England Schools and pre-school groups.”

The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, said: “Jesus came to bring Good News to the poor and this grant will enable us to grow small churches in our most deprived areas that enrich people’s lives through new-found faith and the fellowship of others in their community. It will also enable us to develop our work with children and families in our Church Schools and local pre-school groups in the Bolton area, helping more young people to retain their Christian faith and identity.”

The vision of the Diocese of Manchester is to be a worshipping, growing and transforming Christian presence at the heart of every community. Key to this is growing new disciples in church communities that are younger, more diverse, active and spiritually engaged.

The investment of £2 million by the Strategic Development Fund will enable the diocese to target additional resources and build on projects that have already been shown to be successful in bringing more young people to faith.