About Us

The Vision and Strategy of the Church of England

One Vision

The Church of England’s calling is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ afresh in each generation to the people of England.

The Vision for the Church in the 2020s is that we become a Church that is centred on Jesus Christ and shaped by Jesus Christ through the five Marks of Mission.

There are three strategic priorities for the 2020s:

To become a church of missionary disciples.

To be a church where mixed ecology is the norm.

To be a church that is younger and more diverse.

Six Bold Outcomes

From the three strategic priorities we have identified six bold outcomes.

A church for everyone through:

Doubling the number of children and young active disciples in the Church of England by
A Church of England which fully represents the communities we serve in age and diversity.

A pathway for everyone into an accessible and contextual expression of church through:

A parish system revitalised for mission so churches can reach and serve everyone in their community.
Creating ten thousand new Christian communities across the four areas of home, work/education, social and digital.

Empowered by:

All Christians in the Church of England envisioned, resourced and released to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in the whole of life, bringing transformation to the church and world.
All local churches, supported by their diocese, becoming communities and hubs for initial and ongoing formation.

To read more about the Vision and Strategy please click here.

About the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board

With the Church’s Vision & Strategy at the heart of its work, the Archbishops’ Council, with the support of the Church Commissioners, has created a committee of the Council – the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board.

The Board’s role is to ensure the effective distribution of national Church funding to dioceses and partner organisations to support mission and ministry and enable the Vision and Strategy to be realised. £385m million will be available for strategic mission and ministry investment in 2026-28 which will be increased to a total of £1.4 billion by 2034. Of the 2026-28 funding envelope, £236m will be available for Diocesan Investment Programme Funding; £14m will be available for People and Partnerships Funding and £133.5m will be available for Lowest Income Communities funding. From 2026, the Board will also distribute time-limited additional support (£37m in 2026-28) to dioceses to provide them with a breathing space in the light of the financial challenges they face.

Impact focused, the Board approves funding proposals; ensures effective management of on-going awards; and oversees the impact of the funding through monitoring, evaluation and learning. The Board is also responsible for overseeing the tracking of impact and the effective delivery of the Strategic Development Funding, Strategic Transformation Funding, and Innovation Funding programmes that have previously been allocated.

Formal assessment panels encompassing a range of expertise advise the Board on funding proposals. The Board aims to make its decision-making as transparent as possible and to ensure that stakeholders, including critical voices, are effectively engaged with the Board’s work.

The Board is composed of 12 members, four of whom are ex officio: the Chair of the Board (who is appointed by the Archbishops’ Council), the Chair of the Archbishops’ Council’s Ministry Development Board, the First Church Estates Commissioner, and the Deputy Chair of the Church Commissioners’ Board of Governors. The remaining eight are appointed by an application process. Of those appointed by application, at least two must be Archbishops’ Council members, at least two must be senior diocesan leaders (ordained or lay) and at least three must be independent, i.e. not members of the Archbishops’ Council. The Board’s current membership is listed here.

The Board is currently seeking to appoint three new independent members, including one senior diocesan leader (ordained or lay).

The Board brings diverse skills and experiences in order to enhance decision making. These include strategic leadership, church mission and growth, ministerial and people development, grant and programme management, evaluation and learning, and organisational change. The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, whilst of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we particularly welcome applications from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. All Board members are practising Christians, reflecting the need for prayerful discernment.

About the Funding Programmes Overseen by the Board

The Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) programme comprises three funding streams:

The Diocesan Investment Programme (DIP) funds a range of activities within dioceses, from developing mission across the whole diocese to a programme focused on a particular geographical area or demographic group, and focuses especially on supporting deprived and under-resourced areas. The funding also provides shorter term support for both ordained and lay staff, and for training curates, to address constraints in dioceses’ capacity to develop and implement long- term strategies. There are currently £234m of active grants.
People & Partnerships Funding (PPF) addresses a gap or barrier that currently inhibits delivery of the Church’s Vision and Strategy. It recognises that some specific priorities which support the Vision and Strategy’s bold outcomes are best addressed through national funding. It expands, scales, or replicates an approach already developed successfully, working with mission partners, as well as funding research and innovation. There are currently £9.4m of active grants.
Lowest Income Communities (LInC) funding is targeted on dioceses that have high proportions of communities with low income and high deprivation, to sustain and strengthen the Church’s mission in these communities. The funding aims to ensure that ministry is provided in those parishes where it would otherwise be unsustainable, as well as supporting other roles, such as youth ministers, in parishes that could not otherwise afford them. £32m has been paid to dioceses in 2025, including transition funding.

Previous Programmes of National Funding Now Managed by the Board

Strategic Development Funding (SDF) (awarded 2014-22) supported major change programmes that fit with dioceses’ strategic plans and that make a significant difference to their mission and financial strength. There are currently £176m of active grants.
Strategic Transformation Funding (STF) (2020-22) helped dioceses to develop and deliver diocesan-wide mission and growth strategies to ensure a thriving and sustainable future for the Church. There are £xxm of active grants.
Capacity Funding (2015-22) helped to increase the capacity of dioceses to develop and deliver their mission plans as well as releasing extra capacity within diocesan teams to tackle significant strategic challenges. There are £22m of active grants.
Innovation Funding (2020-22) supported limited scale projects which will innovate in the light of the Church’s Vision & Strategy and generate learning about ‘good growth’, i.e. growth which increases the number of new disciples, strengthens discipleship, grows the impact of the Church’s social engagement work, or increases and diversifies the number of leaders in the Church. There are £5m of active grants.

Core Principles which Underpin the Priorities for the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board

Relational & supportive – Active partnership with diocesan and local church leaders, working together to enhance programme plans and be Spirit-led.
Transparent & honest – Openness about decision-making processes to maintain trust, and a commitment to share the lessons of funding (successes and failures) to maximise its impact.
Intentional – Funding is linked to a plan setting out what change is anticipated and how it will be achieved.
Empowering – Those receiving funding are helped to build capacity so they are in a better position to lead and sustain frontline mission.
Evidence-based and realistic – Respecting local knowledge, decisions about funding are based on high-quality evidence integrated with practitioners’ understanding of their context.
Humility, recognising this is God’s work – Recognising success is dependent on God, excited and curious to learn what God will do, and trying to share our own skills with humility.

And underpinning all of this is good governance and appropriate assurance to governing bodies and the wider Church as to the distribution and impact of the funding. As one of the largest grant funders in the country, we have mutual accountability across the Church – accountability for how funds are distributed and accountability for how they are used – for God’s kingdom, building a church of missionary disciples, a church which is younger and more diverse and where a mixed ecology is the norm.

Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board Terms of Reference

Functions and Principles

To facilitate its strategic role, the Archbishops’ Council, with the support of the Church Commissioners, has appointed a committee of the Council to be known as the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (‘the Board’) which has responsibility, on the Council’s behalf, to:
1. Determine the strategic distribution of funding which the Council has allocated for distribution by the Board to dioceses and partner organisations to deliver the Church’s Vision and Strategy, in line with policies agreed by the Council.
2. Approve funding proposals and oversee effective management of awards.
3. Oversee the impact, through monitoring, evaluation, and learning, of the funding distributed on behalf of the Council.
4. Report to the Council on its work at a frequency determined by the Council and provide an annual report each year to the Council suitable for publication by the Council to the wider Church, reporting on the impact of the funds which it has distributed.
The Board will ensure that the funds which it is responsible for distributing are distributed and applied in furtherance of the Council’s charitable objects, and for the particular purposes for which they have been allocated by the Council, and not for any other object or purpose.
The Board will ensure that its decision-making is as transparent as possible and that stakeholders, including critical voices, are effectively engaged with the Board’s work.
The Board will embed the core principles as shared with General Synod in July 2022 in its operations and practices.

Membership

The Board will be constituted as follows:
1. The Board will have 12 members and will comprise:
  1. A Chair who is a member of the Archbishops’ Council, appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Archbishops.
  2. The Chair of the Archbishops’ Council Ministry Development Board, ex officio.
  3. The First Church Estates Commissioner, ex officio.
  4. The Deputy Chair of the Church Commissioners’ Board of Governors (ex officio).
  5. Eight other persons appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Archbishops, of whom:
    1. At least five must be members of the Archbishops’ Council (this includes the Chair and any ex officio members who are Council members).
    2. At least three must be independent members, i.e., not members of the Archbishops’ Council.
  6. At least four of the Board’s members (whether ex officio or appointed members) must be senior diocesan leaders, meaning people with significant experience in senior leadership in dioceses, ordained and lay.
  7. Members of the Church Commissioners’ Board of Governors may be appointed under (5(1)(2) above, in addition to the First Church Estates Commissioner and the Deputy Chair of the Commissioners’ Board.
All members appointed to the Board will be persons who are well-qualified to manage the distribution of the Church of England’s national funds to further its mission and able to contribute to prayerful discernment as practising Christians.
The Church of England is for everyone, and seeks to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. The Archbishops and the Council will therefore encourage membership from groups that are under-represented in the Church, in particular younger members, members from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds and those from lowest income communities.
The eight members referred to in paragraph 5(a)(v) above will all be appointed for a three-year term. They will be eligible for re-appointment but may not serve for more than three consecutive terms.
The Board’s Chair will be appointed by the Council on the advice of the Archbishops for a three-year term. They will be eligible for re-appointment but may not serve for more than three consecutive terms.
In the absence of the Chair, the Board will be chaired by a member chosen by the Board.

Business and Procedure

The quorum of the Board shall be six, at least two of whom will be members of the Archbishops’ Council, and at least one of the First Church Estates Commissioner and the Deputy Chair of Commissioners. No business shall be transacted in the absence of a quorum. Subject thereto, the Board may transact business notwithstanding any vacancies in its membership.
The Board may appoint:
1. Such decision-making sub-committees as the Archbishops’ Council may from time to time authorise (on such terms as to membership, appointment, functions and reporting back or otherwise as the Archbishops’ Council may determine).
2. Such other sub-committees as it shall from time to time determine.
Any such sub-committee may include persons who are not members of the Board.
The Board shall provide the Archbishops’ Council with an annual report setting out how it has carried out its functions, providing an assessment of its achievements for the previous year and setting out its objectives and plan for the coming year. The report shall reflect the Archbishops’ Council’s priorities for the period and shall contain such information as is necessary to enable the members of the Council properly to discharge their duties as the charity trustees of the funds being distributed by the Board on the Council’s behalf and (so far as applicable) to provide the Church Commissioners with the certificate required by section 2(6) of the National Institutions Measure 1998.
The Board shall report such other details of its business, procedure, and activities such as the Archbishops’ Council or the Secretary General on its behalf may from time to time direct.
No meetings of the Board shall be held during any group of sessions of the General Synod except with the agreement of the Clerk to the Synod.
The Board’s meetings may take place by video conference, telephone conference or in person.
Subject as aforesaid, the Board shall have power to regulate its own business and procedure. In the absence of such regulation, paragraphs (19) and (20) below shall apply.
The Chair shall determine all questions of order and procedure. He or she may move motions or amendments and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall have a second or casting vote.
All decisions shall be made by a majority of members present and voting shall be by show of hands. This includes meeting remotely.

Code of Conduct and Conflicts of Interest

Members of the Board must comply with the Archbishops’ Council’s Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy.