Portsmouth diocese seeks £9.1m investment to help its mission and ministry

It wants to invest £9.1m into parishes over the next five years, with the hope half of the cash will be funded by the national Church.

Sharing what’s behind their investment plans, Venerable Joanne Grenfell, Archdeacon of Portsdown told Premier: “We really want to invest in mission and ministries so that there are really exciting forms of worship and outreach in schools and with families and children that people find really possible to engage with so that they can grow in their faith.

“We also want to make a bigger difference by social outreach so more support for ministries through foodbanks, counselling…all of the work that’s really important for serving the community.”

The plans are part of the diocese’s new strategy which includes the creation of multiple new congregations and working in brand new ways to serve those it has traditionally been poor at engaging with.

Parishes in the urban areas of Havant, Gosport and the Isle of Wight have been identified as places where renewed investment could have the maximum impact.

The diocese wrote in a statement that once new churches are planted and a network of innovative ministers is created, then younger people, those in urban areas and people on brand new housing developments will be encouraged to connect with churches.

The diocese hopes the project will be funded over the next five years by £3.75m in reallocation of existing resources, £450,000 from diocesan reserves and £4.9m from the national Church.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

Portsmouth diocese is working towards a multi-million pound investment to help its mission and ministry.