Mission Accompaniers for healthy and sustainable churches
Mission Accompaniers can work alongside a small group of clergy and laity in your parish, church or benefice to help understand and work towards what health and sustainability might look like in your context, setting or tradition.
In 2023, a grant from the Healthier Churches Fund enabled the Mission Accompanier scheme to be established. Many churches took advantage of working with an external person who was able to listen to where the parish was and where it would like to get to, as well as help accessing support and resources.
This project was independently reviewed in 2025 and found that there was strong evidence that working with a Mission Accompanier enhanced the health and confidence of leaders and helped churches improve their strategy, gain confidence in mission, engage more with their communities, and work better as a team.
There was also some evidence to suggest that those churches with a Mission Accompanier saw increased average weekly attendance and found it easier to develop new worshipping communities.
It is still possible for clergy and parishes to benefit to work with a Mission Accompanier or receive some kind of coaching to help the parish to become healthier and more sustainable.
See some examples of parishes who have worked with Mission Accompaniers:
- Support for Nick Gowers, Vicar at Old Hill, Dudley
- The parish of Bewdley, Redditch
- Coseley and Hurst Hill
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