(Church Times) New £10-million plan to ‘double’ church attendance in Plymouth

A “BOLD reshaping of the Church in Plymouth”, intended to help to double church attendance in the city, is among the initiatives to be funded by a new £10-million Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB) grant for the diocese of Exeter.

Plymouth, the largest urban centre in Devon, with a population of about 270,000, and higher than average levels of deprivation, had been identified as an “area of concern” by the national Church, the Suffragan Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Revd James Grier, has said.

There are “whole communities in the city that have never been reached by their parish church”, diocesan recruitment material says. Amid “declining attendance, leadership gaps, and financial pressures”, the clergy vacancy rate (one third, amounting to ten posts) has created “a rare opportunity to shape a new culture: one that’s rooted in mission, built on collaboration, and open to growth”.

Bishop Grier, who was born in Plymouth, said that an audit of the city had been expected to recommend significant pastoral reorganisation, given the ratio of clergy to congregation size. “In practice, what the review said was, ‘There is no excuse for these churches not to be growing.’”

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Plymouth, the largest urban centre in Devon, with higher than average levels of deprivation, has been identified as an ‘area of concern’ by the national Church https://t.co/mUglWQBXUK

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 6, 2026