DIOCESE OF OXFORD
ARCHDEACONRY OF BUCKINGHAM
MISSION DEVELOPMENT FUND
Mission is the total task God has set the church for the salvation of His world
[David Bosch]
At a time of rising costs, mission projects are often the first church activities to be cut.
Mindful of this, The Church Commissioners have generously made available a set amount
of money for each Diocese, annually, to support Mission Development projects.
In this Diocese, these funds will be administered in each Archdeaconry.
In Buckinghamshire, these funds (a total of £28,000) will be available for mission activities
into the local community, related to one of the five Living Faith themes.
Grants will be awarded to projects that
 Bring about meaningful change in the lives of the beneficiaries
 Arise from locally identified need
 Are sustainable and have an impact beyond the funding period
 Build your capacity to do more
 Are cost-effective
These will be one off grants to help you develop a mission project at either one of two key
stages:
1. A pump priming project, to set up the initial stages of a mission activity. You might
apply for money for set up costs of an activity that has been planned and is ready to
go, or to run a pilot project which has the potential to turn into a more substantial,
sustainable mission project for which you might apply for outside funding.
2. Funding to help allow you to bring solid on-going work to fruition, or to take an ongoing activity a step further to produce substantial, sustainable outcomes.
During the course of each year, the Area Bishop and Archdeacon invite churches to apply
for funding for mission projects in the following year. Completed application forms should
be sent to the Archdeacons office by August 31st.
Grants, ranging in value from £2,000 to £10,000, will be allocated at the beginning of
September.
Decisions about project applications will be made by a small group, comprising the Area
Bishop, Archdeacon and PDA.
Projects which include an element of matched funding will be favoured.
Parishes may apply for funding for any mission initiative, but you will be asked to
demonstrate how this project:
a) fits in with your Mission Action Plan and
b) how it will help you develop one of the five Living Faith themes.
During the life of the Project, someone may visit, on behalf of the bishop, to review progress.
Because we expect these projects will be part of an on-going learning process across the
Archdeaconry, you will be required to send an activity report [written against the needs and
outcomes indicated in your application] to the Archdeacon by the end of the year. These
will be used as a basis for our report back to Bishop’s Council and the Church
Commissioners detailing how the money was used and whether the outcomes were met.
Examples of best practice will be shared widely within the Diocese.
If you have not managed to spend the money allocated by 1st May it must be returned to
the Archdeacon’s by cheque so that it can be added to the following year’s Mission
Development Fund total.
At the start of the next year, unspent funds from the year before will be added to the total
Mission Development Fund for allocation across the Diocese, proportionally.
Alan Wilson and Karen Gorham