Our diocese has been on a journey to arrive at our vision and strategy, and we continue to listen, envision and plan together.
July 2026 - A Decade of Transformation
The Diocese of Canterbury enters the period 2026-2030 at a moment of opportunity and responsibility.
As the Church that traces its roots to the mission of St Augustine in 597, we are called once again to renew our witness - faithful to the gospel, attentive to context, and hopeful in the Spirit.
This strategy reset brings together:
- the long-established diocesan vision of Changed Lives → Changing Lives,
- the Three Bold Outcomes for 2030,
- the learning from Three Things (2025), parish Health & Vitality reviews (2025), and Root Cause Analysis (2025), and
- a renewed commitment to local ownership, sustainable finance, and measurable growth.
It sets direction for the next five years while establishing 2026 as a benchmark year against which progress will be measured honestly and prayerfully.
September 2025 - Three Things
Our strategy is ‘To enable the local church to share in God’s Mission’. This shifts the focus of planning and support closer to the local church, helping to give parishes the tools and encouragement to lead mission in their communities.
A listening exercise launches to encourage each parish to explore and share their three priorities for mission.
Mission is a shared calling and a three-way conversation between parish, deanery and diocese and the Mission Action Planning as part of three things will enable meaningful conversations, identify where resources are needed and where there are shared priorities.
July 2023 - Three Bold Outcomes adopted
Diocesan Synod adopts the final of the three bold outcomes as part of its mission strategy for 2030.
- Double the number of children and young disciples
- 200 new Christian communities
- Every parish, benefice and deanery showing signs of revitalisation.
September
2022 - Strategy update
"This document ... is provisional, an update. It is intended to show how we have progressed since July 2021, how our thinking has developed over this time - and it looks ahead to the further work that needs doing. I am especially grateful to our deaneries and parishes for their continuing work on this - for the care, time and commitment they have shown in developing local plans and in working collaboratively to develop a vision for the future.
Every day I hear wonderful stories of how people are meeting God and being blessed by their parishes - thank you! In all of this, my overwhelming feeling is one of privilege and gratitude. Canterbury is a wonderful diocese to serve - creative, deeply spiritual in its roots and profoundly generous in its character. It is my prayer that we keep hold of some of that excitement as we look to the future together - trusting God with our fears, offering to him our faith and our gifts in return. Thank you for your part in this work - be assured of my continuing prayers."
The Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin
Read our Strategy Update September 2022
June 2021 - Towards a Flourishing and Sustainable Future
A word from Bishop Rose
"Changed Lives Changing Lives is what first drew me to 天美传媒. I saw in these words and the strategy underpinning it, not just a tagline, but a commitment and a passion - a passion for allowing ourselves to be transformed by God's loving grace so that we might, in turn, transform our world for his glory.
The Towards a Flourishing and Sustainable Future report, signals a beginning, not a destination. We will be driven by our commitment to seeking God in prayer and scripture. Our journey will be marked by our openness to one another and to the Spirit and by our trust in the God who is bigger than pandemics, who is stronger than financial constraints - and who has plans for us that are greater than we could possibly imagine or hope for.
Thank you to each and every one of you - it is a privilege and a joy to be embarking on this adventure in such extraordinary and wonderful company!"
Autumn 2020 - Listening and discerning
In Autumn 2020 we entered a listening and discerning period.
- Following the Golden Threads: Responses from our shared discernment process
- Tracing the Golden Threads: Reflections from our first Listening and Discerning loop.
Although our more formal period of listening and discerning has now ended, we haven't stopped listening. Please keep sharing what you're hearing. Thank you.