Church Planting Lead

Church of England; Penrith; On-site; GBP 45,632 - 55,773; Full time

Job summary

Church of England invites applications for a Church Planting Lead based at Church House, Penrith, Cumbria. You will lead a cohort of local churches to develop church plants, new congregations and revitalisations across Cumbria, delivering the first generation of a five-year investment programme.

You will work with rural and urban leaders to build capacity for planting, provide leadership, monitoring and evaluation, and collaborate with local and national partners to shape future mission strategy.

Qualifications

• Experience leading missional church planting initiatives.
• Proven track record mobilising congregations and communities.
• Strong leadership, monitoring and evaluation skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the launch and delivery of the first generation of the planting programme.
• Work with church plant local leaders to develop plans and capacity.
• Provide leadership and evaluate progress to inform strategy.
• Collaborate with local and national partners to shape future work.

Skills

Missional leadership

Church planting

Leadership

Job description

Church Planting Lead

Based at Church House, Penrith, Cumbria

• Are you an experienced missional leader with a proven track record of effective church planting?
• Do you have a passion to mobilise God’s people in mission through planting new worshipping communities of missional disciples, able to reach the people of our Diocese with the Good News of Jesus?

The Diocese of Carlisle is looking for aChurch Planting Leadto work with a phase 1 cohort of local churches to develop church plants, new congregations and revitalisations in three contexts across Cumbria, to develop our wider readiness for and understanding of Church Planting and to work with local and national partners to develop the longer-term strategy for Church Planting.

As part of the Mission and Ministry, Support and Innovation team you will be responsible for overseeing the successful launch and delivery of the first generation of the planting programme funded by a five-year Diocesan Investment Programme award. You will be working with church plant local leaders in both rural and urban contexts to develop their plans and capacity for planting, providing leadership, monitoring and evaluation for the programme to succeed, and facilitating ongoing learning and harvesting insights to inform strategic thinking and planning for future work.

Working across a diverse region of rural and urban Cumbria this is an exciting opportunity for a missional and motivated experienced leader with a passion to serve and support Church of England churches from a variety of contexts to plant in a Diocese with an established record for pioneering and resourcing innovation in mission.

This is a full-time permeant position. Hybrid working options available combining time in Church House Penrith with remote working.

This post is subject to an occupational requirement that the postholder be a practising Christian under Part 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

Closing datefor Applications: Sunday 20th September 2026 at midnight

Interviews: Church House, Penrith date TBC

• Salary £50,703 plus 15% non-contributory pension or the choice to remain in the Church of England Clergy Pension Scheme.

Carlisle Diocese is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.