Anglican leaders have unveiled an ambitious decade-long global mission campaign aimed at planting or revitalizing 1 million churches and welcoming an estimated 20 million new believers into the faith by 2036.
The initiative, named "Vision36," was formally presented by the Anglican Communion Commission for Evangelism and Discipleship (ACCED) during the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-19), held in Belfast from June 27 to July 5.
The campaign calls on provinces, dioceses, and local parishes across the 165-country communion to establish new worshipping communities while breathing fresh life into declining congregations.
Canon Robert Sihubwa of the Church of the Province of Central Africa, who introduced the initiative, said the campaign centers on bringing the church closer to local communities so people do not have to travel far for faith.
"This is a vision to take the church to all parts of the world, making it as close to the people as possible, so that no one has to walk a long distance to find a church," Sihubwa said. "Anglicanism has something to offer this world. We have a message, we have a community, we have a mindset. We can indeed achieve this by planting a million churches over the next decade."
Dual Focus on Church Planting and Revitalization
Under Vision36, revitalized congregations will count toward the 1 million target alongside newly established churches.
The initiative also aligns with JC2033, an international movement preparing for the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anglican officials view the upcoming milestone as an opportunity to mobilize global congregations around evangelism and discipleship.
Africa Drives Global Growth Strategy
While Vision36 avoids imposing fixed quotas on individual provinces, African leaders are expected to play a central role in executing the strategy.
According to a 2025 Pew Research Center analysis, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 30.7% of the global Christian population—surpassing Europe as the region with the highest concentration of Christians worldwide. The continent is also home to the largest concentration of Anglicans globally.
During ACC-19 sessions, delegates from Kenya highlighted church-run schools as primary platforms for establishing new congregations. Meanwhile, Bishop Joseph Bilal of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan shared how a province-wide prayer movement has catalyzed rapid church multiplication in his region.
The focus on Africa reflects a broader demographic shift within global Christianity, where rapid growth across the Global South contrasts with declining attendance in traditional European strongholds. As a result, international bodies like the Anglican Communion are increasingly looking to African leaders to guide global strategy in evangelism and church growth.
Discipleship as the Foundation
Commission leaders stressed that church growth cannot be separated from long-term spiritual formation.
"We discovered that we cannot talk about one without talking about the other," said the Rev. Eleanor Sanderson of the Church of England, noting that Vision36 bridges evangelism with ongoing discipleship.
The Most Rev. Nick Drayson, former Archbishop of the Anglican Church of South America, added that the plan builds on the communion's prior "Decade of Intentional Discipleship," which established training frameworks now used worldwide.
If fully adopted across member provinces, Vision36 will mark the largest coordinated church-planting effort in the history of the Anglican Communion.
