More than a million pounds worth of funding has been awarded to two projects in the Diocese of St Asaph.

Funding from the Church in Wales Growth Fund will see the launch of an intergenerational project and apprenticeship scheme at St Paul’s Church in Craig-y-Don near Llandudno. In addition, the Growth Fund will support the re-development and renewal of St Tudfil’s Church in Coedpoeth near Wrexham.

The project in Craig-y-Don will establish a centre of excellence for ministry with children and young adults at St Paul’s, with the grant helping to create a sustainable ministry model, led by local clergy and a dedicated pioneer minister, supported by the congregation, apprentices, and a community outreach worker. Together, they will attract and support young people by building strong links with local schools, nurturing Christian faith, supporting mental health, and developing essential life skills.

In Coedpoeth, the grant will enable a dedicated team, including a new priest and a youth and community worker, to re-open St Tudfil’s as a beacon of hope, and a focal point for spiritual renewal in Coedpoeth, in collaboration with Hope Street, in Wrexham. Further funding for renovations is required to create flexible spaces within the building for contemporary worship, midweek meetings, youth and children’s ministry, and community gatherings.

The Bishop of St Asaph the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron said: “I am so proud that these projects have been awarded funding by the Church in Wales Growth Fund. These congregations have been working hard to find new ways to share the good news that we believe Christianity offers to people in their communities. Both projects aim to serve their locality in new and meaningful ways and create sustainable models of church for the future.”

St Tudfil’s will be the first church plant from Hope Street, which opened in 2021 to support young generations and train leaders to grow, resource and multiply church life across the diocese. As well as Sunday services, Hope Street runs the Tabernacl Café, Alpha groups, a weekly football project called Bridge the Gap, and a weekly Warm Space meeting hub. At Christmas time, the church delivers “Bags of Kindness” to bring joy and hope to those struggling or feeling alone.

The Growth Fund is the £100 million fund set up by the trustees of the Church in Wales which aims to find new ways for people to encounter Jesus, come to faith and be baptised. The Fund is enabling the Church in Wales to develop exciting initiatives to share the good news about Jesus Christ – a message with the power to transform lives and communities across Wales. You can find out more at https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/evangelism/the-church-growth-fund/

Two projects developed by the Diocese of St Asaph have already received funding in 2024 from the Growth Fund. The first was the creation of six new Mission Hub Churches, with three of these new hubs now running in Prestatyn, Wrexham and Newtown. Three more will open next year. The second project focuses on the recruitment of three Pioneer Missioners in rural communities in the Archdeaconry of Montgomery. In addition, five churches across the diocese have received funding of up to £10,000 each for local projects and initiatives.

The Diocese of St Asaph looks after more than 200 churches and 49 Church in Wales Schools across northeast and mid-Wales. It is one of six dioceses in the Church in Wales, an autonomous province in the worldwide Anglican Communion.