Vision36 – a bold and ambitious initiative to see one million churches planted across the Anglican Communion in the next decade – is set to launch on 11 November in a service in Nairobi at 10 AM East Africa Time (7 AM UK time), live-streamed to Anglicans around the world.

The service will be hosted at St Julian’s Retreat Centre in Nairobi. Along with the local congregation, the service will be attended by members of the Anglican Communion Commission for Evangelism and Discipleship (ACCED), who are championing Vision36.

The launch will invite Anglican Member Churches around the world to take up Vision36 in their setting and get involved in discipleship, church planting and church renewal projects. Vision36 aims to see every Anglican grow as a disciple of Jesus, and every church to plant a new congregation or be renewed. Together, the hope is to plant or renew one million healthy congregations by 2036.

Vision36 has been shaped by the Anglican Communion Commission for Evangelism and Discipleship (ACCED), which draws together church planting and mission specialists from around the world. The project was affirmed by the Anglican Consultative Council earlier this year, during the ACC-19 meeting in Belfast. In resolution 3, the ACC called on every Member Church, diocese and parish to 'adopt a clear focus and "walk an extra mile" between 2026 and 2036, to grow wholehearted discipleship and to plant one million new and healthy churches, communities and congregations'.

The launch will take place during ACCED's meeting in Nairobi from 10 to 13 November, where members will be discussing action plans and how Vision36 can be shared with Member Churches. Following the launch, each Member Church will be invited to shape Vision36 for its own context, name a Vision36 representative, and develop an action plan.

The Vision36 initiative is designed to follow on from the Anglican Communion’s 'Season of Intentional Discipleship', which ran from 2016 to 2026. The ACCED hopes that the next decade’s focus on church planting will continue to prioritise the importance of discipleship, as well as implementing principles of 'Safe Church' into church growth efforts. Every new congregation will be encouraged to follow the Anglican Communion's Safe Church principles of safety, respect, accountability and healthy relationships, and to serve its local community in partnership with other churches.

Canon Stephen Spencer is the link director at the Anglican Communion Office supporting the work of the ACCED. He explains, ‘We are looking forward to the launch of Vision36. It is fitting to hold the launch in the Anglican Church of Kenya, a Province like many others around the Communion that is seeing church growth and new congregations being planted. The hope for Vision36 is that every Member Church will be able to share their experience and practice of church planting, to enrich our collaboration in sharing the Gospel around the world.'

The launch is an important step in the process of sharing the initiative with Anglican churches, but momentum is already building. Australia's General Synod invited its dioceses in August to consider what Vision36 means for them, and delegates from Kenya and South Sudan have shared examples of growth at ACC-19.

The Vision36 decade is also planning to coincide with ‘JC2033’, the ecumenical celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter 2033. The ACCED members hope it will be a moment to give thanks for what has grown and to recommit to the years leading to 2036.

ACCED will support Member Churches through regional training and shared resources.

For more information

Member Churches, dioceses and individuals who want to find out more, or to support Vision36, should visit the Anglican Communion website www.anglicancommunion.org/vision36

To watch the live stream visit:
https://www.youtube.com/live/hYgu5ytXoFU