Church Mission Society

Registered charity 1131655 · since 2009churchmissionsociety.org·Africa, Argentina, Asia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, United Kingdom·Updated 31 October 2026

At a glance

£609k

Annual giving, year to 31 January 2025

From filed accounts

£173k

Typical grant (median)

2 published grants

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Church Mission Society's stated priorities are mission in Muslim-majority areas, peacebuilding in African conflict areas, work with indigenous people in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, Christian outreach in Britain, and South Asian evangelism, so a project should clearly fit one of these to be worth raising.
Its funding goes through proposals from partner organisations, which the charity assesses for alignment, capacity and structure before approval, so a small nonprofit should explain how its work connects to that partnership and show it can deliver and report on the money.
Its grant money in the year totalled £649,000, of which £609,000 went to institutions and £40,000 to individuals, but no typical grant size is stated, so size a request to the project rather than to a figure.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but monitoring includes financial and narrative reports while funds are being spent, so expect reporting to be part of any award.
No exclusions are stated, so no group should be ruled out on that basis.

Overview

Church Mission Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1131655).

Church Mission Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and it exists to make disciples of Jesus at the edges. It works through five programmes: People in Mission, Mission Grants, Pioneer Training, Leadership Formation and Mission Interchange. Its grants to institutions totalled £609,000 and its grants to individuals totalled £40,000, giving £649,000 in total grants in the year.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The foundation supports mission partners and local partners working together in edge-based contexts. Its stated priorities include sustaining followers of Jesus in Muslim-majority areas, catalysing peacemaker movements in African conflict areas, standing alongside marginalised indigenous people in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, sharing Jesus with people least likely to attend church in Britain, and supporting South Asian leaders connecting with people who have not heard of Jesus. It trains people for mission in the UK and overseas and equips churches to join work among people at the edges. Project proposals from partner organisations are assessed for alignment, capacity and structure, and spending is monitored through financial and narrative reporting.

Themes

Muslim-majority contexts
Peacebuilding
Indigenous communities
Christian outreach in Britain
South Asian evangelism

Geographic Focus

Priority: The UK; Africa; Asia; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Paraguay.

How to apply

Project proposals from partner organisations undergo a formal approval process assessing alignment, capacity and structure. While funds are being spent, an agreed monitoring process includes reviews and evaluation of financial and narrative reports.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The foundation reviews and evaluates financial and narrative reports during grant spending.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

Africa
Asia
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Paraguay
United Kingdom

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Church Mission Society.

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Giles', Normanton by Derby Christ Church PurleyNo public processGave £18,250 St Mary’s PCCNo public processGave £28,075 St John's HarborneInvitation onlyGave £28,530 St Thomas’ Church, LancasterInvitation onlyGave £46,200 Swanage & Studland Team MinistryNo public process Holy Trinity CambridgeFixed deadlinesGave £104k Maurice & Hilda Laing Charitable TrustRollingGave £1M Holy Trinity Church RedhillNo public processGave £33,717 St John the Baptist, Hartford Parish ChurchNo public processGave £42,384

Grants

2 published grants analysed · median £173k

The largest grants to organisations in this funder’s latest annual report:

CMS-Africa · Mission Grant
£230,000year to 31 January 2025
Asia-CMS · Mission Grant
£115,000year to 31 January 2025

Grant examples taken from the funder’s filed accounts. Not included above: 4 lines covering other, unnamed recipients (£264k).

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 January 2021	£8,296,000	£7,475,000	£769,000	Accounts for year to 31 January 2021
year to 31 January 2022	£9,212,000	£7,456,000	£720,000	Accounts for year to 31 January 2022
year to 31 January 2023	£8,793,000	£7,395,000	£622,000	Accounts for year to 31 January 2023
year to 31 January 2024	£8,003,000	£7,931,000	£750,000	Accounts for year to 31 January 2024
year to 31 January 2025	£8,275,000	£8,081,000	£609,000	Accounts for year to 31 January 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2021

£769k grants

YE 2022

£720k grants

YE 2023

£622k grants

YE 2024

£750k grants

YE 2025

£609k grants

Grants paid stayed within income across the 5 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 31 January 2021; year to 31 January 2022; year to 31 January 2023; year to 31 January 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
Grants paid, year to 31 January 2025: the accounts do not say whether this is grants awarded or paid.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.