A VICAR says he is up the challenge after being picked to lead the Diocese of Durham's bid for funding to help grow the church.

The Bishop of Durham Paul Butler has appointed Canon David Tomlinson, vicar of Shildon and Area Dean of Auckland, as the senior Resourcing Church leader.

He will spearhead the development of a network of up to ten Resourcing Churches which aim to engage with the wider community to reinvigorate churches and boost numbers. And he will lead the diocese's bid for funds for a multi-million-pound proposal as part of the Church of England’s Strategic Development Funding.

Rev Tomlinson is seconded to the new role two and half days a week until the end of 2018.

He said: “I am thrilled and excited to be involved and I am very much up for the challenge it represents.

"This is a bold move that will see us build on the work undertaken in our earlier SDF funding [£800,000] from the CofE.

"That work has started to bear fruit as it has enabled the Diocese as a whole to imagine new ways of being church and equipping our clergy and their teams to be growth and mission focused.

“This next stage of development funding will allow us to be radical in our approach to Church growth, challenging the status quo and stepping outside of the norm in the Anglican Church of having a survival mentality."This work will involve creating Resourcing Churches that are then further planted, growing church and transforming society."

The Bishop said: “David brings a fantastic range of skills to this role that have been used widely in the development and growth of his ministry in Shildon.

"His energies in preparing and managing large scale bids which have resulted in significant funding and then the delivery of sustainable change makes him the obvious choice for this role.

"The resourcing and planting of churches is key to our growth in the Diocese of Durham over the coming years and something we must get right.”

During Rev Tomlinson's secondment some of his current parish duties will be taken up by Rev Peter Robson and his Area Dean duties will be taken up by Rev Matt Tarling from St Paul’s Church, Spennymoor.