‘Do or die’: Presbyterian Church of Wales announces major restructuring plan

Nation Cymru staff

With congregation numbers in severe decline, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) is set to meet next week to determine its destiny for the next 10 years.

Facing an 8% annual decline in its membership since 2020, the General Assembly will have the chance to give the green light to a comprehensive restructuring strategy.

With a total membership of 11,430, across 443 local churches, and only 275 members under the age of 25, the PCW has spent the last 12 months consulting its members about the future.

Responses were gathered from across the denomination, including the Associations in the North, South, and East, Boards, Departments, and the Wrexham Conference held earlier this year. It has resulted in a unified roadmap for the Church’s future. The proposed strategy includes a number of key recommendations:

Renewing the Local Church: The PCW will place local congregations at the centre of worship, mission, and community witness. Recognising the challenges faced by smaller, elderly, or pastorless rural congregations, the Church will roll out targeted training and support covering leadership, sacraments, pastoral care, and youth work.

Reimagining Regional Leadership: Presbyteries will move away from a focus on administration to become more relational, prayerful, and mission-focused bodies.

Streamlining Governance and Slashing Red Tape: In one of the most consistently supported aims of the consultation, the PCW will significantly reduce the administrative burden on ministers, elders, and local officers. To ensure clarity, the Church will publish a governance-responsibility map and a costed staff-support model by Autumn 2026.

Smart Building Stewardship: Buildings will be treated as opportunities for mission rather than just liabilities. In partnership with local management trustees, a dedicated Buildings Working Party will continue developing toolkits to address community hubs, heritage, grant support, and the clear distinction between closing a physical building and ending a spiritual cause.

Cultivating Innovation and Pioneer Projects: The PCW will formally integrate pioneer and project work—especially initiatives engaging children and young people—into the wider life of the Church. This includes introducing better mentoring, funding pathways, and theological oversight to ensure pioneer workers feel fully supported.

Provinces and Departmental Mergers: To prevent duplication, the Church will trial the “clustering” of various Boards, Departments, and Committees (including Children & Youth, Mission, and Women’s work). Additionally, the Church will introduce minimal constitutional changes initially, using the General Assembly as the joint meeting of the Association to simplify decision-making.

Commenting on the report being presented to the General Assembly, PCW General Secretary Rev Nan Powell Davies said: ‘The consultation has given both a mandate and a warning. It grants permission to continue because there is broad agreement that the present system is too heavy, too opaque, and too thinly resourced for the Church now before us.

“However, it warns that reform will fail if it is perceived as centralisation, an uncosted administrative exercise, or a withdrawal of support from fragile congregations. It’s now do or die for us as a denomination.’

Despite the steep challenges facing the PCW, the report also highlights signs of hope. Financial statistics returned from individual congregations reveal a substantial combined wealth of just over £21 million, providing a robust financial cushion for future mission work.

Youth & Family Ministry is also in a healthy position, with 626 children attending 67 Sunday Schools, 354 young people attending 24 Youth Clubs, and 1,720 people participating in family services at 81 locations.

New Generations are also being supported by the church, with 16 dedicated Parent and Toddler groups alongside 88 recorded Infant Baptisms.

There are also 110 churches actively running, helping, or hosting local Foodbanks, and 21 operating as designated Warm Spaces.

The report also identifies 109 “other outreach” initiatives, including community coffee mornings, groups for older people, and neighbourhood lunches.

A comprehensive strategic plan featuring measurable 12-month and three-year goals will be drafted between October 2026 and April 2027. This plan will specifically account for both Welsh and English language contexts, rural settings, and urban centres.