The Additional Curates Society (ACS) supports some of the poorest and populous parishes to both pray for and pay for priests.
Fr Darren Smith, the general secretary, for the group told Premier the cause is so important and that's why it's lasted so long.
He said: "The Church of England in making decision on staffing purely based on economics, so what we're doing now is we're increasing providing funding for priests in these parishes which would not afford a priest on their own."
The society was founded during the Industrial Revolution by Joshua Watson who retired in 1812 and devoted himself to building churches and schools for people moving to live and work in the new industrial areas.
ACS was established to provide for the spiritual needs of people who were moving into the new industrial estates.
The clear intention was that people in these new towns should have priests to teach the Christian Faith and minister among them providing the sacraments of the Church.
Watson was joined in his endeavours by a large number of people who shared his vision and generosity. In 1837, the subscription of £500, from King William IV, opened the fund and ACS was born.
While the organisation is celebrating how far it has come, it's also using the landmark birthday to look forward and prepare for the future.
Fr Darren said: "Like everything it gives you an opportunity to both look back in thanksgiving and actually look forward and plan for the future.
"One of the [goals] the Church of England has set for itself is the target of increasing vocations by 50 per cent by the year 2020.
"It really does need us all to be focusing on how to get that message across, that both the church needs priests today, and how we going to encourage individuals to offer their lives."
In efforts to diversify what it offers, ACS has launched a new initiative called 'Here I am' with its own website and is specifically geared toward vocational work.
Listen to Fr Smith speaking with Premier's Tola Mbakwe:
