The show, which will air in a primetime slot late in 2005, will feature three one-hour episodes following the vicar's attempts to turn a parish in Wakefield around in 12 months with an undisclosed sum of money and the help of a small panel of advisers.
The programme maker chose St Mary's Magdelene Church in Lundwood, South Yorkshire, which currently has nine congregation members, most of whom are elderly.
The local diocese is giving its support to the programmme and sees it as a chance to turn things around.
The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Reverend Stephen Platten, said: "The programme makers came to us. We feel that this is a gift we are being offered."
The vicar, who has yet to be chosen, is likely to be younger than the average vicar according to Channel 4.
The commission follows the sale of Diverse to international media company, Fact Based Communication, for an estimated £8m last week.
This is the first commission since the takeover, which saw FBC plough millions of pounds into Diverse in an attempt to expand its position in the TV marketplace against major players such as RDF, maker of 'Wife Swap', and Endemol, which makes 'Big Brother'.
Roy Ackerman and Narinder Minhas continue to head Diverse as creative director and director of programmes respectively and will be shareholders in the FBC Group. The production house will retain the Diverse brand name.
Diverse has a long-established relationship with UK broadcasters, having supplied a wide range of programming from traditional factual such as BBC Two's 'Killing Hitler' to reality and entertainment shows such as Channel 4's 'Operatunity' and Five's 'Be a Grand Prix Driver'.
Diverse is headlining Channel 4's autumn schedule with a new version of 'Operatunity' called 'Musicality'.
Earlier this month, Channel 4 announced Gordon Ramsay was to launch 'Cook Idol', a 'Pop Idol'/'Hell's Kitchen' hybrid that will search for the nation's top amateur chef.
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