THE LIFE CHURCH. Report and Accounts

Transcription

1 Report and Accounts Year Ended 31 March Lamb's Passage, London, EC1Y 8AB t: e: enquiries@stewardship.org.uk w:

2 CHARITY INFORMATION Trustees Pastor Geoff Cooper Reginald Leicester - resigned March 2017 Alan Pitt Jennifer Rhodes Garry Shoebrook Christopher Veerasawmy Geoff Cooper Governing Document Constitution dated 24 February 2008 Charity Registration Number Address for Correspondence Independent Examiner Bankers 2 Northdown Close Penenden Heath Maidstone Kent ME14 2ER Ruth Smith CA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage London EC1Y 8AB The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. CONTENTS Page Charity Information 1 Trustees' Report 2-3 Independent Examiner's Report 4 Statement of Financial Activities 5 Balance Sheet 6 Notes to the Accounts 7-8 Page 1

3 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year to 31 March Objects of the charity The Trust seeks to demonstrate the Christian faith in action by advancing the Christian faith, relieving sickness and financial hardship and promoting and preserving good health, and advancing education, all in such ways and in such parts of the United Kingdom or the World as the trustees may from time to time think fit. Government The policy and operating decisions of the charity rest with the Trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the Charity. Review of Activities The Life Church is a gathering of people who are committed to love and care for each other and the community they live in, as was taught by Jesus Christ, believing that lives can be changed and bettered by Godly and Biblical principles. The Life Church is led by Pastor Geoff Cooper and 3 leaders, Garry Shoebrook, Simon Grimshaw and Chris Veerasawmy. Mr. Reginald Leicester resigned as a Trustee on 30 March Two extra leaders were appointed and Chris Veerasawmy became a Trustee in agreement with the Assemblies of God constitution. Simon Grimshaw has opted not to be a Trustee at this time. The church is affiliated to Assemblies of God and Evangelical Alliance organisations. The main meeting together of The Life Church is on Sunday mornings. The children s church also meet every Sunday and there is a supervised crèche for babies and toddlers. The youth meet every Wednesday and most Sunday mornings. Meeting on Thursday mornings, the Little Sparkles club for babies and toddler and their parents/carers is fully subscribed and very popular and appreciated. Bags of baby goods are given to new parents. Lifelines Contact Centre provides a fortnightly venue on Saturday mornings for separated parents to meet their children. They are usually referred to the Centre under Court Order by solicitors. Options support team help people who have suffered the loss of a baby or are faced with unwanted pregnancies. They receive referrals from local counselling associations, doctors and through online enquiries. The service operates as part of the ministry of The Life Church. A team visits Maidstone Prison each month, providing friendship and spiritual help. Every Sunday another team provides food and friendship to the homeless who congregate in town. The King s Storehouse provides food hampers to people who we know are in need and to people who are referred to us by various organisations and schools. We are also in touch with a local women s refuge and give aid when needed. The Life Church supports the charity Starfish Malawi and conducted and supported fund raising events throughout the year. Page 2

4 The church building has good facilities for conferences and is used by various organisations. Café Zest, which is open 9am-4pm Monday to Friday, can provide buffet lunches and refreshments for the attendees at the conferences and meetings, as well as providing healthy food and a friendly atmosphere to the public. It received a 5 star certificate from the Food & Environment Authority. The Café provides a venue and breakfast for Anglican vicars each month and for meetings of other church leaders. Alcoholics Anonymous use the building for their meetings twice per week. The shop area is rented by Ethos, a Fairtrade distributor. There have been leadership issues during the year but the church has continued to provide spiritual and physical help. There are regular Bible Studies and church fellowship meetings. The building is kept in good order and a fund is kept for upkeep and alterations. The shop area was renovated but the plans to redevelop the café entrance have been put on hold to ensure finances are kept in line with reserves. Salaries for the Café staff were increased in line with minimum wage regulations and pensions have been offered to the staff. The costs of maintenance is high for such a large building and we attempt to carry out most of the work voluntarily through the people of The Life Church under the supervision of Alan Pitt, a Trustee and retired Safety Officer. The Trustees and leaders see The Life Church as a church in action for God. The building is a busy place and we believe our faith in God needs to be seen in actions. In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission. Financial Review Receipts for the year of 113,400 (2016: 119,300) included Café Zest income of 35,400 (2016: 39,400). Payments in the year of 118,800 (2016: 119,600) included Café Zest operating costs of 44,000 (2016: 43,700). The result was a deficit for the year of (5,500) (2016: deficit of (300)). At the end of the year the church had cash balances of 37,500, which included 31,200 of unrestricted cash. Reserves Policy The Board of Trustees has established a policy whereby free reserves held by the charity should be maintained at three months' normal expenditure, a total of 29,000. At the end of the financial year free reserves were just over this level. Risk Statement The Trustees have reviewed the risks to which a small charity operating with few employees is exposed. Appropriate procedures are in place to identify, monitor and review these risks on a regular basis. Members of the church who work with children and vulnerable adults are all DBS checked through CCPAS and our procedures to ensure this are constantly maintained. Trustees' Responsibilities Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year. We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities. Approval This report was approved by the Trustees on 28 August 2017 and signed on their behalf by: Jennifer Rhodes Page 3

5 Independent Examiner's Report To the Trustees of The Life Church I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2017 set out on pages 5 to 8 which have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies on page 7. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner The trustees of the charity are responsible for the preparation of accounts; they consider that the audit requirement under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act ), does not apply. It is my responsibility to : * examine the accounts under Section 145 of the 2011 Act. * follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners made under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. * state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent examiner's report My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examiner's statement Based on my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect, accounting records have not been kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act, or that the accounts presented do not accord with those records, or comply with the accounting requirement of the 2011 Act. No matter has come to my attention in connection with my examination to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Ruth Smith CA For and on behalf of: Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage London EC1Y 8AB 31 August 2017 Page 4

6 RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNT Total Total Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds Note Funds Funds Receipts Receipts from generated funds Voluntary receipts 2 100, , ,397 Activities for generating funds 3 9,561-9,561 11,350 Interest received Receipts from charitable activities Lifelines Contact Centre ,300 Options Pregnancy Crisis Centre Other receipts Other 1,960 1,960 4,444 Total Receipts 112,361 1, , ,312 Payments Charitable activities 4 116,810 1, , ,730 Governance costs Total Payments 117,701 1, , ,604 Net Receipts/(Payments) (5,341) (120) (5,461) (292) Transfers between funds (32) Fund balances at 1 April ,618 6,378 42,996 43,288 Fund balances at 31 March ,245 6,290 37,535 42,996 Movements on reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above. The notes on page 7-8 form part of these accounts. Page 5

7 STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH Fixed Assets Insurance Value 2017 The value of the assets owned are: Freehold Building 1,579,766 Church Contents 125,295 Café contents 41,292 1,746, Bank & Cash Balances Held at Bank 36,968 42,497 Cash float ,535 42, Other Assets & Liabilities Assets Gift aid tax recovery not yet received 3,124 1,983 Other Receivables - - 3,124 1,983 Liabilities Unbilled fee for Accounts Prep & Independent Examination Other creditors , The accounts were approved by the trustees on 28 August 2017 and signed on their behalf by: Jennifer Rhodes The notes on page 7-8 form part of these accounts. Page 6

8 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 1 Accounting Policies The accounts have been prepared on the Receipts & Payments basis with a Statement of Assets & Liabilities. 2 Voluntary receipts Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds Offerings 11,626-11,626 11,456 Gift Aided Donations 35,549-35,549 30,915 Tax recovered 9,526-9,526 9,179 Other gifts & donations 8, ,691 10,443 Café Zest 35,383-35,383 39,405 Youth work , , ,397 3 Activities for Generating Funds Venue receipts 9,561-9,561 11,350 9,561-9,561 11,350 4 Charitable activities Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds a Direct Charitable Costs Pastoral salaries and social costs 32,252-32,252 33,540 Intern costs Café Zest pay costs 33,614-33,614 32,782 Café Zest food costs 8,125-8,125 9,196 Café Zest other operating costs 2,311-2,311 1,723 Youth work ,740 Children's work 1,213-1,213 1,633 Building expenses 16,186-16,186 4,018 Electricity & Gas 4,512-4,512 5,873 Water & sewerage 2,714-2,714 2,787 Telephones & internet Insurance, Licences, etc 4,371-4,371 4,345 Church events ,141 Options Pregnancy Crisis Centre ,782 Staff Expenses 1,001-1, Other Expenses 2, ,657 2,846 Kings Store hamper goods Women's Refuge Grants paid Note 3c 2,913-2,913 3, ,928 1, , ,137 b Support & Administration Administrative salaries & social costs 2,016-2,016 2,760 Stationery & printing 1,866-1,866 4,833 3,882-3,882 7,593 Combined charitable activity cost 116,810 1, , ,730 Page 7

9 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS c Grants Institutions Individuals Mission support 350 1,733 2,083 2,250 Relief of poverty ,671 1,179 1,733 2,913 3,921 5 Governance costs Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds Accounts and examination Staff & Trustees During the year the charity had an average of 4 full time equivalent employed staff. Its activities are generally carried out by volunteers. No staff received salaries at a rate of more than 60,000 per annum. The total remuneration, excluding non-taxable reimbursement of expenses, for all employees was: Salaries 70,466 (2016: 67,775), Employers National Insurance Contributions 4,169 (2016: 4,092) and Pension Plan Contributions 652 (2016: Nil). As permitted by the governing document G Cooper, a Trustee, was remunerated as Pastor of the church. He received a salary of 31,059 (2016: 31,059) and a pension contribution of 427 (2016: Nil) As permitted by the governing document D Butcher, and A Leicester-Smith, who are both related to R Leicester (a Trustee), were employed by the church during the year and received remuneration of 6,540 (2016 6,113). No trustee received any expenses other than reimbursement of expenditure incurred on behalf of the church. 7 Agency Funds The church also received 1,936 into the Bank Current Account of which 1,886 was subsequently spent. This has been excluded from income and expenditure within the Receipts and Payments account, and from the bank balance on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, as these are agency funds. The balance of 50 was spent in April Funds Analysis of Funds Opening balance Incoming resources Outgoing resources Transfers in the year Closing balance Unrestricted Funds: Building Fund 31,114 6,419 (15,709) 78 21,902 General Fund 1, ,458 (98,721) 6,973 Pastor Little Sparkles (892) Starfish Malawi 60 - (60) - 0 Charity Cards (1,069) Visiting Ministry (1,250) 2,423 2,073 Youth 2, (2,533) 155 Total unrestricted 36, ,361 (117,701) (32) 31,245 Restricted Funds: Gifts for Persons 1, (78) 989 Mission Support (Women's Refuge) Lifelines Contact 2, (234) - 2,571 King's Storehouse (48) Youth (110) Options Pregnancy Crisis Centre 2, (865) - 2,401 - Total restricted 6,378 1,027 (1,147) 32 6,290 Total Funds 42, ,388 (118,848) - 37,535 A small transfer has been made from the restricted funds to designated funds to correct closing balances going forward. Page 8