2023-12-31-accounts

THE CHURCH OF GOD IN LIVERPOOL CHARITY NO: 1019103

The Church of God in Liverpool exists to (1) Be a place of worship where God is honoured and the name of the Lord Jesus is exalted (2) Maintain the ‘God is Love’ church at 3 Queens Drive in a good state of repair so as to make it safe and attractive to both the congregation and to members of the local community (3) Be a place where the local community can feel welcome and where local needs can be met (4) Meet wider needs throughout the world as our resources permit.

1. The church continues to run a full church programme of activities on a Sunday for worship and for the proclamation of the Bible as God’s word and the good news of Salvation for all; and during the week for Prayers and the Study of God’s word.

2. The Trustees of the building continue to maintain the church building.

3. A new activity for 2023 was the start of our ‘Warm Space’ on Wednesday afternoons. This is somewhere for local people to come along for tea and cake and a good chat. Those who come appreciate the company and the opportunity to have a bit of fun with the picture quiz each week.

4. We continue to hold two Mums and Toddlers groups on a Tuesday and Wednesday morning, a place where local mothers or grandparents bring their toddlers and can chat and relax while the children play. Both sessions are very popular.

5. On Sunday afternoons Little Fishes caters for infants and young children who learn the basic Bible stories. During the children’s church time the building is open for adults to come and chat over a cup of coffee. Wednesday evening is our youth club night for the 8 to 14s. We continue to get a good number of children to this activity which operates during school term time.

6. In June we held a ‘Ladies Evening’. Many of the Mums and Grandmothers who come to our Mums and Toddlers mornings were able to come. They were given a 3 course meal followed by a quiz, a video and craft making. We had a good number on this occasion.

7. We also held a Praise Evening in June with the building full to capacity. People were able to enjoy Christian songs from the Praise Band and the buffet that was provided free of charge after the event.

8. A highlight was the Holiday Club for children aged 7 to 12 that we were able to run for a week in July. Each day the church building was open from 10am until 1pm. Parents who signed up brought their children and collected them at the end. We provided a snack mid-morning and engaged in fun activities with the children including crafts, singing and a short Bible lesson.

9. In September we held an ‘Ice Cream Sunday’ when we gave invitations to those who had been using our services to join us for photos, a time of singing and a Bible talk. We all enjoyed ice cream at the end of the service.

10. The church continues to provide financial support to those throughout the world whose standard of living is not as good as that which we enjoy and we are privileged to be able to send financial support through the Relief Fund of the Churches of God. The congregation again made a collection at Christmas time for the work of Faith Welfare Trust, a charity caring for children in southern India. The church supports full-time evangelists and collections are regularly made to support their Christian service. We were able to make a special collection for the Turkey-Syrian Earthquake Appeal and were delighted when we were able to send £400 to this appeal.

11. The church is increasingly aware of the need for it to be, and to be seen to be, a safe environment for children and young people entrusted to its care. The North West District of Churches of God is affiliated to thirtyone:eight (formerly CCPAS) and has adopted a safeguarding policy based on the model suggested by thirtyone:eight. https://thirtyoneeight.org/ All those who work with children and young people are DBS checked in accordance with the safeguarding policy.

12. We are conscious of the need for the “God is Love” church to be accessible to everyone in the community. Access for disabled persons has been provided and we continue to look at how access can be improved.

We are grateful to all the committed church members who gave of their time to enable all these activities to take place and who helped to make the building safe when we were able to re-open and to those who contribute financially to the funds.

David Webster Chairman of the Trustees August 2024

THE CHURCH OF GOD IN LIVERPOOL SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING 3111212023 CONTRIBUTIONS OTHER INCOME TRANSFERS EXPENDITURE GENERAL EXPENSES 20,510.38 9,768.55 LORD'S SERVANTS 18,269.60 23,770.00 FELLOWSHIP OUTREACH 3,066.90 2,500.00 FELLOWSHIP RELIEF 3,612.50 5,600.00 FELLOWSHIP LITERATURE 642.00 345.00 CAMP FUND 0.00 0.00 HALL MAINTENANCE 1,800.00 2,234.00 SPECIAL APPEALS AFRICA & FAR EAST PROPERT GENERAL RESERVE FUND 229.15 0.00 0.00 290.00 0.00 Totsl expenditure 44,507.55 TAX REFUND BANK INTEREST Total Income 46,330.53 46.330.53 0.00 1,800.00 Exc•ss of income over expenditure 1,822.98 BALANCE SHEET AS OF 31.12.23 Lloyds Cash 53,010.07 53,010.07 Less cheques not yet paid 53,010.07 Movement of ReseNes 31.12.23 Reserves at 31.12.23 REPRESENTED BY General Expenses 17,932.05 15,251.50 2,680.55 Lord's Servants 870.14 1,570.54 -700.40 Fellowship Outreach 934.55 367.65 566.90 Fellowship Relief 143.60 249.10 ~105.50 media 352.00 55.00 297.00 Camp Fund 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hall Maintenance 14,001.46 14,435.46 434.00 young people + fvdt special appeals 860.73 0.00 1,334.08 0.00 473.35 0.00 General Reserve Fund 17,915.54 17,915.54 0.00 53,010.07 51,178.87 1,831.20 Treasurer D Totten

THE CHURCH OF GOD IN LIVERPOOL CHARITY NO: 1019103 I have examined the accounts of this charity for the period 1st January to 31 December 2023 from the books, records and from information supplied and found them to be in accordance therewith. P Midda September 2024