21st Century Church
Report and Accounts Year ended 31 March 2021
1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Saron Chapel Pentrepoeth Road Llanelli SA15 4HG
GOVERNING DOCUMENT CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER
Declaration of Trust dated 14 February 1995
1047101
TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE CHARITY
Peri Sophos Ceri Curry-Pound Matthew Visick-Evans
BANKERS
Lloyds Bank plc
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER
Jaimée Young Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
INDEX
Page 1 Pages 2-8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Pages 12-13
Legal and Administrative Details Trustees' Report Independent Examiner's Report Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets & Liabilities Notes to the Accounts
Page 1
21st CENTURY CHURCH
TRUSTEES' REPORT
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The Trustees present the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021.
OBJECTS
The primary objective of the Trust is the advancement of the Christian faith in Llanelli and the surrounding area.
It seeks to do this in two general ways. Firstly, it seeks to reach out wide to non-Churchgoers, and secondly it seeks to lead and disciple existing members in following Jesus Christ.
Every aspect of Church serves these aims in what it does, whether through music, preaching, youth, kids, over 50’s, Bible studies, creative media, podcasts or relieving poverty. Everything we do seeks to serve the Great Commission (Matthew 28).
GOVERNMENT
The trustees are responsible for the affairs of the church. They delegate to the Leadership of the Church the implementation of policy and all aspects of day-to-day management.
REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2020/21
2020/21 has been a year like no other, with Covid-19 hitting the globe, and lockdown being imposed upon the U.K. This has been an unprecedented year, with much difficulty, and huge restrictions being placed on the life of the Church, and its ability to carry on as normal. Due to lockdown, we also took a real financial hit, with the loss of income from the in-person collection in services. This has caused a real strain on the Church finances.
However, I am pleased to say that through the time of pandemic, coming off a previous year of record growth, the Church itself has continued to see progress and growth, and we have expanded into brand new areas.
The following reflects some of the progress, amidst the covid setbacks, we have achieved this year:
Our 11am service
This is our family orientated service, combining Kids Church, as well as a Sunday morning service, with worship and word aimed at adults, and communion once a month. But with stay-at-home orders in place, for the first time in our existence we were unable to meet. However, from the first Sunday in lockdown, our media team took a huge step forward, as we filmed and streamed a Church service from the building to the screens of the congregation on YouTube and Facebook. As lockdown extended, the worship team also began to record worship to be streamed, and ‘Church online’ came into existence. Throughout lockdown it became remarkable to see growth in this streamed service, as others who did not belong to the congregation began to watch and join in, from near and far. Although YouTube and Facebook views are not the easiest to judge, our
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conservative estimates were of an online congregation that was often at least 50-100% higher than usual.
Church members also gave financially to support this facility, with new cameras and equipment being purchased to invest in Church Online. In late Autumn we returned to the building for the 11am, but with the decision to keep the gain of Church Online, and so the cameras kept rolling and streaming, and will now continue to do so as a permanent addition to the mission of the Church to reach those that no-one is reaching.
Our 6pm service
Our 6pm service has always had a high energy, youthful atmosphere and focus. So, with social distancing measures, restrictions, and the huge effort being placed on Church online, the service has been on hold throughout this financial year.
But I am pleased to say at time of writing, the 6pm has since re-launched, and is already doing very well amongst young adults in particular.
Kids Church
Kids Church in many ways had the toughest job in the pandemic period, as engaging children through screens has been difficult. Nevertheless, our Kids worker continued to work through this period, and with the media team, produced a weekly online Kids service, followed by an interactive zoom.
With the re-opening of Church, Kids Church also returned in a covid safe environment, and a highlight of the online Christmas services was the streaming of the Kids Nativity service.
Kids Club had to be put on hold due to lockdown measures, but, at time of writing, all Kids activity has returned, and is beginning to thrive once again.
Work also continued on a new Kids facility in No 2 Pentrepoeth Road (the building next door to Church), which was majority completed in the summer of 2021.
Revolution (Youth ministry)
Our Youth ministry is at the heart of our mission at 21CC, and like Kids Church, had a difficult time of the pandemic. With youth being naturally drawn to in-person gathering and having spent all week on their screens in school, Revolution Online had a tough challenge. But despite the circumstances, Youth did go online, with Youth services being recorded and streamed, and Youth hangouts taking place on Zoom. This did manage to steady the ship, and hold a steady core, and with the gradual easing of restrictions, Youth has moved back to in-person gatherings, and is now seeing growth again, as we re-build for a post-pandemic world.
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Preaching and Platform team
Our two core preachers are the Senior Pastor (myself) and our Assistant Pastor, and we have worked closely with the media team in adapting to communicating to a camera, as well as to a live congregation throughout the pandemic. As key workers we were able to enter the Church building to keep filming and producing Biblical, hopeful, encouraging messages, that we felt were very much needed in a time of real fear and suffering.
Even as our physical congregation were unable to gather to hear the message, it’s an undeniable reality, that thanks to Church Online, we’ve never preached to as many people in the history of our Church. Through Church Online we have been enabled to take the message of the Gospel all across the world.
We were also able to take advantage of the nature of Church Online by hosting interviews and guest preachers from near and afar through the use of zoom and technology. This has ranged from an interview with Songs of Praise presenter Jay Lusted in North Wales, to a Sunday message from Pastor Luke Crowley of Hillsong Los Angeles, to a lengthy interview with the Rev Eseia Grandis, an Argentinian, who ministers exclusively in the Welsh language. As Eseia cannot speak English, we were able to stream a subtitled video with him, which saw huge reach, and thousands of views.
Our young, developing communicators also continued to preach in Youth and Kids Online, and with the return of the 6pm, we will continue once again to train and raise more communicators.
Love Justice
Love Justice is the social justice ministry of the Church and we have continued to strategically focus on partnering with 3 international organisations, as well as our own local initiative to serve our local community. This has been a year of restriction for the team, which hasn’t been easy, and in many ways a year of transition. But amidst the restrictions we were still able to practically help those in need.
The Love Justice programme is broken down into the following ministry initiatives: -
Compassion
Our usual pattern is to host a Compassion Sunday, to highlight the cause of sponsoring children who live in poverty, but with the pandemic restrictions this was put on hold and will be returning in 2022.
Open Doors
Open Doors highlights the plight of the persecuted Church, and we would usually have a Sunday highlighting this, but as with Compassion, this was put on hold, but will return in 2022. However, Open Doors did run some zoom events, which our team participated in.
A21 Campaign
The A21 Campaign seeks to abolish human trafficking, but like our other partner charities, support was on hold when it came to hosting a big Sunday service. But through zoom we did host a meeting to join in with their Global Summit on the 17[th] October, which Church members attended.
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Caru'r Cartref/Love Llanelli
This has been a year of transition, as historically we have partnered with the 'Wallich', which houses local homeless people, in offering hampers and support. However, the local Wallich is now being wound up, and so we are considering where to best place our efforts to help and support a local need. But Covid-19 did slow the process from their end, giving us some opportunities to continue with support over this year. In the early days of lockdown, we were able to deliver toiletries and cakes to them, whilst still giving hampers and support at Christmas time as usual.
In May we also reached out to a local care home, Affalon, and delivered a gift of toiletries, home made cakes, cards from Kids Church and flowers to the staff and residents of the home.
We also ran a campaign to support Operation Christmas child, which was well supported from the Church, and other Churches in the area, with 127 boxes delivered to us. This has continued and grown on a bigger scale in 2021.
Love Justice also went on zoom, with monthly meetings to discuss how we can best support our international ministry partners, and how to best reach out to our local area.
We also partnered with other local Churches in the area. In July we partnered with another local Church in hosting a Friday night Soup Kitchen for the duration of the month, and we have also been regular contributors to the Myrtle House Llanelli Foodbank.
MAINTENANCE / HEALTH AND SAFETY
Fire, Health and Safety
Health and safety issues are constantly monitored in keeping with legal obligations, and we are continually looking to upgrade and stay on top of these areas.
Emergency lighting, fire alarms and fire extinguishers have all been checked by independent fire specialists who we employ via an ongoing contract.
In line with our environmental commitment, we have also continued to replace our general and stage lighting with LED’s, with the added benefit of reducing energy consumption.
Many other minor items of maintenance have been addressed.
Church Manse/House – No 2 Pentrepoeth Road
This project continued, and we are glad to say was completed in the summer of 2021.
Heart for the House
This year we came into HFTH in a time of lockdown, and financial pressure as a Church. But the team once again put forward a powerful presentation highlighting the work of Church Online in particular, and we managed to raise £9434 (without gift aid), which was a huge help and blessing to the Church. With that money we were able to invest into a sustainable digital storage solution that was required for Church Online, and to help refill some of our financial reserves.
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Over 50’s
Not to be outdone by our youth and kids’ ministries, our over 50’s ministry also went online throughout the pandemic, and actually stepped up the pace, by meeting once a week on zoom, providing a space for community, socialising and relationship.
Through the power of zoom the reach was also able to be extended, with one regular attendee from Germany. The team did a great job throughout the pandemic, and with the shift back to inperson meetings, have continued to take the ministry forward.
Siloah Chapel
Siloah Chapel has been a long-term project for the Church, as it is in need of much renovation before re-opening fully. Covid-19 put a pause on much of our efforts here during this period, but we did make a start with an on-site prayer meeting open to the public.
We also saw a new team put together in 2021 to take the project forward, with progress beginning to be seen at time of writing.
Worship Team
The worship team usually come under the 11am and 6pm service, providing live music for public worship, and a space to develop team members creatively.
But with live music banned due to covid restrictions, instead the worship team partnered with our media team and started producing video worship to stream online. Team members would often film and record from their own homes, which would be mixed and edited together by other volunteers, enabling worship to be part of Church Online.
Apart from that, we also released many of the songs as stand-alone videos on Facebook and YouTube, which saw a huge response in many cases. In particular, the team’s version of ‘O Holy Night’ stands currently at 45,500 views, with overwhelming positive feedback in the difficult days of the Winter lockdown.
- 21st Century Church O Holy Night by 21CC Worship | Facebook
Connect Groups
Our Connect Groups are hosted in the homes of our congregation, providing a space for Bible Study, friendship, and hospitality in a smaller setting. We saw huge growth here in 2019, and this growth continued this year. Due to restrictions, our Connect Groups went online via zoom, and picked up the pace, with most meeting weekly rather than bi-weekly, and seeing more people joining in. In a time when community was put at a halt, our online connect groups were a lifeline to many, enabling conversation and community to take place.
We also added a weekly prayer meeting during lockdown, which proved popular, and again crossed borders, with one of our regular zoom attendees joining in from India, having found Church online.
Through zoom we also hosted another Marriage Course with 2 couples attending, with one couple being based in Cardiff.
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Due to this growth in demand we also began to plan and train leaders for two new connects, one being a specific Young Adults connect, and the other being a new Swansea based connect, both of which have now come to fruition in 2021.
Creative Media
Our Creative Media team deserve a special mention for working incredibly hard as volunteers, in enabling Church to not only survive during the pandemic, but to thrive.
From filming messages, to editing and mixing Church Online and live music, to navigating streaming on Facebook and YouTube, to now transitioning to live-streaming every 11am service, the team have done an incredible job.
In this difficult time, they have enabled the Mission Statement to go ahead, as not only have we grown in our aim to reach those that no-one is reaching with the Gospel of Jesus, but we have reached more people than we ever have before.
As we look forward to the next season, I look forward to the media team developing and growing in communicating and taking the message further than ever.
Conclusion
This year we have faced a challenge like never before in Covid-19. It has been in many ways a hard year, and a sad one, as we have been forced to shut down so much of what we do as a Church.
But I am grateful that in so many ways, we have seen the Church grow and advance this year. We have gained whole new ways of doing Church online, we have reached so many new people, and helped so many people during a difficult season.
As we move forward, I will be glad to see the return of what we lost in lockdown, but grateful we get to keep what we gained.
I remain expectant and excited for the year ahead.
Thank you for taking the time to read some of our story over the last year.
Every blessing / Pob bendith,
Steffan Jones, Senior Pastor, 21st Century Church
The Trustees have complied with the duty to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
During the year income decreased by £21,000, to £92,400, and expenditure decreased by £41,600, to £100,500. As a result, the cash held by the charity decreased by £8,100, to £12,700, of which £11,400 is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.
RESERVES POLICY
The trustees have determined that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £5,000 (which equates to under one month of unrestricted expenditure) so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure vary adversely. At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £11,400 and the charity is complying with its reserves policy.
TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the Charities Act 2011, the trustees are required to prepare a statement of accounts for each accounting year.
They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the church and to ensure that such accounts and records comply with the Charities Act 2011.
They also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the church and to take reasonable steps to detect fraud or other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurances that:
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The church is operating efficiently and effectively
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Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition
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Financial information used within the church or for publication is reliable
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The church complies with relevant laws and regulations
APPROVAL
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Peri Sophos, Chair of Trustees
Date: 23 December 2021
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of 21st Century Church ('the charity') for the year ended 31 March 2021 on pages 10 to 13 following.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Jaimée Young
Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 11 January 2022
Page 9
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| Notes Income receipts Regular collections Other gifts and grants Gift aid receipts Income from conferences and events Other Total receipts Payments 2 3 Total payments Transfers between funds 5 Net movement in funds Cash funds as at last year end Cash funds at this year end A Net of receipts / (payments) before transfers Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly |
General Designated Funds Funds £ £ 56,479 - 19,526 - 11,212 - 175 - 79 - 87,471 - 88,199 4,476 1,175 - 89,374 4,476 (1,903) (4,476) (2,037) - (3,940) (4,476) 7,425 12,429 3,485 7,953 Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds £ 4,939 - - - - 4,939 6,667 - 6,667 (1,728) 2,037 309 947 1,256 |
Total 2021 £ 61,418 19,526 11,212 175 79 92,410 99,343 1,175 100,518 (8,107) - (8,107) 20,801 12,693 |
Total 2020 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Funds £ 56,479 19,526 11,212 175 79 87,471 88,199 1,175 89,374 (1,903) (2,037) (3,940) 7,425 3,485 |
|||||
| 61,943 27,698 13,581 10,229 14 |
|||||
| 113,465 | |||||
| 140,756 1,373 |
|||||
| 142,129 | |||||
| (28,664) - |
|||||
| (28,664) 49,465 |
|||||
| 20,801 |
The notes on pages 12 - 13 form part of these accounts.
Page 10
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| General Designated funds funds £ £ A Cash funds Cash at bank with immediate access 3,476 7,953 Petty cash 9 - 3,485 7,953 B Other monetary assets Gift aid due to charity 4,896 - 4,896 - C Liabilities Falling due within one year: Mortgage (drawn 2014) 17,983 - Mortgage (drawn 2015) 1,966 - Conference income received in advance - - PAYE/NI and pension due 258 - Accounts preparation and examination 1,200 - 21,407 - Falling due after one year: Mortgage (drawn 2014) 108,983 - Mortgage (drawn 2015) 10,951 - 119,934 - Total 141,341 - D Assets retained for charity's own use Saron Chapel 2 Pentrepoeth, Llanelli Siloah Chapel Siloah and Saron Chapels - fixtures, fittings and equipment Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted funds £ 1,256 - 1,256 - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total 2021 £ 12,685 9 12,693 4,896 4,896 17,983 1,966 - 258 1,200 21,407 108,983 10,951 119,934 141,341 Value 2021 £ 911,506 150,989 795,675 147,585 2,005,755 |
Total 2020 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,801 - |
|||
| 20,801 | |||
| 1,980 | |||
| 1,980 | |||
| 17,983 1,966 300 290 1,200 |
|||
| 21,739 121,954 12,271 |
|||
| 134,226 | |||
| 155,964 | |||
| Value 2020 £ |
|||
| 888,407 156,179 772,500 134,290 |
|||
| 1,951,376 |
The first mortgage referred to in Section C above is secured on Saron Chapel and 2 Pentrepoeth and is repayable over 15 years at an interest rate of 3.75% per annum.
The second mortgage referred to in Section C above is also secured on Saron Chapel and 2 Pentrepoeth and is repayable over 14 years at an interest rate of 4.75% per annum.
The trustees have used insurance values as the trustees are unable to reliably estimate current values; insurance values may differ materially from current values.
The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf
by date Peri Sophos, Chair of Trustees 23 December 2021
The notes on pages 12 - 13 form part of these accounts.
Page 11
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
1 Accounting policies
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.
| 2 Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Employment costs Conference and events Insurance Mortgage repayments Building maintenance, repairs and cleaning Building project [Siloah] Utilities and rates Food and Catering Costs Training, ministry costs and other charitable activities Music, PA and recording equipment Other equipment, software and web maintenance Telephones Governance Professional fees Office and support costs Youth and children's ministry Other costs 3 Grants and gifts paid to others Organisations: Mission outreach and support Other gifts |
Unrestrict | Designated funds £ - - - - 4,476 - - - - - - - - - - - - 4,476 - - - ed Funds |
Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - 6,667 - - - - - - - 6,667 - - - |
Total 2021 £ 47,058 346 5,345 19,949 7,151 1,196 4,419 557 1,123 7,017 1,210 825 1,200 861 392 646 47 99,343 710 465 1,175 |
Total 2020 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General funds £ 47,058 346 5,345 19,949 2,675 1,196 4,419 557 1,123 350 1,210 825 1,200 861 392 646 47 88,199 710 465 1,175 |
||||||
| 51,915 16,328 2,402 19,949 24,708 169 6,274 3,946 3,578 2,693 1,211 1,433 890 856 1,743 1,992 670 |
||||||
| 140,756 | ||||||
| 835 538 |
||||||
| 1,373 |
Page 12
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
4 Transactions with related parties
No payments were made to trustees or persons related to them, except for reimbursement of expenses paid out on behalf of the charity.
| 5 Movement of funds General funds Designated funds Legacy Restricted funds Saron Chapel Siloah funds Media equipment Caru Cartref Ministry Total funds |
Balance at 31Mar2020 £ 7,425 12,429 19,854 - 947 - - 947 20,801 |
Receipts £ 87,471 - 87,471 160 1,104 3,580 95 4,939 92,410 |
Payments £ (89,374) (4,476) (93,850) - - (6,667) - (6,667) (100,518) |
Transfers £ (2,037) - (2,037) - (1,050) 3,087 - 2,037 - |
Balance at 31Mar2021 £ 3,485 7,953 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,438 | |||||
| 160 1,001 - 95 |
|||||
| 1,256 | |||||
| 12,693 |
The Saron Chapel fund relates to any expenditure regarding the building or any supplies needed for maintenance or security, or funds donated specifically to Saron Chapel (Saron Chapel is the building where 21CC holds its main Sunday services).
The Siloah fund relates to donations for the purpose of expenditure relating to the Siloah Chapel. (The transfer from the Siloah funds relates to reimbursement of expenditure paid from general funds.)
The Media equipment fund was for donations given for the purchase of equipment. The Caru Cartref Ministry fund relates to 21CC social outreach initiatives.
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