21st Century Church
Report and Accounts Year ended 31 March 2023
1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Saron Chapel Pentrepoeth Road Llanelli SA15 4HG GOVERNING DOCUMENT Declaration of Trust dated 14 February 1995 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1047101 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR Peri Sophos (resigned December 2023) MANAGING THE CHARITY Ceri Curry-Pound (resigned December 2023) Karly Haverly (appointed December 2023) Ian Roberts (appointed July 2022) Kevin Thomas (appointed December 2023) Matthew Visick-Evans BANKERS Lloyds Bank plc INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Jaimée Young Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
INDEX
Page 1 Legal and Administrative Details Page 2 Trustees' Summary Report Page 3 Independent Examiner's Report Page 4 Receipts and Payments Account Page 5 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 6-7 Notes to the Accounts Appendix Full Trustee report
Page 1
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023, including a full Trustees' report at the end.
In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Financial review
During the year income increased by £42,360, to £155,910, and expenditure increased by £33,150, to £148,050. As a result the cash held by the charity increased by £7,860, to £19,200, of which £4,500 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 about 2 weeks 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 £4,500 and the charity is aiming to complying with the reserves policy over the coming year.
Governance
Responsibility for setting policy and for making operating decisions rest with the trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity. New trustees are identified by leadership and put forward to the existing trustees for consideration prior to a majority vote.
Responsibilities of trustees
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 2011.
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 and signed on their behalf by:
M. Visick-Evans
____ Matthew Visick-Evans 21 January 2024 Date:_____
Page 2
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 2023 on pages 4 to 7 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:
-
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.
J. Young
Jaimée Young
Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 26 January 2024
Page 3
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| Unrestricted | Funds | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Designated | Restricted | Total | Total | ||||||
| Funds | Funds | Funds | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Income receipts | ||||||||||
| Donations | 77,618 | - | 19,646 | 97,265 | 70,423 | |||||
| Gift aid receipts | 13,340 | - | 2,000 | 15,340 | 13,595 | |||||
| Other gifts and grants | 19,027 | - | 12,154 | 31,181 | 22,185 | |||||
| Income from charitable activities | 5,864 | - | - | 5,864 | 3,330 | |||||
| Income from conferences and | events | 6,261 | - | - | 6,261 | 3,820 | ||||
| Other | - | - | - | - | 196 | |||||
| Total receipts | 122,110 | - | 33,800 | 155,910 | 113,549 | |||||
| Payments | ||||||||||
| Payments in relation to activities undertaken directly |
charitable | 2 | 118,149 | - | 19,361 | 137,510 | 111,737 | |||
| Grants paid in relation to activities undertaken by others |
charitable | 3 | 1,408 | - | 9,132 | 10,540 | 3,161 | |||
| Total payments | 119,557 | - | 28,492 | 148,049 | 114,898 | |||||
| Net of receipts / (payments) transfers |
before | 2,553 | - | 5,308 | 7,861 | (1,349) | ||||
| Transfers between funds | 5 | (3,884) | - | 3,884 | - | - | ||||
| Net movement in funds | (1,330) | - | 9,191 | 7,861 | (1,349) | |||||
| Cash funds as at last year | end | 1,886 | 3,947 | 5,511 | 11,344 | 12,693 | ||||
| Cash funds at this year end | A | 556 | 3,947 | 14,703 | 19,205 | 11,344 |
The notes on pages 6-7 form part of these accounts.
Page 4
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| General funds £ A Cash funds Cash at bank with immediate access 300 Petty cash 255 555 B Other monetary assets Gift aid due to charity 3,450 Other debtors - 3,450 C Liabilities Falling due within one year: Mortgage (drawn 2014) 11,682 Mortgage (drawn 2015) 1,292 Pension due 246 Accounts preparation and examination 1,290 14,509 Falling due after one year: Mortgage (drawn 2014) 102,634 Mortgage (drawn 2015) 10,027 112,662 Total 127,171 D Assets retained for charity's own use Saron Chapel 2 Pentrepoeth, Llanelli Siloah Chapel Siloah and Saron Chapels - fixtures, fittings and equipment Unrestricte |
Unrestricte | Designated funds £ 3,947 - 3,947 - - - - - - - - - - - - d Funds |
Restricted funds £ 14,703 - 14,703 - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total 2023 £ 18,950 255 19,205 3,450 - 3,450 11,682 1,292 246 1,290 14,509 102,634 10,027 112,662 127,171 Value 2023 £ 161,251 161,251 |
Total 2022 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,303 41 |
||||||
| 11,344 | ||||||
| 3,121 84 |
||||||
| 3,205 | ||||||
| 17,983 1,966 - 1,960 |
||||||
| 21,909 103,091 10,035 |
||||||
| 113,127 | ||||||
| 135,036 | ||||||
| Value 2022 £ |
||||||
| 148,208 | ||||||
| 148,208 |
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.
(Current values for properties have not been quoted because reliable valuations are not available and disclosure is not mandatory.)
The trustees have used insurance values for contents and equipment 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 M. Visick-Evans date 21 January 2024 _____Matthew Visick-Evans _____
date 21 January 2024
The notes on pages 6-7 form part of these accounts.
Page 5
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
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, rates and phone Food and Catering Costs Training, ministry costs and other charitable activities Music, PA and recording equipment Other equipment, software and web maintenance Governance and 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 Individuals Bible college support |
Unrestrict | Designated funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ed Funds |
Restricted Funds £ 6,538 - - - 3,571 8,342 - - 910 - - - - - - 19,361 607 - - 8,525 9,132 |
Total 2023 £ 68,268 7,407 5,278 12,974 7,609 8,342 8,518 3,119 3,976 4,831 838 2,784 340 2,558 666 137,510 1,279 - 736 8,525 10,540 |
Total 2022 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63,229 3,664 4,605 12,095 8,118 2,643 5,298 1,463 2,133 3,846 937 1,251 627 1,460 369 |
||||||
| 111,737 | ||||||
| 672 381 420 1,688 |
||||||
| 3,161 |
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.
Page 6
21ST CENTURY CHURCH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| vement of funds General funds Designated funds Legacy Restricted funds Saron Chapel Bible college support Siloah funds Ukraine appeal Social outreach projects [Heirs] Heirs ministry grant Employment support Connected Communities grant Other appeals Total funds |
Opening balance £ 1,886 3,947 5,833 160 - 4,741 195 415 - - - - 5,511 11,344 |
Receipts £ 122,110 - 122,110 - 8,150 1,435 282 1,427 9,654 10,000 2,500 352 33,800 155,910 |
Payments £ (119,557) - (119,557) - (8,525) (8,342) (507) (910) (2,184) (4,354) (3,571) (100) (28,492) (148,049) |
Transfers £ (3,884) - (3,884) - 375 2,400 30 - - - 1,071 8 3,884 - |
Closing balance £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 556 3,947 |
|||||
| 4,502 | |||||
| 160 - 234 - 932 7,470 5,646 - 260 |
|||||
| 14,703 | |||||
| 19,205 |
5 Movement of funds
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 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 Ukraine Appeal relates to funds given to support charities working to support people affected by the war in Ukraine. The Social outreach projects funds include donations towards the Caru Cartref ministry and the Heirs ministry. The Heirs ministry grant relates to funds donated to pay for 12 months of employment costs for this ministry. The Employment support funds relate to a donation towards the employment costs of the charity. The Connected Communities grant relates to funds provided for a garden project.
Page 7
21st CENTURY CHURCH
TRUSTEES' REPORT
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
The Trustees present the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023.
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 Church-goers, 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 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 2022/23
2022/23 was a year of finally being able to operate free of all covid restrictions, and build forward once again into a new season.
Across all areas we’ve seen growth and momentum building, with an atmosphere of excitement as we head into the future.
We’ve also kept going with Church Online, and even raised funds to invest in better cameras and production equipment, in order to continue to reach the wider world online.
As in previous years, we are continuing to recover financially, after the hit we took during the pandemic, but we are continuing to make progress.
The following reflects some of the progress, 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.
For 2022/23, we’ve been able to have a clear run at the 11am, with some key highlight services, such as two record breaking baptism services with 21 baptised over a few weeks, a baby dedication, Easter, Christmas etc, as well as a consistent level of overall growth.
It’s also been encouraging to regularly see guests, and new faces at the 11am service.
Church Online has also continued to stream the 11am services, and then have them available on demand, and we continue to see consistent views on Youtube and Facebook.
Our 6pm service
After the relaunch last year, the 6pm has continued to go from strength to strength. In many ways, this is our ‘training ground’ service, with a huge emphasis on giving more of our young people a go in the running of the service, and owning it, with a high energy, youthful atmosphere and focus.
We have seen the 6pm consistently reach a young demographic, from children, youth and young adults, as well many others who love to join in as well.
This service is not currently streamed, allowing for a no pressure environment to train young people, but from time to time, a message from the 6pm will be posted on Youtube, which also sees online engagement and views each time.
I am grateful that after a hiatus, the 6pm was resurrected, and is now back for good in 2022/23.
Kids Church
Kids Church have had a great year, with real consistency on Sunday’s during the 11am, with children loving being part of ‘Kids Church’, my own children included!
We’ve also seen our midweek Kids Club, which only returned last year, see a lot of growth, with many children attending and bringing friends, providing a space for games, community and a positive Christian message, and we have seen huge growth here since being back, with new children attending.
We once again ran a successful Kids ‘Light Party’ at Halloween time, with fancy dress, a bouncy castle, games and a Christian message, which was a big success, with many kids attending from Church and from the community.
And finally, at the start of 2023, we launched a brand new initiative, ‘Mighty Tots’, a parent and child baby group on Friday mornings, which we are pleased to report, has been a great success so far.
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, and we’ve had a long road of rebuilding here.
However, this year we’ve begun to see real progress in this area, with 2023 in particular seeing growth once again.
In 2023, we also brought back mid week youth groups (RDG’s), have continued to emphasise the 6pm as a go-to service, and really prioritised Youth Nights on Friday’s, which has been an investment that is paying off.
Preaching and Platform team
Our two core preachers are the Senior Pastor and our Assistant Pastor, and we have worked to continue producing Biblical, hopeful, and encouraging messages, of a high quality, on a regular basis.
We’ve also sought to keep in mind, we are no longer just speaking to the ‘room’, but to those watching online, from potentially anywhere in the world.
But we’ve also sought to build more strength in depth, in particular through the 6pm, as we provided a space to train our young communicators and preachers in a less pressured scenario, with nothing being streamed. This has provided a greater variety in our preaching, and is building our strength in this key area.
We’ve also ran Rev events in Youth, where our young preachers have had a space to step up, and where we were able continued to try and invite guest speakers in.
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.
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, and this year we were able to host a Compassion Sunday with a representative from Compassion presenting, and new children sponsored as a result.
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 during the pandemic. However, Open Doors Sunday will be returning in 2023, with a representative from Open Doors due to be with us in October.
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, which is still under review.
Operation Christmas Child
We once again ran another Operation Christmas Child campaign, our second year as a hub Church, and we saw our biggest one yet, with hundreds of boxes being sent out from our hub, from our local Church and others in the area.
Heirs
Following on from the launch of Heirs last year, we’ve continued to build on this, with Heirs existing to see every young person thrive in Wales. It seeks to give backpacks full of supplies for children and young people entering the care system, working with social services, the police and schools to add value to the important work that is happening. It also works with 21CC Kids, Revolution and YA (Young Adults) to connect these vulnerable children into a wider support system.
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.
Over 50’s
Over 2022/23 the over 50’s ministry returned to in person meetings, and continued to meet regularly throughout the year.
Siloah Chapel
Behind the scenes, the Siloah Chapel project has continued with a new team in place, as we seek to renovate the building.
We did meet in the building for prayer, and opened up to the community in the Seaside Christmas fair, and want to see more of this in the future.
Worship Team
The worship team comes under the 11am and 6pm service, providing live music for public worship, and a space to develop team members creatively.
This year the team have worked hard to make live worship the norm once again for the 11am service, and have managed to build back up.
For the 6pm, we have found the most effective use of volunteers and resources has been to switch to video worship for the majority of services, barring the odd special service, which we found has been surprisingly effective, and has worked really well.
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.
After the Pandemic, these groups returned to meeting in person, and have flourished.
Our two new groups have also continued, one a specifically Young Adults Connect, for 18-25 year old’s. This is the least reached demographic in global Christianity, and we are so excited to see progress and growth in this area, as this group has grown.
The second group also represents a big step forward for the Church, as we launched our first ever connect group, and first ever regular meeting of any kind in Swansea. Swansea is just over our county border, and we have recently found more and more Swansea people in Church with us. This has been an organic process from there, with a Swansea based family hosting in Loughor. We continue to be so excited for this group, seeing it as just the start of our efforts to impact this county and city, that is right on our doorstep.
Creative Media
Our Creative Media team have worked hard on continuing to make the Sunday services an excellent experience for all attending, as well as making Church work well online as we stream.
They also produced the first full length Heart for the House video presentation since before the Pandemic, which was a real encouragement to so many.
Conclusion
2022/23 has been a great year, and it has been a huge relief to have had a full year to run free from restrictions, and rebuild our momentum for the years ahead.
We are grateful to have seen a year of growth, records broken, new ministries launched, new people added, with Church Online also continuing to reach beyond our congregation.
2022/23 has been our most fruitful year yet as a Church, and so I remain expectant and excited for the season ahead, and continuing our mission into 2023/24.
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