Hope Church Charity no. 1050518 Chairman’s report for year 2023
MINISTRIES
We all know that ministries and programs are only successful because of the volunteers that each week give of their time and energy to make a difference. I am so grateful to all the amazing volunteers at Hope Church who contributed to the life of the church with faithfulness and diligence. Thank you each one for all you do.
Food Bank. This ministry continues to be a lifeline for so many in our community and beyond. The number of families we supply with food parcels continues to increase year on year. This is a vital ministry that not only supports people with the food that is provided but alongside that we have the clothes bank and the cafe with a team that provides free tea, coffee and bacon rolls and also engages with those come in and perhaps needs a listening ear or human interaction.
Kids Club and Hope Kids. Kids club continues to thrive with a good regular attendance from the local children in our community. They have lots of fun as well as hear about Jesus and the gospel. They learn not only through a short age appropriate talk but also through the craft they do as well. I know it is the desire of the kids club team to make a difference in these young lives but also through them to be a witness to their parents as well. It’s been said ‘That it’s easier to build boys than mend men’ and through the kids club ministry our heart is to put onto them some firm foundations that will help them as they grow and develop.
Hope kids is another of our children ministries that is so important in influencing the children who attend the church but due to a lack of volunteers is struggling to be maintained even though it only runs twice a month. Please pray for this ministry and for fresh volunteers who are able to support it. It really does make a difference to our Sunday services and especially the parents who then get the time needed to listen the sermon and be encouraged.
Parent and Toddlers. I am so pleased that this group is still running on a weekly bases and is doing very well with a good number of parents and babies attending each week. We are grateful to Kayleigh Granger and Leanne ….. for their hard work and commitment and also to the Cwm-unity charity which we partner with through Cwmaman Primary
school. We believe that working with our local community is essential to making our presence known.
Life Groups. This small group is a great opportunity for those in the church who are new to Christianity to grow in their faith as they interact in the bible study and are able to ask questions and discuss certain topics in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. My hope and prayer is that this group will be better attended in the future but I also understand that for many work and other commitments make it very difficult to attend.
MISSION
Jesus told us to ‘go into all the world and share the gospel’. Mission is at the heart of everything we do in Hope church because we want to see people come to know Jesus as their Saviour and have an assurance of heaven through faith in him. Our yearly Higher Hope Mission with our friends from Atlanta and Brighton are always a special time and raise awareness in our community as we do various programs and activities. This year we held a funday at our local primary school which went really well with a good number of children who attend the school coming to our event with their parents. They were amazed that the event was free and really appreciated all the effort and hard work that had gone into it. I am very thankful for our partnership with the school as this creates so much more opportunities to engage with the people in our locality and shows that we care about Cwmaman as a whole and not just what we do as a church. We were also blessed to have a team come and lead our weekly kids club ministry which the children love as they hear different accents and it also provides a well deserved rest for the team who continue to be there but without the pressure to have to prepare.
FINANCE
The church can only do what it does because of the financial support of those who attend Hope Church. We are not an affluent church and that is largely because we are not in an affluent area. However, I am always amazed at peoples generosity and the fact that by Gods grace we are able to cover costs so that everything keeps going. Thank you to all those who give their tithes and offerings so that we can continue to share the gospel and be a light in our community. Please pray that the finances will increase and that we would continue to create a culture of
giving and that tithing would be at the centre of that as a biblical principle.
CHURCH HEALTH
It’s been said ‘All healthy things grow’ and in many ways we are a healthy church, from our amazing volunteers and ministries that I have already mentioned that continue to run on a weekly bases to the fact that we have a full time pastor is quite remarkable. However, there are other areas that need to be built up and strengthened. Such as the need for more man power to enable ministries to be more effective, an increase in our finances so the we can independently as a church meet the financial needs and outgoings that result from running programs, ministries and services. We also want to remain spiritually healthy in order to grow numerically which is much needed for us at Hope Church. We want to see the tide turn and God to fill this building with lives that have been transformed by the gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I would also love to see more people developed and released into various ministries so that the burden of serving is carried by the many and not just the few.
VISION
I am convinced that God brought us from the old mission in Brynmair Road all those years ago to our present building we are in today because we were built for more. God has provided us with the capacity for more now my vision is that we would believe for more and through faith and the pursuit of God see that vision fulfilled. If we allow God to prepare us and we continue to press into him through prayer and personal devotion then increase will come. We need new Christians and mature Christians in order to create a healthy church environment and our future is found beyond the walls of Hope Church in the streets, homes and hearts of the people who surround us that are yet to be reached. Faith in God and faith in the gospel is all that we need to see breakthrough. We were built for more, now let us believe for more.
GENRAL COMMENTS
We were saddened by the news that Steve and Christine Williams would be leaving us as a fellowship as they make their move to their new home in Cardiff. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their hard work, commitment and unwavering faithfulness to us as a church over the many years they have attended Hope Church.
We are so grateful for them both and the contribution they made, they will be deeply missed but I know we all wish them the very best for their future and are happy that they will be closer to their family.
And he alone is the leader and source of everything needed in the church. God has put everything beneath the authority of Jesus Christ and has given him the highest rank above all others. And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it! Ephesians 1:22-23
Submitted by Pastor Dale Thomas for the AGM – 8th October 2024
Signed
Dale Thomas
In Fellowship with Assemblies of God GB Registered Charity No: 1032245
FINANCJAL STATEMEPff FORJAN- DEC OFFERING5 fyFTAID Ff5TO cc INTERÈST IA¢c (MI&8) WAGESGIFTS EXPENSES ElJ21.24 MIRE OF TrtALL REPAkP. ht4Nr& REFLRB E(¥JIP%IENT £46SZ3J 71 É14I14 51A<¥IYCREThTS $(KLFND STW YCAJTM YJDZCLL £1.1•7. J P&T tfftF irnLtrY UnLttY U[EFumD £5tt00 M1.¥0 £1¥Jz J J f PPEALS AtySF 8PEwfKCASON SiA4CIES POSTAGE • £*0• tX17 Y(X)Th LEt510P £7.¥¥&D• J sLFu
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o• KIDZCLUB PRENT& TOMLER PthMSTrY¢OST5 CX)TrEACH V•T £0 E 31.7A2J £thoo T1xsNirwrttb)RC TOTOL E34.917.2P rknT&¢Y•311 X03 &TOTAL Chwty 109)518
Verification of Accounts for: Hope Church Cwmaman Reg. Charity No. 1050518 I" January 2023 - 31" December 2023 To Whom It May Concern: I hereby declare that I have checked and verified the Accounts of.. Hope Church, Carnan, Fforchaman Road, Cwmaman, Aberdare. CF44 6NS In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention. l am satisfied that the figures presented are an accurate and true presentation of the state of the Account. Name: ItJAI £ Relevant professional qu lif ication or body (if plicable): Address: 2 Date: l£-.7.34 Signed: