Alsager Community Church 5 Lawton Road Alsager Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST7 2AA sager i y Church rfp•rt IoTGod..Inr&ach Dther.. lortht , 27 Woodside Avenue, Alsager. Stoke on Trent, ST7 2DL Contact via Church otTice Telephone 01270 873859 + Andrew Collet (appolnted 171h January 2023), S Elanor Road. Sandbach, Cheshire. CW I13FZ + Sarah Humpries {appolnted 171b October 2022), 28 Shady Grove. Alsager. Stoke-on-Trent ST7 2NQ + lan Tideswell {appolnted 10th September 2022), 57 The Bank, Scholar Green, Stoke￿n-Trent, ST7 3LF + Mlchael Keenan (appofjnted 4th September 2022), 45 Sydney Road, Crewe, Cheshire, CW14HQ + Alan Roper (appolDted 41h September 2022), 16 Kingfisher Court, Thwaite Street, Cottingham. HU16 4QA + Mrs Laura Smitb (gppolnted 91h November 2020), 36 Alfred Moseley Place, Alsager, Stoke*on-Trent ST7 2ZL Wendy Walker (reslgned IS January 2024), Ben Cade-Hugbes {re$lgned 16th January 2024), Vickl Dent (resigned 12th March 2024), Chris Preston (removed 20th May 2024), and Lynn Prestley(resigned 12th June 2024) also served as Trustees during this financial period. The Holding Trustee of the churches property from 2th1 August 2023 is the Official Custodian for Charities. Due to large changes in trustees, the elders marked + serve will initially serve one year in office which may be extended to 2 years to facililate continuity, and subsequently nonnally 2 years. The Rev Howard's terni continues until he ceases to be Minister of the church. The Data Protection Officer continues to be Mrs Vanessa Howard. Reg15tsred Charlty: 1052554 Page 2 of 20 Alsager Community Church ort of the Trustees and Activities Review - continued RESERVES AND OTHER POLICES The trustees have recenily reviewed iheir reserves policy on Organisalional Risk to ensure thal adcqiiate funding is available to allow the church to deal with unforeseen expenditure, replacement or repair of equipment and six months building and slaff running costs. Other policies in place and approved are Building Hire Terms, Complaints Managjemcnt, Data Protection E. qualiiy and Diversity, Pastoral Care, Prayer, Stafy Flandbook, Safeguarding, and3'1-rustee conflict of interesl. STATEMENT REGARDING THE ACCOUNTS We cerlify that the books, VOULhers and informalion prodiiced to enable ihe indepcndcnt cxamination of oiir accouiits to be conducted contain ¢1 lul l aiid accurate record ol" our l inancial transactions and ihL aLtivilies to the best of our knoivlcdgyc and bcl iLf. I n v iciv ot" the scale of the charilies activities, the 'frLlStces consider it appropriatc to prepare ihe accounts on a receipts and payiiiLnls basis ratliLr ihan an accruals basis. Si&)ned on behalf of the Church Council and Trustees Michael Keenan Dated: 14, April 2025 DEVOTION FAMILY SERVING WI Pastor's and Trustees church activity review Introduction The material included below is taken from the Vision Sunday meeting reports presented by the various groups. Registered Charity: 1052554 Page 3 of 20 Alsager Community Church Leadership Team and Trustees (Pete Howard) In the second half of 2022, circumstances led us to make the decision to separnte the Leadership Team and Trustees, which we up until that point one group, into two: a Leadership team and a Trustees Team. The former would be responsible for vision, ministy and mission. whilst the latter would take responsibility for more practical matters and therefore, sUPPQrt them. We have made the decision to Continue with that arrangement as it seems to be working well, and we are continuing to learn how to effective with it. We are still learning about what roles belong to which but are making good progress. The Leadership Team currently consists of Nessie Howard. Laura smit￿ Peter and Janice Bird, Wendy Walker and myself and may be further expanded in the future as God gifts us with the right people. When we began with the new structure, nine trustees were appointed initially for a year. This was practically to keep the church in a legal quorate position at all times. The team has functioned well and taken responsibility for scrutinising the finances and discussing practical matters. Whilst vision is not their responsibility, we nonetheless are open to thoughts and ideas coming from this group and are pleased that this has happened. At the same time, different trustees have, for different reason% step￿d down and so we are now seeking to recruit additional trustees. Laura Smith We have appreciated Laura's input into the life and leadership of the church both before and since we employed her first as Assistant and then as Associate P&stor on Stsff. Alongside this she has been completing the AOG Minister's in Training programme. Laura completes this course in May, gaining her full status as an AOG Minister and will of course, continue working with us. She would liTre to that all in the church for their support and help whoile she has completed the M￿. Holding Trustees At the time of the last reporL we were in the process of making the Charity Commission otTicial custodian our Holding Trustees. We took the decision to do this as we needed to wlace most of our Holding trnstees for varying reasons and this would not only be a pern&￿ent change but also a cost-cffective onc. Holding Trustecs do not have any power but simply 'hold' the deeds to the building for us as required by law. This proLYSS which was a legal and involved getting the building revalued has now been completed. Worship l include worship in this report because while we are privileged to have lots of people involved, there is no single designated department l￿der for this group. Currently Graeme Smith takes responsibility for the first Sunday of the month and also leads our monthly worship practiK and Darren and Veronica Spencer take responsibility for the last Sunday. This is a standard pattem unless it is changed for particular purpose. I generally take responsibility for all other Sunday& with Graeme and Darren and Vron leading additional weeks when needed. We are supported by a good group of musicians, many of whom now play most weeks. I believe that worship has gone from strength to strength over the last 15 rnonths with new members joining the team and a real sense of unity and connection between members. The monthly practices are and team Reglstered Charfty: 1052554 Page 4 of 20 Alsager Community Church members are learning each other's styles and learning to play together well. As a church we are also getting better at worship and have experienced some beautiful times in the presence of God. New Milton House I have included this update as there is no one leader for New Milton House, although Eric and Miriam and Anne often take the lead other than Laura and myself. There are also others who wonderfully support us each month. Our turn for th¢ service at New Milton House happens on the I st Sunday of the month with other church¢s taking the other weeks. although sadly, one of the other churches has had to come off the rota recently, This is in part due to what has been a frustrating time with this ministry as w¢ wcre moved from the lounge to the 'activities room,, which effectively resulted in no onc coming as th¢ staff didn't have the capacity to bring the residents up to the meeting. That the meeting happened at change•over time did not help. This has largely now been resolved now with a move in time from 3pm to 1:30pm and a change in venue to the Dining Room. so that residents can choose to stay after lunch. The Annexe Following Alsager Community Support becoming independent and finding new premises back in 2023, we renamed the building 'THE ANNEXE., New signage was made, and it was hoped that 2024 would see us deciding on new purpose and vision for the building. Unfortunately, due to pressures including financial, time and logistical ones, we have not been able to have those discussions. We hope to do so in 2025. In the meantime. the Foodbank has been able to use the larger area available and the space has also been used for prayer and other meetings. We have also been able to increase the number of items we keep in the storeroom since there is now no property in there belonging to ACS. Funerals This year saw the loss of two respected and highly loved pillars of the church Mike Collett and Roy Pitcher. Both of these men made long tenn significant contribution to the life and ministy for the church over many years and we will continue to miss them. We honour them in this report. Pete led both funerals with Mike's held at ACC and Roy's held at Wesley Place. In addition. Pete led the funeral of Tom and Richie Parryi father and son who were tragically killed in an accident in the Scottish Highlands. The funeral was held at St Mary& jointly lcd by Rev. Michelle GL)odrich and the wake was held at ACC. We supported other church members through loss of close family members. Other activities and matters arising There are separate reports included below for some of these activities and matters. Ran Special events including 2 Kids weekends with Safari and Space themes. Pilgrims Progress film, Unsuccessful Course by 24n Prayer. Continued with our Life Groups weekly prayer meetings and monthly Reflective Pray¢r sessions and in addition, prayer days and weeks of prayer and fasting. Re8lstered Charlty: 1052554 Page 5 of 20 Alsager Community Church Continued to run our coffee shop 4 days a week. Repurposed our monthly Café Church to play Church with a diffe￿nt fom)at. We ran a successful Alpha in the Autumn tenTA. We launched regular Men's Breakfast events and a Men's ministry. Continued with our monthly after church fellowship lunches on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Continued with our involvement in local schools with assemblies and occasional lessons. Along with the other Alsager Churches, we distributed Hot Cross Buns at Easter on Holy Saturday. Along with the other Alsager Churches, we have continued to take a service in New Milton House once a month. We have continued to hire our premises to local organisations: U3A, Slimming World, Rhythm Time, Alsager Spinners and Weavers, Polling Station and others. We again held a stall at the Alsager Carnival distributing hundreds of poppet toys to the children and advertising the presence of the church. We have had guest speakers: Anthony Bhunu, Andrew Cannon and Richard Brunton We have continued to work with Christchurch and Wesley Place Methodist Church to run a youth group on Thursday evenings and took young people to the 3g¢nerate youth event. We held 2 annual Leadership Seminar Days with Middlewich Community Church and Sandbach Community Church Church Manager's Report (Nessie Howard) The church building continues to be a busy place whilst tying to remain a welcoming and God filled space. We employ Sue who works as our cleaner for 12 hours a week and Rob, Phil and David have continued to provide a level of maintenancc and care for our building as well as completing our 6 monthly H&S reviews. We are needing some Dlyldecorating doing soon and I'm sure they would appreciate the offers of help. We have 3 groups who regularly use and hire the building, as well as some that use us occasionally. We are currently looking to increase this back to previous levels as a revenu¢ stream. Kids church/AblYdze on Sundays (Nessie Howard) We currently have 4 children and 5 young people who regularly att¢nd church. It is a wide age range, but th¢ children care for and support each other well. Once a month we have Ablaze on Sundays where we connect with the young people from Christchurch, alternating between meeting at our venue or at there's. On that Sunday Kids church has a different feel as we make the session bespoke for a younger age which the children have enjoyed as much as the youth have. On Sundays we use the TV for worship songs, have access to craft activities have bible studies, play games. share and care for each other, provide space for faith to deepen and meet with God. All whilst having fun. Our curriculum has been adaptable and bespoke this past year as we have responded to a wide age range and a Reglstered Charlty. 1052554 Page 6 of 20 Alsager Community Church smaller number of children. We are currently deciding whether to go with a new scheme or whether to follow the church's curriculum in the main meetings and continue to design our own sessions. We have a great team of teachers who love both God and our youngsters. They lead with cornpassion, laughter and skill. Pastoral Team (Pete Bir(VJohn Hammond/Anita Wilson) The Pastoral Team has been set up recently in order to give support to Pet¢ and Nessie in the church's pastoral ministy. If you have a need and would like someone to pray for you over the phone, or you would like someone to pay you a visi( then please ring one of the team, The Meeting Place Coffee Shop (Nessie Howard) This continues to be op¢n Tuesday to Friday mornings between 9am and 1.30pm. Some days are quieter than others, but this has given the opportunity to get to know people better. 'Th¢ Meeting Place, is a place we hope that people will meet and connect with each other and perhaps more significantly, where they might meet Jesus. There have been opportunities for prayer and conversation, and we pray this rnight happen more and more, Phil D is organising the 'help yourself bookshelf with second handldonated Christian books which has continued to be popular. We also have two people who produ¢K cards for us to sell as a way of fundraising. We are so grateful for the volunteers who serve each week, with two new volunt¢ers coming on board this year, and are also grateful for the kind volunte¢rs who bakelbring us cakes. They are always so popular and add something special to our menu. We are desperately in need of more cake volunteers and if you can help us with this9 please speak to me. We would also appreciate help with washing tea towels shopping and even having you as customers! The car parking charges have affected the footfall coming into the Meeting Place, so we have produced some vouchers for Little Treasures parents to use in an attempt to attract new customers. Our play ar¢a is a brilliant, yet under used attraction. We have also introduced a card payment system. We received a 'Stsrdust' grant from Sainsbury's via Neighbourly to purchas¢ a new oven and contribute towards replacing the dishwasher which has greatly helped the work of the coffee shop as well as the wider church activities. Finally? we are really pleased to report that we have once again achieved a level 5 in our food safety inspection. This is something we have consistently done but it is always a source of celebration for us to feel we are doing things well and this is recognised. Here are some quotes from some of our customers... 'Family atmosphere! g 'Th¢ highlight of the week!, 'A place of friendship., 'An important part of our weekly routine. .come from Newcastle every week because it is an Oasis and as place of fun!? And we thought you might also enjoy this little pocm written by one of our Wednesday volunteer staff... 'There is a cafe, across ihe road. Ji is so very cory, Whenyou go in. il's nice and warm and everyone is rosy. Reglstered Charlty: 1052554 Page 7 of 20 Alsager Community Church Thefood is good, Ihe price is low, li s everybody's pockei. Jusl sil down ond h(we a chal, we 'll pnak li like a rockeil We have a little kilchen, which serves uppreity well, With chocola¢e cake and nice mincepies, Ihal will make your belly swelll Cup ofcoffee, cup oftea. Nothing s loo much irouble, Jwi give us your drinks order, And we'll moke il on ihe doublel 'When we 'vefinishedfor ihe day, we grab our bags and coals. We say goodbye lo one and all andsel off. wiih scarves around our ihroals. And when next week comes around, we'll slarl il offall over, And all the cllenls and ihe slaff, Ihink ihey live in cloverl Sally, Richardand myself we gei on preity good. We share ihe jobs quiie happily, bui Sally does ihefood. Soplease come in when you pop by, we'll give you a blg smile. And whenyoupu¢your order in, we 'll go ihe exlra mlle. What next? It would be fantsstic to have a manager of the coffee shop again- someone who could lead it forward! We always ty to have a church rep on each shift too. Foodbank (Nessie Howard) We were able to h¢lp feed and support 168 referred households during 2024 consisting of;. 251 Individual Adults and 205 Individual Children in 2024 To fvlfil the needs of these households in 2024 we issued:. 1638 Adult units and 1557 Children units ( l unit- I weeks, worth of food) in 2024 and gave out 50 Christmas hampers. This has been our busiest year to date, We provided food for an average of:. 6.5 weeks to each adulv 7.6 weeks to each child, This year we saw a swing to supporting MO￿ families than single people though we have seen a significant increase in the amount of people needing support due to medical conditions. We have been blessed with many donations both monetary and goods. These donations come from individuals, churches, schools. charities and businesses in our area. One of our biggest challenges was physically stocking the shelves but we have seen many groups not only raising funds for us but also actively shopping on our behalf. We continue to be very grateful for the community support we receive. We continue to work in partnership with other organisations, referring people on to other organisations if appropriats. We still operate on a referral basis which means people receive help from ourselves as a ￿sUIt of them being referred to us. This can be from schools, medical or welfare teams, housing associations and churches to name but a few. Reglstsred Charity: 1052S54 Page 8 of 20 Alsager Community Church We continue to give fresh fruit andlor vegetables, bread. cheese and eggs when we can. We are enrolled with Neighbourly, so Sainsburys give us their surplus bakery most days and occasionally fresh fruit and veg. We have also enrolled with Olio, a scheme used to reduce waste from shops which has helped on an ad hoc basis with bread, potatoes and vegetables. We currently have 4 Coordinator& all taking a week at a time to run the foodbank and we have 13 volunteers helping to pack and sort stock on a rota basis. We have continued to have 4 people who will deliver, a few folks we can call on to help sort stock and others who have offered to shop for us. We have also continued to give out vouchers for drinks and food at the Meeting Place and for the Big Breakfast at Christchurch. We also give vouchers to those with p￿school children so that they can come along to our Little Treasures on Thursdays. Prayer (Wendy Walker) Over the past 12 months we have had an average of12 attending Thursday evening intercessory prayer, which is slightly down from last year. I took the decision in the middle of the year to stop the Zoom connections, as we were getting very few people logging on [all of whom now attend in person]. Prayer and Fasting. We have had 3 periods of prayer and fasting since July. The first of which was as a result of a significant word from God, which required focused prayer. Having periods of 74-7 prayer along with fasting can only enhance our corporate prayer life. Prayer day in November- this was a wakc up call to be ready for the times ahead. Looking forward. [Anne and l intend to continue going away on retreats, roughly quarterly. to se¢k the Lord's guidance for us as individuals, and for ACC.] Our next retreat is 3 - 6 February. l 5th February - 'How to be Un-successful, course. A 24n Prayer International cours¢. l 5th March - the first Ladies Prayer breakfast. This is a new initiativ¢ which I trust will be a really blessed time where we as ladies can pray for a move of God in ACC and Alsager. 3 I st March to 4th April - 7-2-7 prayer and fast, culminating in a time of worship. 5th April - prayer day. The content of this will become clear nearer the time. l am always listening out for new ways to encourage our folks to engage in corporate intercessory prayer. The boiler housc of the church needs to be continually stoked, so that we keep moving forward. Wendy Walkers's Life Group Over the last 12 months our numbers have decreased a little from 15 to 12. We are a diverse group and are very much a family. Our Whatsapp group is a place for us all to share and reach out. Leadership of a small group of believers is an incredibly humbling and privileged thing, the responsibility of which I do not carry lightly. Currently [as of January 2025], we have just completed a 7-session series on Nehemiah, using Selwyn Hughes study guide. All have enjoyed the discussions and have been blessed by them. While we wait to hear what the Lord would like us to do nexL we are going to learn about and pray for the persecuted church [using Open Doors World Watch List]. Registered Charlty: 10525S4 Page 9 of 20 Alsager Community Church AND we still have cake on birthdays - most of which are baked by Rob and are yummy! ! The following was on last years, report and still very much stands: At the beginning of my 'tenure' as leader of this group. I declared Ephesians 2:22 over us all. ..in Him you too [as a group] are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. l also gave a promise, to God, to myself and to the group. "to be a leader who doesn't seek to 'climb the ladder,, but who digs deeper, to be a servant to all". The declaration and promise are still and always will be at the very heart of the wonderful group of brothers and sisters I have the awesome job of leading. We will encourage one another• grow together; and praise our Heavenly Father for all His blessings. Anne Beard's Daytime Life Group Our Friday Life-group meets in ACC every two weeks 10.30 - 12.30..,or whenever we finish. Six to ten people gather in fellowship* prayer and worship as we study God's word. Recent studies have included "The Lord's Prayer" and Contemplative worship relating to Easter and Christmas. Our current study is following a book called "Golden Bowls of Incense." The author describes the purpose of this book, is mainly to inspire more fervent intercession for our nation and encourage us all to pray without ce&sin8. Also to encourage house groups in their role in revival of this nation, The contents cover asking. seeking and loud persistent prayers and draws us to meditate on....... Elijah; Hezekiah. Nehemiah. Abraham; Ananias; Cornelius. Habakkuk and Paul. An exciting and challenging journey through the scriptures. How applicable to our broken world we live in today. We support and care for one another in listening to and praying for our needs as we meet in our life-group and within our WhatsApp group. "Best thing l ever did was coming to ACC and joining a life-group, Leam something each time and will forever be grateful for my church family." 'It is incredible th¢ support you all give.. "We are sharing a journey together. I'm learning all the time, and the love, friendship and support of the group is incredible. The Holy Spirit is guiding us on a journey and there is more to comel" "Life-group has helped me feel a sense of belonging. The Lord has been my only helper in my life, and my broth¢rs and sisters in Christ are very important to me. I'm so grateful that the Lord led us to ACC." 'Thank you, Lord, we can meet in freedom to study your living word and encourage one another." Thank you, Lord, for your faith￿IneSS and your blessings each and every day. Graeme Smith's Life Group The last year has seen several chang¢s to our group. Alan, one of our long-standing members, moved away, but we have been joined by new members. We have moved our meetings from church to a home (thanks Tony and Laura!) And we t¢mporarily moved to Monday evenings during Alpha. But our format has stayed the same - fellowship, fun (weird and wonderful Reglstered Charlty: IOS2554 Page 10 of ZO Alsager Community Church qUi72es), study. sharing and prayer. We have worked through a coutse on Romans by Andrew Ollerton and the Blessings course by Roy Godwin and have just started Max Lucado's "anxious for nothing" course based on Philippians 4.4-9. Mike Keenan's Life Group We meet in Crewe on alternate Wed. mornings commencing l 0.30. The emphasis of the group is fellowship, sharing and prayer so as to encourage &ich other and build up our faith without being too fonnal. Also. if a member of the group has a problem or burden. we are free to share and pray about it. We also spend time in worship with my keyboard as accompanimenL Therefore. we often each bring a passage of scripture to present to the group to study and discuss which always works very well. We have covered a series on the Beatitudes also several studies on the life of David based on an old classic book by Alan Redpath. We have also looked at some of the pardbles of Jesus from the Gospels. We have also had teaching from Dr John Barnett of Calvary Bible Church on YouTube who I can recommend as a sound bible teacher. Other teaching we have had from David Pawson and Brian Broderson. Also, on YouTube we have looked at the Welsh Revival of the earty 20th Century and the effect it had on the communities throughout Wales. Alpha (Janice Bird) Alpha ran from 18th September to 27th November 2024, every Wednesday evening for I I weeks and included an Away Day early November, where we focused on the Holy Spirit. The Away Day was opened up for any members of the congregation who wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit and perhaps experience the Holy Spirit's infilling. One person took advantage of the invitation and reported that they had a wonderful experience. Each Alpha session started with a hot meal which, the guests and team shared together. This enabled us to quickly build up relationship with the guests and likewise enabled the guests to get to know the team better. Various members of the congregation provided meals and some donated cash for the meals which was amazing. Initially there were nine guests signed up for the course but sadly four chose not to continue and one was unable to continue due to ill health. We finished the course with four guests who all gave very positive feedback and said they would recommend the course to others. Three of the guests made a commitment to Jesus and one was baptised with the Holy Spirit. There were nine on the Alpha Team. all amazing and fully committed to making the course happen. We were particularly helped by the prayer team led by Wendy, who met to prdy at church during the Alpha sessions. This pray¢r made a huge difference to the success of the course. A De-brief for the team was held shortly after the course finished and all of the team felt that it was a positive experience and running ftt again in the future should be a Strong consideration. Outreach in the Town (Phil Dabbs) We went out several times during 2024. The first was before Valentine's Day when we gave out chocolate hearts and a credit sized "God loves you" card. We also went out before Easter with ￿Veral other churches for the annual giving out hot cross buns and where we coul(L sharing something of the meaning of Easter. Reglstered Charlty: 1052554 Page ll of 20 Alsager Community Church We then went out before Christmas, giving out chocolates, "Jesus is the Greatest Gift" cards and invitations to our services. On all these occasions we spoke to many people on the streets and visited the local shops and had a great response with very few declining. Praise God that we had many good conversations with people and had the opportunity to discuss faith and pray with some when it was appropriate. Thank you to the team who supported this: Ann& Graeme, John, Peter B and Rob (apologies if I've missed anyone). Thanks also to those who couldn't come but prayed for us. Little Treasures Playgroup (Sarah Humpreys) Firstly? I would like to thank Suzanne for her many years of commiknent and dedication to Little treasures. Through Suzanne's hard work, Little Treasures is known as a well-recognised, well established and above all a well-loved asset of the church and community. We are extremely grateful for all that Suzanne has done over the years and respect that it was a diificult decision to step down from Little Treasures as she has been such an integral part of every Thursday morning. Over the last year Little Treasures has gone through a transition, whilst the structure of the morning remains the same it has naturally evolved. Gin￿ Gemma and I, with additional support from Pete. Nessi4 Phil and Andrew work together to ensure the smi)oth running of Little Treasures. In the summer we were concerned that many of our wonderfvl children were leaving to go to preschool, parents were returning to work and that this would impact on our numbers. However, come September recommendations from our parents ensured we had a full house and before Christmas had 25 children and 30 parents. We have parents and Grandparen￿ who join us weekly, and it is a lovely safe space for children to flourish and thrive, make lasting friendships and for adults to have a welcoming place where they can recharge, share, have a laugh and a chat and make friends. Together we lovingly create a special environmen( we spend time with the adults, the children and getting to know the families better. We tailor and adapt our activities, each week to the children we have and make sure the families feel they can talk to us and tell us if there is anything they need. We have parents who share with us about their children's physically and sensory needs dietary requirements and we ensure that we incorporate support and that their needs are met. Our parents and grandparents regularly share with us how much they love Little Treasures. They say in their words it is ' loving and holistic, a very special place which makes sure all children are included and a treat that they would not miss., We have families Coming to join us from Bradwell, Kidsgrove, and Nantwich as well as Alsager and the local areo and tell us there is nothing else like it. We have had parents express their love of Little Treasures on Facebook and we now have several families which come as a whole family children. Mum and Dad. It is lovely to see that all parents and grnndparents feel so welcome. Many that live in Alsager, will stop us and talk in the street and share their experiences not just of Little Treasures but the joys, and their ups and downs. It is a privilege to be a part of this group. Little treasures enable friendships between adults, as well as children grow, we have grandparents that have started to meet up regularly, parents that also attend other play groups together now. share lunch and play dates and it is lovely to see that parents are now meeting at the church coffee shop. The availability of the card machine has made a difference and also providing our parents with vouchers will hopefully encourage visits to the coffee shop We also frequently provide support to parents on a I . I basis, as we are part of the church. the food bank and have links throughout our Community ensures we are able to connect parents to relevant support swiftly, in a caring manner. Initially, the new car parking charges impacted our attendance, but this seems to have been resolved. Reglstered Charlty: 1052SS4 Page 12 of 20 Alsager Community Church We are confident that the relationship between ourselves and with those that come to Little Treasures will continue to grow. We look forward to an exciting year ahead which as well as providing for our community. Little Treasures continues to lovingly provide a special place for our team. Gin4 Gemma and I feel trnly blessed that we can be apart of this wonderful service, it brings such joy and allows us to personally share and develop our relationships wilh each other, within the church and our community. Below are some comments our parents and grandparents have shared about Little Treasures, 30.01.2025. 'A great place for both the children & mums to mee( chat and play. The story time and snack time is always a hit with the children. Whcn the guitar comes out for song tim< the kids love that!? 'Lovely group and kind to provide toast and a drink., 'Everyon¢ is very welcomin& lovely group., 'Very welcoming and friendly, the children make friends, cater for all ages. Lovely story time and toast and juice tim4 for parents and nanny's to catch up on news. Nicely structured and set up craft table. staff are very friendly., 'Little Treasures is a very friendly playgroup. They are always very welcoming. And are happy to help. Always there for a good chat. And my little girls have all loved playing here and meeting new friends., 'Both of my children have attended Little Treasures, and it has been a great place for them to gain confidence and make new friends., 'Lov¢ly friendly playgroup with lots to keep the children entertained and engaged., 'Little treasures is a friendly environment where children can play safely. The staff are kind and lovely* I've been coming for years.. l am grateful I can come and go as I please, Thank you, 'We love the range of activities little treasures each week and the toast and snacks, Ablaze Youth-Group (Pete Hoivard) We work with Christchurch and Wesley Plac4 two other churches in the town to run a youth group. The group meets at Wesley Place and is very much one youth group among 3 churches. This last 15 months we have seen th¢ group continue to grow, with a progrdmme which includes gam¢& interaction, Biblical teaching and is interspersed with social activities. The programme also regular includes eating meals together and we ran Youth Alpha in the last year and are considering running another this year. Last tenn we looked at Spiritual disciplines from the same book we are currently using for our notices devotions. We are encouraged that some of these young people continue to attend ACC on Sundays and others attend other churches. This year we expandcd with a monthly Sunday morning programme called 'Ablaze on Sundays.. This meeting either at ACC or Christchurch and aims to go deeper than is possible Thursday nights. We are currently looking at the subjects from the Freedom in Christ course. We hope to play a video in our service which was made by the youth speaking about why they enjoy Ablaze and wat they get from IL Reglstered Charlty: 1052554 Page 13 of 20 Alsager Community Church Men's Breakfast Group The first Men's breakfast was held in October and saw I I men join together for fellowship and an introduction to the vision for the group. Meeting every six week4 we've now held three breakfasts in total with around 18 different men attending across the three, both from ACC and outside. The vision for the breakfast and broader men's work is two-fold. To build up men in their faith and then to see that spill out with those men sharing their faith with their friends. To do this we: Use resources from Christian Vision for Men to help encourage men in their own personal journeys with Christ Provide a safe environment with time for men to generally share how they're feeling with those they trust and share opportunities to pray together Encourage ￿ch other to share our faith with our friends and colleagues and broaden our rneetings to include social evenings which will be suitable for inviting friends along to Whist this is a fairly new group we have been encouraged by the number of men that have attended, including those that would rather be having a lie in! It has been such a joy to see men come along who took part in the Alpha cours4 allowing them to mix with other Christian men in an infom)al environment right at the start of their faith journey. Our prayer for the year ahead is that God will unite a strong group of men who feel encouraged through fellowship, are more passionate about their relationship with Jesus and feel more empowered to share that faith with others. Play Church (Pete Howard) From September this year we rebranded and revamped Café Church to create Play Church. This event contained many of the same attributes as Café Church such as craft, worship, t¢a¢hing and food, but increased the play element and made it less fornially structured. We began to have activities in both halls and centred our teaching and worship time around the stage which made it more manageable and focused. The reason for this change is a combination of the fact that a) we didn't think Café Church was really working in its then current forn)at and b) Christchurch launched their own version of a family-based Café Church and we didn't want to create confusion. There was no clash as Christchurch's event ran on a Sunday morning, and although it is now moving to an afternoon slot, it will still be on a different day. Nevertheless, we felt two events of the same name would be confusing for people. The change has been altogether positive with numbers increasing and a great vibe. We have seen this particularly in the last two months (December and January) and we are hoping to build relationships and present the gospel so as to see these families find Jesus and even become part of the church family. Sandbaeh Community Church (Pete Howard) The largest vision action taken by the church since December 2023 has been the establishment of a new church plant in Sandbach working in partnership with Middlewich Community Church. This is the fulfilment of a dream held since my arrival as Pastor of ACC and something we made plans for in our 5-year vision presentation back in 2019. The process towards this has not been the same as we envisaged for a number of reasons, not least Covid 19, but has been realised within the time frame. Reglstered Charlty: 1052554 Page 14 of 20 Alsager Community Church SCC is potentially still the only AOG church, we are aware of, being planted as an equal partnership between two churches. although that may not be correct, as Antony Bhunu (Pastor of Middlewich Community Church) and I, featured heavily at this last year's National Conference (2024) Church Planting presentations where we were interviewed and profiled, in the hopes others may also explore this model. Interestingly, this has also r￿Ulted in our picture being included in the book AOG has published to celebrate its centenary. We launched SCC on 17th March 2024. The launch service was very well attended with over 80 people there. Since then, services have had anything between 14 and 40 in attendance. more recently settling around 20-25. This includes people who would consider Middlewich or Alsager as their primary church but regularly attend to support the work. Some of these live in Sandbach th¢mselves. Most exciting however, is that there is a small group of people (around 8) who now consider SCC to be their home church and who are beginning to take responsibility for the life of the church. Since our launch we have met consistently at 4pm every Sunday including over the Christmas period. Wc continue to keep things simple, with a single musician or use of 'ising' when this is not possible. Preaching is run on a rota (as with both ACC and MCC) and followed by refreshments. In addition, we have started a small group (Life-group) meeting fortnightly and at time of writing are establishing a prayer chain by email. Over this year, we have also run a church outreach picnic, opened the venue for coffee and connection on the Sunday during the town transport festival (the main community event), and held our carol service. At time of writing, the vision for ycar 2 is still in prayer and discussion but we rnay well be looking to the Lord to help us. Establish local leadership including possibly a primary leader (Pastor) See some families come into the church (as well as olhers) See our first salvations Begin a regular outreach project of some kind and possibly run an Alpha, ACC take responsibility for managing SCC'S finances Signed on behalf of the Church Council and Trustees REV PETE HOWARD Dated: 14 April 2025 Reglstered Charlty: IOS2554 PaBe 15 of 20 Alsager Community Church Inde endent Examiners Re ort on the Recei ts and Pa ment Accounts To the Trustecslmembers of Alsager Community Church, Registered Charity 1052554, on the accounts for the year ending 31%t August 2024, set out on pages 17 to 18. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the reqiiiremenls of the Charities Acl 2011 ("'thc Act"). 'I"l)e charity's Irustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (as per Act Accounls and Audit Order 2015 SI ?015 No.3?1) so that an indepcndcnl exainination is needed and the accounts are to be prcparcd on a receipts and payinents basis. It is my responsibi lily to: Examine ihe accounts (linder seclion 145 0l.lhc Act): Follow ihc proccdurcs laid down in the General Direclions givcn by ihc Chariiy Coinini.ssion (undcr seclion 145 (5) (b) ofthe Act; and State whether any particular Inalters have come lo my altenlion Basis of the independent examiner's report My examination was carricd out in accordance with the General Directions gyiven by the Charity Commissioners. An exainination includes a review of the accountingj records kepi by the charity and a coinparison of the accounls prescnlcd wilh Ihcsc rccords. It also includes consider¢ilion of any iinusual itcins or disclosurcs in the accouiits, and .scekin&y explanalions from the trLlStees concerning) such mallers. 'I"he procedures undertaken do not providc all thc cvidcncc that would be required in an audit, and consequcntly I do not express an audit opinion on thc view given by ihe accounts. Independent examiner's statement In conneclion wilh my examination, no iiiatlcr has comc to my attention.. ( l ) which gives mc rcasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the rcquireinents to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 ofthe Act, and to prepare accoLinls which accord with the accoiinting records and coillply with the accoiinting rcqLiiremcnl.s of the Act and the Siatcmcnl of Rccoiiimcndcd Practicc for accoLinling and rcporlingr by Charities Financial Reporting Siandard l.'IIS102 havc iiot bccn Incl: or (2) to which, in Iny opinion, altcntion should be drawn in order to enablc propcr understandingF of the accoiinls to be rcachcd. Signed Ih Dalc 14 April 2025 Paul Barnsley B.A. (Eco Hons), .C.A., F.T.C.L. (Chartered Accountanl) Heart Notes Ministri sefield Road, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, Cheshire, SK8 SPF Telephone 0161485 3088 Registered Charity: 1052554 aul heartnotes.or Page 16 of 20 Alsager Community Church INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT Note Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Funds Total Funds 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 Church Income Offerings Gift Aid Offerings Tax RecO￿red Gift Aid Accounts Interest Other Income Room Hi Subtotsl Church Income 19,267.15 24.037.00 7,963.47 378.59 150.00 11.112.00 62,908.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,347.89 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.209.23 0.00 3.557.12 20,615.04 24,037.00 7,963.47 378.59 2.359.23 11.112.00 66.465.33 14,068.99 30,519.00 7,981.55 38.24 8,476. 15 10,655. 50 71,739.43 Coffee Shop Total Takings Cost ol Goods for ￿sale General Expenses Subtotal Coffee Shop Net 9,866.26 13.938.651 1200 251 5,727.36 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 o.oo 9,866.26 13,368.12 13,938.651 14,208.341 1200 251 124.351 5,727.36 9,135.43 0.00 NET INCOME church and coffoe shop 68,835.57 0.00 3,557.12 72,192.69 80,874.86 Church Expenditurè Pastors Salary Church Ministry Costs Missions Building Running Costs Building Capital CostslRefiJbishment Subtotal church expenditure 135,439.081 117,491.511 14,228.221 119.187.621 175.991 176,422.421 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,00 135,439.081 134,356.581 130.001 {17.521.511 117.653.881 0.00 14,228.221 16,890.111 1380.001 119.567.621 117,600. 251 11.509 001 11,584.991 0.00 11.919. 001 178,341.421 176,500.821 SURPLUSIIDEFICIT) for church 17,786.851 0.00 1,638.12 16,148.731 4,374.04 ALSAGER FOODBANK Foodbank Income Donaliong regular Donations irregular Donations - gift aid foodbank Tax reclaim Gift aid claim b¢xlbank Subtotal Foodbank Income 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 000 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 12,845,49 1,460. 75 1,135.00 266.73 15,707.97 12,845.49 1.460. 75 1,135.00 266.73 15,707.97 10.669.00 3,007.00 1.960.00 170.37 15,806.37 Foodbank Expenses Food Purchases ACSC Rent Mobile Phone Costs Subtotal Foodbank Expenses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 134,415.261 134,415.261 117,382.571 0.00 1600.001 1600.00} 0.00 0.00 197.591 197.59} 1110 211 0,00 135,112.851 135, 112.851 117,492. 781 SURPLUSIIDEFICITI for Foodbank 0.00 0. 00 119,404.881 119,404.881 11.686.411 ALSAGER SUPPORT CENTRE Donations Tax claimed on gift aid Adminislralion Salaries Adminislralion Pensions Hardship fvjnd payments Building running other costs ReceipVIRepaymenll of fvnds ex ASC SURPLUSIIDEFICITI for Support Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 415.00 61.10 13.797.001 1195.791 0.00 14,971.001 0.00 63.40 233 12 117,678. 051 233. 12 126,102. 341 0.00 0.00 0.00 233.12 233.12 GRAND TOTAL SURPLUSIIDEFICITI 17,786.851 0.00 117,533.641 125.320.491 123,414.711 Registered Charity: 1052554 Page 17 of 20 Alsager Community Church Note Unrestricted Designated Restricted Totsl Funds Total Funds 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 STATEMENT OF INCOME Sunday Offering & Donations Gift Aid Offerings Tax RecO￿red - Gift Aids Accounts Interest Room Hire Other Income Coffee Shop Takings Alsager SupF)Ort Centfe Income Alsager Fo¢)Jbank Income Grants TOTAL INCOME 19.267.15 24.037. 7.963.47 378.59 11,112.00 150.00 9.866.26 1.347.89 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 209_23 0.00 0.00 15.707.97 2.000.00 19.265.09 20.615.04 24,037.00 7.963.47 378 59 11,112.00 359.23 9.866.26 0.00 15.707.97 2.000.00 92.039.56 14,068.99 30,519.00 7.981. 55 3824 10.655.50 8.476 15 13,368.12 476.10 15.8t%.37 0.00 101.390.02 72,774.47 0.00 STATEME￿ OF EXPENDITURE PaslorlAdministralors Salary Costs Church Ministry Costs Missions Building Running Costs Building CapilallRefrubishment Costs Alsager Support Centre Costs Running cost Coffee Shop Cost of Goods for resale General Expenses Alsager Foodbank Expenditure TOTAL EXPENDITURE 135.439.08) 117.491.51) {4.228.22) 119, 187.62} 175.99) O.IXI 135,439.081 134.356.581 130.001 {17.521.511 117,653.881 14,228.221 I6.8￿.11) 1380.001 (19,567.621 {17,600.251 11,509.001 11,584.991 0.00 0.00 0.00 233.12 233. 12 {26.578.441 {3.938.65) 12C(J.251 13,938.651 14,208.341 0.00 1200.251 124.351 0.00 135.112.851 13S.112 851 117.492.781 0.00 136,798.731 1117.360 051 1124,804 731 180.561. 321 TOTAL SURPLUSI(DEFICIT) for year Opening Funds Transfers inllout) TOTAL CLOSING NEf FUNDS 17.786.851 26.781.07 0.00 117. 533.641 125. 320 491 123.414 711 36.000.00 39.683.54 102.464 61 125.879.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 22,149.90 77,144.12 102,464.61 18,994 22 36.000.00 Breakdown of Fund balances General ReseThes Slardusl Sandbach church Alsager Support Centre Unforseen cost ReseThe CF14SH lime Alsager Food Bank Totsl Fund balances 18.994.22 18.994.22 26,781.07 491 00 0.00 1.147 12 0.00 0.00 1233. 121 36,0￿.00 36,000.00 2.396 57 2,396.57 18.11521 37.520.09 77,144.12 102.464.61 491.00 1.147.12 0.00 0.00 36,000.00 2.396.57 18,115.21 22,149.90 0.00 18,994.22 36.000.00 REPRESENTED BY Cash in Hand Current Account Samngs Account Tolal Net Assets 368.90 291.12 42.301.55 68.078.41 34.473.67 34,095.08 77. 144.12 102,464.61 Registered Charity: 1052554 Page 18 of 20 Alsager Community Church NOTFS TO THE Accoupirs Unrn*letéd De4gn•ted R¢•trlctsd Totsl Funds Total Fund8 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 1. Other Income Funeral contributions Little Treasures Contributions fDr pastor In lrnining AOG Ukraine & Earthquake Appeals Contribution$ from Middl8vAch church for SaThdbach Grnnts - Cooker ex S8lnsbury8 Sundry Other Income Subtotal Otherlnwn• 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 150.00 150.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 209.23 2,000.00 0.00 2.209.23 208.00 45.95 6,1))O.00 2.050.(10 209.23 2,000.00 150.00 2.359.23 174.20 8.476. 15 l Room Hlrn Slimmlrva Worfd 6.510.00 1.862.(K) 2,269.00 75.00 156.00 0.00 6,510.00 1.862.C 2,269.C4) 75.00 1&8.00 6,160.00 1,957.50 638. Rhythm Tlme Sundry Hlrn8 Guild of SpinneT8 & Weaw8 Che8hlre Carers OKerhead8 Charge Support Centre Cheshlre East Polling St8tlon Subtotal Room Hlrn 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,00 0.00 492.00 208.1)0 1,200.00 240.00 11,112.00 240.00 11,112.¢XI 10,655.50 3. Church Mlnlty Co Mln18try G1ft8 - Visitlng Spther4 Mini8try Expenses Minlstry Re80urce8 Admlni8trnlion Salaries 1.400.00 0.00 0.00 1,400.00 948.22 273.58 12.812.48 1,000.00 1,814.60 436.61 12,962.38 273.58 12.812.48 É iiiii Communion Expenses Copyright Licence Childrens Church Child Protection Ath80ry SeThlc88 Website Costs Chri8tma8 COSt8 Alpha Youth Group CRASH Tlme {m￿Y Church) FI0￿rn, Glfts and Presentations Publicity and Ad￿rtIsIng CVS Cheshlre Pastoral Team Co#ts Data Proteclion Registration Sandbach Community Church expenses Subtotal Church Mlnlsty Co 31.67 552.72 52.20 235.48 31.67 552.72 52.20 235.48 22.00 454.05 172.58 240.40 0.00 40.00 0.00 19.40 64.41 180.28 180.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 224.30 10.00 224.30 0.00 0.00 35.00 733.58 17,491.51 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 328.59 34.87 50.00 35.00 0.00 17,653.88 35.CQ 763.58 17,521.51 30.00 30.00 Ml88lon8 Hope Uganda IHDCC} AOG Annual OffedryJ AOG NW & M Region AOG Ukraine Appeal Liiing Hope Ministries Andy Cannon UC8 Subtotal MIS￿on8 750.00 1.200.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 750.00 1,21JJ.72 750.00 1.200.72 I,01￿.00 2,049.39 900.00 750.00 240.00 6.890.11 1,287.50 750.00 240.00 4.228.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.287.50 750.00 240.00 4.228.22 Reglstered Charity: 1052554 Page 19 of 20 Alsager Community Church NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS confd Unrestricted De￿gnated Restricted Total Funds Total Funds 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 5. Building Running Costs Carelakerlcleaners Pay Carpet Cleaning Cleaning Materials and Window Cleaning Office Telephone and Broadband Computer Soflware and consumables Office Prinlerlcopier Postage and Slalionery Insurance Gas Electricity Water Rates SITA Wheely Bin Charges Accountant Ilndependent examinalionl Equipment Purchases Sundry Admin expenses General Maintenance Fire Extinguisher Maintenance Gas Boiler SeNcin9 Legal and Professional fees Hire of Premises for Sandbach Church Recokery of healing costs from Foodbank Subtotal Building Running Costs 6,770.40 0.00 0.00 623.62 408.74 515.10 17.36 0.00 1,454.20 3,215.64 721.97 1,221.45 1,450.00 1,181.90 9.95 964.49 75.60 115.00 1,042.20 0.00 1600 001 19,187.62 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 D.00 0.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6,770.40 6,188.00 89.99 27.72 409.26 426.74 409.21 85.68 2,192.35 997.42 3,144.15 609.14 1,054.55 796.50 578.07 61.16 530.31 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 17,600. 25 623.62 408.74 515.10 17.36 1,454.20 3,215.64 721.97 1,221.45 1,450.00 1,181.90 9.95 964.49 75.60 115.00 1,042.20 380.00 1600 001 19,567.62 0.00 0.00 380.00 0.00 380.00 6. Bullding Capitsl CosWRefublshment Café Re￿rb4shMenI Subtotal Building Capltal cOst￿Re1Ub1shMent 75.99 75.99 0.00 0.00 1,509.00 1,509.00 1,584.99 1,584.99 0.00 0.00 6. Fund Movements General Subtotal Unrestricted funds Hardship Toilets Reno￿ation Unforseen cost Reser Subtotal Designated funds Special Treasures Building Church re￿rbIShme￿t Stardust Sandbach Church Alsager Support Centre CRASH time (Messy Church) Gi*-Back Grant Alsager Food Bank Subtotal Restricted funds Grand Total All Funds Balance Clfvid Balance Blfvrfd 18,994.22 26,781.07 18,994.22 26,781.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36,000.00 36,000.00 36,000.00 36,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 491.00 0.00 1,147.12 0.00 0.00 1233.121 2,396.57 2,396.57 10.001 10.001 18,115.21 37,520.09 22,149.90 39,683.54 77,144.12 102.464.61 Income Expenditure 73,374.47 181,161.321 73,374.47 (81,161.321 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 ooo 0.00 0.00 0.00 Transfers 0.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,000.00 1,557.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 15,707.97 19,265.09 92,639.56 0.00 0.00 0.00 11,509.00} {410.00} 233.12 0.00 0.00 {35.112. 851 (36,798.731 (117,960.05} 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Registered Charity." 1052554 Page 20 of 20