The Gateway Church @ Leek Trustees Report
Year ending 31 December 2024
The Gateway Church @ Leek: Registered charity No. 1052556 (In fellowship with the Assemblies of God)
Charity objects:
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i. The advancement of the Christian religion by the proclamation and furtherance of the gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ the Lord and the preaching and teaching of the word of God by the church in accordance with the statement of fundamental truths of the Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Ireland as approved by the general council from time to time (the statement).
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ii. Such other charitable purposes as shall further the attainment of the above objects of the church or any of them.
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iii. The furtherance of the other charitable work of the church consistently with the statement.
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iv. The furtherance of the work of Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Ireland and the promotion of the spiritual teaching and the maintenance of the statement and promotion of religious observances that manifest the statement.
Over the last year the church has sort to fulfil the objects in the following ways: -
In 2024 we had a conference that celebrated 93 years as a church in Leek. This year we were pleased to have Glyn Barrett, the national leader of AoGGB as well as Danny Murphy who is also on the national leadership team. Through our ongoing connection with Arena Church Ilkeston, we were able to have Kristian Thorpe from that church.
The church meets Once on a Sunday at 10.30am where we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and teach the word of God to all who attend. At the morning service we also give every opportunity to all who come along to worship and take communion together as a community of believers. We have a membership of 42 adults with about 75 people who regularly attend church.
This year we, again, did a Sunday morning family/all age service on a Sunday morning. We ran 3 of these events run by the various children’s ministry teams in the church.
2024 saw us continue an event called “What’s the Story?” This is an event aimed at bringing the good news of Jesus Christ through music, personal stories and teaching in an informal setting that is open to everyone in the community.
We have a ministry team of 8 members who discuss & agree upon the teaching themes for each month and a number of people within our fellowship who take responsibility for teaching and preaching, and we also had input from regular visiting speakers as well as a visit from the missions organisations Open Doors, local anti-trafficking ministry Voice of Hope and Cornelia Emmerick a missionary from Brazil.
On a Tuesday evening, we hold our church bible study/prayer meeting where we come together to pray for any church, local community and global needs and we also go deeper into learning from the bible. Also, all our members are encouraged to attend our fortnightly Connect groups which take place in host houses and the church café and are a place for pastoral care and mutual spiritual growth.
The Gateway Church @ Leek Trustees Report
Year ending 31 December 2024
On the first Saturday morning of every month we have a men's breakfast where we seek to grow together in our faith & practice of Christianity. We also have a separate monthly ladies breakfast for the same reasons. The ladies also have quarterly coffee mornings for fellowship & instruction from the scriptures.
Throughout the week we open the church to provide activities and services for the community. The church runs a mother and toddler groups on a Wednesday morning that is open to all and has an attendance of approximately 20 toddlers plus parents/guardians, and on a Friday evening we provide two children's clubs that are open to all young people between the ages of 4 - 8 years and 9- 13 years. At these groups we promote a safe environment where young people can grow and learn together in appropriate year groups. The activities at these clubs are designed to promote mutual respect, teamwork and our personal worth and value to God and we also promote and teach the word of God relevantly by various means and overall approximately 50 young people attend. All our children's & youth workers are DBS checked.
We have developed a close relationship with our umbrella organisation at the Assemblies of God in the form of local area ministers’ meetings, Zone meetings, area and national events. Additional to this we are in a partnership for leadership development with a larger church in Ilkeston. Through this partnership we attend 3 in person events per year.
We have had a number of new people attending church as well as new members.
We support several missionary activities around the world and in the UK. We again had a visit in the year from the organisation "Open Doors" that seeks to raise awareness of the plight of Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They spoke to us about this and encouraged us to support the persecuted church in prayer and through other practical means. We have a visit once a year and also in "in-house" presentation on the work of "Open Doors" presented by all members' from our missions’ department 6 months after their visit.
Other notable events were the church leading a local Christian service in the town square called “Club Day”.
Quiz nights and church walks were added to the life of the fellowship too, as well as other family events.
The Church contributes to Christian mission overseas supporting a variety of organisations, individuals and work in such places as Eastern Europe, Brazil, Israel, Asia, Russia and Africa. These works all include the advancement of the Christian faith as well as providing relief work against poverty and disaster, Education, care of orphans, building homes and community facilities and information services.
Over the last year we have continued to make our building available for the furtherance of the local Foodbank and they use a few rooms in our building as their warehouse and distribution centre. This Foodbank is run under the umbrella of The Trussell Trust and has continually served needy people in
The Gateway Church @ Leek
Trustees Report
Year ending 31 December 2024
our community throughout the year. The Foodbank also has close working relationships with many of the professional services in our community.
Signed by the Trustees
Paul Sherwin - (Chairman) Cristian Tudosie
Beka Lees David Smith
Profit and Loss
The Gateway Church
For the year ended 31 December 2024
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Account 2024
Turnover
Designated income - Little Treasures 858.85
Designated income - Missions 7,315.50
Gift Aid 7,549.22
Interest Income 186.61
Other Revenue 25,885.00
Tithes and offerings 70,357.01
Total Turnover 112,152.19
Cost of Sales
Direct Expenses 1,220.79
Direct Wages 19,721.70
Visiting preachers 1,745.00
Total Cost of Sales 22,687.49
Gross Profit 89,464.70
Administrative Costs
Advertising & Marketing 3,167.37
Audit & Accountancy fees 1,470.50
Cleaning 2,254.98
Consulting 131.25
Missions 13,069.20
Food and drink 2,374.90
General Expenses 30.99
Insurance 2,750.93
IT Software and Consumables 1,770.39
Legal Expenses 2,012.53
Light, Power, Heating 14,533.32
Postage, Freight & Courier 44.75
Printing & Stationery 80.57
Water Rates 1,584.55
Repairs & Maintenance 57,082.89
Staff Training 646.20
Subscriptions 1,820.00
Telephone & Internet 546.88
Travel - National 1,169.45
Total Administrative Costs 106,541.65
Operating Profit (17,076.95)
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Funds Analysis
Balance Sheet
The Gateway Church As at 31 December 2024
The Gateway Church As at 31 December 2024
| Account Tangible Assets Buildings - West Street Property Computer Equipment Contents Less Accumulated Depreciation on Computer Equipment Less Accumulated Depreciation on Contents Less Accumulated Depreciation on Plant and Machinery Plant & Machinery Total Tangible Assets |
31 Dec 2024 Building Fund Church 250,000.00 Coffee Bar 5,066.95 Creche 77,451.85 Emergency Need Fund (4,506.17) Gateway Kids (70,980.65) Lion Club (309.60) Little Treasures 2,175.57 Missions - C Felix 258,897.95 Missions - Emericks 258,897.95 Missions - Feba Missions - General Missions - J & C Missions - J & PG 0.00 Missions - L/Russia 45,618.41 Missions - Open Doors 13,172.32 Missions - Sat 7 58,790.73 Missions - Christmas 58,790.73 Missions - B Wilson Reserves Restricted funds 47,775.24 Room Hire 1,014.95 Source 530.65 Zone 81.20 (0.07) (0.20) Total 49,401.77 9,388.96 268,286.91 (10.00) (10.00) 268,296.91 (17,076.95) 285,373.86 268,296.91 |
13,916.77 25,644.89 430.62 1.53 246.00 273.65 - 267.69 - 656.31 96.12 593.10 - 2,087.09 80.00 - 35.12 1,212.12 - 1,665.00 50.00 11,477.23 50.00 665.00 44.41 - 313.57 58,634.72 |
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| Cash at bank and in hand Cash Current Account Reserve Deposit Account Total Cash at bank and in hand |
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| Accounts Payable Cash PAYE Payable Pensions Payable Rounding Wages Payable - Payroll |
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| Net Current Assets (Liabilities) | ||
| Total Assets less Current Liabilities | ||
| Loan | ||
| Net Assets | ||
| Current Year Earnings Retained Earnings |
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Members/Trustees of The Gateway Church, Leek, Staffordshire.
I report on the accounts for the period ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages …… to ……
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner -
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: J Alexander Name: John Alexander ACMA CGMA Address: 12, Cosby Drive, East Leake, Loughborough, LE12 6AD Date: 14 April 2025