## **Southern Light Community Church**
## **Annual Report of Trustees 2020 Financial Year**
None of us could have imagined in December 2019 what the following year would hold. The pandemic and lockdown brought immense challenges to our world and community which the Church had to step up and play its part in addressing — no part of our lives and ministries was untouched by the crisis. And so we’re immensely grateful to God and the generous giving, dedication and commitment of our members to report that in a year when many charities and churches were reporting significant falls in income, our income rose year on year and we were able to retain a positive balance, with our income of £46,223.16 exceeding expenditure of £45,837.64 by just under £400.
As can be seen from the statement of income and expenditure, Sunday offerings and activity income both fell significantly (by approximately half) but this was more than compensated for by a generous increase of approximately £10,000 in direct giving. Costs increased too, with the exception of utilities bills which fell largely because the building was used less frequently. There were three main reasons for this: one, we made a conscious decision to proactively increase our giving to international missions, given the global pandemic and pursuant economic crisis. We gave approximately £7,800 to our missions partners, amounting to about 17% of our expenditure (up from approximately 10% the year before). Two, the move to online worship required the purchase of additional equipment and software subscriptions at a cost of approximately £5,000 throughout the year. Three, our commitment to caring for those in our own community who were struggling increased exponentially, with food bank costs rising from, for example, £58 in February to over £600 in October, supported by generous designated giving from church members and friends and partners in the wider community.
Community and in-person church activities reduced significantly throughout the year, for obvious reasons, but the church’s global impact and the contribution it makes to our community both increased equally significantly. We believe this is not in the least due to our conscious decision to increase our giving as a church and commitment to bless and serve the world directly outside our windows as well as those at the other side of the planet who are struggling.
It is again gratifying to note that some 2/3rds of our regular giving continues to be Gift Aided. The gift aid tax refund claimed from HMRC added substantially to our income in the 2021 financial year.
In all, we believe these accounts show the Trustee’s ongoing commitment to managing the church effectively and supporting its projects, and we are grateful to you all for your generosity, commitment and support and to God for his blessing.
Respectfully submitted,
Professor Andrew Davies Chairman of Trustees 28 October 2021
## Southern Li ht Communit Church g y
Income and Expenditure by Category, 2020
## INCOME
|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|
|---|---|
|**Regular members’ giving (Gift Aided)**|£
24,025.00 £
17,936.50 £
13,216.89|
|**Regular members' giving (non Gift Aided)**|£
8,069.00 £
4,646.00 £
3,172.00|
|**Sunday oferings**|£
4,316.01 £
7,544.65 £
5,000.34|
|**Special gifts**|£
80.00 £
3,876.00 £
1,670.00|
|**Activity Income**|£
5,822.67 £
9,922.58 £
7,020.68|
|**Gift Aid repayment**|£
0.00 £
0.00 £
5,177.19|
|**Miscellaneous Income**|£
3,899.72 £
1,091.66 £
88.66|
|**Savings interest**|£
10.76 £
13.84 £
8.72|
|**TOTAL INCOME**
**£**
**46,223.16**
**£**
**45,031.23**
**£**
**35,354.48**||
## EXPENDITURE
|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|
|---|---|
|**Church Ministry and Missions**|£
25,423.67 £
19,877.45 £
16,759.97|
|**Building and Equipment**|£
13,136.44 £
12,898.89 £
7,426.09|
|**Utilities**|£
2,373.86 £
2,954.11 £
1,928.39|
|**Community Activities**|£
2,692.12 £
1,407.06 £
1,261.55|
|**Administration**|£
2,097.80 £
1,946.70 £
356.95|
|**Misc**|£
113.75 £
952.66 £
15.48|
|**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**£**
**45,837.64**
**£**
**40,036.87**
**£**
**27,748.43**||
## BALANCES
|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|
|---|---|
|**Year Start Current Account Balance**|£
4,510.67 £
2,235.60 £
1,345.58|
|**Year Start Savings Balance**|£
12,050.35 £
9,489.61 £
2,700.83|
|**Year Start Cash Balance**|£
300.87 £
128.48 £
201.13|
|**Year End Current Account Balance**|£
5,733.78 £
4,510.67 £
2,235.60|
|**Year End Savings Balance**|£
10,761.11 £
12,050.35 £
9,489.61|
|**Year End Cash Balance**|£
743.28 £
300.87 £
128.48|
|**EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE**
**£**
**385.52**
**£**
**4,994.36**
**£**
**7,606.05**||
1
## Southern Li ht Communit Church g y
Income and Expenditure by Month, 2020
## MONTHLY INCOME
|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|
|---|---|
|**January**|£
2,795.36 £
2,165.94 £
7,128.06|
|**February**|£
3,596.54 £
3,140.46 £
1,743.76|
|**March**|£
5,107.36 £
4,250.82 £
1,751.78|
|**April**|£
2,100.97 £
2,755.31 £
2,790.93|
|**May**|£
3,911.65 £
5,127.98 £
1,839.97|
|**June**|£
3,385.86 £
4,409.55 £
5,658.53|
|**July**|£
2,660.09 £
5,016.00 £
2,236.23|
|**August**|£
2,995.09 £
2,303.80 £
2,299.03|
|**September**|£
4,075.09 £
3,580.74 £
2,714.88|
|**October**|£
6,595.09 £
3,562.27 £
2,883.07|
|**November**|£
3,535.22 £
4,123.68 £
1,981.48|
|**December**|£
5,464.84 £
4,594.68 £
2,326.86|
|**TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME**
**£**
**46,223.16**
**£**
**45,031.23**
**£**
**35,354.58**||
## MONTHLY EXPENDITURE
|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|**2020**
**2019**
**2018**|
|---|---|
|**January**|£
3,922.98 £
3,981.65 £
2,985.76|
|**February**|£
3,217.37 £
3,309.56 £
1,844.52|
|**March**|£
4,999.07 £
2,373.31 £
1,588.14|
|**April**|£
5,728.90 £
6,220.89 £
2,379.45|
|**May**|£
3,287.98 £
2,268.87 £
1,744.54|
|**June**|£
2,522.08 £
2,834.99 £
1,595.74|
|**July**|£
2,369.74 £
2,436.67 £
2,166.05|
|**August**|£
4,016.98 £
2,154.18 £
2,552.99|
|**September**|£
3,669.59 £
2,525.62 £
4,496.05|
|**October**|£
3,361.74 £
3,775.06 £
1,759.61|
|**November**|£
4,758.38 £
4,079.30 £
2,319.37|
|**December**|£
3,982.83 £
4,076.77 £
2,316.21|
|**TOTAL ANNUAL EXPENDITURE**
**£**
**45,837.64**
**£**
**40,036.87**
**£**
**27,748.43**||
2
75 Ridgmount Gardens London WC1E 7AX
29 October 2021
To Whom It May Concern:
I certify that I have examined the accounts for Southern Light Community Church for the financial year ending 31 December 2020 and that they have been completed to my satisfaction.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Maryyum Mehmood