Bethel Christian Fellowship, West Bromwich. Charity No. 1052751
Annual Report for the year to 31[st] December 2024
The Church Council present their report for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
Administrative Information.
The members of the Church Council during the year were;
Daniel Cherian: Senior Minister & Council Member. Peter Kay: Church Elder, Administrator & Holding Trustee Haydn Sharman Church Elder, Treasurer & Holding Trustee Dennis Simpson Council Member & Holding Trustee Wayne Harris Council Member & Holding Trustee
Malcolm Hannah resigned his position as a Council Member & Holding Trustee in January 2024.
Church Council members and Holding Trustees are appointed by Pastor Daniel Cherian, Peter Kay and Haydn Sharman (Spiritual Leadership of the Church) in consultation with the Church Council.
The Charity was established by Trust Deed dated 29[th] September 1995 by the Bethel Christian Fellowship Church Council, and is registered with the Charity Commission, No 1052751.
The charity’s address is, Gads Lane, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B70 8QL.
Objectives.
Bethel Christian Fellowship Mission Statement .
For all people to Glorify God, through knowing Christ, becoming like Christ and making Christ known
Bethel Christian Fellowship is established to provide Pentecostal fellowship for those of like faith, to proclaim and further the Gospel of God concerning his Son Jesus Christ, to consolidate converts in their faith, to maintain a place of worship for the meeting of believers, the solemnisation of marriages, funerals, the dedication of infants together with providing caring ministries and social assistance.
The charity is affiliated to The Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is a member of the Evangelical Alliance. The Church is also a Network Church of The All Nations Movement, Wolverhampton
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Staff.
The charity is currently staffed by five part time employees. Laura Smith and Andrew Jones began their employment in April 2024. A large team of church member volunteers undertake everything from church cleaning to conducting church services. The charity is heavily dependant on this voluntary help continuing in order to achieve its objectives in the future.
Pastoral Care.
Pastoral Care continues to be carried out mainly via phone calls to the membership on a regular basis by the Community Pastor and his wife. We continue to ensure the most vulnerable members of the congregation received a visit.
Residents from the community who request a Pastoral visit are able to access this service. Those congregants who request communion are also visited and those who are housebound are visited on request. The website and mobile apps enable congregants to keep in touch with church life. The Pastor along with the two Church Elders are able to carry out visits as and when necessary.
Activities and Performance.
The Leadership are fully committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at the church and become part of our church community at Bethel Christian Fellowship. The services and worship enable people to put their faith into practice through prayer, bible ministry, music, and fellowship.
The weekly Church Services are conducted by the Spiritual Leadership of the Church assisted by members of the Church Council, members of the congregation and occasionally the Leadership seek the help of ministers from Churches within the locality to minister. This means that the congregation received a full and varied range of preaching styles and topics.
The church’s activities are concentrated on the area immediately surrounding the church with the building being used throughout the week for a range of activities that the Leadership trust the community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling.
These activities include Communion and Gospel Outreach Services, Bible Study, Prayer Times and Children’s Activities for 3-11-year olds. A ten-week Alpha Course was held for people to discover more about the Christian faith, followed by a “Bible Study” course to help attendees to discover more about the bible and its origins. The Church also organised an outing to Southport that was very well attended by various members of the membership and nonmembers from the community.
The Toddler and Parent/Carer group and “A Place of Welcome “group are both proving to be very popular. The tri-annual services at our local care home continues. The church is actively involved in mission and outreach work.
We contribute to the local food bank as well as helping casual visitors to the church who seek help and assistance in emergency circumstances.
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The Church Hall is used on weekday afternoons by a neighbourhood after school club “Woodys” and again the leadership see this as a great way to connect with the community.
The Slovak Church also use our building on a Saturday afternoon for their weekly service.
The Church took part in the Rotary Club’s Christmas Shoe Box Appeal for Eastern Europe.
The various departments of the church continue to attract a limited interest from the local housing estates that surround the church, although special events always attract extra people. The Harvest Festival was well attended, and a collection of food was given to the local Food Bank. The Bright & Light event (alternative Halloween) was also well attended. The Christmas programme was full and varied; the main Carol Service was very well attended by both church members and the local community. A community “Breakfast with Santa” for pre-senior school children was a huge success. The Church was used for baby blessing services and several funeral services.
The Leadership seek to be actively involved in mission and outreach work and the Church Council believe these activities meet the Commissions guidance on public benefit.
Membership.
Church numbers we believe has remained stable in line with the National trend. With an ageing congregation, we continue to look for numerical growth, especially amongst younger people, to sustain the church going into the future, both financially and spiritually.
Mission.
We continue to support the various projects for orphaned children in both Zambia and India. We continue to support other individuals in foreign mission’s work. We also contribute to foreign aid appeals.
The church members contribute regularly to the West Bromwich Food Bank, an organisation that feeds the underprivileged in West Bromwich.
The Church Building.
The Church Council ensure that building is kept in excellent state of general repair.
Electrical lighting upgrades were carried out in the main hall (stage area). The kitchen was refurbished to meet current hygiene requirements.
The Church House. The tenants vacated the property in October – repairs and redecoration were carried out. New tenants are due to over the lease in January 2025
No serious incidents were recorded.
Finances.
To comply with current employment law, the employees are enrolled into a Pension Scheme
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The church continues to promote Paypal as an avenue for electronic donations.
The Annual General Meeting was held on 5th November 2024.
No income was received from either professional or commercial fundraisers. No income was received from Government contracts. The Church Council monitor its Financial Controls.
Treasurers Report.
Tithes and Offerings decreased by 2.09% we still give God the glory for the faithful giving but, recognise that if the giving keeps decreasing, we will have to look at ways to cut our overall spending. The new methods of payment continue to be in place. The main giving streams continue to be online, bank standing order, and the donation box in the main hall. We have continued to promote giving via Paypal and there is also a donation page via Paypal with the link available on our website.
Sundry income increased once more by 9.9% which includes £5750.00 of donations from Woody’s After School Club who use our facilities, Gift Aid receipts of £6281.08 and a wedding donation of £400. The Slovak church donated £3125.16.
The church house provided a rental income of £6,400 this is slightly lower than expected due to our tenant moving out in October.
Salaries increased by 8.71% for our employees totalling £36,670.18, this is mainly due to the rise in minimum wage regulations for employees and taking inflation into account. We continue to have 5 part-time members of staff on our books.
Outreach costs totalled £2093.54 and included Gifts £281.99 (these include special birthdays, anniversaries and get-well items). Breakfast with Santa parents and children were charged for entry and this successful event financed itself. Other significant expenditure was the trip to Southport again financing itself and was a very successful family outreach event. Other events included the ladies Afternoon Tea, again this was a great outreach for family and friends.
Lighting and heating increased by a smaller margin of 7% from last year which accords with the present economic climate of increasing costs in this area. The Electricity is in the process of being fixed for 3 years. This should help keep any increases in the future to a small percentage. We are aware of the increases and the effect this has on our funds we will continue to monitor.
A net loss of £16,631.00 was made overall, but this is largely attributable to the legacy payment received in 2023’s figures (see elsewhere). Without the benefit of this, a net loss of £36,689 would have resulted in 2023. Much of this is due to increased cost of the minimum wage, pensions and the continued high cost of energy which the energy alone increased by 7.7% over the 12month period. Rates and insurances rose by 15% over the 12-month month period. Youth and Children's work expenditure rose by 57%, these increases will be closely monitoring during 2025 and 2026.
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During 2024 a number of smaller maintenance jobs were carried out. total of £12592.15 was spent on repairs and Maintenace to the church and the church house. a full breakdown is available if required. This is the lowest figure in the past 4 years. We continued to pay All Nations £1,200 for the year for their support with Pastor Dan and Anna. The church also purchased a new guitar and speaker which totalled £613.95.
Missionary Income has seen a sharp decrease down by 66% on last year.
The Church savings account ended the year with a balance of £90,500.
The church has no liabilities.
Anne Belcher Church Treasurer 28[th] October 2025
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BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Accountants
Business address
Bache Brown & Co Limited Swinford House Albion Street Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 3EE
Gads Lane West Bromwich West Midlands B70 8QL
BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Accountants' report | 1 |
| Profit and loss account | 2 |
| Balance sheet | 3 |
| Notes to the accounts | 4 |
BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' REPORT TO THE PROPRIETOR
ON THE UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS OF BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
As described on page 3, you have approved the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 set out on pages 2 to 4 and have acknowledged your responsibility for them and for providing all information and explanations necessary for their compilation.
Bache Brown & Co Limited
30 September 2025
Chartered Accountants
Swinford House Albion Street Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 3EE
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BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
DETAILED TRADING AND PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Turnover Tithes and offerings Sundry income Missionary donations Legacy donation Administrative expenses Wages and salaries Rates and insurance Youth and childrens work Outreach work Light and heat Missionary expenses Repairs and maintenance Printing, postage and stationery Telephone Legal and prof fees Accountancy Bank charges Canteen Sundry expenses Charitable donations and ministry gifts Depreciation on freehold property Depreciation on fixtures, fittings and equipment Other operating income Rent receivable Operating (loss)/profit Other income Bank interest received Net (loss)/profit for the year |
2024 £ £ 56,530 17,292 1,630 - 75,452 39,670 3,216 1,197 2,064 11,266 10,856 13,206 387 798 22 972 376 823 1,763 2,700 9,306 1,652 (100,274) (24,822) 6,400 (18,422) 1,791 (16,631) |
2023 £ £ 57,713 15,566 4,921 88,221 166,421 36,490 2,732 511 3,561 10,472 14,517 36,683 1,367 763 213 936 252 648 1,308 2,341 9,306 1,529 (123,629) 42,792 7,180 49,972 1,560 51,532 |
|---|---|---|
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BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets 1 Current assets Prepayments Cash at bank and in hand Current liabilities Accruals Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Capital account At 1 January 2024 (Loss)/Profit for the year |
2024 £ 91 95,513 95,604 2,216 |
£ 232,517 93,388 325,905 342,536 (16,631) 325,905 |
2023 £ 208 103,706 103,914 2,196 |
£ 240,818 101,718 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 342,536 | ||||
| 291,004 51,532 |
||||
| 342,536 |
I approve the accounts set out on pages 2 to 4. I acknowledge my responsibility for the accounts and for providing Bache Brown & Co Limited with all information and explanations necessary for their compilation.
Mr H Sharman
Date : 30 September 2025
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BETHEL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
1 Tangible fixed assets
| Land and buildings Freehold Fixtures, fittings & equipment £ £ Cost At 1 January 2024 266,129 99,830 Additions - 2,657 At 31 December 2024 266,129 102,487 Depreciation At 1 January 2024 152,411 90,981 Charge for the year 9,306 1,652 At 31 December 2024 161,717 92,633 Net book value At 31 December 2024 104,412 9,854 At 31 December 2023 113,718 8,849 |
Total £ 365,959 2,657 |
|---|---|
| 368,616 | |
| 243,392 10,958 |
|
| 254,350 | |
| 114,266 | |
| 122,567 |
| Investment | |
|---|---|
| properties | |
| £ | |
| Cost | |
| At 1 January 2024 & at 31 December 2024 | 118,251 |
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts SeGtion A Independent Examiner's Report Reportto the trustsesl members of E(stVEL cw ki sffiktyj frs-Lll £LoMW Ictl I OS17YI On accounts forthe year ended Charity no (If any) Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (Yhe Trust.) for the year ended R8sponsIbllftl and basls of roport As the chantys truslees, you are responsible for the preparalion of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Yhe Act.). I report in SPect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under sectlon 145 of the 2011 Act and In carrying out my examlnatlon, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I ndependent rrhe charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualffied to examiner's statsment undertake the examination by being 8 qualified member of [insert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delete [ ] rf not applicable. I have o)mpleted my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination {other than that disdosed below ') which gives me cause to believé that in, any material respect". the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Char.eS Act; or the 8Ctount8 did not accord with the alxounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fomi and content of ntS set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no COnmS and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to whith attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. . Please delete the wonls in the brnd(ets rfth8y do not apply. Signed: Dats: c4115 Name: Cxro c)n(x Relevant professional quallllcatlon(s) or body Facéi IER Oct 2018
(rf any): Address: Wcas L4Jgw Section B Disclosure Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concem (S CC32, Independent examination of chaiity arxounts: directions and guidanc£ for examiners). Give here brfef detalls of any ltsms thatthe examinerwishes to dlsclose. IER Oct 2018