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← Davenport Road Evangelical Church Trust

2024-12-31-accounts

Davenport Road, Derby, DE24 8AX Registered charity no. 1077832

Trustees Annual Report - year ending 31[st] December 2024

During 2024 the trustees were:

The officers of the church were:

The elders are responsible for the spiritual oversight of the church; the deacons serve the church in all practical matters such as finance, administration and fabric maintenance.

Trust objectives summary (locally in Derby, other parts of the UK and the world)

Priorities in 2024 to fulfil our objectives were to:

  1. Provide weekly Sunday services for worship, prayer, communion, Bible teaching, as well as other services / meetings through the week.

  2. Provide groups specifically for children and young people.

  3. Advertise our presence and services to the immediate church area.

  4. Provide pastoral care for any of our number in need, the sick, elderly, housebound etc through the elders and supported by many in the congregation

  5. Reach out to the needy and vulnerable of our neighbourhood.

  6. Allocate and distribute some of the church income to Christian organisations who share our objectives.

Church membership - 45 members on 31[st] December 2024

Regular Church meetings

Sunday morning worship services

Attendance averaged 70-80, and cross-cultural

First Sunday of alternate months was an “All Age” service, followed by “Bring and Share lunch” together, to which most folk stayed.

All other Sundays the primary school children leave for their group time - Sunday Quest On 2 Sundays a month the secondary school age leave for their group time - Route 66 A creche operated as required for babies and pre-school

Third Sunday usually included a time of communion

Video recordings of sermons were uploaded to the church website each week.

Sunday evenings

Attendance – 25-30

Communion twice a month

5[th] Sundays of a month – worship services were led by a visiting speaker

Ladies meetings

Tuesday afternoons during term time – speakers from within the church or invited from outside came and led Bible studies

Women Together – a varied and interesting programme was run monthly on a Monday evening

Wednesdays

Home groups met for Bible study and prayer on alternate weeks in 4 locations around the city. The other Wednesday meetings at church, were prayer meetings, church members meetings, or visiting representatives from organisations supported by the church.

Thursdays

A weekly café was held offering a warm and safe space to some of the needy and vulnerable of the local community. Practical help, advice and sometimes food parcels were provided.

The parent / toddler Thursday group came to a natural end in 2024. Numbers had dwindled chiefly because of new government funding of nursery school places.

Other events through the year

  1. Derby Bible Week – we supported this in April. We joined with many other churches in Derby for a week of Bible ministry, held at Allestree Woodlands Church. Our pastor continues to serve on the Derby Bible Week Committee.

  2. The pastor conducted several funeral/thanksgiving services during the year

  3. Ladies book club was organised on a few Saturday mornings

  4. Men’s crown green bowling event with BBQ took place in the summer

  5. Two Sunday morning thanksgiving services for new babies of church members took place in September and November

  6. A service of adult baptism was cause for much rejoicing in September when three of our congregation were baptised. The church was pleased for its baptistry facility to be used by another local church in Derby.

  7. Church Camp – a 3 day camp under canvas was organised and run by the pastor in August and was much appreciated by the campers.

  8. Rambles in Derbyshire were organised on several Saturdays, and also Good Friday

  9. Harvest weekend in late September - this started with a meal on the Friday evening attended by quite a number of our café folk and other invited friends. Harvest thanksgiving services followed on the Sunday. The harvest produce from the display was again shared between Derby City Mission and Caring for Life (Leeds) to help their relief work with needy people.

  10. The Christmas celebrations began with “Carols in the Car Park” – where the church car park became venue for carol singing, free hot dogs and mince pies for the local community. On the Sunday before Christmas an all age Christmas service was held in the morning and a “Carols by Candlelight” service in the evening. All events were well supported with plenty of visitors.

  11. The church hosted the joint meeting with other East Midlands churches affiliated to the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical churches), on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year.

Church Outreach

Pastors support and public benefit

As well as the Thursday café public benefits already mentioned, our pastor has been an inspiration and help to so many over the year both through relevant preaching on Sundays and visitation with much practical support and wise advice day by day.

Our assistant pastor has supported in the preaching, the youth work and music aspects of worship. It is difficult to quantify the benefits, but so many are so grateful for all this input.

Financial support of other missions / charities and their public benefit

The elders had agreed support of the following individuals / organisations, all of whom are motivated to share their Christian faith by practical relief and help, bringing public benefit into their differing situations.

Derby City Mission – food banks and safe space for rough sleepers

The Railway Mission- supporting families of railway personnel, eg the bereaved Jem and Sue Hudson (Foundation Matters) – camps etc with a heart especially for underprivileged children, located at Pine Lake just south of Derby Caring for Life (Leeds) – vulnerable adults in need of life-time support Kevin Still - our own missionary working for New Tribes Mission Open Air Mission – they reach out in our City Centres to passers by The Christian Institute – puts the Christian stance before MPs

Slavic Gospel Association – currently supporting pastors and congregations in war devastated Ukraine

Mission Aviation Fellowship – supplies / medicine by air to inaccessible areas Clive Barker - Serving in Mission, South Asia

Open Doors – relief for persecuted Christians around the world SASRA - pastoral support for army / RAF personnel

Safeguarding

Working through “Thirtyone:eight” the church ensured all those working with children and vulnerable adults were DBS checked. Our safeguarding co-ordinators are: Mrs Pat Hulse (lead) and Mrs Heather Poxon (deputy)

Data Protection

The church secretary has ensured best data protection practice has been maintained and that all details currently held are up to date.

New website and logo

A new website and logo was launched in December at www.davenportroadderby.church This was funded by a generous gift from within the church membership.

The modern presentation has already attracted to us folk looking for a church in Derby. It informs of all church activities and provides easy access to all sermons which are systematically filed.

Church Business Meetings

Church finance

The church is grateful for the hard work of the treasurer Ema Chillingworth, and her assistant Patricia Hulse. A separate financial report has been prepared. The headline for 2024 was a surplus of £11,859. There were 2 legacies of £4000 and £7000 totalling almost exactly the surplus figure; neither of the legacies had restrictions on how they should be used.

Despite this good news of a surplus the treasurer has highlighted a significant step down in the monthly giving of the church from September. This will have significant implications and as trustees we have this under review and discussion. The situation will be explained to the membership at the AGM.

Church Insurance

We continued our insurance with Congregational, through Kingdom Bank as brokers. We are currently under a long-term agreement.

Summary

The trustees are grateful to God for another year of the ministry of Davenport Road Church. Our trust aims and priorities have been met through the committed giving of the congregation. This has supported both pastors to the real benefit of all, through their preaching and practical help / advice. Other charities, local and worldwide, have also been given financial support for their valued work.

We are confident that with God’s help the same aims and priorities will be met in 2025.

Signed on behalf of the trustees,

Nigel Jones (chair of trustees)

25[th] February 2025

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Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts Charity Name: DAVENPORT ROAD EVANGELICAL CHURCH TRUST Charity No. 1077832 Accounts for year ending: 31st DECEMBER 2024 I report lo the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity above fthe Trusf,) for the year staled above. Responsibilities and basls of report As charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my exarnination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Cornmission Jnder section 145(5) (b) of the Act. Independent Examinerfs Ststsment The charities gross incorne did not ex￿ed £250,000. l am qualified to undertake the independent examination being a qualified accountant and a FCA. I have completed my examination. This involved examination of bank statements. computer ￿e0rd8, invol￿, re￿Ipts, cheque and paying to bank stubs together with explanab'ong. I conflrm that no materlal matters have come to my attention in connection wkh Ihe examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1 . The accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act, or 2. The accounts do not accord with those records, 3. The accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts as sel out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requiremenl that the a¢￿untS give a "true and fairt view which is nol a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no cOn￿mS and have corne across no matters in connection with the examination to which attenlion should be drawn in this report in order lo enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. The accounts are presented, as permitted by the Act, as simple re￿ipts and payments accounls. Name Michael Saunders Address