Emmanuel Christian Fellowship
Charity Reg 1103467
Trustees Annual Report 2023/24 6 April 2023 to 5[th] April 2024
Objectives
Emmanuel Christian Fellowship is a church which focuses on communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ by preaching and teaching from the Bible.
Activities
The start of the financial year for 2023-2024 saw Emmanuel Christian Fellowship holding a valedictory service for Pastor Terence Gregory who had served for 32 years in faithful ministry in the church. This was followed by an induction service for Pastor Paul Leader who has taken up the position as Pastor of the church.
Emmanual Chrisitan Fellowship has continued to have regular Sunday services every week. Each Sunday we meet for a cup of tea/coffee and fellowship prior to the service in the morning which is devoted to worship and communion and the preaching of God’s word.
In the weekly Bible study on Thursday evenings, we spend a short time in prayer and worship and then the main part of the service is when Pastor Terence Gregory and Pastor Paul Leader lead the Bible study. This year they have brought us studies in the Gospel of Matthew, Joshua and the minor prophets. The teaching has been excellent. This service is to help the congregation to increase their knowledge of the word of God and to help develop their faith.
Our online Bible studies which had been introduced during Covid times, have continued, and Pastor Gregory is taking us
through the book of Ephesians every Tuesday evening and we encourage everyone to join us on our Facebook page.
Every Friday morning we have a Bible class at the church previously called “Starting from Scratch” and now re-named “Rejoicing in the truth”,where Pastor Gregory brings studies on different subjects and the students are encouraged to participate in discussions. Some of the studies have included Church history and the Epistle of John.
Every 2[nd] Saturday of the month we hold a prayer breakfast where the first part of the meeting a word is shared by a member of the group in rotation followed by a prayer time and finishing with a cooked breakfast with time for fellowship and chat. This continues to be a very popular meeting and is going from strength to strength!
The first Monday of each month a Men’s meeting is held in the church where men from different churches in the area are encouraged to come together to praise and worship, followed by the preaching of God’s word from one of men in the represented churches.
Coffee mornings take place once a month on the first Tuesday where members of the church and the community meet for a cup of coffee, a cake and a chat. Occasionally there is a guest speaker or singers sometimes from the local school. These coffee mornings have proved to be very popular especially with the older members of the community.
Humanitarian Support
We continue to support a Christian organisation called “Operation Mobilsation”. They visit various parts of the world to provide humanitarian aid to those in need and also to share the gospel. We also supported Operation Christmas Child this year by filling shoe boxes to be sent across the world for needy children.
Community use of the Church.
The church building continues to be used by the community. The Weight Watchers group meet every Wednesday afternoon in the Redfield room but sadly have finished just recently.
The church is also available to the community for the celebration of marriage, for baptismal services and funeral services.
Acknowledgements
The trustees wish to thank Pastor Terence Gregory and the Leadership team and all the members of the congregation for their faithfulness, commitment and generosity with their time and finances in supporting the work of Emmanuel Christian Fellowship.
Emmanuel Christian Fellowship
Income and Expenditure 2023-24
Opening Bank balance @ 5.4.23 (Statement 557)
| Income | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday collections | 7,950.27 | |
| Tithes by Direct Debit | 12,530.00 | |
| Weight Watchers | 2130.00 | |
| Gifts (inc cofee mornings) | 522.04 | |
| Insurance refund | 2,547.21 |
| Expenditure | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry | 15,500.00 | |
| Loan | 7,315.32 | |
| Insurance | 3,011.41 | |
| Bank charges | 107.25 | |
| Utilities | 2,845.35 | |
| Gifts (charity, wedding, anniversaries) | 1,476.18 | |
| Computer software/licence | 441.99 | |
| Toilet&kitchen supplies | 80.66 | |
| Catering | 240.17 | |
| Sign | 70.00 |
Closing balance @ 5.4.24
Bank balance @ 5.4.24 Bank error (mis-presented cheque)April 2023 1696.00- 16.96 = 1679.04
£
10,548.22
25,679.52
31,088.33
5,139.41
3,460.37
1679.04
5139.41
– Emmanuel Christian Fellowship Audit report 2023/2024
.
Once again, everything is in order, and I am happy to sign off the accounts.
There is one tiny discrepancy which is hardly noteworthy but on the income for 24.1.24, the paying-in slip (dated 22.1.24) shows a figure of £291.00 while the Post Office receipt is in the sum of £292.00 and accordingly the bank statement is £292.00. The £1 difference is in your favour so it’s not a problem. I’ve only mentioned this very small difference just in case your own accounting and reconciliation process may have driven you nuts because it is often those little amounts that are not obvious, that can be so time consuming to find!
Once again, I’m going to say Well Done!
Andrew Griffiths 31.5.24