## **River Church Sutton**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report**
1 January 2024 to 31[st] December 2024
|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Charity Information|2|
|Trustees' Annual Report|3 - 6|
|Statement of Financial Activities|7-10|
|Independent Examiner's Report|11|
Independent Examiner's Report
## **Charity Contact information**
## **River Church Sutton**
Charity Registration Number: 1104168
## **Principal office**
River Church Sutton Highfield Hall 320 Carshalton Road Sutton SM5 3QB
## **Trustees**
Steve Musters Roz Ullman Simon Waters Ed Rodriguez
## **Independent Examiner**
David Pestell ACA Peach Accounting
## **Bankers**
Santander Business Banking Centre, 287-301 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5NT
## **Objectives of the charity**
i) To advance the Christian faith and express God’s love through practical support and compassion for those in physical, mental and spiritual hardship, without discrimination or passing judgment.
ii) To promote such charitable purposes as which benefit the local community and those overseas, bringing hope through the message of Jesus Christ.
## **Achievements and performance**
In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit.
**2**
## **Review of activities**
2024 marked the church’s 20th anniversary. A special celebration was held in February, welcoming back founding members and leaders. It was an encouragement to reflect on how the church has grown in size and influence in the local community.
## **Worship and Discipleship**
- **Sunday Services** remained the main expression of church life, continuing to grow in size and diversity. Teaching focused on the names of God, identity in Christ, and a series on 1 Peter, emphasising unshakable hope in uncertain times.
- A **Weekend Away** at Otford Manor was a highlight of the year, with focused teaching, worship, and fellowship. People came to faith, were baptised, and grew spiritually.
- **Kids’ Church** expanded, requiring more trained volunteers and space for multiple groups.
- **Youth Work** grew significantly, with highlights including the _NewDay_ summer camp, where some young people made faith commitments. Several were baptised at the church weekend away.
- **Midweek Groups** met both in person and online, providing Bible study, prayer, and activity-based fellowship.
- **Prayer** remained central, beginning with a week of prayer focused on justice and mercy, with ongoing weekly and monthly gatherings.
- Two **Alpha Courses** ran during the year, providing a safe environment for people exploring the Christian faith.
## **Mission and Community Engagement**
- Internationally, the church continued to support **IGC Church (Philippines)** , began financial and prayer support for **Raízes Church (Brazil)** , and developed links with churches in **Sri Lanka** and **Uganda** . Support for **Newfrontiers** also continued, particularly in the areas of church planting and leadership development.
- **Highfield Hall** remained a vital community hub, hosting toddler groups, dance classes, exercise classes, creative workshops, and children’s parties. The free badminton club encouraged fitness and friendship, while hall hire provided a valuable revenue stream.
- As part of the **New Ground** family of churches, the church gave financial support towards leadership training and church planting, while also benefiting from training and accountability.
**3**
- The church supported **Sutton Community Works** , both financially and through volunteers, contributing to Sutton Foodbank, Foodshop, Street Pastors, School Pastors, and homeless ministries. Free office space was also provided at Highfield Hall. This year, the church hosted a **winter shelter** for rough sleepers and supported three major donation drives for those in temporary accommodation and need.
## **Church Life and Events**
- **Men’s Ministry** included regular “Curry Nights” for fellowship and encouragement.
- **Women’s Ministry** hosted several conferences throughout the year.
- **Seasonal events** included summer picnics, BBQs, International Sundays, and wellattended Easter services. Christmas was a particular highlight, with guest speaker Adrian Holloway at the main carol service, many responding to the gospel, hampers distributed to local families, and a carol service held in a local care home.
## **Future plans**
Looking ahead to 2025 we plan the following:
- To continue to build community and serve our borough through acts of service.
- To continue to encourage and equip members to participate in every part of church life – gathering, serving, giving, praying and reaching out to those around them.
- To develop our building to accommodate growth – particularly for kids and youth.
- To develop our coffee shop ministry as a signposting and support hub.
- To continue to raise leaders and develop small groups
## **Structure, governance and management**
## **Type of governing document**
Trust Deed dated 29 October 2003 as amended on 13 June 2016
River Church Sutton is a registered charitable trust, number: 1104168.
## **Trustee recruitment and appointment**
The policy and operating decisions of the charity rest with the trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity. New trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing trustees and receive relevant training.
**4**
## **Organisational structure and decision-making policies**
River Church Sutton is a charismatic evangelical Church, which has been established in Sutton since 2004. The trustees delegate responsibility for the day-to-day running of the charity's activities to the Leadership Team personnel. Trustees approve an annual budget each year, with non-regular items outside of budgeted amounts that exceed £250 requiring additional trustee approval.
## **Related party relationships**
River Church Sutton is a separate and self-governing church, but is also part of the New Ground group in the NewFrontiers family of Churches and a member of the Evangelical Alliance.
We enjoy great working partnerships with several other local churches in the borough through which Sutton Community Works was founded.
## **Financial risk management**
The Trustees have carried out a risk assessment regarding the Church’s operations and are continually taking action to ensure that the risks are minimized as much as possible.
## **Reserves Policy**
The Church’s Reserves Policy is to retain approximately 3 months of essential operating expenditure, which would be approximately £30,000.
## **Principal funding**
River Church Sutton receives the majority of its income as donations from members who have informally or formally committed to regular giving. Ongoing financial support is encouraged of new and existing members, but such support is not a requirement of membership and there is no pressure to give.
The Church also holds 'gift days' from time to time to support specific projects or fundraising targets. A majority of church members use the HMRC 'Gift Aid' scheme where possible. Hall hire also contributes to our income. We offer competitive rates and prioritise chartable and community focused events.
**5**
## **Financial review**
The financial statements show total incoming resources of £228,693, a decrease of 20% on 2023 (£288,967) due to large gifts in the previous year. Underlying annual growth is c10% (2019: £185,321) when removing exceptional gifts. The Church has continued to grow it’s income from charitable activities through hall hire and the coffee shop introduced in 2023.
Expenses for the year totalled £200,657, an increase of 4.8% on 2023 (£191,555). This was driven by increased staffing costs of £24,594 and offset by savings on hall repairs of £15,137. All other costs were well controlled and not materially different to 2023 despite high inflation in the period.
The result was a surplus of £28,037 for the year. Total accumulated reserves stood at £392,085, of which net current assets account for £137,512 (2023: £115,554), demonstrating that the Charity has the liquidity to cover its reserves policy and debt obligations referred to below.
At the time of signing the report, the interest rate continues to be high at 4.5% which is unlikely to decrease materially in the short term due to inflation sticking above the governments intended target. The impact of increased rates has already been felt by the Church in the 2023 and 2024 accounts and has shown to still be in a surplus.
Note that the charity has no restricted funds which restrict assets from being used to manage debt during this period of high interest.
## **Declaration**
The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees:
………………………………… Ssate Chair - Steve Musters
**6**
## **Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**
|**Income and endowments from**
Donations
Charitable activities
Investment income
**Total**
**Expenditure on**
Charitable activities
**Net income**
**Reconciliation of Funds**
Accumulated Funds Bfwd
Accumulated Funds Cfwd
**STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION**
**Fixed Asset**
**Note**
Tangible Assets
_2_
**Current Assets**
Debtors
_3_
Cash and cash equivalents|**2024**
**£**
**151,445**
**76,365**
**883**
**228,693**
**200,657**
**28,037**
**364,048**
**392,085**
**521,261**
**9,369**
**144,734**|2023
£
222,251
66,271
445|
|---|---|---|
|||288,967
191,555|
|||97,412
266,636|
|||364,048|
|||521,094
8,034
125,819|
|**Current Liabilities**
_4_
**Net Current Assets (Liabilities)**
**Total Assets less Current Liabilities**
**Non-Current Liabilities**
_5_
**Net Assets**
**Accumulated Funds**|**154,103**
**(16,592)**
**137,512**
**658,773**
**(266,688)**
**392,085**
**392,085**|133,853
(18,299)|
|||115,554|
|||636,648
(273,311)|
|||363,337|
||||
|||364,048|
**7**
## **1 Accounting Policies**
## **Basis of preparation**
The financial statements of the charity have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102). The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
## **Income**
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity is entitled to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
## **Expenditure**
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
## **Tangible Fixed Assets**
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost.
Building and improvements are held at cost and revalued periodically at the discretion of the board of trustees.
Equipment and other assets are capitalised at cost and depreciated over their useful economic life of the asset concerned at 25% per annum on a straight line basis.
## **Taxation**
The Company is a registered Charity and, in the opinion of the trustees, is exempt from corporation tax on its surpluses on financial activities in accordance with section 486 of the corporation tax act 2010.
|**2 Tangible Assets**
**Cost**
At 1 January 2024
Additions
At 31 December 2024
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2024
Charge in the year
At 31 December 2024
**Net Book Value**
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023|**Buildings**
**and**
**improv.**
**Equipment**
**and other**
**assets**
**Total**
**517,298**
**9,197**
**526,495**
**-**
**3,288**
**3,288**|
|---|---|
||**517,298**
**12,485**
**529,783**|
||**-**
**5,401**
**5,401**
**3,121**
**3,121**|
||**-**
**8,522**
**8,522**|
||**517,298**
**3,963**
**521,261**|
||517,298
3,796
521,094|
**8**
|**3 Debtors**
Hall Rent
Gift Aid Receivable
**4 Current Liabilities**
Trade Creditors
Deposits Held
Tax and Social Security
Accruals
Capital Lease Obligations
**5 Non-current Liabilities**
Capital Lease Obligations LT|**2024**
2023
**£**
£
**694**
680
**8,675**
7,354
**9,369**
8,034
**2024**
2023
**£**
£
**1,991**
4,556
**2,160**
1,770
**5,007**
2,158
**510**
2,891
**6,924**
6,924
**16,592**
18,299
**2024**
2023
**£**
£
**266,688**
273,311
**266,688**
273,311|
|---|---|
## **6 Average Number of Employees**
During the year the average number of employees was 5 (2023: 3).
## **DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**
|**Donations**
Gift Aided Giving
Non Gift Aided Giving
Tax Reclaimed
**Charitable Activities**
Rental Income
Other Income
**Investment Income**
Interest Received
**Total Incoming Resources**|**2024**
2023
**£**
£
**106,592**
170,050
**17,612**
12,456
**27,241**
39,745
**151,445**
222,251
**70,106**
63,421
**6,259**
2,850
**76,365**
66,271
**883**
445
**228,693**
288,967|
|---|---|
**9**
|**DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONT)**|**DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONT)**||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|
|**Wages and Salaries**|**£**|£|
|Salaries, Wages and Benefits-in-Kind|**106,987**|92,222|
|Social Security Costs|**4,385**|2,696|
|Pension Costs|**10,439**|2,299|
||**121,811**|97,217|
|**Property Costs**|||
|Rate and Utilities|**1,808**|1,604|
|Light and Heat|**10,638**|10,346|
|Repairs and Maintenance|**5,001**|20,138|
||**17,447**|32,088|
|**Conference Expenses**|||
|Registrations|**3,796**|2,129|
|Travel and Subsistence|**9**|15|
||**3,805**|2,144|
|**Church Activity Costs**|||
|Evangelism|**532**|432|
|Books and Publications|**114**|0|
|Childrens Work|**1,793**|78|
|Hospitality|**1,396**|1,488|
|Gifts and Donations|**14,477**|15,900|
|Coffee Shop Expenses|**4,036**|4,600|
|Miscellaneous Expenses|**274**|548|
||**25,475**|25,653|
|**Church Running Costs**|||
|Telephone and Internet|**1,413**|1,511|
|Subscriptions|**995**|754|
|Insurance|**2,905**|2,814|
|Office Supplies|**897**|951|
|Audio/ Visual|**3,299**|3,481|
|Professional Fees|**1,077**|1,210|
|Depreciation|**3,121**|2,299|
||**13,764**|13,350|
|**Finance Costs**|||
|Interest Payable|**18,355**|21,103|
||||
|**Total resources expensed**|**200,657**|191,555|
||||
|**Surplus (Deficit) for the year**|**28,037**|97,412|
**10**
llu Peach Accounting
Honwone Cottage
Oxford Road
Enstone. OX7 4LP
+44 7342 631057 It)
Inl(tshaccounfjng.co.uk lel
Dwd PesteiLACA
25 September 2025
The MemberJ
Riverchufch Sutton
Highfield Hau
320 Carshalton Road
SURREY
SM5 3QB
Client Ref: RIV01
Independant examlnevs reporttothe tntsteas of Rl¥erCtr#w<)h Sutton
I rerrf*ttothe trusteas on ffty•XAffdrtb)n ol th•&counts ol the charitylorthe TIded 31 Dmber 2024.
R•$ponslblltli•$ and blslsof Tewt
As the charity's tyustee8, you are re8kM)n8itAe forthe wepw*M)n ofihe nIS in accordwe ¥th the requirements of
the Ch8ritiesAcl 20111lhe Acri.
I reFM)rt in respect of my examinati of the Trusvs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in
Carrying out ry examination. I h8Nt folithwj 811 the applth Directi$ #iven by Ihe Ch8nty Commission er
section 14515llbl of the Act.
Independert exami$ st•tem?nt
I have COMrAet my examination. I confirm r) rferia matters have c(Mne to my attention in connection Vlith the
examination which grves me cause to trAbeve th* in. any material re¥rt.
the acco1 recordsknwe Mtkept in &cordance*th seclknn 13Q oltr* ChariTfiesAc¢ or
the 8CCOlrni*d not8ccord with the 8ccouNing reccwits or
the 8CCOWrt8(id not c(Mnptyvith the applicle requireff*nts c(TheM1 the forn ccfflteni of accounts Set
cKrt in the Charities (Accounts Rerts) ReguLats"ons 2008 Olher than any requirèment that thè accounts
give8.irue aNJ fair biewwhich is nota matterconsbdered aspartofan iThJependentexamination.
I have concern8 and have coff* rm) other m8ner8 in connection with the ex8nyn8ti(ffi to *thich attention
sIM)uld be dr¥trYn inthi8 report to en*le 8 woper underst1 oftr* nIS to be reache(l.
D•vid Pe8teiiACA
Director
i¢uw
CHARTERED
ACCOiINTANTS
RegtstraMn rwrnbtr 12170375 Rege oif*e 32 C4marth R¢)ad. Gospm P012 3QP
11