Grace Church Wanstead
Annual Report and Accounts Year Ended 31 August 2024
Charity registration number 1118247
Calculus Accountants and Tax Advisers Limited
5 Priory Road Loughton Essex IG10 1AF
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
|CONTENTS||
|---|---|
||Page|
|Legal and administrative information|1|
|Trustees Report|2 - 4|
|Independent examiners report|5|
|Receipts and payments account|5|
|Statement of assets and liabilities|7|
|Notes to the financial statements|8 - 10|
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Legal and administrative information**
|**Legal framework**|CIO||
|---|---|---|
||(converted from a company limited by guarantee during||
||the year – company number 5899396)||
|**Chair of Trustees**|David Gibbs||
|**Trustees**|David N Gibbs||
||Costas Argyrou||
||Dr Keith Ferdinando|- appointed 11thNovember 2024|
||Gerard Durcan|- resigned February 2025|
|**Registered office**|19 Highstone Avenue||
||London||
||E11 2PP||
|**Independent Examiner**|Sylvia Lambden FCCA||
||Calculus Accountants|and Tax Advisers Ltd|
||5 Priory Road||
||Loughton||
||Essex||
||IG10 1AF||
|**Bankers**|NatWest Bank||
||250 Bishopsgate||
||London||
||EC2M 4AA||
|**Solicitors**|Edward Connor||
||10 The Point||
||Market Haborough||
||LE16 7QU||
1
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Trustees Annual Report**
The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report and accounts.
## **Organisation**
The church is presently constituted as a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) by the 2024 Governing document, comprising the Constitution and the Church handbook. The Church has converted from a Company Limited by Guarantee (company number 5899396) to a CIO during the year and has retained the same charity registration number. The new constitution was adopted on 19[th] November 2023 and approved by the Charity Commission on 31[st] May 2024.
## **Charitable Objectives**
The objects of the Church are the advancement of the Christian Faith including:
1.the advancement of Christ's Kingdom by the faithful and prayerful teaching of the Scriptures at Grace Church Wanstead and by the recruitment, education, training and sending of gospel ministers and others around the United Kingdom and abroad to establish and renew Christian churches and ministries related thereto;
2. the relief of need, hardship, physical or mental distress among any persons without limitation;
3 the support of Christians who are persecuted by reason of their faith provided always that such support shall be non-political in nature; and
4 the support of Christians who are engaged full-time in the missionary work of proclaiming the Gospel and in bringing others to believe in Jesus Christ and to live in accordance with his teaching.
## **Public Benefit**
The Trustees have reviewed the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011, to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit
continuing to provide public benefit through many and varied activities including;
- Open meetings which any person can attend regardless of background of religion at which public worship and teaching on the Christian faith takes place.
- Other midweek meetings that are generally open to all, providing companionship for the lonely,
- encouragement for the down-hearted and teaching/training in various aspects of the Christian faith.
- Pastoral care for church members and the community in times of difficulty, hardship, distress or bereavement
None of the activities of the church that provide public benefit are restricted in any way in terms of gender, race, faith, background, or disability.
## **Structure and Governance**
The Trustees of the charity are made up of two elders of the church and one external trustee:
2
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
David Gibbs Costas Argyrou Dr Keith Ferdinando Gerard Durcan has also been a Trustee during the year.
The Trustees manage and direct the work of the charity. They meet quarterly in accordance with the charity’s constitution, in order to carry out this function. Day to day management is overseen by David Gibbs as Senior Minister and Chairman, who meets with the other elder Costas Argyrou on a weekly basis. Trustees are appointed or re-appointed in accordance with the Church’s constitution
## **Activities**
At the heart of our activities is a public weekly Sunday meeting held at Wanstead House, a local community centre. This is advertised through our website and leafletting 3,500 residents three times a year (Easter, Christmas and in September at the time of the Wanstead Festival). Other activities include:
- Weekly Bible studies to encourage Christian members and help them explain the Christian message to those around them. These meetings were held either online or in person.
- termly events in a local coffee shop to explain aspects of the Christian Faith to those invited by church members.
- Joined with other local churches in organising events explaining the gospel to residents including a half term holiday Bible club in February 2024
- Ran a weekly book table on Wanstead High Street (outside Tescos) to speak to passers-by about the Christian Faith and to give away literature explaining the good new of Jesus
- • Ran a weekly term time Toddler group to support local parents and carers with an opportunity to hear a Christian story and a regular invitation to our public Sunday meetings
- Ran a Website to explain the church's meetings and the Christian Faith.
Most of the charities activities are undertaken by volunteers and the charity could not operate effectively without their efforts.
In planning the activities the trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
## **Plans for the future**
The charity will continue to seek to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to Wanstead and surrounding area. The trustees will continue to review its activities in light of that aim, and also seek new initiatives to enhance the spread of the Christian faith in Wanstead. The partnership with other churches and the church’s affiliation to the nationwide Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches enhance the charity as it seeks to spread the Christian Faith in Wanstead and beyond.
## **Financial review**
Total income amounted to £85,182 (2023: £74,032) in the year with expenditure of £73,585 (2023: £65,200) resulting in a surplus of £11,597 (2023 £8,832) for the financial year. Regular monthly income was boosted by three substantial gifts totalling £35,000. This meant that cash reserves at the end of the financial year were £50,564 (2023 £38,967). For the first six months of
3
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
the current year the charities income has boosted by a one gift totalling of £30,000. All reserves held are unrestricted.
## **Reserves policy**
The current reserves policy is that free reserves held by the charity should be maintained at the level required to meet the company's financial commitments to pay staff and agreed property rental for a period of not less than three months (c£16,000) and not more than six months (c£32,000) Currently our reserves are well above the top level due to a high proportion of our income being in substantial one off gifts rather than monthly regular giving. Our aim in the medium term is to increase our monthly regular income and so be able to work more in line with our current policy.
## **Going Concern**
The Trustees continue to review the level of finances in the charity. The early part of the new financial year saw a significant of one-off gift which further strengthening the charities finances. Regular monthly income is currently running below expenditure. The Trustees continue to review the situation and at this stage are comfortable that there is no immediate danger of insolvency and the charity remains a “going concern”.
## **Risk Management**
The charity is exposed to various risks be they operational, financial or reputational. The Trustee review the charity’s activities regularly to identify significant risks and, where possible, they update policies and take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks. All those working with children and/or vulnerable adults are DBS checked.
## **Trustees’ responsibilities**
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the [Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
This report has been agreed by the Charity Trustees of Grace Church Wanstead.
Approved by the Trustees on 2025
## 08/05/25
and signed on their behalf by:
## David Gibbs
David Gibbs (May 8, 2025 09:38 GMT+1)
…………………………… David Gibbs
Trustee, Chairman and Senior Minister
4
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Court Farm Evangelical Church**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024 which are set out on pages 6 to 10.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees 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 charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Sylvia Lambden FCCA
Calculus Accountants and Tax Advisers Limited
Accountants 5 Priory Road Loughton Essex IG10 1AF
Date: 2025
08/05/25
5
**Grace Church Wanstead**
## **Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Receipts and Payments Account**
||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2024**
**Total**
**2023**
£
£
£
£
82,927
-
82,927
71,385
2,105
-
2,105
2,147
150
-
150
500|
|---|---|
|**Receipts**
Notes
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Other income
4
**Total income**
**Payments**
Charitable Activities
Governance
5
6
Support costs
7
**Total Payments (excluding**
**assets receipts)**
**Total Payments**
**Net resources expended**
Total funds at 1stSeptember2023
Adjustment for accruals
**Net movement in funds**
Cash Fund balances brought
forward at 1stSeptember 2023
11
10
Cash Fund balances carried
forward at 31st August 2024
10||
||85,182
-
85,182
74,032
68,405
2,406
-
68,405
2,406
60,658
1,726
2,774
-
2,774
2,816|
||73,585
-
73,585
65,200|
||73,585
-
73,585
8,832
11,597
-
11,597
8,832
-
-
-
-
-
-
27,373
2,762
38,967
-
38,967
-
-
-
-
-|
||£50,564
-
£50,564
£38,967|
The notes on page 8 to 10 form part of these financial statements.
6
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
|**Statement of Assets and Liabilities**
**Notes**
**Cash Funds**
Bank
**Total cash funds**
**Other monetary assets**
Prepayments
**Assets retained for the**
**charities own use**
**Liabilities**
Tax and Social security
Accruals
**_Unrestricted_**
General funds
**_Restricted_**
Restricted 10
**Total funds**|
**Unrestricted **
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
**Restricted**
**£**
**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
50,564
-
**-**
50,564
38,967|
**Unrestricted **
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
**Restricted**
**£**
**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
50,564
-
**-**
50,564
38,967|
**Unrestricted **
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
**Restricted**
**£**
**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
50,564
-
**-**
50,564
38,967|
**Unrestricted **
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
**Restricted**
**£**
**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
50,564
-
**-**
50,564
38,967|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||£50,564
-
-
£50.564
£38,967||||
|||-
**-**
**-**|-|1,263|
|||-
-
-|-|-|
|||£363
-
-|£363|£363|
|||£890
-
-|£890|£1,369
£3,019|
||£890
-
-
£890
50,564
-
-
50,564
-
-
-
-|||£4,388
38,967
-|
||**£50,564**
**-**
**-**
**£50,564**
**£38,967**||||
The financial statements on pages 6 to 10 were approved by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by:
|David Gibbs|08/05/25|
|---|---|
|David Gibbs (May 8, 2025 09:38 GMT+1)||
|David Gibbs|2025|
|Trustee , Chairman and Senior Minister||
7
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Notes to the accounts**
## 1. Accounting policies
## 1.1 Basis of preparation of the accounts
The accounts are prepared on a ‘Receipts & Payments’ basis under section 133 of the Charities Act 2011, the statement of assets and liabilities included assets listed at insured values. The results of the Charity operations are described in the Trustees’ Report and are continuing. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the [Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed.
## 1.2 Fund accounting policy
Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the Trustees discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes.
Restricted funds are those which were raised for particular purposes and can only be used for those particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.
## 1.3 Incoming resources
Donations and general gifts are recognised as incoming resources on receipt.
Gift aid income received are tax reclaims on the donations of tax paying members of the Church and are included in donations on receipt.
Investment and sundry income is recognised when received.
## 1.4 Resources expended
Resources expended are included in the statement of financial activities on a receipts and payments basis. Certain costs have been apportioned between direct charitable expenditure, management and administration on a basis consistent with the use of those resources.
## **2. Donations and legacies**
|Donations
Gift aid
Total|Unrestricted
£
76,452
6,475
£82,927|Restricted
£
-
-
-|2024
Total
£
76,452
6,475
£82,927|2023
Total
£
63,353
8,032
£71,385|
|---|---|---|---|---|
8
**Grace Church Wanstead**
**Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
## **Notes to the accounts**
|**3. Charitable activities**
Event income
Grace Church tots subs
Total
**4. Other income**
Miscelleneous
Grant - FIEC
Total
**5. Expenditure on charitable activity**
Salaries
Employer national insurance
Ministers housing
Pension costs
Travel
Conferences and training
Gifts to visiting preachers
Missionary support
Telephone
Refreshments
Venue hire
Music
Toddler group and Sunday School
Events and publicity
Small equipment
Software
Printing, stationery and post
Books and literature
Sundry
Hardship fund|||Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
Total
£
Total
£
-
2,105
-
-
-
2,105
120
2,027
£2,105
-
2,105
£2,147
Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
2024
Total
£
2023
Total
£
150
-
-
-
150
-
-
500|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
150
-
150 500
**2024**
**2023**
unrestricted
restricted
£
£
28,378
3,047
16,534
748
264
930
355
4,000
1,375
906
8,475
18
505
1,451
161
59
234
700
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
28,378
3,047
16,534
748
264
930
355
4,000
1,375
906
8,475
18
505
1,451
161
59
234
-
27,684
2,603
16,252
643
304
561
550
(2,000)
1,042
567
9,379
514
1,429
291
-
-
-
607
15
250
-
-
15
250
232
-
68,405
-
68,405
60,658|
|||||
9
## **Grace Church Wanstead**
## **Charity registration number: 1118247**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**
|**7. Support costs**
Subscriptions and professional fees
Bookkeeping and payroll
Insurance
Disclosure and barring service
Computer equipment depreciation
**Notes to the accounts**
**6. Governance costs**
Independent examiners fee
Accounts preparation
Confirmation statement
Solicitor re CIO conversion
Total||Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
2024
£
2023
£
946
1,269
353
-
-
-
946
1,269
353
1.166
1,156
287
206
-
-
-
206
-
24
183
Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
2024
£
2023
£
375
375
-
-
375
375
300
450
13
-
13
13
1,643
-
1,643
963
£2,406
-
£2,406
£1,726|
|---|---|---|
||||
||||
|||£2,774
-
£2,774
£2,816|
## **8. Staff costs**
The charity had 1 employee during the year. The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme.
## **9. Trustees and related parties**
The charity employs one Trustee as Minister which is allowed under the constitution. Renumeration, pension and accommodation costs incurred by him are shown in note 5. Donations were received from Trustees and related parties but as the charity operates an envelope giving scheme to ensure privacy it is not possible to identify individual donations. Amounts paid on behalf of the charity were reimbursed to the Trustees, but no other expenses were claimed or paid.
## **10. Reserves**
All reserves are unrestricted.
## **11. Transfer to Receipts and Payments Accounts**
The 2023 accounts were prepared under the accruals basis to comply with company law so the comparative figures include accrual and prepayments. The company has converted from a company limited by guarantee to a CIO (charitable incorporated organisation) during the year and is entitled to prepare Receipts and Payments accounts so an adjustment of £2,762 has been made on page 5 to enable the Charity to move to this basis.
10
## Grace Church Wanstead Accounts 31-08-2024 final for signing
Final Audit Report
2025-05-08
Created: 2025-05-07 By: James Lambden (james.lambden@hotmail.co.uk) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAhehgyAOLmpqzKdB17qHYZ3Qpcqg3Vwu2
## "Grace Church Wanstead Accounts 31-08-2024 final for signing" History
- Document created by James Lambden (james.lambden@hotmail.co.uk)
2025-05-07 - 8:31:16 AM GMT- IP address: 82.71.43.181
Document emailed to David Gibbs (david.gibbs@gracechurchwanstead.org) for signature
2025-05-07 - 8:31:21 AM GMT
- Email viewed by David Gibbs (david.gibbs@gracechurchwanstead.org)
2025-05-08 - 8:33:55 AM GMT- IP address: 142.250.32.34
- Document e-signed by David Gibbs (david.gibbs@gracechurchwanstead.org)
Signature Date: 2025-05-08 - 8:38:17 AM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 86.15.44.138
Document emailed to Sylvia Lambden (sylvia.lambden@calculusaccountants.com) for signature 2025-05-08 - 8:38:19 AM GMT
- Email viewed by Sylvia Lambden (sylvia.lambden@calculusaccountants.com) 2025-05-08 - 9:11:30 AM GMT- IP address: 82.71.43.181
- Document e-signed by Sylvia Lambden (sylvia.lambden@calculusaccountants.com) Signature Date: 2025-05-08 - 9:13:57 AM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 82.71.43.181
## Agreement completed.
2025-05-08 - 9:13:57 AM GMT