2021-12-31-accounts - Larkfield Community Church

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Larkfield Community Church

Trustees Report and Accounts

For Year Ended 31[st] December 2021 Registered Charity Number: 1120956

Larkfield Community Church

Headings:

Information

Trustees Report

Independent Examiners Report

Statement of Financial Activities

LARKFIELD COMMUNITY CHURCH TRUSTEES REPORT INFORMATION

STATUS: Constituted by a Deed of Trust and is a registered charity No: 1120956

TRUSTEES:

Mark Hayton (Minister and Lead Elder) Steve Johnson (Elder) Roger Bedford (Elder)

REGISTERED ADDRESS:

55, The Ferns, Larkfield, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 6NE.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER:

Stewardship, 1, Lamb’s Passage, London, EC1Y 8AB.

BANKERS: Barclays Bank

LARKFIELD COMMUNITY CHURCH TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

AIM

The primary aim of Larkfield Community Church is to provide a Church where every man, woman and child can understand the good news of Jesus Christ and grow in their service for the glory of God.

OBJECTIVES

The principle objects of the charity are:

The advancement of the Christian religion both in the UK and overseas.
The advancement, for the public benefit, of religious or other education.
The relief of the poor, sick, disabled, lonely or homeless.

The Church is a member of the Evangelical Alliance and has a longstanding relationship with “Assemblies of God (AoG) UK”; a Christian organisation that pursues similar objectives in the UK and overseas. The Church works with AoG in assisting other Churches and receives voluntary help itself where needed. During the year, 3 % of Church offerings have been given to help the objectives of AoG, which can best be done on a larger scale than Larkfield Community Church could do independently. The Church is also an active member of the local inter-denomination group of churches called Churches Together in Malling.

Directions relating to the Charity are made by the Trustees who are also Church Elders. They meet at least bi-monthly to receive reports and financial statements detailing the opportunities and risks the Church faces, enabling them to plan or curtail activities accordingly. The Church Elders together with their wives, the Treasurer/Administrator and the Children’s Leader form the Church Leadership Team responsible for governing the life and teaching of the Church. Day to day decisions on expenditure and activities are decided by the Trustees. The powers of appointment or removal of Trustees rests with the Trustees. Trustees are selected from the Church Leadership Team, since this means the Trustee body is whole heartedly involved in seeing the mission of the Church worked out in practice.

The Church has an operational Safeguarding Policy approved by the Thirtyone:eight Safeguarding Organisation and is reviewed annually by the Church Safeguarding Lead.

The Lead Elder (Ministerial status with the AoG) is in receipt of a full work pension. He has agreed with the other Trustees to serve the Church in a voluntary capacity and therefore allow funds to be directed where needed.

The Church employs 3 people, namely:

Treasurer/Administrator on a PAYE basis for 10 hours per week,
Caretaker/Cleaner for 8 hours per week (to clean and service the church building - The Dorcas Centre). For much of the year this employee has been subject to the Government Furlough Scheme.
Children’s Leader for 10 hours per week (within the Church and in some local Primary Schools clubs, holiday activities, assemblies)

It is the work of every member of the Church, whether receiving some remuneration or not, that will make the difference in the Church achieving its aims. This is done through:

being ‘salt and light’ in their communities, amongst the people they interact with every day;
by praying,
by visiting the sick and others in need,
being involved in training others,
public teaching and worship, and
administration.

The financial resources of the Church are mainly given by its members and their private assets and equipment are regularly used in the work of the Church. Much of this work is done privately, without recognition, and the hours and value of that time cannot be quantified.

LARKFIELD COMMUNITY CHURCH TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2020

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

From January until July the Church continued to meet ‘virtually’ on Sunday mornings via ‘Zoom’ as per Government Covid guidelines for worship (streamed or pre-recorded) and live prayer/communion and bible teaching. This was preceded by a children’s service also held online.

During this time Lunsford Primary School notified the church they were planning a complete refurbishment which meant their school hall would not be available for at least 12 months. The adjacent Brookfield Junior School offered use of their premises – free of charge. Some additional cost was incurred upgrading sound equipment for the new hall.

In person gatherings recommenced on Sunday mornings through August in an outdoor setting within the school grounds and then resumed indoors from September with the appropriate recommended Government safeguards in place. A mid-week virtual service/bible study continued for those unable to attend in person on a Sunday. Also, in September the children’s lunch and after school clubs for school years 3/4 and 5/6 respectively, called JAM, (run by the church Children’s worker) resumed in Brookfield Junior School with 25 children regularly attending the lunchtime club.

The church continued to lease a double classroom sized timber building from Kent County Council called, ‘The Dorcas Centre’ located on the School site for use during the week. This building was derelict but in 1999 was completely restored by the church. It is maintained by a part-time paid Caretaker/Cleaner and volunteers from the church. Mid-week church activities in this building have been restricted for much of the year due to Covid. Its main use was as the food store for the very busy church food bank.

The church foodbank volunteers gather, sort, pack and deliver donated food to people (individuals and families) in crisis. Through the reporting period over 1,000 food parcels were delivered which equates to over 5,000 meals.

The Church partnered with and/or gave some funding and/or volunteers to:

Christmas Connect – a Medway Churches Christmas Carol Event that incorporates a Primary School carol competition. It was held in person and online and was hosted by the Christian comedian Mark Ritchie. 655 people attended in person and 907 online.
Known and Loved - a Malling Churches Together community outreach initiative planned for May 2022. Some 25 inter-church groups of 12 people are following a study together through Lent in 2022 which leads to them planning an event together in their community during the last week of May 2022 that lets people know they are ‘Known and Loved’.
Compassion - 17 children overseas are sponsored through this charity by members of the church, lifting them out of extreme poverty.

Churches and Schools Together (CAST) – several church members volunteer with this Christian charity that provide lunch clubs, student mentoring schemes and prayer/reflection spaces in local Secondary Schools.
The Family Trust – Several church members work/volunteer for this Christian charity providing lunch time / after school clubs and assemblies in Primary Schools.
The church sponsors a newspaper publication called, ‘New Life’ (50 copies per month) containing uplifting stories for inmates of HMP Elmley.
The church host ‘Let’s do Lunch’ – a club for the elderly/lonely. At least 7 Church members regularly volunteer with this work alongside people from other local churches and the community. A free taxi service is provided where needed.

The trustees have complied with the duty under the Charities Acts to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

PLANS FOR THE NEW YEAR

The key strategies for the church remain the same, however in September 2019 the trustees became aware of a proposed new housing scheme on land called 40 Acres, East Malling by the developers Wates Ltd that included a new community building. The trustees reached out to Wates and discussions with them and the Parish Council about the feasibility of the community building becoming the churches new base, have been positive.

At the time of writing the outline planning proposal for the development has been approved. Wates have completed the purchase of the land and a detailed planning proposal has been submitted and is under consideration. Wates building division, Vistry Homes, have been in consultation with the church trustees regarding an outline plan for building. Wates are hopeful the scheme will begin in early 2023.

This is an exciting development and will result in the church being able to upscale its community provision.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Finances required to fund activities are raised through regular giving and one-off donations from Church members, supplemented by the refund of income tax from HM Revenue and Customs through the Gift Aid Scheme.

Total receipts for the year were £48,456 (2020: £39,174) with expenditure amounting to £31,399 (2020: £43,701) resulting in a gain of £17,057.

Funds carried forward at the year-end amounted to £97,728.

The trustees have reviewed the Reserves Policy and increased the amount retained in the current account from £5,000 to £15,000, sufficient for the foreseeable needs of the Church.

GRANT MAKING POLICY

Gifts to external organisations and individuals are considered by the trustees on the basis of need and fulfilment of the charitable objectives. The trustees aim to gift 10% of their annual income. They are reactive to requests after careful consideration.

RISK MANAGEMENT

All major insurable risks are subject to Public and Employer’s Liability Insurance. Contractual risks are reviewed before being entered into to assess that they could not significantly impact upon the churches ability to fulfil its objectives. An annual review of areas of risk is undertaken by the trustees in conjunction with volunteers responsible for the area of activity.

AFFECTS OF COVID-19

Government Covid-19 restrictions since March 2020 have had a significant impact on activities but no impact on income. Until August 2021 activities in the school hall and the Dorcas Centre had to close or be moved online. Members continue to be generous and overall income was up 23% compared with 2020. A significant saving was made by delaying the reappointment of a youth leader until events return to normal.

The trustees have been able to continue to take advantage of the Furlough Scheme to keep the caretaker employed. The treasurer/administrator and children’s worker have been able to fulfil their contracted work from home/online during any lockdown periods.

The church greatly upscaled their foodbank activity to meet the increased demand in this service.

The trustees were able to hold the 2021 AGM in person and enabled others to join online via Zoom.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the profit and loss of the Charity for that period. In preparing these accounts, the trustees are required to:-

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
Make adjustments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
Prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Charities Acts. 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. The trustees confirm that the accounts comply with current statutory requirements and those of the Charity’s Trust Deed.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on: and signed on its behalf by:

Mark Hayton MA

Living life, loving God and serving our community.

Independent Examiner's Report

To the Trustees of

Larkfield Community Church

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Larkfield Community Church (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2021 on pages 10 to 13 following.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity 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 2011 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:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Lisa Darby ACA

For and on behalf of: Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage London EC1Y 8AB

Date: 19/10/2022

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LARKFIELD COMMUNITY CHURCH
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
FOR THE PERIOD 1ST JANUARY 2021 to
31ST DECEMBER 2021
PREPARED ON THE RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS BASIS
Prepared by C.L.Dobson
Treasurer for Accounting Year
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE PERIOD 1ST JANUARY 2021 to 31ST DECEMBER 2021
Unrestricted Designated Unrestricted Designated
Notes General Fund Funds Total Funds General Fund Funds Total Funds
2021 2021 2021 2020 2020 2020
Receipts £ £ £ £ £ £
Voluntary Receipts
Offerings and Donations 4,750.00 - 4,750.00 3,993.00 - 3,993.00
Gift Aid Donations 31,764.68 - 31,764.68 25,384.77 - 25,384.77
Tax Refunds under Gift Aid 7,366.74 37.50 7,404.24 5,938.98 - 5,938.98
Total Voluntary Receipts 43,881.42 37.50 43,918.92 35,316.75 - 35,316.75
Other Receipts
Interest received - 961.63 961.63 - 152.76 152.76
Foodbank Donations - 220.00 220.00 903.01 903.01
Furlough Grants 2,697.53 - 2,697.53 1,645.88 1,645.88
Other 657.74 - 657.74 1,155.33 - 1,155.33
Total Receipts 47,236.69 1,219.13 48,455.82 38,117.96 1,055.77 39,173.73
Payments
Payments in furtherance of
Church's objectives
Direct Costs 29,113.51 425.75 29,539.26 41,872.22 147.21 42,019.43
Grants to Individuals - - - - - -
Grants to Institutions 1,860.00 - 1,860.00 1,682.00 - 1,682.00
Total Payments 30,973.51 425.75 31,399.26 43,554.22 147.21 43,701.43
Net Receipts / (Payments) before
Transfers 16,263.18 793.38 17,056.56 (5,436.26) 908.56 (4,527.70)
Balance at 31 December 2020 9,592.84 71,078.41 80,671.25 5,029.10 80,169.85 85,198.95
Net Movement in Funds 2021 16,263.18 793.38 17,056.56 (5,436.26) 908.56 (4,527.70)
Transfers in Funds - 10,000.00 (10,000.00) -
Balance at 31 December 2021 £ 25,856.02 £ 71,871.79 £ 97,727.81 £ 9,592.84 £ 71,078.41 £ 80,671.25
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STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

AS AT 31st DECEMBER 2021

		Insurance Value	Insurance Value
1. FIXED ASSETS		2021	2020
		£	£
The values of the assets owned or leased are:
Leasehold Building		124,631.00	118,022.00
Moveable Contents		25,000.00	27,399.00
	Total	£149,631.00	£145,421.00

The property and contents are part of the charity's general funds. The Dorcas Centre lease is due to expire in 2023 - Trustees are aware.

	2021	2020
2. BANK AND CASH BALANCES	£	£
Held at Bank	26,443.57	10,348.64
Funds On Deposit	51,530.46	50,650.00
Deposit Account	19,753.78	19,672.61
	£97,727.81	£80,671.25

The analysis of the bank and cash balances between funds is shown on the face of the receipts and payments account.

3. OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Assets
Gift Aid recovery not yet received		3,891.00		3,347.87
	£	3,891.00	£	3,347.87
Liabilities
Independent Examination Fee		690.00		690.00
		£690.00		£690.00

There is a rolling amount of non-perishable/dried food stock retained at the Dorcas Centre which varies according to demand

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Mark Hayton (Trustee) 17/10/2022

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1st JANUARY 2021 TO 31st DECEMBER 2021

1. Accounting Policies

The accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities.

2. Direct Costs

Property Rent/Lease Gas/Electricty Insurance / Licences Subscriptions Mission and Ministry Conference and Courses Church Activities Equipment / Furnishing Administration Youth Work Childrens work Maintenance (Dorcas) Foodbank (Designated Fund) Other Costs 3. Grants Paid Individuals Institutions Total	2021 £ 2,635.00 871.96 1,512.41 1,437.55 1,348.35 59.99 1,383.15 8,374.75 40.00 6,425.70	2021 2020 2020 £ £ £ 2,674.50 1,447.39 1,475.56 1,432.45 3,657.23 665.00 - 648.96 7,449.27 10,963.47 6,221.73 5,236.66 147.21 - £29,539.26 £42,019.43 - - 1,860.00 1,682.00 £31,399.26 £43,701.43
	5,024.65
	425.75 -

4. Employees

During 2021, The Church employed three part time members of staff.

- Children's Pastor

- Treasurer/Administrator

Caretaker (Due to Covid, furlough was claimed for in June, July, August and December 2020. Then in 2021, full furlough was claimed until June, with flexible Furlough being claimed from July to September)

5. Payments to Trustees

No Payments were made to trustees or related parties during 2021

6. Movement of Funds

General funds Designated funds Vision Fund Foodbank Fund Total funds	Balance at 31 Dec 2020 Receipts Payments £ £ £ 9,592.84 47,236.69 (30,973.51) 71,078.41 962 - 258 (425.75) 71,078.41 1,219.13 (425.75) 80,671.25 48,455.82 (31,399.26)	Balance at Transfers 31 Dec 2021 £ £ 25,856.02 - - 72,040.04 - 168.25 -
		- 71,871.79
		- 97,727.81