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2022-12-31-accounts

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The objects ofthe Church are:
1.
For the benefit ofthe public to advance the Christian
Faith (in
Summary
ofthe objects
charity set out in its
governing
document
ofthe accordance
with the Statement
of Beliefs) in such ways and in such parts
ofthe United
Kingdom
or the World as the Trustees
from time to time may
think fit;
2.
For education,
care for the sick and relief of poverty
in such ways
and
in such parts ofthe United
Kingdom
or the World as the Trustees
from time to time may think fit.
Providing
a place ofworship for the River Church
(Orpington)
group to
advance the Christian
Faith for the benefit ofthe public.
Supporting
voluntary
workers
in the World and within the U.K. to advance
the Christian
Faith for the benefit ofthe public. For example, the River
Church
(Orpington)
gives gifts of money to the Ameva
Farm 8 Bible
College project in Zimbabwe.
This financial
support enables
them to
continue to operate the farm which provides food to the local community
as well as help with health, education
and social work,
in addition to the
work ofthe Bible college which helps train local church leaders.
Training
members
of River Church (Orpington)
in Leadership
Skills to
advance the Christian
Faith for the benefit ofthe public. This is done
regularly
at midweek
meetings as well as special events.
Care ofsick people within the church
including
visiting
and providing
Summary ofthe main support.
activities
undertaken
for the
public benefit
in relation to
these objects (include within
The employment
oftwo part time community
support workers to provide
support
and reach out to those
in need
in our community.
this section the statutory
declaration
that trustees
have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission
on public
Hosting
Community
and Outreach
Events for the benefit ofthe Public
the Grays and Orpington.
This brings local people together and fosters
community
spirit and cohesion. Other activities such as games and
entertainment
are provided
for the benefit ofthe public.
in
benefit) In addition,
the church supports
the local Food Bank and the local
Christians
Against Poverty group, both ofwhich seek to alleviate
poverty
in the area.
Youth Club evenings
to advance the Christian
Faith for the benefit ofthe
public. This involves
activities which develop
interpersonal
skills of
teenagers
and young adults as well as connecting
with other youth
groups from other areas around the UK.
Running
a Sunday School on a Sunday
morning
for younger attendees
of
the River Church to advance the Christian
Faith for the benefit ofthe
public, and to promote education.
The Sunday School is open to all
members
ofthe public with different activities appropriate
for the varying
age ranges.
Activities
undertaken
by the church pastor have included:
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Overall
leadership
/ providing
direction for the River Church.
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Res onsibilit
for or anisin
re ular church meetin
s.

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Summary
ofthe main
achievements
ofthe charity
during the year
2022 has been a year ofgrowth for River Church
mainly due to the fantastic work
by our community
workers who have engaged
the local residents
via the various
social activities during the week, as well as our volunteers.
Also, our youth and kids work has experienced
growth
both on our Sunday
morning
services as well as the midweek
and weekend
meetings,
which includes
bible study nights as well as social meetings,
games nights and outings
like ice
skating and movie nights.
We have also more home groups
in new locations, such as Swanley, as our
congregation
members
come from a wider area. We have conducted
multiple
baptism
services
in 2022 as newcomers
to our congregation
had not yet done
so,
and we look forward to having
more baptism
services
in the future, as a reflection
oftheir heart felt desire to follow the Christ and develop a lifelong Faith.
The charity continued
its membership
ofthe "Mission Life Grace" network of
churches,
which currently
consists offive core churches,
together
with several
associate churches.
During the July and August,
we were able to continue
our
summer
outdoor activities
including
boys camp girls house party and our annual
churches
summer
conference
in July/August,
which helps church members
to
grow in their Christian
Faith.
The church continues
to invest and expand our online Sunday
morning
streaming
offer on YouTube, as the leadership
feels that it was important
to continue to
provide an alternative
access to our service on Sunday
from home or when
travelling,
and as there is also a clear demand
for our church content to be
available
online.
The church also continued
to hire another
building
venues for a few live worship
and prayer nights. Throughout
the year we ran a number
ofsocial evenings
including
quiz nights, games nights crafts and Christmas
season activities.
The church finances continue to remain
strong despite some large amounts
of
many spent on salaries, equipment
and church
activity operating
expenses. This
was due to an increase
in cost of resources and the external economic factors
however
giving also increased
from new and existing members,
for which we are
thankful.
We have also created the River Church Accounts Team to collectively operate
and oversee all financial aspects ofthe charity to alleviate the burden of all
financial
activities
solely on the treasurer as the charity's
financial
activities
continues
to grow and diversify.
We also started the Financial
Maturity
Project
let
by Patrick Wakeford to bring our financial and operational
practices under clear
up to date controls procedures,
better defining
roles and responsibilities
as well
as a better governance
structure.
The church remains
fully committed
to support
financially
local people to alleviate
poverty, together
with providing
support
for missionaries
overseas, to this end
the
church has directly been involve
in helping those
in need ofaccommodation,
financial
struggle
and those
in need of income and looking for employment.
The
church has this year also worked
with other community
groups to meet needs
in
the local area, and participated
in outreach
activities.
R March 2012