Page l of 4 Inde endent Wesle an Church Hi Rushden Northants Trustees, Re ort for the ear ended Oct 31" 2024 The Trustees present their Annual Rewrt and accounts for the 12-month period up to Oct 31" 2024. Charitable Object The charity is governed by a constitution. This was amended in May 1984, and again in June 2008 and September 2009. The Objects of the Church are: To advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Confession of Faith in such ways and in such parts of the United Kingdom (or the world in the case of Mission works) as the Trustees (acting according to the will of God as discerned by the Church Members) from time to time may think fit. To relieve sickness and financial hardship and to promote and preserve good health by the provision of funds, gyoods or services of any kind, including through the provision of advice and support in such parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees (acting as aforesaid) from time to time may think fit. To advance Christian education and pursue and promote general charitsble purposes consistent with the Christian faith in such ways and in such parts of th¢ United Kingdom as the Trustees (acting as afor¢said) from time to time may think fit, The Church occupies premises which are held by the Propety Holdingy Trustees and the Trust is entirely compatible with the above Objects. Public Benefit The Truste¢s Consider that the activities of the Charity are carried out for the public benefit. In particular, two of the charitable puryx)ses as set out by the Charity Commission in its general guidance on public benefit are met: The advancement of education and The advancement of religion An explanation of these activities is given below in the section "Objectives and Activities" Throughout the year, our Minister (Rev Phillip Hearson) and his family have again worked hard to lead our Church-life. Services hav¢ again been recorded and put on YouTube' we understand that a number of people outside of our Church Circle have continued to tune in to watch these. We are indebted to Phil, his wife Anne and their son Matyn for their work on this and so many other aspects of our Church-life. they have worked hard as usual on behalf of our Membership. anisational Structure and deeision-makin rocesses Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with our Constitution, which requires them to sincerely express their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, and to give evidence of such faith by their life and conduct. During the year covered by this rewrt. no new adult was accepted into membership, although we have welcomed a number of new people to our services. hopefully some of these may consider membership in the coming years.
Page 2 of 4 The Members, Meeting normally takes place four times per year and has the respx)nsibility for the overall policy of the Church. In accordance with the Constitution, the Members apwint up to 15 Leaders (Elders) who will concentrate on the spiritual side of Church life, and up to 8 Officers (Deacons) who will concentrate on the administrative and financial aspects of the Church (acting under the authority of the Trustees). Our membership remained unchanged at 39 as at Oct 31" 2024. All Members are encouraged to take an appropriate part in the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furtherance of the charitable objective. Relevant matters may be submitted to the Church Members meeting by the Trustees for guidance, or may be raised by Members for consideration. The Constitution permits decisions to be made at Members, meetings by appropriate majorities. The Church, although independent. is attached to the Wesleyan Reforn] Union of Churches. Objectives and Activitie8 In order to achieve the principal objective which is set out above, the Church provides a variety of activities both to its membership and to the community generally. The aim is to show the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed and to bring people into a closer relationship with Him as Living Lord. Our Mission Statement is "Seeking to love God, each other, and the wider community through worship, discipleship, fellowship. service, and outreach" Central to the woik and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship. These take place each Sunday at l 0.45am. There are also occasional services at other times which are advertised both in the Church and online. The Church has a website at www.weschurchrushden.org.uk. A children's programme operates during the morning services. The Church seeks to be a friendly and welcoming community and anybody is free to attend any of these services. ular Churcb - based meetin A men's home-group meeting to plan events for men of all a&yes and study the Bible on alternate Sunday evenings. During the year these meetings have also focused on topical discussions and checking what The Bible says about big questions that all pKople ar¢ asking. Zoom Prayer Meeting has continued on alternate Monday evenings. This was introduced as a way to increase our church, s reliance on prayer with our Lord God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Numbers have fluctuated but it has been good to pray more regularly. including with some Memb¢rs who are unable to attend our Tuesday morning prayer group due to their work. The Tuesday morning prayer group - where Members join together in one of three homes to pray for the work of th¢ Church, and for situations & people in particular need - has been running for many years now and is a valuable vehicle for praying for those in need, both locally and in the world as a whole. Regular attendance is up to eight. A house group meets on Wednesday evenings and this seeks to encourage Members to explore together how to live a Biblically-based Christian life. and to spend time in prayer together. The Church also runs the following activities: _ A short-mat bowls group meets on Tuesday afternoons. A youth club on Thursday evenings (school years 7 to I l ). These have a faithful core attendanc¢, with the young people joining in discussion times about the Christian faith during their evening and as a break in the games played. Coffee mornings on Saturdays
Page 3 of 4 The Wednesday morning activity "Take a Break" still meets and numbers - whilst varying week- on-week, have maintained overall numbers. New friendships between our Members and those outside of our Church have continued to IK forn]ed. The Church operates systems to ensure that all Ftoplc working with children and vulnerable people are appropriately vetted with regard to the Disclosure and Barring Service and Safeguarding Agencies. Achievements and Performance The Church does not seek to measure its success solely by headcounts of those attending, nor by financial perfonnance. but also in less tangible areas such as fellowship and encouragement. It is appreciated that these are ditTicult to measure, but the Trustees consider that 2023124 was another positive period as far as the life of the Church is concerned. In addition to our Minister continuing to play a key part in leading and guiding the Church through the year, he has also been involved in taking assemblies at local primary schools on a regular basis.. The Trustees consider the Church very fortunate to have had such a caring and hard-working person as our spiritual leader since 2006. We look fotward to the years ahead with him still serving as our Minister. Harvest celebrations took place in September 2024, and gifts of produce from this day were given to The Rushden Food Bank, with monetsry gifts to The Leprosy Mission. The Church has active Overseas and Horne Missions funds - this money being made available by allocating 50/0 of church collections to each of these. Gifts from these funds have been sent to various deserving causes during the year, including - from Home Missions a number of local people who were findingv the cost-of-living situation particularly ditTicult. A church Away-Day was held during September. with a good attendance of Members and friends. This will be repeated next summer (June 2025) Financial Review The Church continues to raise the funds which it needs to carry out its activities from within its own membership and congregation. No wider public appeal was made for funds during the year. The financial results for the year. together with a summary of the accounting policies adopted, are set out in the accompanying statementslaccounts. Income Overall income increased to £93.047 compared to the previous year (£76,019). Weekly offerings averaged £767 compared to £674 last year. Income from hiring out our hall to a number of local groups incre&sed from £14.500 in 2222/23 to £16,464 in 2023124, ieflecting the growth of regular daytime hirers £2500.00 was received from the deposit paid by the prospective purchasers of the church, when the sale failed to materialise. as agreed. The Investment Fund again contributed £2,160 this year towards the Minister's stipend.
Page 4 of 4 Exceptional Items of Expenditure There were a number of items of exceptional items of expenditure this year, including re-laying the slabbed walkway. new fencing and aSslated works at the Minister's house. This amounted to £8,076.00. Gas costs of £2,494 and Electricity of £1,785 reflected the large increases in energy costs during the yeai. but with a milder winter. so keeping gas costs in check. From July 2024 the church has employed a part-time cleaner (approx. 5 hours each week). Financial Reserves Policy The Church currently has no Reserves Policy. Sale of Church building l Future Hall Extension Plans The Trustees and Officers have continued to meet to discuss the sale of the church building. The company who made the accepted offer (as included in the Trustee Annual Report for the last two years) were unable to obtain planning pemission for their proposed conversion of our church building and this sale accordingly has had to be abandoned. However. another local body have expressed an interest in purchasing the old Church building and discussions/negotiations a ongoing. The scheme to change and extend the church hall to provide additional meeting rooms and storage space has not yet been put into action due to a lack of finance to pay for the work. The Year Ahead - Although the earlier Church Sale agreement ultimately came to nothing, we are hopeful of the current prospective purchasers confirnling their intentions to buy soon. A number of buffet meals in our hall have been held during the year, with a good majority of the membership attending. A full year of activities is planned for 2024125. Contacts with the surrounding population is dIffult with our premises now being off the High Street, but ideas on overcoming this probably with banners on the church building frontage are urrently being planned.
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees and members of Rushden Independent Weslyan Church This report on the accounts for the year ended 31 October 2024, which are set out on the attached pages. Respective responsibilities of tTUStees and examiner As trustees of the Church Council you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts under scction 145 of the Charities Act: follow the proccdurcs laid duwn in the Gcncrdl Direction.s given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Chiwities Act) and state whether particular matters come to my attention. Ba51s of Independent Examlner's Report My examlnation was carricd out in accordance with the general directions given by thc Charity Commission. That examination includcs a review of the accounting records kept by the Church Council and a compdrison of the ¢iccounts with thos¢ r¢cords. It also includes considering any unusual itcms or disclosur¢s in the accounts and seeking explanations fmm you concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. Independent examlner's statement In conncction with my examination. no mattcrs havc com¢ to my attention: ( l ) which gives me reasonable caus¢ to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or to prcparc accounts which accord with the accounting r¢cords and comply with the requirements of thc Charitics Act have not been mct: or (2) to which. in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reaclied. H R Rawlings Denton Tavard Ltd 61a High Street South Rushden Northants NNIO ORA 20 January 2025
Rushden Hi h St Inde endent Wesle an Church tsandPa ments Account for the ear endin 31st October 2024 Recei RECEIPTS Offerings Thankofferings - Church Thankofferings - Illuminate 39,865.30 2,865.00 40.00 Weekly avge £767.00 42,770.30 Donations: Funeral General donations 114.00 444.60 558.60 Legacies & Memorials 120.00 From Investment Fund Stip6nd S.Sch. Prizeslcosts Audit Fee 2,160.00 106.32 72.00 2,338.32 Hall income 16,464.35 Sundry receipts 27.15 Take a Break donations 160.02 Easyfundraising 0.00 Gift Aid Church Hall EenSiOn Fund 16,028.86 1,191.12 17,219.98 Interest - Redwood Bank Church Hall Extension Fund 1,925.26 978.00 2,903.26 3rd Party receipts Mind Christingle (Children's Society) ENCCS Whitefriars Church 206.20 104.05 117.17 55.47 482.89 Donations to Hall Exin Fund 206.71 Deposit retumed from failed church sale 2,500.00 Pantomime ticket sales 705.50 Overseas Missions receipts Home Missions reiptS Kitchen Fund receipts My Christmas Wish receipts Bowls Club receipts 2,512.70 2,217.37 1,185.00 555.50 120.00 Total Receipts 93,047.65
PAYMENTS Minister Stipend Expenses Sundry costs (MPS) Pension costs 22,466.61 1,446.00 12.00 1,625.24 25,549.85 Manse costs Council Tax Water Insurance Window repairs Boiler service & safety check Replacement radiator valves Outside property repairs Tap repairs 2,719.11 659.55 336.04 290.40 102.00 750.crfj 8,076.00 60.00 12,993.10 Hall & Church Property Costs Gas Electricity Water Insurance Heating repair Boiler servicing and repairs Outside works Skip hire GLrtter cleaning Fire extinguisher service Roiowash contract Rolowash spares Cleaner salary Cleaning materials etc. Waste disposal 2,494.33 1,785.45 627.12 2,778.81 116.00 270.00 356.97 240.00 80.00 103.80 119.40 11.03 876.00 183.00 86.70 10,128.61 New hall curtains 2,337.00 Wesleyan Refom Union costs Assessment Conference f8e 1,119.25 210.00 1,329.25 Visiting Ministers 325.00 Donations from church funds Wesleyan R6fomi Union Illuminate 428.00 2,088.15 2,516.15 3rd Party payments Mind Whitefriars Church WRU Pension 81.50 55.47 370.64 507.61 Sundry items Misc Sundry Good News papers Away Day Zionworx fee Christmas banners Software costs Audit fee CCLI Mics, headset and aerial 400.71 285.00 105.CK) 114.(K) 105.79 328.10 240.00 384.72 409.55 2,372.87
Sale of church costs 1,248.00 Catering & food costs.. 388.37 50kn Offerings to Home Missions 5% Offerings to Overseas Missions 1,993.37 1,993.37 3,986.74 Pantomime ticket purchases 812.50 Sunday SchcK>I costs 1(.32 Kitchen Fund withdrawals Home Missions fund withdrawals Overseas Missions fund withdrawals Youth Club fund withdrawals My Christmas Wish withdrawals 911.60 3,372.37 2,011.00 219.64 248.01 Total Payments 71,363.99 Total Receipts Total Payments Excess of Income 93,047.65 71,363.99 21,683.66
Excess of income 21,683.66 BalanS Brought Fopward.. Nat West Rethood Bank 17,290.93 75,001.00 92,291.93 Timing Difference in Pymt made to HMRC -10.10 113,965.49 Balances @ 31 st October 2024 Nat West Redwood Bank 28,964.49 85,001.00 113,965.49 Bank Balances as above Curtains to be refunded from Inv Fund Unpaid Invoices @ 31st October 2024 Due from WRU WRU Assessment due Due to MIND Due to ENCCS Due to Children's Society (Christingle) Due to HMRC 113,965.49 2,337.00 2,003.50 370.64 -360.75 -124.70 -117.17 -104.05 -234.17 117,735.79 Main Church Account Legacies & Memorials Fund Hall Development Fund Home Missions Fund Overseas Missions Fund Bowls Club Kitchen Fund Youth Club Fund My Christmas Wish Benevolent Fund (dosed during the year) Grand total funds 68,674.26 14,253.17 31,130.23 469.83 501.70 720.00 872.14 8(.97 307.49 0.00 117,735.79 Increase of £13,579.89 Increase of £120.00 Increase of £4700.83 Decrease of £318.21 Increase of £501 .70 Increase of £120.00 Increase of £273.40 Decrease of £219.64 Increase of £307.49 Decrease of £836.79 Increase of £18228.67 Church, Funds Department Funds 114,057.66 3,678.13 117,735.79 Increase of £18400.72 Decrease of £172.05
Rushden Independent Wesleyan Church Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31st October 2024 Bank Balances Nat West Bank Redwood Bank 28,964.49 85 001.00 113,965.49 Debtors Unpaid invoices Curtains to be refunded by Investment Fund Pension due from Wesleyan Reform Union 2003.50 2337.00 370.64 4 711.14 118,676.63 Creditors HMRC Assessment due to Wesleyan Reform Union MIND ENCCS The Children's Society (Christingle) 234.17 360.75 124.70 117.17 104.05 940.84 General Church Fund5 Legacies & Memorial Fund Hall Development Fund Home Missions Fund Overseas Missions Funds Bowls Club Funds Kitchen Fund Youth Club Fund My Christmas Wish FunLI 68,674.26 14,253.17 31,130.43 469.83 501.70 720.00 872.14 806.97 307.49 Other Assets Church Investment Fund {Accounts shown separately) Pro er Church & Church Hall- High Street and Queen Street Rushden, Northants Manse- 11 South Park, Rushden, Northants ui Church organ Electric piano Loop system PA system in the church Portable PA system Portable & wall-mounted screens Projectors Folding tables and chairs Upholstered chairs Dishwasher Cooker Rotowash floor cleaner
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees and members of Rushden Independent Westyan Church This rep)rt on the accounts of the Investment Fund for the year ended 31 October 2024. which are set out on the attached pages. Respective responsibilities of trnstees And examiner As trustees of the Church Council you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is ne¢d¢d. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act: follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act) and state whether particular matters come to my attention. Basis of Independent Examlner's Report My ¢xamination was carried out in accordanc¢ with the general directions gAven by the Charity Commission. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Church Council and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you concerning any such matters. Th¢ procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. Independent examiner's statement In connection with my examinatio no matters have come to my attention: (l ) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act: or to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Charities Act have not been meL or (2) to whicl in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper undeTStanding of th¢ accounts to be reached. H R Rawlings Denton Tavara Ltd 61 a High Street South Rushden Northants NNIO ORA 20 January 2025
Church Investment Fund as at 31st October 2024 Nominal Market Value £ Value £ 24404.39 24482.30 16555.90 16484.43 732.04 727.87 1207.77 1208.13 42900.10 42902.73 7155.45 7155.45 50055.55 50058.18 Investments held . Short-term Medium-term Long-term Lilian Freeman Trust fund (all short-term) Total Stock Cash at Bank At Cost £ 29599.03 18420.37 987.36 1466.67 50473.43 7155.45 57628.88 Com risin Donations (incl Gift-Aid) - prior years this year (Incl Grft-Aid refund) Total 16034.71 16034.71 Olstrfbutlon of Interest dlvidends and In Interest I dividends received (incl £60.38 L.F.Fund) Gainsllosses on maturity of investments Interest Purchased Contributs'ons to ministerfs stipend Auditor Sunday School expenditure Undistributed this year NB - All undistrlbuted losses thls year to be absorbed by the malnlgeneral Fund ostme ear 2266.81 -2160.00 -72.00 -133.47 (_79.17+(-27.15t)) Investments matured I urcha8ed I sold roceeds £ Cost £ ainlLoss 0.00 No stock matured during the year 0.00 0.00 Purchased No stock was purchased during the year 0.00 0.00 0.00 Note 1 for below . . L. F.Fund costs include duplicate spend on S.School books (i.e.cost of "-£54.30', refund of +27.15 included in Income - (Investment gainlloss)) Note 2 for below" "Less Interest Purchased" at end of year 2022123 included -£87.06 in final column in error; this should not have been shown as a cost balance at year end. The 1111123 start balance has been amended to correct this. NBI Creditor - new hall curtains - £2,337 to be repaid to Church AIC on maturfty of 5% Treasury Stock 2025 Allocatlon of Fund8: Start of Yr Donations, Gift- Investment Interest PaYnnts End of yr 111112023 Ald etc received ain receive made 3111012024 45267.77 0.00 0.00 2179.28 -2232.00 45215.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -133.47 8155.05 0.00 3928.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 504.78 27.15 2239.66 -2365.47 57803.00 General Fund Less Interest Purchased Lilian Freeman Fund (Notes 1 & 2 above) Special Purposes Fund Youth Holiday Fund Totals 82W.99 3928.12 504.78 57901.66 27.15 0.00 0.00