2025-12-31-accounts - Christ Church Swanley United Reformed Church Charity

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Christ Church Swanley United Reformed Church Charity

Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2025

1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Christ Church Centre Kingswood Avenue Swanley BR8 8AN GOVERNING DOCUMENT Part of the United Reformed Church. Local church constitution dated September 2015. CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1134169 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR Rev. G.O. Kalu (Chairman; resigned 31 December 2025) MANAGING THE CHARITY D.S. Dodd M.J. Richardson S. Ryan J. Scott S.E. Smith NAMES OF ADVISERS EG BANKERS Barclays Bank UK PLC NatWest Bank Plc INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Nick Spear ACCA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB INDEX Page 1 Legal & Administrative Details Pages 2-6 Trustees' Report Page 7 Independent Examiner's Report Page 8 Receipts and Payments Account Page 9 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 10-11 Notes to the Accounts

Page 1

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Objects of the charity

The charity, which is a church, is governed by a trust deed and is constituted as a trust. The charity's principal objects, as set out in its governing document, are:

The advancement of the Christian faith for the benefit of the public in accordance with the Scheme of Union of the United Reformed Church.

Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements

To further the above objects and vision, the charity's main activities and achievements were as follows:

Christ Church continues to flourish despite the difficulties we have experienced throughout the two years of the URC inquiry. We received the outcome of the URC hearing regarding Rev. George Kalu in August 2025. The URC inquiry found no grounds for removing George Kalu from the roll of URC ministers but gave him a written warning and recommended he sought additional training in areas of his ministry. The inquiry was silent on whether he could return to his ministry at Christ Church, so this became a matter for Christ Church to decide. After much soul searching and seeking God in how we should proceed we agreed with the URC to put this matter to a Church vote. Before the vote Rev Kalu told us he had decided to step down from his role from 31 December 2025.

We held a Church Weekend with Graham and Jean Hepple leading us on the 8th and 9th March. The object of our time together was to praise and worship; and wait on God for words of knowledge, prophesy and vision for the future of the Church. We held a Church lunch during this time together.

Later in the year we gathered our preachers and service leaders together to seek direction for 2026. From this came a shared belief that we should spend some time in 2026 exploring the Book of Ephesians.

We still hold three Sunday School groups (“Spectrum”) for school age children on the second, third, and fourth Sunday of each month. The programs include stories, games, and craft activities, focusing on the Christian faith. The children's corner at the back of the church is available for parents/carers and their pre-school children. We hold an all-age worship service for the entire church on the first Sunday of each month.

The Light Party held again this year as an alternative to Halloween. This was again a great success with over fifty young people and their parents coming from the local area and some twelve volunteers helped from the Church. There was fun, food, games, worship, dancing, and a talk. This event has proved so popular that people now must prebook to help ensure a place.

Page 2

Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements (continued)

Messy Church, which attracts around twenty-five people, was held this year and is a mix of church attendees and non-church attendees. It is a fun time for the community to come together to enjoy crafts, games, songs, and activities. Messy Church ran four times this year. Parents and children alike enjoy this space to informally explore faith and time together. There are crafts to make and take home, and each child was able to participate.

Lastly, I mention Bulrushes our weekly outreach in term time to young parents/carers and preschool children. This has been running for over thirty years and is well attended by our community.

Christ Church was delighted to join up again this year with Hope Church for a joint venture in running a Youth Club for the young people in the local area. We are all encouraged that numbers have increased to over fourteen young people. Volunteers from both Christ Churches and Hope Church help with running the event every other Friday and we trust God this will grow the youth spiritually and numerically to bring more people from the local area.

The Churches Together initiative contributed funding towards the Friday youth group costs and continues to ensure we join up and work together for our outreach events at Christmas, Easter and in the local park.

New for 2025 were monthly coffee morning meetings held on the first Monday of a month in the Church Centre for fellowship and outreach. Members and non-members attend these. Cakes are homemade, the event is free, and members are encouraged to bring a friend along. We also held a tabletop fundraising event for money to be raised for charity.

House groups continue to meet in the homes of members. There are still four house groups who encourage each other with fellowship and teaching, the theme for teaching in 2025 was to study the gospel of John. This theme was also covered in depth in our 2025 preaching program.

Our Community Lunch was held once a month and attracted around 50-55 mainly non-Christ Church attendees who are roughly in the 70 plus age bracket. Lunch was free so that no one is excluded based on finances, although many people made donations. Chairs were set out in small groups so that people were able to make and build friendships. Access for the less able was facilitated by the motorised chair life that gives access to the venue. Our November lunch was the last in the series as age has caught up with most of the team members who were finding it too physically demanding.

The Community Action Team was very heavily involved in running this event along with others. We concluded the lunches and thanked everyone with a certificate and flowers. Those who attended the lunch received a gift of a Bible.

The Community Action Team also runs other events including a games’ afternoon, charity quiz, monthly litter picks in the warmer weather, food preparation for the Light Party, and helps to run a social event which includes music, games and quizzes. As part of this, Peter and Jane Webber have held a board game afternoon, every year, and this is well attended by adults and children.

One of the highlights was a talent show hosted by Robert Lindsey and his co-star Angus who sang “His Way” to the tune of ‘My Way’ along with other songs. Others provided comedy and musical talent. It was a very enjoyable evening which also included raffles and prizes.

Page 3

Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements (continued)

We were pleased and excited to have invited five outside speakers to Christ Church Services. We are also truly blessed to have eight people with the gift of preaching from our congregation. The Trustees are very thankful to all who have stepped up to help us with our activities and services within the congregation. We have taken part in Easter Services and Light Up the Town at Christmas. We continue to be part of the Churches Together Team and look forward to working together with other Churches.

We continue to have a weekly outreach to Swanley Town Centre through the ministry of Andrew Hammond and colleagues.

A Bi-Monthly newsletter started by our Trustee, Sue Smith, provides everyone with information on events and local news updates. This has been warmly received and allows items to be covered in more detail than in our weekly Notice Sheet.

The Church continues to reach out to the local community over the Christmas period by inviting people via a Christmas card door drop to all our services including an Advent Carol Service, Children’s Messy Christmas event, a tea followed by a well-attended Carols by Candlelight, Two Christmas Eve services and a Christmas Day celebration service. We also took part in Carols at the Lully as part of Churches Together. Thank you to Joy Goddard who played all the carols and ensured we had a good evening. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to help with these services and activities.

The Trustees would also like to thank everyone who volunteers with all our activities especially the Spectrum team and those who commit to serving us and ensuring our services run smoothly. We also wish to thank the Administrator Linda, Our cleaner Vanessa and Linda Nixon, Janet Wilson and Matt and Hanna Finch for their support with finances. Thank you to the sound desk team, projection team and worship groups. We thank everyone who serves the tea and coffee every week of the year. We could not do all these things without you.

May our God bless you richly for your faithfulness; and may we experience, share, and minister, more of the fulness of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in 2026 and beyond.

In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

Financial review

The Charity’s overall financial performance during 2025 once again exceeded our expectations with General Fund income coming to £96,620 and expenditure £78,109, A surplus of £18,511. This is due mainly to the overwhelming amount of generosity from the congregation to the general fund.

The Church general fund of is encouraging for the trustees to add funds to the reserves and infrastructure and fund for expected future works to the Church roof and boilers.

Page 4

Financial review (continued)

The financial operation of both the Church and Centre followed the same pattern as in previous years with budgets being closely adhered to. Maintenance expenditure as one of the larger budgets was mainly used for boiler repairs.

With reduction in the Ministry and Mission from the URC, the budget for 2025 has greater focus on Gospel outreach which hopes to spread to the wider public, charitable gifts and Spectrum and churches together youthwork.

Gift Aid claim was submitted in early April and we received £15,138 with £1,435 of this amount coming through the small donation scheme GASDS.

Although some members have left the Church, we pray others will join to fill the void. The trustees feel the Church is in a safe financial position coming into 2026, the Ministry and Mission contribution has been reduced by the URC which has given us the confidence and stability to put aside future funds for growth, maintenance.

Regarding our Church Centre, the rental rate at the end of 2025 came to £38,602. Our Budget was £40,000 so we were £1,448 lower than what we expected with our budget estimate. Although the maintenance expenditure was higher than expected because work to the boilers. The energy prices fell line with what was expected and we did have elections held at the Centre, so we were delighted to generate a surplus of £9,525. The Centre Reserve stands £30,000.

Overall, during the year income increased by £1,378, to £142,372 and expenditure decreased by £24,652 to £114,323. As a result the cash held by the charity increased by £28,048, to £103,999, of which £91,878 is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.

Reserves policy

The trustees have determined the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £31,000 (which equates to about 3 months of unrestricted expenditure) so that it could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure substantially vary adversely. A review of the charity's reserve policy took place in November 2025 so in light of this the Trustees decided to increase the fund by £2,000 in 2025 and £2,000 in 2026 to commit our finance stability should any issues arise.

Besides the combined General Fund balance & designated General Reserve amounts of the trustees could also utilise the infrastructure fund balance (designated but nevertheless unrestricted) and similarly the Centre Reserve. Though not desirable all could be diverted for use to enable the charity’s survival, if necessary, in which case the unrestricted cash figure would theoretically be a healthy figure. However, in terms of the church the trustees view the £31,000 policy figure as a target.

The General reserve is not earmarked for any specific purpose at present & acts as a contingency.

Regarding the Centre If any surplus is generated in the future it was agreed by the Trustees it should be moved to the Centre reserve in view of our Premises Managers recommend actions of possible new Gas Boilers and Electrical upgrades. The Centre Reserve stands £30,000. The Centre reserve is for money put aside to finance capital costs related to long term major maintenance/improvements including replacement of life expired assets.

Page 5

Governance

Responsibility for setting policy and for making operating decisions rest with the trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity. New trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing trustees, by a majority vote and all such appointments are approved by the Church Meeting.

Regarding the suspension of Rev George Kalu, the enquiry has now been completed, but there has been no further update as of the date of this report.

Risk statement

The charity is exposed to various risks - be they operational, financial or reputational. The trustees review the charity's activities regularly to identify significant risks and, where possible, they take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.

Responsibilities of trustees

Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.

We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.

We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.

Approval

This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Mark Richardson

Mark Richardson (Jul 7, 2026 15:42:14 GMT+1)

_________ MARK RICHARDSON (TREASURER)

Jul 7, 2026 Date:_____

Page 6

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Christ Church Swanley United Reformed Church Charity ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2025 on pages 8 to 11 following.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 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 2011 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 accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Nick Spear

Nick Spear (Jul 8, 2026 10:10:29 GMT+1)

Nick Spear ACCA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

Date: Jul 8, 2026

Page 7

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

U	nrestricted Funds	2024 £
General Funds £ 78,843 15,139 1,962 - 676 - 96,620 77,269 840 - - 78,109 18,511 (19,318) (807) 13,711 12,904	Centre O Funds £ - - 1,250 38,602 402 - 40,254 30,729 - - - 30,729 9,525 (8,264) 1,261 34,376 35,637
		76,186 14,443 10,203 38,331 1,032 800
		140,993
		130,366 1,697 6,912
		6,912

		138,975
		2,018 -
		2,018 73,932
		75,950

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

Page 8

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

Notes A Cash funds Cash at bank with immediate access Petty cash B Other monetary assets Gift aid due to charity Prepayments Other debtors C Liabilities Falling due within one year Trade creditors Fee for Independent Examination Accrued expenses Deferred income Total	General Designated funds funds £ £ 12,755 78,949 149 25 12,904 78,974 9,439 - 4,164 1,817 - 56 13,603 1,873 200 - 1,800 - 619 - - 125 2,619 125 Unrestricted Funds	Restricted funds £ 12,121 - 12,121 - - - - - - - - -	2025 £ 103,825 173 103,999 9,439 5,981 56 15,476 200 1,800 619 125 2,744	2024 £
				75,456 494
				75,950
				10,380 4,549 1,795
				16,723
				335 1,704 158 125
				2,322

D Assets retained for charity's own use

Church contents Community centre contents	Insurance value £
	170,736 134,381
	305,117

Land and buildings used by the church are owned by the URC Trust and occupied rent free.

The trustees have used insurance values as the trustees are unable to reliably estimate current values; insurance values may differ materially from current values.

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

Mark Richardson

Mark Richardson (Jul 7, 2026 15:42:14 GMT+1)

_____ MARK RICHARDSON (TREASURER)

Jul 7, 2026 Date:_____

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

Page 9

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

1 Accounting policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.

2 Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Ministry expenses Administration and support (see note 2(a)) Property costs Manse costs Outreach & events Worship Miscellaneous 2 (a) Administration and support Salaries Photocopier Office supplies and expenses Finance costs Governance costs 3 Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others Organisations		Unrestrict	Designated funds £ - 17,828 13,254 - - - 22 31,104 15,921 - 1,906 - - 17,828 - - ed Funds	Restricted Funds £ - - 528 - 3,472 - 100 4,100 - - - - - - 1,011 1,011	Total 2025 £ 35,175 36,539 24,875 5,163 7,196 2,437 1,088 112,473 28,365 1,069 4,279 1,127 1,700 36,539 1,851 1,851	Total 2024 £
		General funds £ 35,175 18,712 11,092 5,163 3,725 2,437 966 77,269 12,444 1,069 2,373 1,127 1,700 18,712 840 840
						45,291 34,338 38,033 5,232 4,851 1,839 782
						130,366
						26,532 1,174 3,982 1,030 1,620
						34,338
						1,697
						1,697

Page 10

CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

4 Transactions with related parties

The Minister is employed by the central finance office of the URC, and ministry costs (in note 2) include contributions to the central fund for this purpose. No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum.

In addition the charity incurred expenditure totalling £5,163 (2024: £5,232) in respect of the provision of accommodation (which is customary for ministers) to Rev G.O. Kalu, who is a trustee so that they could better perform their duties.

5 Movement of funds

vement of funds
General funds Designated funds Infrastructure fund General reserve Equipment fund Centre fund Centre reserve Spectrum Youth club Restricted funds Community lunch fund Communion fund Millie Finch memorial fund Mission fund Charitable fund Phil Goddard memorial fund Stair Lift Fund Total funds	Opening balance £ 13,711 463 10,882 3,087 13,630 20,746 - - 48,808 1,057 729 3,918 5,965 - 490 1,273 13,432 75,950	Receipts £ 96,620 - - 40 40,254 - 218 250 40,762 3,979 - - - 1,011 - - 4,990 142,372	Payments £ (78,109) - - (375) (30,729) - - - (31,104) (3,542) (30) - - (1,011) - (528) (5,110) (114,323)	Transfers £ (19,318) 17,518 2,000 - (8,264) 9,254 - - 20,508 (990) - - (200) - - - (1,190) -	Closing balance £ 12,904 17,981 12,882 2,752 14,891 30,000 218 250
					78,974
					504 699 3,918 5,765 - 490 745
					12,121
					103,999

Designated funds

The Infrastructure reserve is a designated fund for works to the church building. The Equipment reserve is a designated fund for all new or replacement equipment and furnishings. The Centre fund represents funds set aside for major long term maintenance projects. The Centre reserve is designated for long term maintenance projects The Spectrum Youth Fund is designated for youth work within the life of the church

The Youth Club Fund is designated for open reach youth work

Restricted funds

The Community lunch fund is a self funding monthly lunch programme reaching out to the elderly and those living alone. The Communion fund relates to donations given in support of members or non members (where appropriate) in financial need. The Mission fund relates to donations given for specific mission related initiatives which are in line with the charity's objectives.

The Charitable Fund relates to amounts received which were restricted donations received on behalf of forwarding onto other registered charities The Millie Finch Memorial fund is an amount left in a legacy which the trustees have designated to fund opportunities for individual ministry training. The Phil Goddard Memorial fund relates to donations given in memory of a past Church Secretary and Elder. The funds are held pending a decision from from his wife Joy.

The Stair Lift fund relates to fundraising towards the installation of a stair lift in the church centre.

Page 11