Annual Report to the Charity Commission
For our Annual Gratitude Meeting 2023
Charitable Objective
The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document which states that the principal purpose of the charity is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination to include the advancement of education, community service and such other general charitable purposes in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world as the Church shall determine. The Church occupies premises which are held by the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd, on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above object.
Woodbridge Quay Church is affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and is part of the Eastern Baptist Association.
Vision and Values
Our Vision is to be ‘A Good News Church following an Extravagant God.’ We believe that this is the Church that God is calling us to be. In a world increasingly full of bad news we want to be Good News to all those who join us for the journey, we want to be a church that is Good News to our wider community. Most importantly we want to show people the Good News of Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us through both our words and actions. God is extravagant in giving his only son as a gift for us, and so we want to follow him in all that we do.
In 2015, a legacy given by a long-standing church member allowed for a piece of art to be erected in our church grounds that might draw the eye. A piece of art that says this is a healthy place where God is encountered. The result was the hand sculpture that stands in our church grounds, and that is now daily, one of the most photographed locations in Woodbridge. It is because of this hand sculpture that we are known affectionately to the town as ‘The Church with the Hands.’ We believe that our vision as a church is achieved when we embrace our identity as ‘ The Church with the Hands’ and so our values stem from this identity.
We want to be Hands that:
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Pray – Making prayer a priority
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Open – Invite the Holy Spirit to move among us
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Care – Connecting people to the welcome, love and care of Jesus
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Raise – Aspire to excellence in all things
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Love – Choosing love, because love transforms
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Give – Saying ‘Yes to God’ whatever it costs
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Move – Deepening and Increasing the Kingdom of God through lives rooted in Jesus
Context
In November 2021 at our AGM, we introduced a new leadership structure within the parameters of our constitution, introducing the two roles of Elders and Guardians. Both Elders and Guardians serve
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as charity trustees, and have a bi-monthly full trustees meeting, but also meet for separate Elders and Guardians meetings.
Our Elders for this reporting year were Jonathan Knight, Debbie Scurrell and Amanda Phelan, who assisted the Pastors, Doug Waller and Guy Mansell within the Eldership of the church. Elders are ‘ Those entrusted with the oversight of the spiritual health and direction of the Church’
The Elder’s role is to: Lead the church (1 Tim 5:17; Tit 1:7; 1 Pet 5:1-2), Teach and preach the word (1 Tim 3:2; 2 Tim 4:2; Tit 1:9), Protect the church from false teachers (Acts 20:17 & 28-31), Teach sound doctrine (1 Tim 4:13; 2 Tim 3:13-17), Visit the sick and pray (Jam 5:14; Act 6:4), Judge doctrinal issues (Act 15:6)
Our Guardians for the reporting year were Emma Grant and Sarah Fowler, Alan Rider (Church Secretary) and Louis Kamfer (Church Treasurer). Sadly, during the course of this year, Alan went to be with the Lord in glory (June 2023). We have been immensely blessed by all that Alan contributed to the life of the church and how he faithfully served as Secretary. In the interim period prior to our Annual General Meeting, Emma Grant has served us on an interim basis in this role.
Guardians are ‘Those who are Guardians and Protectors of the Church, its Ministries and Ministers (By ensuring professional and legal obligations are intentionally met).’ The Guardians role is to oversee: Annual Budget, Data Protection, Financial Regulations, Legal Regulations, Staff Welfare, Annual Appraisals, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Charity Commission returns and the administration of the church.
Both Guardians and Elders are expected to pray regularly for the work of the church, to be involved in its ministries, and to be men and women of good Christian character and conduct.
The Full Leadership Team has met on 6 occasions over the course of the year. Guardians meeting separately on 6 occasions, and Elders meeting separately on 12 occasions. Notes and minutes of the separate meetings are made available to each group to promote transparency and accountability.
The church is further supported by Ministry Team Leaders, Jane and Mark Pears, who oversee the Pastoral Care of the church on a voluntary basis. The church employs Kevin Bitter as our Operations and Hub Manager, and he is responsible for much of the day to day running of our facilities, and communications.
Achievements and Performance
Whilst it is always feels difficult to talk in church life of achievements and success, here is a summary of some of the things that we have seen happen throughout this year, linked to each of our values
Hands that Pray
Making Prayer a Priority
In 2023 we have tried to answer the challenge from our previous years reflection that we needed to spend greater time in prayer and fasting together as a church.
We have periodically called the church to prayer. At the beginning of the year, we introduced a Sunday evening ‘Plant’ prayer meeting. As a church we have been trying to discern the future direction, and have been seeking the Lord’s face as to whether we plant an additional congregation,
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potentially plant a church site in a different location, and also whether we look to take on additional premises in the town. The Plant prayer meeting was attended by a small but dedicated group, and it was from this prayer meeting that we sensed that God was telling us ‘that we’ve been walking in circles around these hills long enough.’ This became a key word during our Lead Pastor’s sabbatical which he was set aside for from April to July.
In May, our Elders led a dedicated week of prayer, with devotional studies given throughout the week, and also an opportunity to either pray together each evening. On a bi-monthly basis, we have eschewed our small groups in order to gather together for ‘Prayer and Praise.’
Throughout the last 12 months, our church small groups have continued to offer prayer support and encouragement to one another. Pastoral visitation continues to take place, with the Pastoral Care team prioritising those who are not connected to a small group, or those who need additional support. This has presented an opportunity for the Pastoral Care team to pray and journey alongside a number of people. We continue to utilise a prayer chain and also use our private church Facebook group which provides opportunities to pray for one another.
Hands that Open
Invite the Holy Spirit to move among us
This has felt a significant year for discerning the future direction of the church and what next steps will be. As a leadership team we have been prayerful together about what God might be saying, and in the early part of the year, we adopted the mantra ‘debt free in 2023, do more in 2024.’
We decided together in March 2023 as a church family to clear the remaining balance on our Baptist Union loan of £58,819 that had been used to grow the ministry of the church. With lots of potential opportunities opening up before us as a church, we felt that starting without debt was the place to begin.
We paid this loan off from a combination of bequest money, through adjusting our charity reserves, and through money from our general fund. It felt as though this was a significant moment and has meant that for the remainder of the year, we haven’t had to make any more capital payments and we have saved significantly on interest. This has put us in a stronger position for the things that we feel God might be calling us to.
At the beginning of 2023 as a Leadership we discerned that we had 5 key priorities for the year:
Pray - With all the changes and possibilities that are around us, there is a great need for us as a church to be praying more together.
Keep Going - There is a shared sense that God is pouring out His blessing on us as a church, through the many ministries and activities. We are seeing regular baptisms, new people becoming increasingly part of the family and life of the church, and people going deeper in their walk of discipleship, so we feel we want to continue this momentum. There is a desire to keep going and persevere with the Lord’s help.
Greater Sharing of Story -We wanted to try and cultivate a church environment where people are open to sharing their stories of what God is doing in their lives. After Easter we are ran a series called ‘Fruitfulness on the frontline.’ We ran a segment in our services called ‘This time tomorrow,’ and people shared where they would be and what they would be doing this time tomorrow. We
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also ran a segment after the summer holidays, called ‘I know what you did this summer,’ this was to encourage people to share the things that they been involved with over the summer months in a Kingdom’s sense.
Identify the needs of our Community - In exploring the possibilities of planting or taking on additional facilities, one of the key areas that we recognised was the need to engage with more proactively, what are the needs of our community? If our vision is to be a Good News Church following an Extravagant God, how might we be Good News to our community? We acknowledge that some work needs to be done in this area coupled with prayer, and so the Leadership Team are considering how we might effectively do this.
Grow and Develop Leaders in the Church - Since the end of 2021, the Leadership Team have been using a book called ‘Lead’ by Karl Martin in our devotional times together. The premise of the book is how we grow in Jesus-Leadership, and how we disciple and grow other leaders in the church. The Leadership Team feel a burden to be more proactive in investing in training and raising up leaders in the church, whether that is Small Group Leaders, Ministry Team Leaders, Sunday School Leaders or potential Church Leaders. Since September that has led to greater involvement from people in our Sunday services, and we have tried to have training sessions for small group leadership, listening in pastoral care, and workshops in musical worship.
A passage that has underpinned a lot of our thoughts this year has come from Isaiah,
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations .”
Isaiah 61:1-4 NIV
We have seen 4 Baptisms in 2023, all from amongst our young people. It’s been wonderful to see the fruit of the investment that we have made into children’s and youth work over the last few years. Each of these were powerful occasions in the life of the church, which both edified those being baptised, but also edified the church body.
Hands that Care
Connecting people to the welcome, love and care of Jesus
Through the support of the pastoral care team, we have supported those going through difficulties on a range of things such as relationship breakdowns, illness and infirmity, bereavement, and social isolation.
This year we have introduced a monthly Songs of Praise service, where people can come enjoy one another’s company, and sing songs together. This has been incredibly helpful for the building of community. People have been very open in sharing the challenges that they have been going
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through, but it’s also been a great place of encouragement and has been a worthwhile addition to the ministry at Quay.
Quay Time, our monthly meeting place for coffee and entertainment that we operate in partnership with the lions continued in 2023 and has seen a great increase in numbers since before the pandemic. It has also addressed a growing need to connect with those who might be socially isolated. It’s been very encouraging to see a greater number of men attending each month, so that now the group is more balanced in terms of gender.
Coffee@Quay has also offered people a space for to meet on Saturday’s once a month, and has also had opportunities to support various charities.
Quay Women has continued and serves a great need amongst the women of the church, who will meet to deepen connection and share life’s joys and struggles.
Various ministries in the church have extended the welcome of Jesus to those who might not ordinarily come to church such as Little Hands Parent and toddler group. We also have seen this during our Big Family Day Out in July. This year we worked more closely with St John’s Church in Woodbridge, and together are seeking to do more events together under the banner of Hope Woodbridge.
The Big Family Day Out is a real 'Good News' event with Hog Roast, Train Rides, Bouncy Castles, FacePainting, Gaming Van and Cream Teas. Through it, we try and show the generosity of our God to the community around us, and try and do what we can to serve them and be good news to them. That's why everything about the day is Free, we don't want any money for this event, we just give people the gift of a fun free day out together as families. In this we can point people to Jesus, the One who has freely and generously given himself for us.
Hands that Raise
Aspire to excellence in all things
At the beginning of this year we adjusted our service time from 10:45 to 10am. Having previously had Breakfast Church running once a month, we felt that we wanted to draw together the best aspects of Breakfast Church with our 10:45 service. Our services begin now at 9:30am with tea, coffee and Breakfast Snacks, and also end with tea and coffee afterwards. Whilst there was initial hesitation from some about the earlier start, it has been hugely beneficial to the life of the church. The earlier start means that at the end of the service people aren’t rushing off to get home for dinner, this has led to greater relationships being built within the church. The earlier start has also allowed space for people to connect pre-service.
As part of our devoted worship, we want to grow more in the likeness of Christ. This year we returned to the Book of Acts (Movement | Momentum | Multiply) in our Sunday mornings, this took us from January to April. After Easter we looked at Fruitfulness on the Frontline, followed by a miniseries from our Families Pastor Guy Mansell on the book of Jonah. Over the summer, we explored the ‘Words from the Hill’, with a range of different speakers. Then this autumn, we have looked at a series called ‘Radical’ looking at slow paced spirituality in a fast paced world, and followed that with a series on discipleship called the way of Jesus These teaching themes continue to hopefully challenge and provoke us about how we are to be living sacrifices as we worship the Lord.
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We have continued to livestream services, so that those who are unable to be with is in room on a Sunday, can still be very much a part of what is going on through watching online. We are still seeing a significant number of views each week (approx. 15-20 live views) through the livestream. Our weekly average Church attendance has been relatively consistent throughout the year:
| DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 178 | 172 | 159 | 178 | 180 | * | * | 169** | 131 | 170 | 150 | 161** |
We have also seen an increase in numbers in terms of those who have come to Quay at least once during a month:
| JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 278 | 254 | 298 | 301 | * | * | 241** | 251 | 300 | 277 | 259** |
- No Data available
**Data Incomplete
We’ve continued to improve our communications utilising a variety of different platforms, Facebook, Instagram, ChurchSuite, our Website www.thequay.org.uk and this year have been more intentional in sending letters to members where necessary.
In considering this value, we recognise that in the case of all of the ministries of WQC, a lot of time and effort and love is put in to make them excellent. People give their best, from our Sunday School leaders and small group leaders, to our worship band, from our AV team, to those who serve tea and coffee. Our thanks to all of those people who have voluntarily served in ministry areas this year, giving their best as part of their worship of Jesus.
Hands that Love
Choosing love, because love transforms
Following on from the previous value, many of the activities run, have been done not just as an act of worship, but as a sign of love for people. Our Sunday school teachers, showing children the love of Jesus, and loving them. Our Little hands team, getting alongside young parents who have endured a lot of their parenting lives, and showing them love and empathy. The activities that we have offered to our community for free, such as the Light Party, the Lego Party, and BFDO. It’s all been out of love.
Over Easter this year, we ran a Holiday Club for primary aged Children, this was attended by 40 children. The theme was Secret Agents, and the children were treated to three days of craft, activities, games and challenges, whilst also we were able to share with them our hope in Jesus.
Hands that Give
Saying ‘Yes to God’ whatever it costs
Throughout this year we have regularly said Yes to God whatever it has cost. This has been in numerous ways.
Firstly, through faithful financial giving. At the beginning of this year, the church was budgeting to be in deficit. It was a step of faith when the budget was set in 2022 that God would provide, and he
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has through the generosity of his people. We have been able to resource ministry throughout the church all year round, although we are beginning to identify that now our staff team are at capacity.
We have also continued to try and be open handed and generous as a church. As part of our annual budget, we have given £21,675 to the Baptist Union Home Mission Fund, the Baptist Missionary Society, Just 42, and Addis Kidhan Church in Ethiopia. Whilst not going through the church accounts, members of the church have also given in £15,269 to Compassion UK. A significant sum has been given to various charities through Coffee@Quay, £800 being raised for MacMillan.
For our Harvest Offering this year, we have given £2330 to a Compassion Child Survival Project in Ethiopia that works alongside Mum’s and gives them access to support in pre-natal and post-natal care. We also took a great number of goods to the Salvation Army foodbank and 53 Boxes were donated to Operation Christmas Child.
It’s incredibly encouraging, that, together the church has given in excess of £40,000 in this past financial year to various different Christian organisations and charities.
We also believe that God has blessed us with the buildings that we have, and their purpose is not fully utilised if we keep them solely for ourselves. They need to be available for use so that we can become a community hub. This is part of our vision, to be Good News to our community. We have continued to work closely with Barnabas Preschool who use our buildings, and this has led to great partnerships being developed, and presented us with another frontline opportunity. We were delighted when they received an Outstanding Ofsted inspection this year. We also have had our buildings utilised by Foosteps Counselling Service, Christians Against Poverty, Woodbridge Town Council, Woodbridge Society and ActivLives
It is also important to acknowledge that giving isn’t limited to finance, and so many people have given very sacrificially of their time over the course of this year, without which, many of the ministries and events the church has laid on would not have happened.
Hands that Move
Deepening and Increasing the Kingdom of God through lives rooted in Jesus
14 new church family members have joined us, as part of our ‘Joining in’ session. Here they heard about the ministry of the church, were able to share their story, and had the opportunity to covenant with us. This feels like a real discipleship step and moves away from the old-style interview and report setup that was in place. It is an example of the growth that we are seeing in the church. However we also want people to be growing in their own walk of discipleship. From joining in, to small groups, there are opportunities to journey together with fellow pilgrims.
Church small groups are the primary place where we receive pastoral care, encouragement, and the opportunity to grow in relationship with one another as we 'do life together .’ By the end of this year, the number of small groups will have grown to 11, this is encouraging and reflects a greater engagement and desire to live faithful lives of discipleship.
Our Origin Youth Group continues to thrive and flourish, with approximately 20 secondary school age children taking part in the Sunday evening Youth Program. They also had a Weekend away this year, which has been incredibly successful and influential in our young people’s walk with Jesus.
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Summary
2022 had been a year where we had sensed that the church needed to reset after covid. As we have gone through 2023, we have seen the church pick up a great amount of momentum. We continue to be excited by the growth that we have seen, and we believe this has been largely down not to programmes but a heavy emphasis on relational mission. We acknowledge and recognise that as a church much of our current ministry capability is running at capacity. It is why as we approach 2024, we recognise that in order to do more we will need to invest further. We are grateful to God for all that he has done among us. It feels as though it has been a year that whilst there has been some numerical growth, there has also been a growth in depth, as people are taking their discipleship more seriously. We are continually bewildered by what has been happening, and excited about what God might be leading us into next.
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Woodbridge Quay Church Fund totals - Summary Selected period: 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
| Fund | Opening balance Closing balance |
|---|---|
| Bequests - Bequests FELLOWSHP - Fellowship Fund Lettings - Lettings MaintRes - Maintenance Reserve Fund OARS - OARS QUAYTIME - Quay Time Sending - Sending Church General - General fund Overall totals |
|
| 10,833 0 |
|
| 141 1,147 |
|
| 800 850 |
|
| 23,050 20,890 |
|
| 314 0 |
|
| 540 506 |
|
| 3,611 1,211 |
|
| 1,544,377 1,567,675 |
|
| 1,583,664 1,592,278 |
(21 October 2024 9:57 am) Page 1 of 1
Woodbridge Quay Church Receipts and Payments Account
For the period from 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
| Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Endowment | Total | Prior year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | funds | funds | total funds | |
| Receipts | ||||||
| Offerings & Donations | 172,551.69 | 1,206.00 | - | - | 173,757.69 | 167,179.38 |
| Tax Recovered | 28,936.72 | - | - | - | 28,936.72 | 28,838.80 |
| Interest | 448.76 | - | - | - | 448.76 | 542.59 |
| Bequests | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lettings Income | 16,918.79 | 50.00 | - | - | 16,968.79 | 11,286.66 |
| Fund Raising | 94.88 | - | - | - | 94.88 | - |
| Other Income | 1,305.71 | 168.92 | - | - | 1,474.63 | 7,701.91 |
| Receipts for other causes | 1,390.77 | 751.00 | - | - | 2,141.77 | 470.70 |
| Total Receipts | 221,647.32 | 2,175.92 | - | - | 223,823.24 | 216,020.04 |
| Payments | ||||||
| Ministry | 82,326.24 | - | - | - | 82,326.24 | 80,387.01 |
| Mission - other causes | 23,213.42 | 751.00 | - | - | 23,964.42 | 20,660.70 |
| Mission - Local outreach | 15,953.75 | 1,603.27 | - | - | 17,557.02 | 16,992.99 |
| Church running costs | 20,751.32 | - | - | - | 20,751.32 | 19,089.71 |
| Church building & Equipment | 21,464.36 | 2,160.00 | - | - | 23,624.36 | 5,711.71 |
| Administration & Other | 46,672.94 | 313.61 | - | - | 46,986.55 | 47,904.19 |
| Church Redevelopment Project | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total Payments | 210,382.03 | 4,827.88 | - | - | 215,209.91 | 190,746.31 |
| Excess of receipts over payments before transfer | 11,265.29 | (2,651.96) | - | - | 8,613.33 | 25,273.73 |
| Transfers: | ||||||
| Gross transfers between funds - in | 21,627.93 | 10,795.00 | - | - | 32,422.93 | 4,093.00 |
| Gross transfers between funds - out | (9,595.00) | (22,827.93) | - | - | (32,422.93) | (4,093.00) |
| Excess of receipts over payments before other gains | 23,298.22 | (14,684.89) | - | - | 8,613.33 | 25,273.73 |
| Net movement in funds | 23,298.22 | (14,684.89) | - | - | 8,613.33 | 25,273.73 |
| Reconciliation of funds | ||||||
| Excess of receipts over payments at beginning of the year | 1,544,326.82 | 39,337.63 | - | - | 1,583,664.45 | 1,558,390.72 |
| Excess of receipts over payments for the year | 1,567,625.04 | 24,652.74 | - | - | 1,592,277.78 | 1,583,664.45 |
(21 June 2024 12:05 pm) Page 1 of 1
Woodbridge Quay Church
Statement of Assets and Liabilities (by code) As at: 31 December 2023
| Class and nominal code | General (Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Endowment Total Last year |
|---|---|
| Fixed Asset - Tangible Assets 4000: Buildings 1,343,600.00 147,400.00 - - 1,491,000.00 1,491,000.00 4001: Fixtures & Fittings 1,454.50 - - - 1,454.50 2,699.25 4002: Office Equipment 599.63 - - - 599.63 - 4004: A/V Equipment 261.25 - - - 261.25 1,804.27 4006: Sculpture 20,000.00 - - - 20,000.00 20,000.00 Total 1,365,915.38 147,400.00 - - 1,513,315.38 1,515,503.52 Current Asset - Cash At Bank And In Hand 5000: GF CAF - current 154,101.78 (124,411.48) - - 29,690.30 16,034.68 5003: GF - Scottish Widows 5,897.18 - - - 5,897.18 10,370.02 5005: GF - Monmouthshire 30,374.92 - - - 30,374.92 44,954.98 5006: Teachers Building Society 13,000.00 - - - 13,000.00 55,000.00 5007: Petty Cash (164.22) 164.22 - - - - Total 203,209.66 (124,247.26) - - 78,962.40 126,359.68 Liability - Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year 6000: BU Loan account 1,500.00 (1,500.00) - - - 58,198.75 Total 1,500.00 (1,500.00) - - - 58,198.75 Net total assets 1,567,625.04 24,652.74 - - 1,592,277.78 1,583,664.45 |
1,343,600.00 147,400.00 - - 1,491,000.00 1,491,000.00 1,454.50 - - - 1,454.50 2,699.25 599.63 - - - 599.63 - 261.25 - - - 261.25 1,804.27 20,000.00 - - - 20,000.00 20,000.00 |
| Represented by General (Unrestricted) 1,567,675.04 - - - 1,567,675.04 1,544,376.82 Designated - Bequests - - - - - 10,832.87 Designated - FELLOWSHP - 1,146.73 - - 1,146.73 140.78 Designated - Lettings - 850.00 - - 850.00 800.00 Designated - MaintRes - 20,889.94 - - 20,889.94 23,050.00 Designated - OARS - - - - - 313.61 Designated - QUAYTIME - 505.57 - - 505.57 539.87 Designated - Sending - 1,210.50 - - 1,210.50 3,610.50 Total 1,567,675.04 24,602.74 - - 1,592,277.78 1,583,664.45 |
1,567,675.04 - - - 1,567,675.04 1,544,376.82 - - - - - 10,832.87 - 1,146.73 - - 1,146.73 140.78 - 850.00 - - 850.00 800.00 - 20,889.94 - - 20,889.94 23,050.00 - - - - - 313.61 - 505.57 - - 505.57 539.87 - 1,210.50 - - 1,210.50 3,610.50 |
(21 June 2024 12:06 pm) Page 1 of 1
IIII WOODBRIDGE QUAY CHURCH End of Year Financial Statements Year ending 31 December 2023
Report of the Church Treasurnr Woodbridge Quay Church's (woc) financial position at the end of 2023 remains very strong, with total assets of over £1.592,000. This comprises £1,491.000 of land and buildings (comprising the church, the adjoining car patk, and tsvo manses), £78.962 cash. and £22,315 other fixtures. frttings, fijmiture and equipmenL Cash WQC'S £78.962 cash would cover four months of the church's expenditure Ibased on 2023). more than the three month minimum figure recommended by the ChaTity Commission. The cash is managed through one current acunt. through which day to day transactions a made, and a number of savings accounts with short-term a¢sS arrangements. This ensures the church is able to generate interest on its money that it does not require immediately, whilst ensuring its funds remain readily aCsSible. Spreading cash between four accounts also redUS the risk of dependency on a particular bank in the event of a future banking Crisis. The church's bank accounts have the following signatories, two of whith are needed to authorize payments". Louis Kamfer (Treasurer) Christine Bilton {Bookkeeper) Wendy Collins (Leadership Team) Borrowi In order to help finan the development of rts church buildings and the purchase of a second man. the church took out a loan in Dec 2012. This was fully repaid during the year. Therefore the balan outstanding as at 31112r2023 is nil (3111212022.. £58.198.75) Income and E nditure In 2023 WQC received £223.823 in income (2022: £216,020). In 2023 WQC incurred £215,209 of expenditute in the general fund (2022.. £190.746) giving a general fvnd sUlUS of £8,613 (2022.. £25,273). Accountin basis It should be noted that these accounts are prepared on a cash rather than an accwals basis, and have not been prepared on the basis of Financial Reporting Standard 102 (as larger entities would be required to be) on the basis of Charity Commission rules that pemiit this for charFties whose annual income is less than £250,000, such as WQC. This means that ttems are accounted from when payments are made and reiptS reived, rather than when expenditure is incurred and income is generated. In practice. these are largely one and the same for organisation such as WQC.
Moreover, to prepare these accounts on an accruals basis and in accordance with FRS102 would require consKlerably more work and lead to a rnuch longer statement of accounts. but it is held Uld provide little to no additional benefit for its readers. Goin Concern On the basis that WQC has considerable assets, cash resetves that would enable rt to conduct its operats'ons were its income to cease for a period of four months, and its annual income is broadly in line with its expenditure, it is the view of the Leadership team that WQC has sustainable finances for the foreseeable future, and is a going concern. Louis Kamfer WQC Treasurer Christine Bilton WQC Bookkeeper
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examtner's Report Report to the trusteesl mèmbers of WOODBRIDGE QUAY CHURCH On a¢nts for the year ended 31 DECEMBER 2023 Charlty no (If any) 1135458 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of th8 accourbts of the at)ve harity11he Trusf} for the year ended 3111212023. Responslbllltles and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation Is of report of the accounts in accordance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {Ihe Act'l. I report in respecl of my examination of the Trust's accounls carried Olrt under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination. I have follcAYed the applicable Directi(Th given by the Charty CcnmissK)n under section 145(5}Ib) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that r#) material matters have come to my attenti( in connectK)n wrth thé èxaminalTron which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with 5ectKffl 130 of the Act or the acc(wnts do not accord with the accounting records Independent èxaminerfs ststement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enab a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Slgned: Date: 1411012024 Name: ANGELA RUTH CARPENTER Relevant profosslonal qualifi¢ation(s) or body {if any): Address: 52 BADGERS BANK IPSWICH SUFFOLK IP2 9EN Section B Disclosure Onty complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concem (see CC32, Independent examinatKJn of charity accounls". dir8Cttons and guidance for examiners). IER October 2018