## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENT for the year ending 31 March 2022**
**Registered Address 22 New Street Milnrow Rochdale OL16 3PQ**
**Charity Registration Number 1135818**
**Approved by the Trustees on 6/1/2023**
## **Trustees**
**Julian Hurst (Elder) Dr Mike Worsell (Elder) John Corbett (Treasurer and Deacon) Stephen Perrott (Deacon) Dr Timothy Platts (Deacon) Sam Cappleman-Lynes (Deacon)**
## **Bankers**
**H S B C 2 Yorkshire Street Rochdale OL16 1EE**
**Independent Examiner: STANLEY OZGOWICZ MA (Cantab) CTA Atrament Limited 1 Cliffe Cottages Roper Lane Thurgoland**
Page 1
## **SHEFFIELD S35 7AA**
## TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
## CHARITABLE OBJECT
The primary aims of the Trust are to fulfil the role of a Christian Church in the Rochdale and district area and to provide help to others in promoting the Christian faith in the United Kingdom and overseas.
THE CHURCH : ITS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The Church is a gathering of ordinary people of different ages and backgrounds, whose lives have been changed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the World.
The New Testament describes the Church as a community of people, properly taught and cared for, who by knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and loving and serving Him, are also committed to love and care for each other and to bring a blessing to the area in which they live.
Milnrow Evangelical Church, its Trustees and members are committed to the maintenance of these New Testament principles, as also are many other Churches, not only in this country, but also all over the world.
The powers of appointment or removal of Trustees rests with the Trustees. New Trustees are selected from within the elders and deacons of the Church, appointed in accordance with the Members’ manual. This means that the Trustee body is whole heartedly involved in fulfilling the mission of the Church worked out in practice. New Trustees are made aware of their responsibilities and of the legal and financial framework in which the Church operates.
The Church employs one Elder full time and one part
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time Administrator, but all members are involved in the work. Each member does what they are able as time and abilities permit. Some are involved in leading the worship services, or in a teaching ministry. Others are able to visit the sick and needy. All are involved in prayer for the work and in its financial support.
## THE YEAR: ITS OBJECTIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
During the year ended 31 March 2022 the church faced many new challenges. Following the previous government lockdowns to limit the spread of covid-19, restrictions began to ease. The government finally removed all mandatory restrictions on 19[th] July 2021, but advised some ongoing precautions. The whole of church life had to be reorganized once again. We began to sing together as a congregation again, re-launched our youth work in September 2021 in a new format and started a new mother and toddler group, called Stay & Play. We modified our live streaming of our services, to encourage people to return to meeting together at church. We continued to meet using Zoom for prayer meetings 3 mornings a week. Some people struggled more than others with the changes, and we tried to cater for all the members’ concerns throughout. We delayed the restart of Home Groups due to the concerns of some people.
As well as our meetings, our outreach also adjusted to a new format, closer to what we did before the covid pandemic.
The main ways that the Church has sought to achieve the calling of Christ upon it and its charitable purposes for the public benefit have been as follows:
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## * Lord’s Day Services.
Our main Sunday services continued each Sunday at 11.00a.m. and 6.00p.m. We continue to ventilate the hall and sanitize our hands to limit the spread of germs. We also provide a no singing room for those who prefer not to sing as part of a congregation indoors.
With time, we re-introduced a time of fellowship after the evening service with refreshments.
We continued to live stream our services, and keep the video recordings on our church Facebook page, but stopped including the words for the hymns and the PowerPoint slides on the live stream. This was to save work and encourage people to return to the meetings in the church.
We had the joy of holding two baptismal services on Sunday mornings after 19[th] July 2021, so no special covid precautions were necessary.
## * Morning Prayer Meetings.
This prayer meeting was kept online using Zoom and met three mornings a week at 9.00a.m till 9.40am. This was to retain the increased numbers we had had during the pandemic.
## * Midweek Meetings.
On a Wednesday morning and evening the ladies meet for Bible study, fellowship and prayer. These meetings have continued to use Zoom, but increasing numbers have met in person as restrictions were eased.
On a Thursday evening at 7.45 p.m. there is a Bible Study and Prayer Meeting. Home Groups continued to be suspended due to concerns by some people regarding the possible spread of covid.
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A funeral was held in the church on 26[th] October 2021 and the church building was full of family and friends.
## * Trainee.
The church took on a self-employed trainee, called Paul Morgan, on 1[st] October 2021 for a twelve-month period. He was supported by the church and lived in the church flat. He helped with outreach, youth work and preaching. As well as on-the-job training, he did guided reading.
## * Missionary Support.
This year £25,044 was donated for the support of missionary work worldwide.
In addition, we had a special gift day in March 2022 to raise funds to support refugees from Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion of their country in February 2022. We raised £10,681.25 which was sent to Christian friends in Poland and others working with UFM, whom we knew were caring for refugees from Ukraine.
## * Outreach.
This work, like everything else, was adjusted as the covid rules were relaxed.
**Book table work.** We continued our outreach using book tables. We offer Bibles, Gospels, Christian books and leaflets. People have become more relaxed at the table and happier to stop and talk and to take literature as covid concerns have eased. We run 2 book tables in Rochdale town center each week and help with another in Halifax once a week.
**Open Airs.** We continued with our open airs once a month in Rochdale, meeting on a Saturday. We have Gospel messages preached with the help of visual aids, hand out Christian literature and have discussions with any who show interest.
**Door to door visitation.** We have restarted door to door visitation now that covid concerns have eased. We do this when the weather is not suitable for the book
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tables and during our Week of Outreach.
**Leaflet Distribution.** We continue to deliver Christian literature and invitations to various church meetings. These are mostly done in connection with special events; Christmas, Easter and ‘Week of Outreach’ meetings in particular.
**Personal Bible Studies.** We run personal Bible studies for those who want to understand more about the Christian faith. In particular, we often run ‘Christianity Explored’ for those who are desiring to be baptised and join the church to ensure that they understand clearly what being a Christian means.
Our **annual Week of Outreach** took place in September as usual. We ran a normal programme of outreach in 2021, but the re-launch of the youth work around the same time and the lower numbers of helpers made things more difficult. We ran an evangelistic men’s breakfast and special Sunday services, to which people were invited.
We started a new meeting for mothers / fathers / carers and their young children in September 2021. This was called **Stay & Play** . The purpose of this meeting is to build relationships with local families and seek opportunities to share the gospel.
We re-launched our **youth work** in September 2021. This included the relaunch of our club for primary school age children, called Good News Club, and a new club, called JETS, for secondary school aged children.
During **the month of December** we had a Christmas Supper with a visiting speaker, Joe Long, a Carol Service and a Christmas Day service to which neighbours and friends were invited.
We held a **Spring Supper** in March 2022, to which friends and neighbours were also invited.
* Word of Hope Ministries.
This work continues to be in demand, with orders coming for the literature from various parts of the
Page 6
country and a number of requests coming from abroad. The drop in demand due to covid gradually picked up as more outreach was being done.
This work is maintained by a group of devoted volunteers who give many hours of their time each year.
## * Hospitality.
Hospitality was gradually restored as people become less worried about the risks of catching covid.
## * Church Website.
The church website (www.milnrow.org) continues to be a valuable asset to members of the church and viewers from outside. Mp3 audios and MP4 videos are regularly accessed through the website. These include messages preached at the church on Thursdays and Sundays, by various speakers. Videos are available to watch, sharing personal stories of faith in Jesus Christ, and answers to life’s questions. A book offer is often available for visitors wishing to know more.
Activities of the church are advertised using this platform; from Youth groups to seasonal Suppers.
The website continues to be linked to other sites such as www.the christiananswer.org; which provides more educational materials on the Christian faith, resulting in a number of requests for Christian literature. Jesusislam.com is another; providing information for the many who enquire into the Christian faith from a Muslim background. It is now available in English, French, Arabic, Urdu and Persian. AndyMcIntosh.org is another website that provides helpful information on science and creation.
The church’s website is updated by a member of the church skilled in the area of IT, guided by our previous Pastor; the author of the website.
The church also has a Facebook page on which most meetings are livestreamed. These videos are then available for people to watch at any time.
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* Supporting Other Christian Works.
Help is provided with a number of other churches and organisations, particularly in support of their outreach;
**Halifax Grace Baptist Church** : Members of our church help weekly on a Thursday with general outreach. We also participate in their annual outreach week in September.
**Chorlton Evangelical Church** . We support their week of outreach, which was in June 2021 with helpers and in prayer.
**United Beach Missions** . Church members are involved in leadership of and participating in teams throughout the year. These teams operate in the UK and also in continental Europe.
Many from our church helped the **Christian Answer** team in Manchester in May 2021, which ran instead of their usual outreach in London.
**The Open-Air Mission** . Members support their monthly outreaches in Manchester and have worked together with them occasionally in Bolton.
We also assist **other local churches** by providing preachers from the church to assist them in their ministry.
* Supporting those seeking asylum.
The number of people seeking asylum in the U.K. continues to provide churches with opportunities to give both spiritual and humanitarian support. Many in Rochdale are Christians who were persecuted in their land of origin, but others have not had an opportunity to consider the Christian Faith openly. Both spiritual and humanitarian support is given without regard to whether the individuals are Christian or not.
On a number of occasions in the past we have provided advice in their claims, including our pastors attending their appeals tribunals.
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This year, the numbers coming to our church have been limited.
## * Food Bank and Samaritan’s Purse
We have an ongoing voluntary collection of food from members, which is donated to the local food bank. In addition, some members fill shoe boxes and donate them to Samaritan’s Purse.
## * Pastoral Care.
During the year our pastors have also been involved in the support of a number of members and others who attend the church who have had a variety of problems.
## * Personal Bible studies.
These studies have continued in person and online with the use of Zoom if preferred.
## * Safe-Guarding Policy.
The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted with regards to their suitability for their work, including all necessary legal checks. The safeguarding policy is reviewed annually.
## * Public Benefit.
The Trustees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and are satisfied that the activities outlined above clearly demonstrates that the church is providing a benefit to the public.
## * Trustees.
This year, David Owen, a long-standing trustee, retired from the eldership and trusteeship. A further two elders; Andy McIntosh and Mike Worsell, were appointed, and
Page 9
Mike Worsell also became a trustee. Three men from outside the church, were considered as possible new elders and trustees, but did not prove suitable.
## ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
The work of the church during this past year has been both challenging and encouraging. We have adjusted the life and work of the church to take account of the relaxation of covid restrictions. We have started up a new group for children age 0-5 and their carers, and relaunched our youth work in a revised format.
The membership has seen a number of changes. Two new members have been baptized and added to the church, six have joined us from other churches, five have moved on to other churches, one resigned and three were removed from membership due to non-attendance. The total membership thus reduced by one to 65.
The various mid-week meetings continue to be well attended.
## THE NEW YEAR
The spiritual goals of the church remain the same. The impact of Covid-19 has largely passed, but there are still some lingering impacts. All the activities of the church and needs of the members are under regular review, and ongoing adjustments will be required to face the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
The church is actively addressing the vacancy left by the retirement of David and Colette Harding. The church is also considering a period of ministry break for Julian and
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Ruth Hurst (Elder and Administrator), who have had a number of family bereavements to contend with on top of the pressures of the last few years.
The church is also preparing to launch a new Men’s meeting in April 2022, for men of all ages. Initially the plan is to meet once a month on a Saturday morning and study a mixture of practical theology and a book called Disciplines of a Godly Man.
## FINANCIAL REVIEW
The church is entirely dependent upon the generous giving of its members as we have no collections, but there is an offering box at the back of the church. The full financial results for the year are set out in the accompanying financial statement.
The Trustees have set a policy of retaining reserves sufficient for the foreseeable needs of the church to enable the church to function effectively in the coming year.
The Trustees have made an assessment of the major risks facing the church, and are satisfied that there are insurance policies in place to minimise these risks. All major insurable risks are subject to normal Churches and employers’ insurance.
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 church and of the profit and loss of the Charity for that period. The Trustees confirm that the accounts comply with the current statutory requirements and those of the Charity’s trust deed.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on **6/1/2023.**
Page 11
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **GENERAL RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**
|Notes
**INCOME**
General Giving (for general fund)
MEC Gift Aid Scheme
1
Stewardship/CAF (for general fund)
Rental of 22a New Street
2
Bank Interest
Repayment of Word of Hope Loan
Rental of church flat
**EXPENSES**
Pastoral - Julian & Ruth Hurst
3
Pastoral – Expenses
4
Visiting Preachers/Deputations
Missionary Support
5
Young People's Work
6
Outreach
7
Building Repairs & Renewals
8
Insurance
Utility Services
9
Materials/Publications
12
Welfare
10
Minibus
11
Audit of Accounts
Bank Charges
General Expenses
14
Net surplus for the year|2021/22
£
6,525
63,954
5,486
5,022
1
1,675
0
82,663
22,019
6,535
2,285
25,044
429
1,412
2,965
1,850
6,158
2,381
0
1,061
315
97
1,999
74,550
8,113|2020/21
£
2,895
66,156
6,898
4,704
5
0
1,883|
|---|---|---|
|||82,541|
|||22,019
157
910
23,880
0
1,029
1,584
1,839
5,682
3,874
1,025
1,486
205
0
2,674|
|||66,364|
|||16,177|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **GIFT AID ACCOUNT**
|Notes
**OPENING BALANCES**
General
African Pastors Conference
Adamu
Jyoti
Dan Hill
**INCOME**
General Fund
Dan Hill
Hicham & Elizabeth
African Pastors Conference
Adamu
Jyoti
Andy McIntosh
Ukraine Appeal
Ilyia
Bank Charges
**HMRC**
HMRC - General Fund
Hicham & Elizabeth
Dan Hill
African Pastors Conference
Adamu
Jyoti
Andy McIntosh
Ilyia
Transfers to No1 Account
**CLOSING BALANCES**
General
African Pastors Conference
Adamu
Joyti|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
3,285
10,255
5,000
5,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
0
10
12,285
19,265
12,285
19,265
49,947
51,749
2,750
2,760
480
480
5,000
5,000
3,185
2,000
2,000
2,000
1,000
0
7,545
0
25
0
30
0
71,962
63,989
71,962
63,989
14,007
14,407
120
123
690
635
1,250
1,250
1,031
500
500
500
250
0
6
0
17,854
17,415
17,854
17,415
102,101
100,669
-100,896
-88,384
1,205
3,285
0
5,000
0
2,000
0
2,000|
|---|---|
||1,205
1,205
12,285
12,285|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **MEC WORD OF HOPE MINISTRIES**
||Notes|2021/22||2020/21||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£||£||
|**CASH ACCOUNT**||||||
|Opening Balance||1,121||115||
|Gifts and Transfers||0||0||
|Cash From Sales||3,212||1,351||
|||4,333||1,466||
||||4,333||1,466|
|Less: Purchases and Expenses|||-2,770||-345|
|Closing Balance|||1,563||1,121|
|**PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT**||||||
|Sales||3,459||1,392||
|Stock increase/(decrease)||-1,977||598||
|||1,482||1,990||
|Publications & Postage||-908||-1,904||
|Gross profit|||574|86|86|
|Audit Fees||105||105||
|Annual Website||83||83||
|Bank Charges||25||0||
|Expenses|||-213||-188|
|Net Profit/(loss)|||361||-102|
||**BOOKSTALL ACCOUNT**|||||
||Notes|2021/22||2020/21||
|||£||£||
|**CASH ACCOUNT**||||||
|Opening Balance||-89||-89||
|Sales||||0||
|||-89|-89|-89|-89|
|Less: Purchases and Expenses|||0||0|
|Transfer – General Fund|||||0|
|Closing Balance|||-89||-89|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
||**DESIGNATED GIFTS**|**ACCOUNT**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Notes|2021/22||2020/21||
|||£||£||
|Opening Balance||2,991||33||
|Gifts Received|13|40,156||22,288||
|||43,147||22,321||
|Payments made||-26,473||-19,330||
|Closing Balance||16,674||2,991||
||**BALANCE SHEET**|||||
|||Notes|2021/22||2020/21|
||||£||£|
|**FIXED ASSETS**||||||
|Property - Butterworth Hall, 22 New Street, Milnrow|||500,000||500,000|
|Other Tangible Fixed Assets||15|2,961||3,911|
||||502,961||503,911|
|**CURRENT ASSETS**||||||
|Cash at Bank and In Hand||16|62,523||57,650|
|MEC Word of Hope Ministries Stock|||9,665||11,642|
|Bookstall|||0||0|
||||72,188||69,292|
|**CURRENT LIABILITIES**||||||
|Creditors net of debtors||17|-16,541||-4,675|
|NET CURRENT ASSETS|||55,647||64,617|
|NET ASSETS|||558,608||568,528|
|**REPRESENTED BY:**||||||
|Gift Aid Account|||1,205||12,285|
|MEC Word of Hope Ministries|||11,361||12,763|
|Bookstall|||0||0|
|General Fund|||546,042||543,480|
||||558,608||568,528|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
|**1. MEC GIFT AID SCHEME**
For General Fund
HMRC – General Fund
**2. RENTAL INCOME FROM 22a NEW STREET**
Rental
Use of Gas, Electricity and Water
**3. PASTORAL, JULIAN & RUTH HURST**
Julian Hurst Salary
Ruth Hurst Salary
Pension – NEST
**4. PASTORAL EXPENSES**
J.H. Mileage
J.H. Christian Answer Fee
New laptops
Paul Morgan Salary
**5. MISSIONARY SUPPORT**
UFM -Kevin & Susan Matthews
UFM - Hicham & Elizabeth
Mark Penner
Philip & Margaret McIntosh
Adamu
Dan Hill
UBM
Lanka Evangelical Fellowship of Churches
Bosco & Heidi|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
49,947
51,749
14,007
14,407
63,954
66,156
2,980
2,980
2,042
1,724
5,022
4,704
14,832
14,832
6,000
6,000
1,187
1,187
22,019
22,019
303
157
37
0
1,395
0
4,800
0
6,535
157
6,540
6,540
6,904
6,890
2,400
2,400
2,400
2,400
1,000
0
2,400
2,600
0
500
0
150
3,400
2,400
25,044
23,880|
|---|---|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
|**6. YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORK**
Sunday School
JETS
Stay and Play
Good News Club
**7. OUTREACH**
Reaching Rochdale Team
Reaching Rochdale Meals
Carol Service/Supper
Easter 2021
Christmas Service
Youth Work Banner
**8. BUILDING REPAIRS AND RENEWALS**
Gas Services
Fire Safety Inspection
Exterior Light
Fire Alarm
Energy Performance Certificates
Plumber
Miscellaneous
Electricity Safety Checks
Security Alarm
CCTV
Gardening Supplies
Repairs
Piano Tuner
Doorbell
**9. UTILITY SERVICES**
Gas
Electricity
Gas/Electric (combined during early 2022)
Water
Telephone|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
0
0
292
0
3
0
134
0
429
0
900
780
87
0
58
0
181
0
37
249
149
0
1,412
1,029
312
0
276
0
100
0
198
235
0
80
468
468
35
364
191
190
0
206
330
0
100
41
874
0
65
0
16
0
2,965
1,584
0
2,415
0
2,169
5,046
0
775
677
337
421
6,158
5,682|
|---|---|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
|**10. WELFARE**
Payments Made
Less Gifts Received
**11. MINIBUS**
Depreciation
Insurance
MOT
**12. MATERIALS/PUBLICATIONS**
Photocopier
Depreciation
Holiday Churches - ET
Life Evangelistic Magazines
Microsoft Office
Stationery/Copier Paper
Literature
Easter 2021
Advertising
CCLI Licence
**13. DESIGNATED GIFTS**
Pella
Andy McIntosh
Dan Hill
African Pastors Conference
Adamu
Ilya
David & Colette Harding
David & Kath Owen
Ukraine Appeal
Hicham & Elizabeth
Jyoti|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
0
1,025
0
0
0
1,025
656
875
405
296
0
315
1,061
1,486
21
0
139
198
25
25
98
0
80
0
0
67
1,152
3,356
337
0
100
0
429
228
2,381
3,874
0
550
1,250
0
3,708
8,885
11,250
6,250
7,446
2,500
31
0
0
1,000
500
0
10,681
0
790
603
4,500
2,500
40,156
22,288|
|---|---|
**MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
|**14. GENERAL EXPENSES**
Christian Safeguarding Services
Connected Conference
Carey Conference
Open Air Equipment
ICO Registration Fee
Postage
COVID Supplies
Zoom
AV Equipment
Creche TV
Flat Improvements
Vacuum Cleaners
Keys
Cleaning Products
Funeral Service Costs
Depreciation – General
**15. FIXED ASSETS**
Overhead Projector at 31/3
Cooker – Flat at 31/3
Piano at 31/3
Colour Printer at 31/3
Ford Minibus 31/3
Projectors (2) at 31/3
Dishwasher at 31/3
Colour Copier at 31/3
**16. CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND**
General cash in hand
Current Account
Uncleared Cheques
Gift Aid Scheme Account
MEC Word of Hope Ministries Account
Deposit Account|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
240
505
160
0
325
0
0
16
35
35
0
9
36
132
0
180
66
1,605
249
0
352
0
286
0
39
0
48
0
9
154
192
1,999
2,674
205
256
51
64
93
104
Written Off
Written Off
1,969
2,625
51
64
269
336
323
462
2,961
3,911
0
0
55,676
36,076
-5,941
-1,850
1,205
12,285
1,563
1,121
10,019
10,018
62,523
57,650|
|---|---|
## **MILNROW EVANGELICAL CHURCH Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
|**17. CREDITORS/(DEBTORS)**
Designated Gifts
Word of Hope Ministries
Others
**18. CHURCH FUNDS**
Designated Gifts
General Fund
MEC Word of Hope Ministries
Gift Aid Scheme Account|2021/22
2020/21
£
£
16,674
2,991
-133
1,684
0
0
16,541
4,675
16,674
2,991
43,081
41,253
1,563
1,121
1,205
12,285
62,523
57,650|
|---|---|
##
##