The Annual Report of the Gilgal Pentecostal Church (Reg. Charity No. 1141435) Bury St. Edmunds, for the period from 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023, presented on the occasion of the General Body Meeting.
Date and time of Meeting: 26[th] March 2023 Venue: Gilgal Pentecostal Church, Bury St Edmunds
Beloved in Christ,
Another eventful year has passed, and the Lord Almighty has protected us and showered His mercy and love on us all throughout the year. Like previous years we were able to serve large sections of the community this year by offering a range of services. Over the course of the year, our community had found these services beneficial and spiritually fulfilling. These services include area prayers, night prayers, cottage meeting, youth meeting, Sunday worship and ladies’ fellowship. The Church fellowships were conducted in an intimate and reflective environment conducive for worship whilst opportunities were given to people to worship and lead especially to youths from and within the church.
Sunday School Ministry - (Sunday 11 – 12 PM)
The Sunday school activities were aimed at inculcating in children, Christian hopes and values and thus making a generation of visionaries and role models in the society. The students are divided into various classes according to their age and are taught prescribed Sunday school syllabus based on biblical themes.
During this year, a total of fifteen students and five teachers served in the Sunday School Ministry. The Sunday school ministry has helped our children in their efforts to become role models in their universities, schools, and the society. The children were taught on Sunday 11 AM to 12 PM.
Youth Meeting and Worship - (Saturday 5 - 7 PM)
Youth Ministry is the primary source where youngsters are given opportunities to conduct praise and worship, discussions on contemporary issues faced by youths and biblical solutions to issues, counselling to avoid temptations of drugs, alcohol etc. Youths are also given advice to become bold, independent, resilient, and truthful in their lives and how to integrate themselves into the society in accordance with true Christian perspective and value.
During the youth meeting youngsters were given opportunities to recite Bible verses, say short stories and deliver biblical short messages. There were opportunities to perform their skills with musical instruments and singing. There was occasional Bible Quiz to broaden the biblical knowledge of young people. There were interactive games held as well to keep the youths engaged. All the activities were conducted in the church premises.
Sunday Worship Service: 10 AM TO 1PM
The primary aim of our church is to worship God in Truth and Spirit according to the Christian faith based on spiritual and Pentecostal direction. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”. Worship is the consciousness of the presence of God and the response to that consciousness. So, the aim of worship is to outreach the deepest emotions of the soul in adoration, reverence, homage, exaltation, and praise to the Almighty. Worships were conducted in an informal manner with freedom of expression. It was not dependent upon created environment and circumstances, but attitude, appetite, and anticipation created atmosphere for worship. As an essential part of the worship, we engaged in constant prayers, singing spirit filled vibrant songs, Bible reading, inspirational testimonies, spiritual messages, seeking and receiving prophetic words from God, infilling of Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues etc all that brought us steps closer to our Lord Jesus.
In this year also the Lord has enlarged the boundary of the church by adding some new families. God has revealed His power and mercy in our midst through miraculous healings and deliverances from difficult problems and answered all our prayers. Many men of God were invited in this year to our church meetings and their messages were a great spiritual blessing to all our families attending from Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge, King’s Lynn, Sudbury, Red Lodge, Haverhill, and Colchester.
The Fasting Prayer Meetings conducted on the last week of every month and Year End/ New Year fasting prayers and messages were great opportunities for believers to pray in union and to interceding for communities, leaders, rulers, nations etc. Holy Communion was also conducted as we could gather in person at the church.
Cottage Prayer Fellowships:
Cottage prayer meetings were conducted in family homes at Red Lodge, Cambridge, Colchester, Bury St Edmunds, and Haverhill. These meetings helped believers to pray in union and to intercede for the families, communities, leaders, rulers, nations and also to hear from God’s word.
Weekly Bible Class: Wednesday 9 PM to 10 PM
A weekly bible class was conducted by Pastor Sunny John where families would join via zoom and spend useful time learning and understanding the Bible in a systematic way.
Ladies Prayer Meeting
Ladies Prayer Meetings were conducted on the 4th Sunday of every month between 10 AM to 11 AM. These meetings were primarily prayer towers for all the activities of the church and other specific issues of the families. In this prayer ministry, the members have prayed for several requests given to the church by non-members and families. Their prayers in unity with God had found remarkable results. Often, the ladies also meet via Zoom platform and conduct prayer meetings.
Other Key Highlights:
Monthly Talent Program for Youths:
Talent program was conducted on a monthly basis (every 4[th] Sunday) where all youths of the church actively participated to display their skills in singing, bible memorizing, bible quizzes, dance, skits, speeches and debates on relevant topics and other special programs. This was a great encouragement for young children to grow and develop their skills as well as helping them to speak and perform before other people.
One-day Family Seminar: 16/04/2022
A one-day family seminar was organized in the church where Pr.Manoj Abraham shared the word of God which was a great blessing to all families. It was also attended by a number of people outside the church.
Two-day Spiritual Conference: 10/11/2022 – 11/11/2022
A two-day spiritual conference was arranged in the church where Pr.Thomas Abraham from Kerala, India led spirit-filled meetings and ministered the word of God.
Tribal Mission Project, India
The church was able to organize, start and support a new mission project this year in Attappadi, Kerala which is a tribal area. We have been able to financially support a servant of God, Pastor Unni who has taken a pioneer work in sharing the gospel to the tribal villages in Attappadi, North Kerala as well as educating the tribal people there and supporting their social upliftment. Although the mission is challenging, Pastor Unni has made considerable progress and was able to engage with the local people and share the gospel with them.
Street Outreach Programs:
The youths of the church also conducted street outreach programs in Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds which involved distributing food packets to the homeless and spending time talking and interacting with such people who need help and support.
Gospel Outreach:
The youths of the church also participated in gospel outreach programs partnering with other churches and gospel groups on weekends where they went to different towns across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and took active part in sharing the gospel at the town centres.
Collection for Food Bank:
The church organized a collection box for getting food donations from the church members and the collected food was delivered to food banks in Bury St Edmunds.
Visiting Servants of God:
We had different blessed servants of God ministering to the church on various days throughout the year and their ministry with the word of God was a great blessing to all members of the church.
10/07/2022 – Interactive Sessions by Evangelist Daniel Shearer
24/11/2022 – Pr Abraham George, Kerala, India
29/11/2022 – Pr Baiju Kattakada, Kerala, India 14/12/2022 – Pr Binu Shekharan, Punjab, India
19/12/2022 – Pr Jomon Devasia, Kerala, India
22/12/2022 – Pr Pramod Kumar, Haryana, India
20/12/2022 – Pr Rajan Victor, Kerala, India
Donations to Charity:
During this year, the Church had the privilege of deepening gospel partnerships and to extend support and assistance to various charitable missions around the world as previous years. We were also able to support some local food banks around Bury St Edmunds, supplying them with essential food items along with some monetary donation.
Church Annual General Body Meeting
The Church Annual Report was presented by the secretary on 26[th] March 2023 and the following office bearers and trustee members were elected for the year April 2023 to March 2024 as decided by the general meeting.
The names and position of the trustees are as follows:
| NAMES | POSITIONS |
|---|---|
| PASTOR. SUNNY JOHN 10 Poppy Close, Red Lodge, Bury St Edmunds IP28 8FL |
PRESIDENT |
| Mr. VARUGHESE ABRAHAM 4 Hare Road Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 5XJ |
VICE PRESIDENT |
| Mr Sam Daniel 23 Falstaff Way, Chilton Sudbury CO10 0RF |
SECRETARY |
| Mr. SAM THULAMANNIL BIJU 37 Ranworth King’s Lynn Norfolk PE30 4XD |
TREASURER |
|---|---|
| Mr. EBIN ABRAHAM 30 Harebell Road Red Lodge Suffolk IP28 8TY |
YOUTH LEADER |
| Mr. NAVEEN P MATHEW 2 Thistle Way Red Lodge, Bury St Edmunds IP28 8FR |
TRUSTEE |
| Mr. SAMUEL JOSEPH 26 Leete Road, Cambridge CB1 9ET |
TRUSTEE |
| Mr. JIKU SAMUEL THAMPY 7 The Meadows Worlington Suffolk IP28 8SH |
TRUSTEE |
| Mrs. JIJI GEORGE 4 Hare Road Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 5XJ |
TRUSTEE |
| Mr. LIJO VARGHESE 24 Larch Way Red Lodge Bury St Edmunds IP28 8YA |
TRUSTEE |
| Mr. SHAJI VARGHESE 8 Monarch Close Haverhill Suffolk CB9 9QW |
TRUSTEE |
|---|---|
| Mr Roji Samuel 1 Redwood Drive Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP32 6TN |
SAFEGUARDING OFFICER |
| Sam Daniel Secretary Reg. Charity No: 1141435 |
Pastor Sunny John President and Chairperson Reg. Charity No. 1141435 |
¢hBriJ Nam¢ GILGAL PENTECOSTAL CHURCH 1141435 Recei ts and ments accounts CC16a ort e peno Irom Par..od end d2t2 0110412022 3110312023 Section A Receipts and payments UrestrIcted funds Restricted hJnd$ Efidowment fund5 Total funds Last year to th• near9$t tt31&$t £ tctth• neprwte to the neore6t£ tothw nre9t£ A1 Rocei OFFERINGS DONATIONS GIFT AID d87 29,254 7.597 29364 7,697 29,899 7,8B4 Sub total(GtDSS inGome for AR) 36,861 38.8$1 3B.270 A2 Asset and investment8ales. ($¢0 tsblel- Sub total 36,851 36,851 38,270 A3 Payments Admin15tratve expenses Grfts and DDn&liDn5 TravEI and Other ewenses reSmbursod 7.462 3.000 7A82 5,197 400 6.500 799 700 3.482 6,600 799 700 3,462 5.OJO Charity Piofgssonal RefreShmlS 2.271 Bulkling Fun¢ Telephong Bank Charges Bank Loan Fixed Assets COntOn to AOG lrtaurarte Rent SUaY School EquiprnentslprinteT 75$ 404 29 9.837 521 ts21 115 10,9Y1 10,991 600 1.003 200 1,003 60 58S Sub total 36,017 36,017 A4 A88et and investment urchases, l$ee tsblel Sub total 36,017 36,017 Net ofreceiptsl(paymentsJ A5 Translers betrrfeen fund$ A6 Cash fund5 last year Ènd Cash funds thi5 year end 833 833 38,270 15,686 16.51 15,686 16,619 5,592 1S,686
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period LIMstricted funds to nearg8t£ 16,274 Restricted funds tD n8ar•¥¢£ Endowment funds to nearesiE ategorios DÈt3ils 81 Cash funds Bank AOnt Cash In Hand Total cash funds ¥>JuDH¥ll O 46.519 OK OK Endowm8nt fvnd$ to nèarèst£ Unrestrl¢led funds to Trearejt £ R8stricted fvnds Detsils nBar8•t£ B2 Other monètary a¥$ets Fund to¥Jhlch Assèt bBIo Curr•M lu+ onal Dotails 83 Investment assets Fht0 whlch aBSgt bglon Curr8ntvJl ono1 Detalls Cast lopbonall B4 Assets retslnèd for the charity's own use 210,141 MIG SYSTEMS FURNITURE SAFE & SHELF L4PTQP HAND DRYERS120 PRINTER GENERAL FUND GENERAL FUND GENERAL FUND GENEPAL FUND GENEKIL FUND GENEKIL FUND 700 264 250 Fund to whlch r•lat¥ Jnountdve loptknnall 102521 Vthèn du Detsils Bank B5 Llabllltlas Signed by one or tsvo Iru51ees on bahalf of all the trustees Signature Pnnt Name Date of roval 1511212023 Sunn John
Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of GILGAL PENTACOSTAL CHURCH On accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 Charity no lif any) 1141435 Set out on pages Iremember to include the page number5 of additional sheets) Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The responsibilities of charity's Iruslees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section trustees and examiner 144121 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my SponSIbl41fy lo.. examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Act, and to slate whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of Independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the examiner's statement Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent In connection with my examination. no matter has come to my attention {other than examiner's ststement that disclosed below'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 2011 Act., and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met ', or 2. to which, in rny opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper undeTStanding of the accounts lo be reached. Ple8Sg delete the wo s in the braGkets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 1511212023 Name: Sebastian Machukattu Devasia Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if anyl- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Address: 17 Neals Corner, 2 Bath RoafL b•S Hounslow , Middlesex Gb TW3 3HJ e% feu. IER
Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems. Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER