**Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## **Grace Community Church** _**Charity number: 1141562 Annual Report Year ended: 31/12/2023**_ ## **Hutton Community Centre,** **Harrison Close,** **Hutton, Brentwood,** **CM13 1LP, UK** www.gracecommunity-church.org Page | 1 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## CONTENTS PAGE: 1. Front Cover 2. Contents Page 3. Introduction 4. Aim/Purpose 5. Activities 6. Achievements/Performance 7. Pastoral Care 8. Mission/Evangelism 9. Reference and Administrative details 10. Declarations 11. Financial Summary Page | 2 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## INTRODUCTION: The annual report has been created by Grace Community Church to share information about the church’s activities during the year 2023. Furthermore, this is a legal demand, whereby every registered charity must submit their reports and accounts to the Charity Commission. This report will be separated into two sections. The first part of this report will explain how the church is structured and financed. This portion will entail information on how the church is able to reach its aims through several activities which the church gets involved in. The second section of this report will shed light on the type of events the church has organised and been involved in, throughout the year 2023. This portion of the report will present in detail how the church has positively impacted both its members and the community, by adding value. Page | 3 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## AIM/PURPOSE: The main purpose of this charity is to represent Christ by becoming like Him, both within the body and to the wider community. Grace Community Church aims to do this by: - Propagating the gospel of salvation to advance God’s kingdom, by reaching out to the unsaved. - Ministering to the needs of the community, giving both social and spiritual supports to people. - Fellowshipping with other believers, to promote and spread the love of Christ. - Providing sound biblical theology to aid and encourage believers to grow upright. Page | 4 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## ACTIVITIES Grace Community Church (GCC) holds regular Sunday worship services from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, concluding with socialising over light refreshments. During the main service, children aged 3-12 participate in their own dedicated children's service. Throughout the week, GCC offers additional opportunities for fellowship and spiritual growth. Homegroup services take place every Tuesday, providing members with a chance to come together, read the Word of God, and uplift and encourage one another. Every Friday, there is a prayer meeting and Bible study from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, both of which are currently conducted online via Zoom. GCC boasts various ministries, including children's group, choir, outreach, prayer, and counselling. Each member actively contributes to their respective ministry, performing specific tasks crucial to the church's operation. Together, they function as one cohesive body, fostering love, unity, and the fulfilment of Christ's will. The GCC choir ministry gathers every Saturday from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm for their weekly rehearsal session, where they prepare the songs, they will perform during the Sunday service. The focus of GCC is to support the continual improvement of choir members' skills and talents. To achieve this goal, GCC places a high priority on securing instrumentalists who can provide ongoing lessons for a variety of instruments, including drums, keyboard, and singing. The youth group and GCC choir hold monthly fellowships, fostering relational and spiritual growth. During these gatherings, the teams reflect on their ministry's performance, engage in prayer, and socialise through games and shared meals. Recognising the importance of corporate fellowship, GCC organises a regular church love fest quarterly and a church Christmas dinner towards the year's end. These events provide opportunities for the entire church community to come together, celebrate, and deepen their connections with one another. And also the BGC Women meeting has been revived since 2023, where women meet to pray every last Friday of the month between the hours of 10pm to 11pm to give thanks to God almighty for what he has been doing in the midst of the children of God and also pray concerning whatever that concerns us as a church. Page | 5 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Achievements/Performance Throughout the year 2023, Grace Community Church undertook many valuable activities, which positively impacted both the church and the community. Such activities included: - Corporate prayer sessions held both on Friday’s during prayer meeting ( _as mentioned in the activities section_ ), and on Sundays, right at the beginning of the main service. - Supporting and helping with missionary work in various areas, such as Uganda, which aids the lives of several individuals who live in deprived areas and need food/clothing et cetera; and organizations/ministries within the United Kingdom. - Many members within GCC have signed up with compassion, to be monthly sponsors for children in need of financial support, worldwide. - Collaborating and serving with various churches and ministries within the community, such as Churches Together – Hutton & Shenfield, RCCG Heart of Worship, and Lighthouse Gospel Ministries Page | 6 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Pastoral Care The pastoral care within a Christian church is always essential, as it is an active demonstration of concern for the wellbeing and development of the members. Grace Community Church (GCC) has various ordained ministers, who have been trained to be effective in their role. The ministers in the church also have regular meetings, to ensure they are always focused on the main aims of the church, and to see if there is any improvement needed. GCC provides free counselling to all members of the church, which is always available when needed. Furthermore, the church also ensures there is a followup process for all new believers as well as newcomers. This is ideal to ensure people are walking in the right path and are constantly growing whilst attending the church. In addition, Grace Community Church provides a safe space for members to freely ask questions without feeling ostracized for it. During the Sunday School section within the main service, members are encouraged to ask questions and make contributions regarding the topic explored. Furthermore, members can privately ask questions by placing any questions or prayer requests within a box kept in the church. This is kept completely confidential and gives people the chance to freely express themselves and receive help, without feeling judged or condemned. Following from this, the church also holds a Q&A Sunday, quite regularly, which again gives people the chance to freely ask questions, without being judged – this is a great way the members learn and develop. Page | 7 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Outreach/Evangelism Grace Community Church (GCC) recognises the significance of extending its impact beyond corporate worship and strives to serve, support, and minister to the community. The church aims to positively influence the lives of its neighbours by identifying spiritual, social, and environmental needs within the community. Throughout the year, GCC conducted numerous evangelical outreaches to share the love of Christ and reach out to those in need. Every Saturday, the church engages in evangelism on the local high street, where members distribute tracts and share personal stories of how Christ has transformed their lives with people in the community. To ensure effective outreach, GCC has appointed an outreach coordinator who oversees various methods of engagement, providing structure to church evangelism and encouraging active participation from members. This approach has resulted in a more receptive attitude from the community, fostering openness to new and friendly faces. Furthermore, Grace Community Church actively participates in 'Churches Together,' an organisation that promotes unity among churches through communal fellowship. Churches Together organises various community services, including the annual 'unity service,' aimed at spreading the love and kindness of God throughout the community and the participating churches. In the year 2023, GCC has taken intentional steps to support other charities and organisations, such as the 'Living Joy Foundation,' 'The Chosen Ministries,' 'Hutton Community Centre,' and 'Warehouse Worship,' among others. The church demonstrates its commitment by donating funds to further the impact of these organisations and help reach marginalised groups within society. Page | 8 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Reference and Administrative details |**Charity name**|Grace CommunityChurch| |---|---| |**Other name the charity uses**|-| |**Registered charity number**|1141562| |**Charity’s principle address**|19 Calcott Close
Brentwood, Essex
CM14 4YS| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |**Trustee**
**name**|**Office (if**
**any)**|**Dates acted if not**
**for whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint**
**trustee(if any)**| |---|---|---|---| |Ms. Eucharia
Ifeoma
Nwankwo|Treasurer||Trustee| |Pastor
Chuka
Nwafor|-||Trustee| |Mr.
Adejumo
Bakare|-||Trustee| Page | 9 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Declarations I declare that I have approved the trustees’ report above. ## Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: |**Signature**|| |---|---| |**Full name**|**Eucharia Ifeoma Nwankwo**| |**Position (e.g.: Secretary**
**Chair, etc.)**|| |**Date signed: _______________**|**____**| Page | 10 **Grace Community Church Annual Report Year ended: 31 December 2023** ## Financial Summary ## **RCCG -BRENTWOOD GRACE CENTRE – 1141562** ## **Analysis of income and expenditure** ## **Selected period: 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023** ||||||**Total**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**This year**|**Last year**| |**Income and endowments**||||||| |**_Donations and legacies_**||||||| |0101 - Donations|—|£67,566|—|—|£67,566|£58,412| |0102 - PAYPAL Donations|—|£10|—|—|£10|£1,789| |**_Donations and legacies Totals_**|—|£67,576|—|—|£67,576|£60,202| |**Income and endowments**|—|£67,576|—|—|£67,576|£60,202| |**Grand totals**||||||| |**Expenditure**||||||| |**_Expenditure on charitable activities_**||||||| |0203 - Outreach|£45|£7,955|—|—|£8,000|£5,531| |0206 - Gift|—|—|—|—|—|£51| |0210 - Hospitality|£147|—|—|—|£147|£329| |0211 - Central Office WEM|£3,467|—|—|—|£3,467|£6,809| |0212 - Charges|£837|—|—|—|£837|£144| |0213 - Insurance|£352|—|—|—|£352|£352| |0214 - Salary|£246|—|—|—|£246|—| |0215 - Youth Church|£350|—|—|—|£350|£193| |0216 - Children's Church|—|£31|—|—|£31|£92| |0217 - Transport|—|—|—|—|—|£246| |0218 - Worship Team|£2,850|£50|—|—|£2,900|£2,526| |**_Expenditure on charitable_**|£8,296|£8,037|—|—|£16,333|£16,277| |**_activities Totals_**||||||| |**_Other expenditure_**||||||| |0201 - Hall Rental|£4,431|£18,270|—|—|£22,702|£9,971| |0202 - Refreshments|—|£3,384|—|—|£3,384|£4,276| |0204 - Equipments|£29|£1,622|—|—|£1,652|£3,927| |0208 - Central office Subscription|£400|£500|—|—|£900|£600| |0209 - Operations|£2,486|—|—|—|£2,486|£3,303| |0219 - Parochial Expenses|£6,500|—|—|—|£6,500|£6,000| |**_Other expenditure Totals_**|£13,848|£23,776|—|—|£37,624|£28,078| |**Expenditure Grand totals**|£22,144|£31,814|—|—|£53,958|£44,356| Page | 11 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES I Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Exam Iner'5 Report ReDOrt to the trusteesl m•mb•r* of Grace Community Church On ac¢ount* forth• y•ar gnd•d 31* Decemb•r 2023 ChJrlty no '