2024-12-31-accounts

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH

ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

COMPANY REGISTRATION No: 07886329

CHARITY REGISTRATION No: 1145615

Independent Examiners Ltd

2 Broadbridge Business Centre

Delling Lane Bosham West Sussex PO18 8NF

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

CONTENTS

Page 3	Legal & Administrative Information.
Pages 4 to 12	Report of the Directors.
Page 13	Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts.
Page 14	Statement of Financial Activities.
Page 15	Balance Sheet.
Pages 16 to 21	Notes to the Financial Statements.

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CHARITY NUMBER

CHARITY NUMBER 1145615 COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER 07886329 DATE OF INCORPORATION 19th December 2011 START OF FINANCIAL YEAR 1st January 2024 END OF FINANCIAL YEAR 31st December 2024 DIRECTORS Angela Farmer Timothy Paul Spencer Madeline Bird Jessica Livingstone Resigned 28.10.24 Daniel Blackwell Appointed 12.2.24 CHURCH LEADER Tom Callister

GOVERNING DOCUMENT Memorandum and Articles of Association Incorporated 19th December 2011.

OBJECTS

To advance the Christian religion either in the United Kingdom or overseas and furtherance of that objective:

a) The proclamation and furtherance of the Gospel of God concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord and the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

b) The organisation sponsorship and promotion of interdenominational Christian work throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere the object of which of which shall be:

i. To seek to present the Gospel to every creature by every means possible and lead men and women and children to saving faith by our Lord Jesus Christ and help and encourage them in the service of God. ii. To promote organise and conduct meetings for this purpose.

WEBSITE

www.blesscc.org

REGISTERED ADDRESS 5 Balmoral Gardens Ealing London W13 9UA

BANKERS Barclays Bank plc 53 The Broadway Ealing London W5 5JS

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Independent Examiners Ltd 2 Broadbridge Business Centre Delling Lane Bosham West Sussex

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Bless Community Church

Annual Report of the Trustees 2024

Overview

Bless Community Church is a charismatic community church in West London and part of the Pioneer Network. The church has a vision to live up to its name and Bless the City. The church encourages people to embrace the love shown through the person of Jesus and endeavor to equip people for Christian life in the 21st Century.

It seeks to follow Jesus by sharing the gospel, worshipping, serving, learning, and sharing life together. The church is deeply involved in our local community, often taking a leading role in ecumenical inter-church activities and also within the Pioneer Network and Pioneer London Region.

Bless meets in person at Christ the Saviour Church of England Primary School in the heart of Ealing but also now have an online presence. For more information or to contact us go to www.blesscc.org.

Structure, governance and management

Bless Community Church (Bless) is a charitable company (no: 07886329) under

Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 23[rd] October 2011 and a registered charity (no: 1145615).

Trustees normally serve for three years after which they can put themselves forward for reappointment by the board of trustees. New trustees are recruited from Bless members by interview. The induction and training of trustees is set out in the Trustee Agreement and will vary according to the needs of the individual trustee. In addition, training is provided for specific areas such as safeguarding, GDPR and other legal changes. We carry out biennial trustee reviews and provide in-house or external training as necessary.

The day-to-day work of Bless is delegated to the staff led by the Church Leader and assisted by many church members acting in a voluntary capacity. The trustees make decisions needed between the quarterly trustees’ meetings by extra meetings, usually telephone conferences.

The trustees and leadership are aware of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. They review the financial position at each meeting of trustees and take action accordingly. They continue to develop policies and procedures to manage risk and use risk map analysis for review and action, reviewing this annually. They updated our Safeguarding Policies in April 2021 alongside which we updated our Safeguarding Statement which can be found on our website https://blesscc.org/safeguarding. At the same time, they created a new Social Media policy and created an additional statement on our website. https://blesscc.org/social-mediastatement

Bless is a part of the Pioneer Network and of the Evangelical Alliance. Bless also plays a significant role in the interdenominational activities of churches in West London both in leadership and through the service of Bless members.

Public Benefit

The trustees consider that the work of the charity continues to comply with S4 of the Charities Act 2006. It Is considered that the following summary of our activities demonstrates their public benefit.

Bless Community Church is a Christian Church that is part of and active in the local community. They hold meetings of worship, prayer, proclamation, encouragement and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ both in person and online. They proclaim the gospel together with other churches. They provide training courses and special events. They run groups and activities for children, youth and adults both within the church and open to anyone in the community. They are actively involved in serving the community with other churches

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through Ealing Street Pastors, the Churches’ Winter Night Shelters in Ealing, and Ealing Foodbank, youth work and through other local charities and organisations. They support the work of specific organisations, other churches and those working in line with our objects both locally and internationally. They support church members in short- and long-term Christian work overseas. Many visitors, both Christian and nonChristian, attend Bless church services and social events. All the activities described above, and others are carried out on an unpaid voluntary basis by church members with support from a team of part-time staff. They also encourage individual public service by our members which includes service on other charity boards, magistrates, school governors and prison workers.

Bless ensures that the public can benefit not only from community service activities but also by participating in church services and many other activities. Most activities are open to all irrespective of race, colour, origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability. A few are restricted to one sex or age group by virtue of the subject matter or to specific groups as they provide training, for example for potential leaders or specific roles within the church.

Accessibility to activities includes physical accessibility and the use of accessible venues wherever possible. By meeting at ‘Christ the Saviour’ Church of England Primary School on Sundays the church is visible to people who might not otherwise be aware of the charity, and all visitors are warmly welcomed. By choosing to meet in the school the church also contributes into the funds of the school through rent. Most activities are free although there is a fee for a few activities, such as church weekends; however, the church ensures that activities are accessible to all wherever possible through subsidies.

Objects and Activities Objects

Bless’ objects are to advance Christianity in the UK or overseas by proclaiming and furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ and promoting interdenominational Christian work. The church seeks to bless others of any or no faith and to live out Jesus’ command to ‘love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves’.

Spiritual Leadership

The Church Leader Tom Callister was commissioned into his role on 7[th] January 2023, and has regularly met with a leadership team throughout the year. They guide the spiritual direction of the church and act as the organising body for Bless activities.

The leadership team have continued to draw from the Leader of Pioneer International, Billy Kennedy for ‘outside oversight’, meeting him four times during the year, to ensure the health of the team, and their ability to speak candidly about any concerns they might have.

The leadership team also drew from the Bless Advisors group, meeting twice in 2024, for discussion and feedback in key vision areas of Church life.

The leadership team invited three individuals to join them monthly to explore senior leadership within the Church going forward, helping expose them to senior leadership experience, to gauge capacity, calling and team dynamics, before discerning together whether their involvement should be made permanent in 2025. At the end of the year, Linda Ward stepped back from her role on the leadership team and Ella Simpson, following this year of discernment was invited to join the leadership team for 2025.

More widely, most church members are also volunteers. They share the work of the church whether in setting up the hall; welcoming visitors or managing the sound desk on a Sunday; leading or helping with the children’s and youth work; teaching; helping lead worship; leading groups; providing hospitality; serving the community; or in one of many other tasks or roles without our gatherings and community.

Meetings

The church continues to have Sunday teaching which is designed to help us understand the practical aspects of

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being a Christian as well as developing our understanding of God through the Bible. Our teaching is accessible on the Bless website at www.blesscc.org and on YouTube for anyone who wishes to view it.

Bless also operates with mid-week Connect groups which enable members to share together, to encourage and support each other to grow in Jesus and serve him. The church runs weekly and occasional prayer meetings. Bless continues with a hybrid of face to face and online access, although encouragement to attend in person is now featured, to get the most out of being community together whenever possible.

Achievements and Performance

The aims for 2024 progressed as follows:

Church Overview

• 2024 was a year of consolidation for Bless Community Church.

• Throughout the year the Church continued to see many visitors each week and new people joined the community.

• The Church continued to become more reflective of the local community it serves in diversity of its membership and its reach via community focused projects.

• On average at the end of 2024 there were around 60 people in person each week with another 5 or so devices live on YouTube.

Leadership team and Governance

• 2024 was a year for exploration within the leadership of the Church – both exploring new potential leaders and new potential structures, both of which would be delivered in 2025.

• The leader of Pioneer International met with the Bless leadership team throughout 2024 to provide input and support (see spiritual leadership report above).

• In relation to the trustees, Madeline Bird (Chair), Angela Farmer, Jessica Livingstone and Timothy Paul Spencer continued to closely monitor finances and worked through a rolling programme of compliance review of policies and procedures. Jessica Livingstone stepped down from the Trustees in September due to giving birth to her first child. While one new Trustee was appointed - Daniel Blackwell.

• A 4% Cost of Living rise for our staff was agreed and implemented in 2024, and it was agreed that both Tom Callister and Jacob Simpson would receive an uplift in grade and salary in 2025.

• The staff continued to manage expenditure and reduce costs where possible due to the challenging financial position supported by the trustees.

Embracing God

• The Church continued to develop and grow diverse ways for people to encounter God together both through large gatherings, small groups, and virtual opportunities.

• Teaching for Sundays was planned a term ahead by the leadership team and they introduced several new meeting leaders and speakers to the team. The church also enjoyed a number of guest speakers from within the Pioneer Network.

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• ‘Bless Kids’ has been established as the Sunday morning children’s work for all children of a primary school age. We have a strong team of volunteers serving in this area. We continue to run Messy Church gatherings regularly which attract additional families who connect with the Church for the first time.

• The Children and Families pastor continued to meet parents on a one- to-one basis each week.

• ‘Bless Young Adults’ (20-30s) group continued to run a monthly gathering called ‘Spirit filled lives’ which included a meal together, a talk from a member of the community to encourage a more holistic spiritual walk, and prayer opportunities.

• Bless hosted a Weekend Away in January just outside Swindon and invited fellow local Pioneer Churches ‘Latymer’ and ‘Refresh Church Molesey’ to join us, as we started the new year. We had a guest speaker who joined the churches to bring teaching for the weekend. We had over 100 people join us for the weekend.

• The Church paused the monthly ‘Embrace’ worship evenings mid-way through 2024, to allow space for a new gathering to emerge, following poor attendance. The future vision is to bring the Church into a prophetic encounter with God through worship, prayer and the impartation of the Holy Spirit.

• Occasional Encounter Prayer sessions continued online with 6 – 10 people at each event and included those from other churches.

• The monthly prayer calendar continued to be used by many Church members.

• Bless developed a series of Podcasts to further equip and encourage the Church in its Christian teaching and understanding of the Bible.

• The Church also continued our ‘Wild Church’ gatherings, helping people engage with God through the outdoors, and nature. This happened four times in 2024.

• Bless participated in a unity service with various Anglican and Pentecostal Churches on Easter Sunday, contributing in the worship, teaching and prayer as a Church.

• In September Bless held a very special Celebration afternoon of Baptisms at which two young adults were baptised, which was attended by around 60 people.

• A large group from the Church attended the Wildfires Festival in August, including members of the youth group who attended as their ‘youth summer camp’.

Equipping the Church

• We continued to run ‘Bless You’ introductory sessions - for newer attendees at Bless – on an ad-hoc basis, as new members emerged in Church life.

• We also re-established monthly welcome lunches for newcomers exploring or joining Bless on Sundays.

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• Connect groups, the business group, 20s to 30s, youth group and children and families’ groups continued to do an excellent job at helping people connect and care for one another.

• The Church all took part in a new course called ‘The Life Course’ which featured Sunday and Connect Group Teaching – around fully living for God in today’s culture.

• Bible literacy was also invested in, with connect groups studying the ‘Bible course’ in the autumn term.

• The church hosted a ‘equipping day’ with teaching and discussions on human sexuality and relationships.

• The teenagers continued to enjoy weekly sessions on a Wednesday with the youth team, looking at issues impacting them. Each young person continued to receive monthly sessions with a mentor too.

• One of the young people began a part time internship at Bless in September, with a focus on communications, social media, and youth work. This internship was voluntary and unpaid. The intern has been provided with a mentor, line manager, and external training, provided by New Wine.

• A new support group for creatives in the Church called ‘The Space’ was formed – and which met 4 times in 2024. This space helped encourage artists, writers, songwriters, poets, actors and musicians to creatively develop their gifts, and culminated in a private ‘concert’ for friends and family of new material written and presented.

• A new ‘Village People’ group for adults exploring having families, providing them with a space for discussion, support and advice was formed.

• The Church hosted a thank you ‘Volunteer Sunday’ in the summer to recognise, thank (with a small gift) and celebrate all those who make Bless the community it is, with their volunteering and service.

• Members of the leadership team have strategically mentored some young leaders, as they further consider Church Leadership.

Blessing the City

• The Alpha course continued as a regular opportunity for people to explore faith and the big questions of life. Alpha ran twice in 2024 – in the Spring and Autumn. These courses were held in person. The Spring course was well attended and several of the cohort on the course have joined Bless as a result.

• The Church hosted a Light party with bouncy castle, face painting, free food, drink and music for the local community which was well attended with over 70 guests there.

• The Parent and Toddler group ‘Playtime’ continues to thrive. The group regularly has attracted up to 40 families a week. We have a strong team led by paid staff and assisted by volunteers.

• Alongside ‘Playtime’, a ‘Basement Kids’ children’s drop in club has been formed – for primary school kids at the Ealing Project. A number of families have brought their kids and this project is expected

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to grow considerably in 2025.

• An ever-increasing number of Playtime families attended “Messy Church” services.

This was due in no small part to the hard work and relationships built by the Playtime team.

• Bless’s youth leader, continued to visit Ealing Fields Secondary school with the church’s intern, facilitating a weekly Alpha course there for students.

• The ‘Basement’ youth café has continued to draw young people to its weekly sessions, with significant connections and contact made with over 200 teenagers in 2024. The charity successfully received further funding from the Young Ealing foundation and a Christian donor who donated £10k to the project which has helped pay for a lot of the activities run there.

• The ‘Basement’ young people were invited to a special Fireworks, Dinner, and Games night at Haven Green Baptist Church, which was attended by over 120 young people, and this was followed up with an invitation to our Christmas Carol Service, where over 15 young people attended Church for the first time in their lives.

• The Christmas services – ‘Messy Christmas’ and ‘Christingle’ for families, and our annual ‘Carol Service,’ were attended in total by over 300 people, many of whom were guests new to Church and to Bless. The Christmas events were a real highlight of the year and helped the Church engage more significantly with the local community.

• On the morning of the Carol service a team of Bless members connected with the local community, giving away free hot drinks, mince pies, offering to pray for people and chatting to passers-by. Several people who the team connected with returned that evening to attend the Carol Service.

Training Opportunities

• A large group from the Church attended the Annual Pioneer Leadership Conference in the Spring. This conference encourages spiritual development, networking, and is regarded as a time of retreat and refreshing for leaders, both paid and volunteers. Over 15 Bless members attended.

West London Leaders

• ~~B~~ less helped facilitate over 50 local church leaders meet regularly together with other local stakeholders (including the Police and Council) to discuss and potentially develop new local resources in various areas.

Pioneer London Leaders’ Gatherings

• Regular Church Leader gatherings continued, helping Pioneer Church leaders to gather for networking, support, prayer and strategic planning for the region.

Financial review

• Reserves policy – In 2024 we reviewed our policy to ensure that our reserves will always cover the costs of all obligations if we had to close. Currently this figure is £29,637.00

• Funding sources – Almost all our income is given by members and increased with Gift Aid. Most of this is given monthly. We also had a vision offering for the work of the church which in 2024 raised £12,577 in one off gifts and £1,030 in new monthly/increase monthly giving. Our donations Income remained steady at £138k and income from Charitable activities increased by £14k

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• We received the following grants for outside our organisation:

• Pathways £9,766.51

• Young Ealing Foundation £5,000 (Nov 23 to fund work in 23/34)

• Just Sow £840.00 (now continuing at £420/mth)

• In addition, we raised funds from our members for a number of missions trips and

• funds to help other organisations such as Winter Night Shelter and the Children’s society.

• Expenditure - The largest single item of expenditure is on salaries and external contractors, followed by hall hire. Please see our financial statement for details. The annual budget, including all giving, is recommended by the Church Leader after consultation with the Leadership Team and approved by the trustees. We continue to keep a careful control on our expenditure and in 2024 only exceeded our income by

• £4k.

Plans for 2025

• In addition to the ongoing work of the charity, the church have the following plans for 2025:

Church Overview

• The leadership is keen to keep a focus on all three strands of our vision: Embracing God, Equipping the Church, and Blessing the City.

• Overall, Bless is passionate about seeing the Church grow both spiritually in depth and numerically with new members. To achieve this, there will be a review of structural factors including – venue (do our venues remain fit for purpose – could the Church have more of a visible ‘home’?), how does the Church grow its income (through better discipleship and looking at charitable funding grants), and staffing (how does the Church run its operations?) in 2025 onwards.

Leadership team and Governance

• The Church is restructuring some of its day-to-day leadership, by the creation of a new Core Ministry Team, renewal of our Advisors group, and review of its external oversight.

• The trustees and leadership will continue to manage the expenditure and reduce costs where possible due to the challenging financial position.

Embrace God

• The Core Ministry Team will seek to ‘sharpen’ Sunday Morning gatherings – making sure communication, teaching and the ‘newcomer experience’ are the very best they possibly can be.

• The Church is keen to continue to develop a powerhouse culture of prayer with monthly prayer gatherings on Saturday Mornings.

• The Worship Team are keen to explore ideas of worship songwriting and a possible ‘worship recording’ (album) to encourage creativity from our songwriters and musicians.

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• The church is starting a new worship space called ‘House of Worship’ meeting monthly to encourage freedom and creativity in worship.

Equip the Church

• The Church is planning a couple of ‘equipping days’ with themes of freedom and adventuring with God being developed.

• There is a desire to re-shape Bless Business to support more members in their daily workplaces and in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

• Groups from Bless are planning to attend the Pioneer Annual Leadership Conference and the Women’s Conference.

Bless the City

• Bless are keen to find new ways of connecting with the community – with community events in consideration including a summer BBQ with fun activities and further street work.

• The Basement Youth Club and Kids clubs are thriving. The charity is keen to build stronger relationships with those teens and children who are regular and is planning a number of overt faith sharing events and are exploring the idea of a residential with the teenagers too.

• Our youth worker is also helping to coordinate Borough Wide Youth Work initiatives across the Churches in 2025, which may well include worship gatherings for young people, and more outreach events.

• The Church is planning on partnering with Transform Europe Network to send a short term mission trip team to Kosovo to support the Churches in that nation.

West London Leaders

• Bless continues to lead and influence the Unity movements of ‘West London Leaders’ and ‘Pioneer London.’

Other Developments

• The charity is looking to explore buildings for a missional base for the Church to help the church be more accessible (particularly midweek) to our community.

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

STATEMENT OF DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES

The Charities Act and the Companies Act require the Board of Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity as at the end of the financial year and of the surplus or deficit of the charity. In preparing those financial statements the Board is required to :-

i. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

ii. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

iii. prepare financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business;

iv. state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

The directors are also responsible for maintaining adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and comply with regulations made under the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The directors are also responsible for the contents of the Report of the Directors, and the responsibility of the independent examiner in relation to the Report of the Directors is limited to examining the report and ensuring that, on the face of the report, there are no inconsistencies with the figures disclosed in the financial statements.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

I approve the attached statement of financial activities and balance sheet for the period ended 31st December 2024, and confirm that I have made available all information necessary for its preparation.

Approved by the Directors on : 28th April 2025

Timothy Paul Spencer[ites]

Signed on their behalf by Director :

Print Name:

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2024.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the 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 which gives me cause to believe that:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or

• the accounts do not accord with such records; or

• the accounts do not comply with relevant accounting requirements under section 396 of the Companies

• Act 2006 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

• the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102).

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

K Gomes MAAT FCIE Independent Examiners Ltd 2 Broadbridge Business Centre Signed : Delling Lane Bosham West Sussex Date: 16 June 2025 PO18 8NF

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

(Incorporating Income & Expenditure Account)

Note INCOME Income from: Donations and Legacies 3a Charitable Activities 3b TOTAL INCOME EXPENDITURE Expenditure on: Charitable Activities 4a TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET INCOME/ EXPENDITURE Transfers between Funds Funds Brought Forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	Unrestricted Designated Restricted TOTAL TOTAL Funds Funds Funds 2024 2023 £ £ £ £ £ 122,856 13,650 1,545 138,051 138,116 695 2,149 51,168 54,012 40,838
	123,551 15,799 52,713 192,063 178,954
	125,573 15,625 54,949 196,147 175,499
	125,573 15,625 54,949 196,147 175,499
	(2,022) 174 (2,236) (4,084) 3,455 - - - - - 45,727 4,191 13,463 63,381 59,926
	43,705 4,365 11,227 59,297 63,381

Movements on all reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above. All of the organisation's operations are classed as continuing.

The notes on pages 16 to 21 form part of these financial statements.

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH

(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST DECEMBER 2024

						Restated
		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	31-Dec-24	31-Dec-23
		Funds	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
	Note	£	£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets	2	2,544	-	-	2,544	2,964
		2,544	-	-	2,544	2,964
Current Assets
Debtors & Prepayments	8	14,268	-	-	14,268	27,699
Cash at Bank and in Hand	7	29,618	4,365	11,227	45,209	55,321
Total Current Assets		43,886	4,365	11,227	59,477	83,020
Creditors:amounts falling due	9	(2,724)	-	-	(2,724)	(22,603)
within one year
NET CURRENT ASSETS		41,162	4,365	11,227	56,753	60,418
TOTAL ASSETSless current		43,705	4,365	11,227	59,297	63,381
liabilities
NET ASSETS		43,705	4,365	11,227	59,297	63,381
Funds of the Charity
General Funds		43,705	-	-	43,705	45,727
Designated Funds	6	-	4,365	-	4,365	4,191
Restricted Funds	5	-	-	11,227	11,227	13,463
Total Funds		43,705	4,365	11,227	59,297	63,381

Directors' Responsibilities:

For the financial year ending 31 December 24 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

• The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the

• year in question in accordance with section 476; and

• The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements on pages 14 to 21 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue and signed on their behalf by:

Approved by the Directors on : 28th April 2025

Signed on their behalf by Director :

Print Name: Timothy Paul Spencer

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH

(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis of accounting in accordance with Charities Act 2011, Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (SORP 2015), applicable accounting standards and Companies Act 2006. The accounts are prepared on an ongoing concern basis. The church meets the public benefit entity definition (FRS102). Restatement was not required in making the transition to FRS102. The date of transition was 1st January 2015.

Advantage has been taken of Section 396(5) of The Companies Act 2006 to allow the format of the financial statements to be adapted to reflect the special nature of the charity's operation and in order to comply with the requirements of the SORP.

The company has taken advantage of the exemption in Financial Reporting Standard No 1 from the requirement to produce a cash flow statement.

Changes in Accounting Policies and Previous Accounts

There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year and no changes in the previous accounts.

Incoming Resources

Recognition of Incoming Resources

These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when:

• the charity becomes entitled to the resources;

• the Directors are virtually certain they will receive the resources; and

• the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Incoming Resources with Related Expenditure

Where incoming resources have related expenditure (as with fundraising or contract income) the incoming resource and related expenditure are reported gross in the SOFA.

Grants and Donations

Grants and Donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.

Tax Reclaims on Donations and Gifts

Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the SOFA in the same financial period as the gift to which they relate.

Contractual Income and Performance Related Grants

This is only included in the SOFA once the related goods or services has been delivered.

Gifts in Kind

Gifts in kind are accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity or the amount actually realised. Gifts in kind for sale or distribution are included in the accounts as gifts only when sold or distributed by the charity. Gifts in kind for use by the charity are included in the SOFA as incoming resources when received.

Donated Services and Facilities

These are only included in incoming resources (with an equivalent amount in resources expended) where the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material. The value placed on these resources is the estimated value to the charity of the service or facility received.

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BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Incoming Resources (continued)

Volunteer Help

The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the Report of the Directors.

Expenditure and Liabilities

Liability Recognition

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources.

Governance Costs

Governance Costs include costs of the preparation and examination of statutory accounts, the costs of the Directors' meetings and cost of any legal advice to directors on governance or constitutional matters.

Grants with Performance Conditions

Where the charity gives a grant with conditions for its payment being a specific level of service or output to be provided, such grants are only recognised in the SOFA once the recipient of the grant has provided the specified service or output.

Assets

Fixed Assets

These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £500. They are valued at cost or, if gifted, at the value to the charity on receipt.

Depreciation is calculated at a rate to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets on a reducing balance over their estimated useful lives. The rates applied per annum are as follows:

Computer	& Audio Equipment	25%
2. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS		Unrestricted	Total
		Computer & Audio Equipment
		£	£
Cost	01-Jan-23	17,315	17,315
Additions		428	428
Disposals		-	-
Cost at	31-Dec-24	17,743	17,743
Depreciation	01-Jan-23	14,351	14,351
Disposals		-	-
Charge		848	848
Depreciation at	31-Dec-24	15,199	15,199
Net Book Value	31-Dec-24	2,544	2,544
Net Book Value	31-Dec-23	2,964	2,964

There are no commitments under non-cancelling operating leases and capital commitments (2023: None)

17

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

3. INCOME

3. INCOME	3. INCOME
Unrestricted		Designated	Restricted	TOTAL	TOTAL
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£
a) Donations and Legacies
Gifts & Donations	77,898	13,650	-	91,548	93,363
Gift Aid	23,984	-	1,545	25,529	23,561
Faith Target Income	20,974	-	-	20,974	21,192
	122,856	13,650	1,545	138,051	138,116
b) Income from other Charitable Activities
Events Income	621	2,149	30,165	32,935	5,002
Grants	-	-	21,003	21,003	35,807
Miscellaneous	74	-	-	74	29
	695	2,149	51,168	54,012	40,838
4. EXPENSES
Unrestricted		Designated	Restricted	TOTAL	TOTAL
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£
a) Expenditure on Charitable Activities
Bank Charges & Interest	336	-	-	336	277
Children/Youth/Students Outreach	2,472	463	4,507	7,442	9,165
Church Giving	-	13,454	9,007	22,461	22,502
Depreciation	848	-	-	848	988
Events	3,011	1,708	29,100	33,819	9,720
Hall Hire	12,448	-	-	12,448	13,684
Hospitality	1,340	-	21	1,361	1,350
Independent Examiners Fee	1,144	-	-	1,144	1,056
Insurance	593	-	-	593	748
Miscellaneous	234	-	-	234	606
Office	1,862	-	-	1,862	1,452
PA/Music	682	-	-	682	642
Payroll Expenses	93,744	-	11,258	105,002	106,044
Publicity	1,844	-	45	1,889	1,707
Speakers	1,300	-	-	1,300	120
Telephone	43	-	-	43	43
Training	3,163	-	1,011	4,174	4,668
Travel	508	-	-	508	727
	125,573	15,625	54,949	196,147	175,499

18

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

5. RESTRICTED FUNDS Australia Mission Trip Bursary Fund Basement Youth Café Children's Society Egypt Intern Special Needs Fund Pathways Pioneer Leaders Events DNA/Training Youth Ealing Fund Weekend Away 2024 Wedding Winter Night Shelter Wildfires Youth Work Grant - Just Sow USA Mission Trip	Balance Balance 01-Jan-23 Income Expenditure Transfers 31-Dec-24 £ £ £ £ £ - 1,971 1,946 - 25 235 - 47 - 188 - 1,300 - - 1,300 - 30 - - 30 - 1,031 31 - 1,000 - 438 375 - 63 - 2,056 2,056 - - 2,409 9,767 8,143 - 4,033 - 3,221 3,309 - (88) 849 - 188 - 662 4,388 - 3,511 - 877 - 29,737 29,737 - - (12) 12 - - - - 318 - - 318 - 287 287 - - 5,594 1,350 4,123 - 2,821 - 1,196 1,196 - -
	13,463 52,713 54,949 - 11,227

The restricted funds are wholly represented by the Charity's cash reserves.

6. DESIGNATED FUNDS Bless Time church meetings Church Giving Football Ministry Pioneer events Playtime West London Leaders Youth Summer Camp	Balance Balance 01-Jan-23 Income Expenditure Transfers 31-Dec-24 £ £ £ £ £ - 328 328 - - 3,010 13,650 13,455 - 3,205 - 790 790 - - 156 362 518 - - 879 569 317 - 1,131 - 100 71 - 29 146 - 146 - -
	4,191 15,799 15,625 - 4,365

The designated funds are wholly represented by the Charity's cash reserves. Church Giving - The church allocates 10% of unrestricted voluntary receipts for this purpose.

7. CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND Current Account	Restated Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Total Fund Fund Fund 31-Dec-24 31-Dec-23 £ £ £ £ £ 29,618 4,365 11,227 45,209 55,321
	29,618 4,365 11,227 45,209 55,321

19

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

8. DEBTORS AND PREPAYMENTS

	Unrestricted Designated	Unrestricted Designated	Restricted	Total	Total
	Fund	Fund	Fund	31-Dec-24	31-Dec-23
	£	£	£	£	£
Prepayments	1,482	-	-	1,482	14,289
Accounts Receivable - Gift Aid	12,786	-	-	12,786	13,410
	14,268	-	-	14,268	27,699
9. CREDITORS AND ACCRUALS:	AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
	Unrestricted Designated		Restricted	Total	Total
	Fund	Fund	Fund	31-Dec-24	31-Dec-23
	£	£	£	£	£
Accounts Payable - Staff Floats	(498)	-	-	(498)	185
Accruals and Prepaid Income	2,179	-	-	2,179	21,365
Independent Examination	1,080	-	-	1,080	1,050
Payroll Liabilities	(37)	-	-	(37)	3
	2,724	-	-	2,724	22,603

10. CREDITORS AND ACCRUALS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE IN MORE THAN ONE YEAR

There were no Creditors or Accruals falling due in more than one year during this financial year (2023: None).

11. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS

11. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS
2024 £ Gross Wages and Salaries 102,425 Employer's National Insurance Costs - Pension 1,500 Other 1,077 105,002 Employees who were engaged in each of the following activities: (Full time equivalent ) 2024 TOTAL Activities in furtherance of organisation's objects 2.5 Management and administration 0.5 Total 3	2023 £ 103,506 - 1,295 1,243
	106,044
	2023 TOTAL 2.0 0.4
	2.4

No employees (2023: None) received emoluments in excess of £60,000. Staff are paid through the PAYE system.

20

BLESS COMMUNITY CHURCH (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024

12. DIRECTORS AND OTHER RELATED PARTIES

No payments were made to directors or any persons connected with them during this financial period. No material transaction took place between the organisation and a trustee or any person connected with them.

Donations received from the trustees and related parties during the year were £14,065(2023: £13,895)

13. RISK ASSESSMENT

The directors actively review the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining the free reserves stated, combined with the annual review of the controls over key financial systems carried out on an annual basis will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The directors have also examined other operational and business risks which they face and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks.

14. RESERVES POLICY

See Report of the Directors.

15. PUBLIC BENEFIT

See Report of the Directors .

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