_________________________________________________________ Report & Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020 _________________________________________________________ _**Page 1**_ ## **THRIVE YOUTH MINISTRIES** for the year 1st January - 31st December 2020 ## **Reference and Administration Details** |Registered charity|number|
1145794| |---|---|---| |Charity’s registered|address|
119 Cubbington Road| |||Leamington Spa| |||Warwickshire| |||CV32 7AP| |Charity’s offce address||Thrive Youth Ministries Offce| |||Whitnash Methodist Church| |||Murcott Road East| |||Leamington Spa CV31 2JJ| |Trustees|Andrew Fulcher Chair|| ||Simon|Archer Treasurer| ||Ross Caws
Secretary (resigned 31st December 2020)|| ||Jenni Norris Safeguarding Offcer (resigned 13th October 2020)|| ||Andrew Owen Safeguarding Offcer (role from 13th October 2020)|| ||Samuel Davis|| ||Susannah Solt Appointed 12th March 2020|| |Chief Executive||Andrew Castle| |Staff members||Fiona Stutton| |||Claire Shepherd (started maternity leave 28th August 2020)| |Independent Examiner||Andrew Rice| |||54 St Andrew’s Road| |||Leamington Spa| |||Warwickshire| |||CV32 7EX| |Bankers||CAF Bank Ltd| |||25 Kings Hill Avenue| |||Kings Hill| |||West Malling| |||Kent| |||ME19 4JQ| _**Page 2**_ ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** Governing document Deed of Trust adopted on 14th November 2011 How the charity is constituted Trust ## **Governance/Structure** The Board of Trustees meet three times per year for business meetings. The day to day running of the charity is handled by the Chief Executive. The Board of Trustees have given their approval to policies, procedures and guidelines, which are applied within Thrive Youth Ministries’ (more commonly referred to in this report as Thrive) daily activities. ## The charity has the following policies in place: - Safeguarding - Health & Safety - Equality - Standards for events - Youth Work - Expenses & Pension - Conflict of Interest - Privacy - Data Protection - Disciplinary policy & procedure - Maternity Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees allow all Trustees to keep up to date with the development of the charity and in between meetings, any matters arising are shared by email or phone conversation, or at a weekly prayer meeting. A minimum of three meetings per year are scheduled with an additional annual vision and prayer day, where possible. In 2020, Trustees met three times formally, plus two additional extraordinary meetings in April and August, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on Thrive’s staff and finances. We did not hold a vision and prayer day due to the pandemic. Our core values are: - Courageous dependence on the Spirit - Making a Kingdom difference - Dynamic & life-giving - Purposefully encouraging and building others up - Extravagant generosity _**Page 3**_ An Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is obtained prior to commencement of employment or trusteeship, with a renewal after every three years. We also ensure that all volunteers working with Thrive have a current DBS check in place. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits. Thrive Youth Ministries is a local mission partner of Scripture Union. ## **Recruitment of Trustees** New Trustees are identified through connections made with individuals in the course of Thrive’s activities. Exploratory conversations occur and if the time/skills of the individual and the needs of the Board align, the person considering a trustee role is invited to meet other trustees at a meeting, where they have the opportunity to ask further questions and introduce themselves. If a synergy is identified, the person is invited to become a Trustee based upon the voting of existing Trustees. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** Objects of the charity To advance the Christian faith among young people in England, as set out in our Deed of Trust. ## **Summary of Main Activities Undertaken for the Public Benefit in Relation to These Objects** In planning the activities of Thrive, the Trustees have given consideration to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission in September 2013. Thrive aims to fulfil its vision as shown above and in so doing, serve the local and wider communities who connect with Thrive. Thrive’s vision is to see every church within its area of operation with a thriving youth ministry of some kind. Our area is defined as a radius of 30 minutes’ drive from Leamington Spa. This takes in Coventry in the North, Rugby in the East and Stratford-upon-Avon in the South West. We recognised that for Thrive’s vision to be realised, Thrive also needs to help churches with their children’s ministry as if this is weak, it is much harder for there to be the possibility of a strong youth ministry. As a result, we work with churches to develop all ministries reaching under 18s. _**Page 4**_ Our primary means for fulfilling our objectives are by: ## 1. Mentoring We provide regular one-to-one mentoring for youth and children’s leaders, both volunteers and employed staff. This helps leaders to feel valued, understood and supported in their ministry. It enables them to grow and develop as leaders as well as in their ministries. We believe mentoring is an essential element for a leader if they are to be resilient and have longevity in their position. ## 2. Consultancy We offer to walk alongside churches as they look to develop their youth and children’s work. We offer resources to help them review their attitudes to young people as well as offering advice on how to improve their delivery of youth work. ## 3. Training We hold both open training events and closed events, specifically at the request of a particular church. Training enables people to come together and to discuss new ideas and encourages greater creativity and dependence on God. ## 4. Investing in area wide youth ministry Thrive only wants to do what the local church on its own is unable to deliver. So we run leadership courses for Christian young people, enabling individual churches to each send one or two young people to participate. We also oversee area-wide youth and children’s events. ## 5. Website Our website is an effective means of communicating with a lot of people in one go. Our leadership blog is popular, as is our increasing bank of useful web links. The website is used by a large number of people regularly. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** We have been living through a unique period of history over these last 12 months, and we have been so encouraged to see how different churches have responded. Whilst is has inhibited our everyday evangelism, churches have been imaginative in responding to the immediate needs of their communities. Thrive had to change and respond fast as well. We are so grateful to God for His continued provision through this testing time, and to our wonderful group of supporters who donated and prayed for Thrive. _**Page 5**_ 2020 started quite normally. Supported by our Young Leaders Team, we hosted our annual Basecamp youth weekend in January, taking 127 young people and their leaders away to The Pioneer Centre, near Kidderminster, for a weekend of fun, faith and adventure. We had ten church groups attend, and throughout the weekend there were seminars, talks and late-night worship sessions as well as plenty of time to try out different outdoor adventure activities. It was wonderful having the Young Leaders co-host the weekend with Andy Castle, and to see them step into leadership by helping to deliver some of the teaching. Our newly established Thrive Worship Team met regularly and led the worship times on the weekend superbly. Andy was invited to speak at Reboot, a weekend retreat organised by Coventry Youth For Christ for youth workers across the city. The weekend took place at Center Parcs, where participants got to listen to Andy’s input three times per day, and then enjoy the amenities that the resort offered. Then the COVID pandemic hit and we had to stop doing all our usual activities, meetings and courses. Our Youth Growing Leaders course had to end without its final session, which was disappointing but understood by the 15 young people involved, coming from 7 different churches. The staff team were fantastic at moving everything to online. Having to each work from their respective homes, they quickly learned how to use Slack to keep in touch virtually, and to master Zoom! Our regular youth & children’s network gatherings were taken online. Usually, these would happen once or twice per term, but their frequency was increased to fortnightly, then monthly as leaders needed increased support, and appreciated the opportunities to share learning and ideas. There was something uniquely special about this period. The playing field was suddenly levelled. There were no experts. We were each learning and making it up as we went. Our networks helped leaders to work out together how to get the most from Zoom, how to keep children or young people engaged, and to continue to build relationship with them, even though we could not physically meet. Games ideas were shared, as were video clips and worship ideas. New ways to celebrate Easter and then thinking through how to support families. The discussions flowed and the creativity was impressive. Gatherings ranged from 6-16 leaders plus Thrive team, and offered whatever support was needed. At one Youthwork Network, Pete English, who works for the charity At A Loss and is a local youth leader, led a session on ‘Loss and young people’, drawing on his work as a counsellor _**Page 6**_ and specialist in supporting children and young people affected by bereavement and parental separation. There was a real need for sharing links and online resources, and so Thrive launched two Facebook groups to best resource leaders: Thrive Youthwork Network for youth leaders, and Thrive’s Children’s Network for children’s leaders. These groups quickly saw membership grow to over 50 in each and people have started to share ideas, ask questions of one another and to encourage each other on new ways of discipling in a virtual environment. Thrive’s CEO & founder, Andy Castle, was able to take a Sabbatical during May-July, with Fiona Stutton covering his responsibilities for working and supporting youth leaders and youth work, and Claire Shepherd, taking responsibilities for communications. Fiona helped to work with several churches in the lead up to the summer time to take their usual summer holiday clubs online. Coming from a discussion at Thrive’s Children’s Work Network, churches across Coventry began to work together to produce both recorded and printable resources that were available to other churches to use. Under a theme of ‘Adventures with God’, it explored five different stories from the Bible. Churches that used the resources were able to run their holiday clubs in their own way, either on Facebook Live or Zoom, allowing them to lead their sessions and include the video clips of stories, talks, puppets, songs, prayers and craft accordingly. Working together not only took the pressure off leaders as they tackled online holiday clubs for the first time, but was an encouraging sign of supporting each other across the city. Thrive also worked alongside the Offchurch Group of Churches as they planned their first holiday club online. Children were sent out packs in advance and everything they needed inside. It was a great system and it worked well. Overall the holiday club was a great success, the children absolutely loved it and it has encouraged the leaders to move their Messy Church gatherings online to continue to reach out to more families. _“We are so grateful for Fiona’s involvement and guidance, which has enabled us to run a successful holiday club over three mornings on Zoom,’_ Hazel Taylor, Offchurch Group of Churches Thrive conducted a poll of youth workers and leaders in our area of Warwickshire & Coventry in August, asking the question: ‘What have been the biggest challenges for you as a youth leader over these past months?’ The results revealed some vital areas of need and support: - 1 in 5 youth leaders feel spiritually dry - 1 in 3 youth leaders feel isolated - 86% of youth leaders are struggling with young people disconnecting from church - Most youth leaders were feeling ‘zoomed out’ _**Page 7**_ As a result, Thrive developed a new strategy to make sure that each of these challenges was addressed. Thrive fine-tuned its focus to be cheering leaders on, to help them know how much God delights in them and that he is their biggest cheerleader fo all. To help with the isolation, Thrive wanted to recognise the hard work of all those involved in youth and children’s work and so created some care packages to encourage them and to show our appreciation for all they do. With a huge thanks to a community grant from Tesco, we were able to prepare gift bags of goodies to give out. Each bag contained a youth worker mug (with “Zooming marvellous youth/children’s worker in action!” printed on), a box of Cadbury’s Heroes chocolates, a picture frame displaying a Bible verse (Isaiah 40:31), and a hand written encouragement card, specifically written for each leader. The Thrive team went door to door with the deliveries, covering many miles as they visited each leader, handing out the care packages. It was so delightful to see their reactions as they opened the door, expecting a nuisance or, perhaps at best, an Amazon delivery, only to find it was Thrive! To help with leaders’ sense of being spiritually dry, we hosted two identical online retreats, giving input, space for reflection and time alone with God; to encourage leaders and help them take time away from their busy diaries, away from disruptions and to be still, in God’s presence. Over 30 people joined us for the two hours of input and time with God. For those who booked on early enough, we sent out a small package containing a handout for making the most of the retreat, a floating candle to be used during our time together, and a Refresher bar, courtesy of the kind people at Tesco! The leaders valued being able to have the opportunity to spend time allowing God to strengthen them and build them up for their ministry ahead. _“Such a wonderful and peaceful morning, which couldn’t have come at a better time. I was spiritually parched!”_ _“Really enjoyed the session and left me with a lot to think and reflect on.”_ Our mentoring for leaders has continued, albeit online, as we continue to get alongside key youth and children’s workers and leaders. We did have to cancel some events planned for the year, in addition to the final Youth Growing Leaders session. We were not able to host a new programme of this course and our Thrive Worship Team had to stop. Thrive Juniors for children and our main fundraiser, a comedy night, were both cancelled. We launched a refreshed, new-look website in June, making it easier for visitors to find the information they need more quickly. _**Page 8**_ As we look back at the end of the year, it is clear that it has been a challenging time but it is wonderful to see all that God has enabled to happen and for how Thrive has been able to offer critical support for many churches in an unprecedented time. We are immensely grateful for the wide support we have received and the privilege of being able to speak into the lives of so many different people, and to hopefully be a blessing and encouragement to local churches. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** The detailed finances of Thrive Youth Ministries are reflected in the financial statements which follow on later pages with the associated notes. This review serves as a summary. Total receipts for the year were £97,444, a fall of 4% from last year (£101,389). This is substantially due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, which saw Thrive run a reduced number of events and courses. Receipts from donations and grants were £94,932, an increase of 13% from last year (£83,806). These gifts, which represent the generosity of both individuals and local churches, have been where possible further supported by Gift Aid. Donations were supplemented this year with grant funding from the Hinchley Trust and Tesco Community Grant, of which the latter was for the provision of care packages for 45 local youth & children’s leaders, to support them as they manage the impact of the pandemic in their settings. A fundraising event was planned for 2020 but has been deferred and will be rescheduled when national restrictions are reduced. However, a telephone campaign was undertaken by the staff and trustees in the autumn 2020, which saw a substantial response from our local supporter base. For all the gifts both large and small the trustees extend their gratitude both to the givers and to our God the provider. _**Page 9**_ In the pursuit of the vision set out above Thrive Youth Ministries has expended £104,389 this year an increase of £900 from 2019. At £88,868 (£85,574), the cost of salaries, pensions, national insurance and expenses were the majority of this expenditure. The increase is largely the continued salary for the new Events & Communications Manager role. The trustees continue to believe that they should seek to be generous in the remuneration of staff to reflect the generosity of God’s grace to Thrive Youth Ministries. However, given the constrained nature of the UK due to the pandemic, the trustees have decided not to implement any salary increases in 2021. At £10,688 (£10,582) the cost of running courses, is another major portion of the Thrive Youth Ministries expenditure, though all of these costs are funded from the fees paid by attendees. This includes Basecamp, which has become a key event in the calendars of youth groups across Warwickshire and Coventry. The timing of the weekend early in the calendar year is of financial note. Approximately 75% of fees for the event run in January 2020 were collected in 2019 but the majority of the costs, £9,296, remained outstanding at the 2019 year-end and have been carried into the 2020 accounts. The net result for the year 2020 was a deficit of receipts over payments of £6,945 so the trustees must continue to look to God for the funding of Thrive and for the direction the ministry should take into 2021 and beyond. When the 2020 deficit is taken off bank and deposit balances brought forward from 2019, the balance carried forward at the end of December 2020 totalled £29,907. If outstanding receipts and liabilities are included, the balance is adjusted to £32,869. As Thrive Youth Ministries moves into its tenth year of supporting the Christian youth and children’s work in our locale, the trustees thank God for His goodness through 2020 and _**Page 10**_ look to Him for direction in 2021. The basic budget set for 2021, excluding course costs and fees, requires receipts of c. £97,500 to deliver nil deficit in the year, so the trustees and staff again step out in faith that He will continue to support the work. In addition to this, the trustees are exploring the opportunity to initiate a Youth Mission Enablers project in 2021, which will be subject to a separate budget. The trustees continue to be aware of the need to further extend a regular giving donor base and to make applications for grant funding when appropriate, the development of the fundraising strategy for Thrive Youth Ministries remains focused on these. ## **Reserves Policy** It is the policy of Thrive Youth Ministries to maintain a balance of funds which equates to at least three months payments, in 2021 this is c. £24,000 and the balance held at the end 2020 exceeds this target. It is also the policy of Thrive Youth Ministries that if the cash balance at the end of any month reduces below £10,000 the Treasurer informs all trustees. ## **Risk Statement** The Trustees and Chief Executive have reviewed the risks to which a small charity operating with few employees and and a larger volunteer base is exposed. Appropriate general and public liability insurance has been obtained. Operational risks associated with the ministry activities and the holding of events have been reviewed and appropriate guidelines and policies agreed to ensure that any risk is minimised. ## **Approval** This report was approved by the Trustees on 23rd March 2021 and signed on their behalf by: __________________________________ Andrew Fulcher - Chair of Trustees _**Page 11**_ ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS** Report to the Trustees of Thrive Youth Ministries, charity number 1145794. On accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020, set out on page 13. ## **Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: - examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, - to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and - to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement** My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the 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 trustees concerning 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 examiner’s statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: - 1) 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 Charities Act; - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or - 2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ## ___________________________ Date:___________________ Andrew Rice 54 St Andrew’s Road Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 7EX _**Page 12**_ Thrive Youth Ministries Fln?ndal Ststements for year ending 31 December 2020 Unrestricted Funds Undeslg. Oeslg. R*stricted Funds Total 2020 Total 2019 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENfs ACCOUNT eceipts Donations L*gatiÈs & Grants Lotal Chutthes fknnts Indi¥￿uar5 Igrft a￿ed) Indiv￿u31$ Inon-grft aided) Incofft Tax ReCOve￿d Lccal Fundra￿Ing Total Lbnations, Legacies & (knnts Course Fees Interest Recelved other Total Recelpts 25,500 1,000 46,694 12.772 8,546 420 94,932 2,454 15 43 25.51)0 1.000 46.694 14772 546 420 .932 ¥454 15 43 19.944 1,500 39,293 9,711 10.703 83,806 16,050 42 ii. 101 389 Payments Mlnlstry Payments M￿n￿try - Salanes and NT MinEtry - Pens￿￿ Contributions Ministry - Expenses Total MSnLstry Paymnts AdmSnSstratk>n Payments Off￿e Overhead5 Post & Stationery Publtrcy & Websf(e IVMI Insurdnce Scripture Unien other Fees Total Ad￿inIStrat￿1n PaY￿ntS Equiprent Purchase Cour5e5 - Venues, Trdvel, etc. Total Payments 45,681 4,409 31,531 2,303 77.212 6,712 72,294 5,740 53.421 35.447 88.868 85.574 540 711 928 355 1,500 715 4.749 53 $40 742 928 355 500 715 4.780 53 540 940 1.129 332 1,500 31 31 6.249 1,084 ii. 103 489 Net of Recelptsl(Payments) Transfer5 between funds 28,533 135.4781 {6.945) 12.1001 16,3821 15631 808 24S (6,94S) 12,1001 Cash at bank & In hand on 31 Dec 2Q19 Cash at bank & in hand on 31 DEC 2020 io. STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND UABILrrIES Cash Fynd5 Curtnt account ICAF & Pay Pall DepJsf( account ICAF Gjldl 6.662 245 907 8.801 245 other Monetary Funds Thrive Youth Weekend recelpts (due Jan 2021; IncorrE tax ￿coverab￿ (due Jan 2021) 2,374 869 Investment Axxets Assets retalned for use Liabilities Thrtve Youth Weekend costs (due Jan 20211 PAYE aThJ Nathjnal Insurance (due Jan 20211 9.296 The accounts and staterr*nt of assets and liabilities set out above. with the notes on the following pagÈ, relating to the year ending 31 t*cets*er 2020 a￿ as approved by the Trustees. Andrew Fulcher, Chair sI￿n Archer, Treasurer Date Date Page 13 ## **Financial Statements for year ending 31st December 2020** ## **Notes** 1. These accounts have been prepared on a 'receipts and payments' basis in accordance with Section 133 of the Charities Act 2011. 2. Thrive Youth Ministries has no investment assets other than a short term CAF Gold account. 3. Thrive Youth Ministries has no fixed assets retained for use other than low value IT equipment. 4. Donations from local churches have grown from £19,944 in 2019 to £25,500 in 2020, exceeding the previous maximum of £21,807 in 2018. Similarly, giving by individuals has grown from £49,004 in 2019 to £59,466 in 2020, almost matching 2018. The Gift Aid recovered in 2020 is lower than 2019 as the claim for the final quarter was submitted in January 2021. The total General Fund income has grown from £83,806 in 2019 to £94,932 in 2020 almost matching the £99,863 received in 2018. 5. Grants have been received from the organisations below in 2020. That received from Tesco was particularly to support local youth & children’s leaders as they manage the impact of the Covid pandemic and was spent on care packages for 45 individuals. The Hinchley Trust £500 one off gift Tesco Community Grant £500 one off gift 6. A fundraising event with ‘Andy Kind’ was planned for Spring 2020 but has been deferred due to the Covid pandemic. Some ticket sales for the event were converted to donations when the event was cancelled, hence the £450 income. A 50% deposit has been paid against a rescheduled event. 7. Ministry payments increased generally in line with inflation in 2020. A member of staff went on maternity leave in August 2020 which reduced the impact of this increase. 8. Scripture Union donations comprise voluntary contributions of £1500 for 2020. 9. Fees include payment of £150 deposit for a future fundraising event. See note 6. 10. Analysis of movements in fund balances is given on the next page. _**Page 14**_ The Events Fund represents accumulated fee receipts for attendance on residential retreats, courses and youth events which are used, in the first instance, to cover the costs of these events. Further details of youth weekend receipts and payments are given below in note 11. The Children's Worker Fund captures the costs of Thrive’s Children’s Ministry Adviser. As the grant funding for this role has been expended a positive balance has been maintained by supplementing from the General Fund. The Base Fund represents donations made historically to support the First Sunday Youth Service and the Base youth worship events and has seen negligible activity since 2018. Further Base expenses have gone through the General Fund and so in 2020 the Base Fund was closed with the balance transferred to the General Fund. 11. Thrive Youth Ministries ran a youth weekend in January 2020 with receipts and payments for the youth weekend spanning between 2019 and 2020. A summary of these receipts and payments is given below. A similar event was planned for February 2021 and a deposit was paid mid-year for accommodation in the expectation of the Covid related restrictions being eased. The February 2021 youth weekend has not gone ahead and negotiations to roll this deposit forward to 2022 continue. _**Page 15**_