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← Thrive Youth Ministries

2023-12-31-accounts

Report & Accounts

for the year ended 31st December 2023

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THRIVE YOUTH MINISTRIES

for the year 1st January - 31st December 2023

Reference and Administration Details
Registered charity number
1145794
Charity’s registered address
119 Cubbington Road
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
CV32 7AP
Charity’s office address Thrive Youth Ministries Office
Whitnash Methodist Church
Murcott Road East
Leamington Spa CV31 2JJ
Trustees Andrew Fulcher Chair
Simon Archer Treasurer
Susannah Solt Secretary
Samuel Davis Safeguarding Lead
Lindsey Selley
Ian Derbyshire
Kevin Johnson (joined 19thJanuary 2023)
Chief Executive Andy Castle
Staff members Fiona Stutton
James Yates
Ryan McNair
Rosemary Pauling
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

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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 meets up to six times per year for business meetings. The day to day running of the charity is handled by the Chief Executive.

The Board have four sub-committees (teams), which assist the CEO with the oversight and development of the charity. These teams are:

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:

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 fortnightly prayer meeting.

Meetings are scheduled for every other calendar month, with an expectation of a minimum of three meetings per year with an additional annual vision and prayer day, where possible. In

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2023, the trustees met five times formally, plus a vision & prayer day with the staff on Saturday 24th June. Each of the teams met at least once.

Our core values are:

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.

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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 Warwickshire and Coventry. With our office in Leamington Spa, it means we can reach anywhere within an approximate drive of 30 minutes, therefore keeping our work local.

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.

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.

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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. We also have a popular weekly podcast and YouTube video called, ‘The Heart of a Youth Leader’.

6. Thrive’s Manifesto for 21st Century Youthwork

We have developed a step by step process to help churches create a youth ministry fit for the new century, and with a hands-on approach from Thrive. We have two Youth Mission Enablers who provide churches with the expertise and knowledge to lead them through the process.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

2023 was a year of rooting down. Our fledgling initiative, ‘Manifesto for 21st Century Youthwork’ was properly established, with 10 churches engaging with it and reaching over 150 young people, who would otherwise have had no contact with a local church. Our regular support and mentoring of youth and children’s workers helped develop ministries across the region and our engagement with wider projects has enabled more churches to start new initiatives to reach out and disciple children and young people.

Over the course of 2023, the Thrive team worked alongside more than 60 churches from across Warwickshire and Coventry, inspiring nearly 500 adults to fully engage with youth ministry through our church visits and preaching, as well as offering training and advice. Thrive’s staff team worked directly with 140 young people on average each month and over 130 children, both through their hands-on support of church projects and through Thrive gatherings.

"If it wasn't for Thrive then one of our most successful ministries in terms of reaching people outside the church simply wouldn't exist."

Rev. Phil Price, Priest-in-charge, Draycote & Leam Benefice

We started working with Phil in 2022 by helping his church to work alongside their local primary school. In 2023, we had the opportunity to help lead some celebrations for the students in year 6, as they prepared to move on to secondary school.

We helped them to engage the students and to think through what moving to secondary school might be like; considering their emotions, feelings and hopes. This tight-knit school

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year were about to move to different schools and be scattered. We helped the church to host a reunion gathering in the first term of secondary school, where the former year 6-ers could regroup with their old friends to find out how each was adjusting to the transition. From this gathering, a new youth group has started to meet regularly and has grown so much that they had to move from the confines of the church building to the local community centre!

This is just one story of many that we could share with you to demonstrate the impact that Thrive is having across Warwickshire & Coventry. In fact, we helped 5 other churches to do similar activities with those moving from primary to secondary school, and we have helped establish a number of now permanent youth groups.

After three long years of not being able to gather together for Basecamp, due to the pandemic, it was wonderful to meet again in February. Youth leaders from 12 different churches brought over 90 young people together to have fun, worship and deepen friendships.

Feedback from one of the youth leaders, Lizzie Russell, was that Basecamp was ‘amazing, so great. It’s really helped with friendships in our youth group. And for my relationship with the young people too. I feel like I know them much better as a result of the weekend.’

Similarly, it was encouraging to see Thrive Juniors go from strength to strength, engaging 14 churches, with 32 leaders bringing 67 children as well as 19 teenagers, in a young leaders capacity. Thrive’s Children Ministry Adviser, Fiona Stutton, said, ‘My ultimate highlight of Thrive Juniors was seeing so many leaders from a great number of our local churches commit to bringing their children and get excited about worshipping God. I loved seeing the children singing, clapping and dancing during our final song and going out with such a buzz. I also valued the young people fully participating and leading our children in worship, drama, puppets and generally having their presence and enthusiasm shine through the afternoon. It was a joy to run the event and I can’t wait for the next one!’

In September, we held our Base BBQ. This is a chance at the start of the school year for youth groups to gather together, build friendships and to worship Jesus. 17 different churches brought their youth groups at St Paul’s Church in Warwick, coming from all across our region of Warwickshire and Coventry. We were grateful to have Dave Boyle, centre director of Kenilworth Youth for Christ, join us and bring the message from Colossians 3:2, ‘set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’

Our first post-Covid Youth Growing Leaders course finished in April with 10 young people coming from 6 local churches, successfully completing the training. In September, Ryan McNair (one of Thrive’s Youth Mission Enablers) took over the leadership of this course from our CEO, Andy Castle, to host the next programme, gathering 8 young people from 5 different churches. This concluded in April’24.

Thrive facilitated a steering group for the Anglican churches in Warwick, as they looked to work with The Message Trust, using a newly converted double decker bus, going out as a mobile youth centre. The partnership between the churches and The Message came to an end

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in December’23. Thrive has been asked to take on the primary responsibility for the ongoing development and delivery of the bus project into 2024 and for the years ahead.

Andy continues to record his regular weekly podcast, ‘The Heart of a Youth Leader’, short tenminute episodes to inspire listeners to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, and to encourage youth and children’s leaders to be investing in their own spiritual walk, and not just that of those they lead. Each episode is usually downloaded 25-30 times at least, with additional viewing on Thrive’s YouTube channel. Whilst numbers are not huge, this is a fantastic opportunity to invest in 30 leaders each week.

As we look back on the year, it is with satisfaction at the progress that has been made in so many different areas; the joy of new initiatives combined with the new sense of appreciation for the different gatherings being finally able to be staged. We are so grateful for the wide support that 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 to local churches, all seeking to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and further His Kingdom.

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 £225,388, an increase of 10% from last year (£204,390). This is due to the continued support of major donors such as the King Henry fund and includes the impact of the various courses and events which have been run throughout the year. Receipts from donations and grants were £200,820, an increase of 6% from last year (£190,154). These gifts, which represent the generosity of both individuals and local churches, have where possible, been further supported by Gift Aid. Donations were supplemented this year with grant funding from the Hinchley Trust who continue to support the Youth Mission Enabler programme and Scripture Union who contributed to the delivering of their Revealing Jesus initiative. For all the gifts both large and small the trustees extend their gratitude both to the givers and to our God the provider.

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In the pursuit of the vision set out above Thrive Youth Ministries has expended £208,340 this year, a substantial increase of £18,681 from 2022. At £185,680 (£174,184), the cost of salaries, pensions, national insurance and expenses were the majority of this expenditure with the increase from 2022 being the impact of increases generally in line with inflation. Increases were moderated in view of the salary increases that were accelerated from January 2023 to July 2022. The trustees continue to believe that they should seek to be as generous as possible in the remuneration of staff to reflect the generosity of God’s grace to Thrive Youth Ministries. This generosity is balanced by a recognition of the financial pressures on our donors and so salary increases approved for 2024 are slightly below peak inflation rates.

With a full year of an expanding programme of courses and events, the income and costs associated with these have continued to increase. Thrive Youth Ministries continue to set course fees to cover all costs but we are conscious that as venue rates increase this will place increasing pressure on those churches and parents who pay these fees.

The net result for the year 2023 was a surplus of receipts over payments of £17,048 which is an encouragement to the trustees that God’s provision for the Youth Mission Enabler programme is continuing. When the 2023 surplus is added to bank and deposit balances brought forward from 2022 the balance carried forward at the end of December 2023 totalled £85,056. If outstanding receipts and liabilities are included the balance is adjusted to £81,290.

As Thrive Youth Ministries ends 2023 with this healthy balance the trustees must continue to look to God as the sole provider for Thrive and for His leading of the ministry into 2024 and beyond. The basic budget set for 2024, excluding course costs and fees, requires receipts of c.£210,250 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. The trustees continue to be aware of the need to further extend a regular giving donor base and to make applications for grant

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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 2024 this is c. £56,000 and the balance held at the end 2023 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 £2,000 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 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 16[th] May 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Kevin Johnson - Chair of Trustees

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Thrive Youth Ministries

Financial Statements for year ending 31 December 2023

Unrestricted Funds Restricted Total Total
Undesig. Desig. Funds 2023 2022
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
Receipts
Donations, Legacies & Grants
Local Churches 4. 84,886 - - 84,886 96,992
Grants 5. 6,620 - 6,000 12,620 9,620
Individuals (gift aided) 71,828 - - 71,828 60,664
Individuals (non-gift aided) 12,570 - - 12,570 7,451
Income Tax Recovered 16,936 - - 16,936 15,427
Local Fundraising 6. 1,980 - 1,980 -
Total Donations, Legacies & Grants 4. 194,820 - 6,000 200,820 190,154
Course Fees 11. 23,119 - - 23,119 13,955
Interest Received 1,200 - - 1,200 225
Other 249 - - 249 56
Total Receipts 219,388 - 6,000 225,388 204,390
Payments
Ministry Payments
Ministry - Salaries and NI 63,487 - 97,256 160,743 153,313
Ministry - Pension Contributions 4,993 - 8,097 13,090 12,463
Ministry - Expenses 5,840 - 5,249 11,089 8,408
Total Ministry Payments 7. 74,320 - 110,602 184,922 174,184
Administration Payments
Office Overheads 1,440 - - 1,440 405
Post & Stationery 1,403 - 37 1,440 579
Publicity & Website (VM) 1,325 - - 1,325 453
Insurance 319 - - 319 358
Scripture Union 8. - - - - 3,000
Other Fees 9. 1,330 - - 1,330 775
Total Administration Payments 5,817 - 37 5,854 5,570
Equipment Purchase 143 - 758 901 39
Courses - Venues, Travel, etc. 11. 16,663 - - 16,663 9,866
Total Payments 96,943 - 111,397 208,340 189,659
Net of Receipts/(Payments) 122,445 - (105,397) 17,048 14,731
Transfers between funds (107,000) - 107,000 - -
15,445 - 1,603 17,048 14,731
Cash at bank & in hand on 31 Dec 2022 66,266 1,742 68,008 53,277
Cash at bank & in hand on 31 Dec 2023 10. 81,711 - 3,345 85,056 68,008
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Cash Funds
Current account (CAF & Pay Pal) 11,300 - 3,345 14,645 7,885
Deposit account (CAF Gold) 70,411 - - 70,411 60,123
81,711 - 3,345 85,056 68,008
Other Monetary Funds
Thrive Youth Weekend receipts (due Jan 2024) - - 10 10 2,085
Income tax recoverable (due Jan 2024) 4,429 - - 4,429 3,407
4,429 - 10 4,439 5,492
Investment Assets 2. - - - - -
Assets retained for use 3. - - - - -
Liabilities
Thrive Youth Weekend costs (due Jan 2024) - - 4,470 4,470 2,236
PAYE and National Insurance (due Jan 2024) 3,735 - - 3,735 3,742
3,735 - 4,470 8,205 5,978

The accounts and statement of assets and liabilities set out above, with the notes on the following page, relating to the year ending 31 December 2023 are as approved by the Trustees.

Kevin Johnson, Chair

Lindey Selley, Treasurer

Date

Date

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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 2023, set out on page 11.

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:

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:

_____ Date:_____

Andrew Rice 54 St Andrew’s Road Leamington Spa Warwickshire, CV32 7EX

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Financial Statements for year ending 31st December 2023

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 fallen by £12,106 from £96,992 in 2022 to £84,886 in 2023. A large contribution from a group of churches in Warwick to the Youth Mission Enabler programme continues to account for a significant portion of this with support also coming from other churches also benefiting from this work. Giving by individuals has increased from £68,115 in 2022 to £84,398 in 2023, with Gift Aid recovery moving generally in line with this. The total General Fund giving has grown from £179,641 in 2022 to £194,820, an increase of 8%.

  5. Grants have been received from the organisations below in 2023. That received from the Hinchley Trust was provided as continued support the launch of the Youth Mission Enablers Programme. That from Scripture Union to support the development of the "Manifesto" programme. That from Together for Change was to provide Thrive YM support for an ongoing "Messy Church" in the locality.

Hinchley Trust £ 6,000 one off gift Scripture Union £ 5,000 one off gift Together for Change £ 1,620 made up from two gifts

  1. Local fundraising included sponsorship raised for participation in the 2023 Regency Run and for a 24hr Bike Ride undertaken by Thrive staff.

  2. Ministry payments increased generally in line with inflation in January 2023, though this increase was cognisant of the uplift given in July 2022 due to the cost of living crisis.

  3. No voluntary contribution was made to Scripture Union in 2023, as this would have offset the grant support provide by SU for the development of the "Manifesto" programme.

  4. Fees include banking and insurance costs along with other subscriptions.

  5. Analysis of movements in fund balances is given below.

Undesignated
General Fund
Events Fund
Restricted
Children's Worker Fund
Youth Mission Enabler Fund
Puppet Team Fund		 Balance
B/fwd.
Receipts
Payments
Transfer
Balance
C/fwd.
59,902
196,071
78,953
(107,000)
70,020
6,364
23,317
17,990
-
11,691
66,266
219,388
96,943
(107,000)
81,711
315
-
40,075
41,000
1,240

1,207
6,000
71,322
66,000
1,885
220
-
-
-
220
1,742
6,000
111,397
107,000
3,345

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  1. 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.

  2. The Children's Worker Fund, Youth Mission Enabler Fund and Puppet Team Fund respectively capture the costs of our Children's Worker, our two Mission Enablers and of puppet team equipment. As restricted grant funding for these initiatives is expended a positive balance is maintained by supplementing from the General Fund.

  3. Thrive Youth Ministries ran a youth weekend in January 2024 with receipts and payments for the youth weekend spanning between 2023 and 2024. A summary of these receipts and payments is given below. Also shown are details of a similar event run in January 2023, these do not form part of these accounts and are for comparison only.

Receipts Payments
Thrive Youth Weekend 2023 13,930 13,095
Thrive Youth Weekend 2024 19,790 18,832

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