charity registered in England No 1147116 www.churchfromscratch.org **Annual Report and Impact Statement** for the year ending 31 December 2023 ## **Table of Contents** |Table of Contents|Page 2| |---|---| |Annual Report and Impact Statement|Page 3 - 9| |Independent Examiner Report|Page 10 - 11| |Statement of Financial Activity|Page 12| |Statement of Assets and Liabilities|Page 13| |Notes to the Accounts|Page 14 - 17| www.churchfromscratch.org Page 2 **Annual Report and Impact Statement for the year ending 31 December 2023** ## **Charitable status** Church from Scratch is a registered charity in England, No. 1147116. Principal address: 34 Cranley Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 8AL. ## **Trustees serving during 2023:** Alex Emery Mary Blake Peter Dominey The charity is established by means of a constitution with trustees appointed by the Partners (members). ## **Summary of Objects and Activities** Church from Scratch is a Christian church, a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Eastern Baptist Association. The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the ways of Jesus as found in the Bible and which uphold the fundamentals of the Baptist denomination. The Church also advances education and carries out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. In addition to the reports set out below, our activities include holistic mission, public worship, prayer, Bible study, teaching, baptism, communion, pastoral care and social action, through a community comprising of, and working with many disadvantaged people. ## **Public Benefit Statement** The charity’s trustees continue to have regard for both the charitable objects set out in the governing document and to ensure that the activities of the charity, as described, meet the public benefit test. In so doing, they take account of the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when planning the charity’s programme of activities. The Trustees of Church from Scratch are confident that the activities of the charity demonstrate strong evidence of public benefit. www.churchfromscratch.org Page 3 ## **Nature of the Church** Church from Scratch is a Jesus centred network of communal groups, projects and initiatives concentrated in south east Essex; responding to local needs and opportunities – an inclusive church family of people who are typically marginalised and disadvantaged. The church acts as a pathfinder in Christian mission and as a change-agent. ## **A network of community groups in south east Essex** At the heart of CFS is the community groups. These are often home-based and typically organise around a weekly meeting where we work out what it means to live as followers of Jesus. The communities can be found in south east Essex. They provide opportunities for discipleship and transformation as people develop relationships of trust together over shared meals and through shared lives. Many marginalised and disadvantaged people are part of the groups, and British Sign Language is used in one to include the deaf. Each community is guided by one or more facilitators who are coached, encouraged and supported by the church leadership. Small-group discipleship resources are created by an in-house team of authors to resource the meetings. During 2023, people belonging to CFS have grown in faith and new people have joined as we share life and faith together, supporting each other with practical care for those among us facing serious mental and physical illness and difficult domestic situations. ## **The 4 foundational values of CFS** **These values have stood the test of time over the years and sustained us as we find continuing and new ways to express and live them out. They hold us to the ways of Jesus and are at the centre of all that CFS is and aspires to be:** **We value Jesus at the Centre:** doing it his way; changing as we follow him deeper; relying on him; recognising we're a little bit of his worldwide church; realising Jesus' Spirit is at work now. **We value Building Community:** building real and loving relationships as we rely on each other; growing up in faith together; giving our community away to others. **We value All people:** moving wider to all; encouraging participation by all; standing up with those who need us. **We value Living life to the full:** finding Jesus in all parts of life; holding on to faith as we take risks; helping each other to grow into the full and unique people God wants. www.churchfromscratch.org Page 4 ## **Activities, events and programmes in 2023** ## **We continued to follow these four priorities** We sensed these were needed to unlock our future and help us live out the values on which CFS is founded. The priorities were: **1. Fostering passionate spirituality** - re-founding CFS on Jesus in a closer relationship with him. **2. Building deeper connections** helping us to belong to each other across the groups of CFS. **3. Reaching new people** with a focus on re-building opportunities for families, young adults and children. **4. Increasing capacity*** finding the people, time & money we need to help CFS sustainably grow and deepen. _* CFS is a church with exceptionally poor people compared to typical churches, but we are strong on love, community, faith and life. We’re deeply grateful to Christians from other local churches who give generously to CFS, wishing to support our distinctive mission._ ## **During the year** ## **Supporting the Shared Space volunteer community** We facilitated meetings and holidays for the 100 Shared Space volunteers. ## **Table Talks - Theological Reflection Meals** We held theological reflections over zoom and in person to develop people’s ability to think as Christians and teach theological reflection skill to participants. ## **Activities throughout the year** **This has been a difficult year for Church From Scratch** with our minister having limited capacity due to a close member of his family being extremely unwell since a year ago last May and the knock-on effects of this. As a church we have walked closely with them in this, and it has been good to see others in the church taking on additional responsibilities to share the load and our ministers capacity starting to return. **Monthly Gatherings -** For people from across the church and Shared Space in various venues, with musical worship, exploring themes and discerning what Jesus has for us. www.churchfromscratch.org Page 5 ## **January** **Church Questionnaire** to consult all in the church and be more responsive to opportunities and need. **Partners Promise** meeting where people commit to being ‘Partners’ for the year ahead, living out the values of CFS together. ## **February** **Church Away Day** which included asylum seekers. A time of sharing Jesus and growing. ## **March** **Monthly gathering** to follow Jesus. ## **April** **During Easter** week we held Passover meals to help us understand Jesus better, and events based on Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday was a celebration. ## **May** ## **A monthly gathering** **British Sign Language** sessions with the help of a deaf member of the church to help the public and people in CFS better include and communicate with deaf people. ## **June** **Church camping and discipleship weekend** at Ivy Farm on Mersea Island with four teaching sessions - many coming would otherwise not have had a holiday during the year. **Table Talk** – a theological reflection on the place of doubt and faith called, ‘Faithful Doubting’. ## **July** **Worship BBQ** – with guest speaker on making good decisions. Summer Camp on Mersea Island ## **August Bless Week** Be Blessed - looking at the Beatitudes Bless Jesus - a time of worship, prayer and communion Bless people - cream tea, trip to London for refugees, etc. ## **September** **Church Discipleship camping weekend** in Forge Wood, Sussex for CFS and Shared Space. ## **October** Monthly church gathering with BBQ and worship. ## **November** Outreach fireworks and fellowship party and prayer event. Safeguarding training organised by CFS in line with Policies and Procedures www.churchfromscratch.org Page 6 ## **December** **Advent Night Owl** - weekly online meetings again at 9:30pm providing an hour-long end to the day, in a quiet and reflective space. **An Advent Makers Event** - looking forward to God’s promises of Christmas through making of things! **Table Talk** theological reflection meal on Christian ethics called “Right and wrong”. **Christmas party** ## **Resource creation and sharing** ## **In 2023 we created and revised a series of small group resources for use by CFS and to be shared with the wider church along with a number of one-off resources. The series included:** - CFS Values – Partners’ Pledge - Looking out of our tent – Response to CFS Questionnaire - Jesus in the Psalms - The Road to Jerusalem - The Road from Jerusalem - What is the Bible? – Ways to read the Bible - Jesus the Misunderstood - Salt and Light - Difficult Bible Words - Advent ## **International Deployments** We continue to support Dan and Annie Dupree. Dan was our student minister and they now work in Albania with the Roma people among others. We continued to support and encourage them. When they visited us this year they encouraged us by sharing how God is leading them in Albania. ## **Partnership with Shared Space** Shared Space is the social enterprise CFS founded with which we closely partner. We run a variety of groups, residentials, training and initiatives with Shared Space. Our minister leads the work of Shared Space, and at the start of the year developed it to include new work with refugees and asylum seekers in Southend with which we are actively partnering. www.churchfromscratch.org Page 7 ## **CFS Aims for 2024 includes** - **Centre all we do on Jesus, so we become more like him.** - **To live and express the values of CFS in all we do.** - Develop and work from the **CFS Development Plan.** - Equip people of CFS to express and share the **good news of Jesus,** so people in and beyond Southend are transformed. - **Write and publish** small group courses and videos, to assist CFS and other churches in their mission and discipleship. - Build upon our partnership with **Shared Space social enterprise** , further replicating the Shared Space model and working with Shared Space in mission, finding new ways to partner with Shared Space around new and existing leaders. - Develop the **Community Groups** in depth and number so we become more authentic and prevalent. - Identify, train and nurture CFS people, so **leadership** is shared, and new Community Groups can be formed. - Encourage greater **generosity** of time and money within and beyond CFS, to release resources for the mission we are called to. - **Support Baptists and others in pioneering** so other people venture out in incarnational mission. - **Share our resources and insights** through developments to the CFS website and through training events including Immersive Experiences. - Be **receptive** to the opportunities and needs as they present, responding with agility so we don’t miss the party. - Support the newly formed anti-slavery and human trafficking charity called **Together Free** through our minister’s time, given by CFS to be a trustee. - Run **residential mission and discipleship events** as capacity allows, including weekends and holidays. www.churchfromscratch.org Page 8 ## **Accounting Basis** The accounts were prepared on a receipts and payments basis. ## **Reserves Policy** - Reserves will be maintained to ensure core activity can continue during any period of unforeseen difficulty. - A proportion of reserves will be maintained in a readily realisable form. - The calculation of the required level of reserves is an integral part of the organisation's planning, budget and forecast cycle and it considers: - Risks associated with each stream of income and expenditure being different from that budgeted - Planned activity level - The church’s commitments On this basis, and having reviewed the policy during the year, the Trustees believe that for 2024 a reserve equivalent to six months’ running costs should be maintained. The reserves policy will be reviewed annually. __________________________ ## Mary Blake Church Secretary on behalf of Church from Scratch 29 January 2024 www.churchfromscratch.org Page 9 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 10 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report continued…** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 11 ## **Statement of Financial Activity for the year ended 31.12.2023** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 12 ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the year ended 31.12.2023** Signed: Peter Dominey (trustee) 29[th] January 2024 Signed: Mary Blake (Church Secretary) 29[th] January 2024 www.churchfromscratch.org Page 13 **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31.12.2023** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 14 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31.12.2023** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 15 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31.12.2023** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 16 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31.12.2023** www.churchfromscratch.org Page 17