TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 MARCH 2025
Registered Charity No. 1149167
TEMPLE OF GRACE CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees and Advisers | 2 |
| Report of the Trustees | 3 – 7 |
| Independent Examiners Report | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Accounting Policies | 11 - 12 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 13 |
TEMPLE OF GRACE
TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS
Trustees
Chair David Kafui Johnson E Anka Ellen Gomado Fidel Christian Tarpeh Budy Tobias Siegenthaler Chief Executive Jeremiah Gomado Company Secretary Johnson Anka Charity Registration No 1149167
Registered Office
Registered Office 1st Floor Speedicut Works Harleston Street, Sheffield S4 7QB Bankers HSBC Bank PLC Rotherham College Street 35 College Street Rotherham England S65 1AF
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
INTRODUCTION
The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report for the year ended 31 March 2025. The Trustees have complied with the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2015) and applicable United Kingdom Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards.
Small Companies Exemption
In preparing their report, the trustees have decided to take advantage of the Small Companies Exemption under Section 1A of FRS 102 and the Companies Act 2006.
Reference and Administrative Information
The charity changed its name to Temple of Grace in April 2024 by resolution of the trustees in a special meeting held in November 2022 which involved all clergy and leadership personnel. The change of name was officially announced in April 2023. Temple of Grace is a registered charity under the Charities Act 1993, charity number 1149167. It is governed by its Constitution adopted on the 5 August 2010.
The governance of the Charity is vested in the Trustees appointed under the Constitution. The day-to-day organisation of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive.
Details of the Trustees, who are also the directors and members of the Company, who served during the year are set out on page 2.
The principal place of business and any professional advisors of the Charity are set out on page 2.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Organisational Structure
The organisation’s structure is best presented as laid out below:
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Board of Trustees
Chief Executive
Senior Leadership
Team
Staff Team and
Volunteers
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The Trustees consider that the above structure is appropriate for the charity’s activities.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
Governance
The governing body of the charity is the Board of Trustees, the members of which are listed on page 2. Unless indicated otherwise, all served throughout the year. The Board must consist of a minimum of three members but there is no maximum number. The method for the recruitment and appointment of Trustees involves a skills’ audit and review, and a combination of active search and open advertisement.
The induction and training procedures for Trustees are as follows: new Trustees are invited to attend a Board meeting as observers before confirming that they will take up their appointment; they are supplied with a copy of the Charity Commission’s guide to being a trustee and the core constitutional and strategic documents relating to the Charity and its work; the activities of the Charity are presented to new Trustees by members of staff within a reasonable time after appointment and Trustees are periodically invited to consider and notify the Chair if there is any particular training or experience from which they would benefit so as to help them fulfil their responsibilities to the Charity.
Trustees are encouraged to identify particular areas of activity that they are keen to participate in. The Trustees agree the level of the Chief Executive’s remuneration, monitors all legal and operational activities of the Charity, reviews the organisational budget and closely monitors the Charity’s financial performance.
Management
The Board is responsible for setting strategies and policies for the Charity and for ensuring that these are implemented. The day to day running of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive and his staff. The Chief Executive is responsible for the implementation of policies and strategies on behalf of the Board. The Chief Executive works with the Leadership Team to implement the policies and procedures.
Risk Management
The Trustees have examined the principal areas of the Charity’s operations and considered the major risks in each of these areas.
In the opinion of the Trustees, the Charity has established a review system and allocated sufficient resources to ensure those risks identified have been mitigated to a level acceptable for the Charity’s day to day operations.
Safeguarding
Temple of Grace is committed to the highest safeguarding standards. The Board, within its capacity, oversees an approach to the charity’s work which ensures that Safeguarding regulations are adhered to. A comprehensive Safeguarding Policy has been developed which guides the operations of all staff. Any opportunities to acquire training for staff are utilised.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives
The main object of the Charity, as stated in its Constitution, is the advancement of the Christian faith worldwide in accordance with the doctrines set out in the Statement of Faith.
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
Vision
Temple of Grace is an independent charity seeking to impact our generation with the standards of Christ and influencing them to fulfil their full potential and destiny in Christ for the public benefit and for that purpose to advance the active understanding of the Christian faith and any other subjects insofar as they are likely to be conducive to the public benefit.
Mission
We work to build wider understanding of the Christian Faith and its benefits to UK society.
We work towards our vision by:
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Offering holistic ministry to the needs of the total person (including spiritual, material, emotional, intellectual, physical and social). To work with service providers (in partnership) in relieving physical, emotional and spiritual hardship by the provision of prayers, funds, goods or services of any kind, (including the provision of counselling and support) in such parts of the United Kingdom as the Trustees may think fit.
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Sustaining and developing as an organization which meets the needs of the local majority and minority ethnic population through Biblical teachings, the establishment of churches and fellowship centres, charitable works and education.
REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Our trustees have been consistent in their support and help in directing us towards our charitable goals. They have continued in their dedication to encourage the church and its leadership as always to continue to be objective in looking for creative ways to increase our outreach to our community and improve the delivery of our mission. These efforts on the part of our trustees have been consistent, bold and are yielding good results in various aspects of our church work. These results have very much inspired us to do more for our church and community. We have consistently seen people of our local community visit us over the period. Some have become church members and are consistent in their commitment to our activities.
We continue to maintain the guiding principle of constantly engaging members in an encouraging and positive way to inspire them towards growth. This has contributed to some of the positive outcomes we achieved during the year. Through continuing to keep our church open to all in our local community we are exploring more ways to be useful and beneficial.
We continued to maintain the momentum of our outreach program from the previous year. The outcomes of this agenda are beginning to impact the culture of the congregation. The need to retain relevance and usefulness to our local community is integral in the planning and delivery of our activities.
We continue to maintain an all-inclusive approach to our membership which allows our members to live out their faith and integrate into our church community through:
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Accessible pastoral care for members which is equally open to our community.
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Praise, worship and prayer, bible study and developing a meaningful personal walk with Christ.
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Missionary and outreach work which have been more meaningful through our community focus.
We continue to encourage the active participation of all members so they can be empowered and trained to take meaningful responsibilities. This is because we see the need for our church to make our community its focus. Our main objective has always remained to make everyone feel a part of all that is happening in our church life.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
We started this year with a strong outreach approach backed by a twenty-one-day fasting and prayer period.
We were able to bring together all leaders and trustees for the first time in our inaugural pastors and leaders’ weekend away. The meeting was very interactive, successful and the outcome became very impactful on leadership. The pastors and some congregation members of the USA and Lincoln branches were in attendance.
We organised our all-nations day in October 2024. The day was opened to the community and was very successful. Attendance was very good and led to the gain of some new congregation members.
Our Lincoln branch had a boost in membership due to our collaborated evangelistic outreach into that community. The church has since gained some permanent members who have given it a substantial growth in membership. The pastor in charge was officially ordained as a reverend minister.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
Due to our continues outreach activities we have had multiple people come through our doors and some have become members after a few visits. We are continuously opened to our local community, and we believe we are gaining more grounds in becoming accessible our community.
Our community participation in this year also has continued to shape our church activities and experiences in a positive way. We continue to support people and have kept our doors open as our invitation for members in our community to visit us in church. This has continued to be beneficial to all our work.
Our weekly meetings reverted to online platforms. We have been exploring ways in which we can encourage in-person attendance. The online platform meetings continue to help us bring church services to the home of members.
Our Online Radio, Channel of Mercy, which has been a strong outreach arm of the church into our community remained inactive during the year due to a few technical issues, but we are working had to revive it.
PASTORAL CARE
It is still our focus to reach out to all our members who need support of any kind. If there are needs that our pastoral team cannot handle, we signpost them to effective alternative sources. Visitation continues to be a prominent part of our operations.
Our church office remains open every week for members and non-members in our local reach. We do this to give help to anyone that needs it during those hours in the day. This practice has proved beneficial to a good number of people over the years. We continue to make our services more available to members and our community.
PRAYER AND WORSHIP
We continue in our church-based prayer sessions to make our services relevant to the prayer needs of our church members. Our Easter program was strategically organised to engage Families, Singles and Couples to encourage various levels of relationships. Prayer was a major part of these meetings. We offered an open invitation to our community but we did not record a significant response. The intention is to run it next year with better planning based on the learnings from this year.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
We continue to intentionally invite people from our local community and help them to realise the need for prayer. We now meet in-person on Fridays but also continue with our online meetings to improve engagement.
Dawn prayers continue to be online on Wednesdays for the main congregation and on Fridays for pastors with all members encouraged to join.
We also have adopted three days fasting and prayer at the end of every month as we take our communion service the last Sunday of every month. The patronage so far has been excellent from members and family and friends.
MISSION AND OUTREACH
Our youth leadership has continued to show strong and steadfast growth. They continue to attract young people of their kind from our community into their activities. They started the year in February 2005 with a successful games night which saw a lot of participation by other youths from our community.
Our Youth Week also followed in April 2005. This was a week-long celebration which attracted a lot of non-members.
This was followed by a Community Outreach worship night which was again well patronised.
Our women’s ministry hosted a breakfast meeting which was opened to our community. We saw a very good response from church members and our wider community. The theme was focussed mainly on the needs and challenges our women face within our wider community. In July 2024 our women’s ministry organised a “Mother and Daughter talk” program in which our Lincoln branch participated as well. It fostered a bond between mothers and daughters as well as the two branches which encouraged the participation of all our women in our mission as a church.
Our Grace Impact 2024 which was run in May 2024 was a huge success. We saw some new attendees who came from within our community. We plan to build on this initial success in the coming years.
Our men’s ministry celebrated their week in June 2024 and opened their program to our wider community. We generated some interest from non-members and we plan to use the learnings to improve the success of next year’s program.
Our evangelism and outreach activities still need improvement and we are adopting a continuous improvement approach. Our success in converting visitors into members is under improvement as well.
We continue to carry out monthly outreach activities and channel outreaches through the men, women and youth departments to create awareness in everyone and hope that this will influence us into constantly reaching out into our community to grow our membership. We are seeing a lot of success within the youth ministry and outreach, and we are working hard to replicate this across all our departments and ministries.
PLANS AND PROJECTS
We are planning to increase our community-based programs in the coming year. We are also exploring the possibility of collaboration with other charities.
We are seeking to perfect our strategies regarding outreach work to make it a sustainable part of our operations. Our key resources remain human and financial.
We are also looking to relaunch care fellowships and to make them more adaptable to our membership and our wider community. We are planning to utilise them to reach out to our local community as well and to encourage participation in our activities at all levels of church work.
We are continuing in our mission to raise a church for all people, from all communities.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Responsibilities for the Financial Statements
Charity and Company law require the Trustees to prepare the financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its financial activities for the year. In preparing those financial statements the Trustees:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles of the Charities’ SORP, Reporting and Accounting by Charities;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and Financial Reporting Standards and applicable law has been followed, disclosing and explaining any departures therefrom in the financial statements; and
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud or other irregularities.
Audit Exemption
The Trustees who held office at the date of approval of this Trustees’ Report confirm that they have taken advantage of the SORP regulations concerning small charities and have thus not organised an audit. They have instead opted for an Independent Examination. They also confirm that in so far as they are individually aware, the accounts of the charity are a true and fair reflection of the activities of the charity during the year under review.
Review
The year under review has seen us continue our focus on strengthening the finances of our charity whiles making progress in our mission in the midst of significant financial challenges. We worked with the leadership team to effectively manage our finances and ensure our operations were effective and we remained sufficiently resourced to deliver our services to our members. We kept our monitoring focussed on the sustainability, growth and expansion of the church while improving cost efficiency.
Incoming Resources
The primary source of the Charity’s income remains the offerings and donation of members. Total incoming resources for the year amounted to £69,799 (2024 – £61,558). We were able to submit our first successful gift aid claim which boosted our income.
Resources Expended
Resources expended during the year under review amounted to £63,722 (2024 - £57,433).
Net position
We recorded a surplus net position of £6,077 (2024 - £4,125), which improved our general reserve position.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
Reserves
The Charity finds its funds in surplus at the end of the year under review £14,177 (2024 - £8,100). The trustees are continuing the adoption of plans and operational adjustments that ensure the Charity can meet its obligations as they fall due, remains a going concern and maintains surpluses that will improve its financial resilience.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees of the Charity are working towards holding at least three months of operating expenditure as free reserves. This sum is currently estimated to be £9,000.
Equal Opportunities
The Charity is committed to a policy of equal opportunities in the selection, training, career development and promotion of all people, regardless of gender, marital status, race, colour, religion, disability or sexual orientation. The Charity endeavours to enable people with a disability to participate fully in organisational activities, consistent with their ability, so that they can maximise the use of knowledge, experience and skills in the Charity’s work.
Employee Involvement
The Charity is mostly run by volunteers. The Charity encourages all volunteers to be fully involved in the performance and objectives through a range of mechanisms. Team meetings are held monthly and there are regular cell meetings. In addition, seven working groups have been created to ensure communication and coordination across different areas of work and to engage all voluntary staff more actively in projects, programmes and policy development.
By Order of the Board
David Kafui Chair of Trustees Dated – 6/1/2026
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES
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:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act,
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and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
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 the 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.
The trustees have been advised on the ways in which their procedures can be upgraded and the establishment of reliable personnel in the operations of the charity.
In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.
Mr Johnson Akpebu- FCCA, MBA(Fin) Independent Examiner 127 Sewell Road London SE2 9DH Dated: xx/xx/xxxx
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INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
TEMPLE OF GRACE
| SOFA Incoming Resources Outgoing Resources Governance Costs Net Incoming/ (Outgoing) Resources Fund Balances Brought Forward Fund Balances Carried Forward |
2025 £ £69,799 £63,722 £0 £6,077 £8,100 £14,177 |
2024 £ £61,558 £57,433 £0 £4,125 |
|---|---|---|
| £3,975 | ||
| £8,100 |
The Charity has no recognised gains or losses other than as stated above. All of the activities represent continuing activities of the Charity.
The Accounting Policies and Notes on pages 13 to 16 form part of these financial statements.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
BALANCE SHEET At 31 MARCH 2025
| FIXED ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Bank 8,197 Debtors 9,120 Creditors (less than 1 year) NET ASSETS RESERVES General Reserves b/fwd Surplus/Deficit for the year |
2025 £ 0 4,529 7,920 17,317 -3,140 14,177 8,100 6,077 14,177 |
2024 £ 0 12,449 -4,349 |
|---|---|---|
| 8,100 | ||
| 3,975 4,125 |
||
| 8,100 |
The rent creditor was restated from the prior year as a result of information received from the landlord. The resulted in an increased fund position across both financial years.
Approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on xx/xx/xxxx and signed on its behalf by:
David Kafui Chair of Trustees
The Accounting Policies and Notes on pages 13 to 16 form part of these Financial Statements.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
ACCOUNTING POLICIES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements
The Financial Statements are prepared under the historical cost basis of accounting and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities, the Charities’ SORP, issued in March 2005, and applicable United Kingdom Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards.
Going Concern
It is the opinion of the Trustees that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate even though the liabilities of the Charity exceed its assets because:
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the significant creditor of the charity has agreed to be paid in irregular instalments depending on the financial position of the charity.
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there is reasonable expectation that the Charity has the ability to generate adequate resources to meet operational expenditure for the foreseeable future.
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the trustees undertake to supply funds to enable the charity to meet its obligations that exceed its immediate resources for the next 18 months.
The trustees thus consider that any existing uncertainties do not hamper the ability of the Charity to remain a going concern in compliance with FRS102 (paragraph 3).
The specific accounting policies adopted are set out below:
Incoming Resources
These comprise donations and gifts. Income is recognised in full as incoming resources in the accounts as soon as it is receivable, and the charity can establish a claim to it.
Resources Expended and Basis of Allocation of Costs
Expenditure is allocated to expense headings either on a direct cost basis or apportioned according to a percentage allocation agreed by the Trustees to reflect the proportion of time spent on direct charitable activities.
Governance costs are those incurred in the safeguarding of the charity’s assets (audit/legal and professional) and constitutional and statutory requirements. All Trustees volunteer their time and efforts and receive no payment or consideration for these.
Tangible Fixed Assets
Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets with a cost in excess of £250 (furniture, fixtures and fittings and computer and information technology equipment) at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset less its estimated residual value evenly over its estimated useful life, which is considered to be 4 years for each asset. Assets purchased for project purposes are expended when purchased.
Funds
Fund balances comprise the balance of donations, gifts, offerings and loans where the purpose for which the income may be used has not been restricted by the donor. Periodically, the Trustees may designate unrestricted funds for specific purposes.
There were no Restricted Funds received in the year under review.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
ACCOUNTING POLICIES Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
Taxation
As a registered charity, Temple of Grace is generally exempt from Corporation Tax. The Charity is not registered for VAT, and any irrecoverable VAT is included with the cost of those items to which it relates.
Operating Leases
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the SOFA as incurred.
Foreign Currencies
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded using the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated using the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date and the gains or losses on transactions are included in the statement of financial activities.
Trustee Remuneration
No trustees received any remuneration for any services during the year under review.
Related Party Transactions
There were no related party transactions during the 2025 year.
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TEMPLE OF GRACE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Year ended 31 MARCH 2025
| SOFA- Note INCOME EXPENDITURE Office Equipment Repairs & Maintenance Church Events Pastors Emoluments Utilities / Bills Administrative Expenses Rent Depreciation Surplus/Deficit DEBTORS- note Other Debtors Total Debtors CREDITORS- note Rent Creditor Total Creditors |
2025 69,799 £ 1,198 372 5,296 29,488 5,550 9,577 12,241 0 63,722 6,077 2024 9,120 9,120 2024 3,140 3,140 |
2024 61,558 £ 0 0 0 25,880 6,404 11,331 13,818 0 |
2024 61,558 £ 0 0 0 25,880 6,404 11,331 13,818 0 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57,433 | |||||||
| 4,125 2024 7,920 |
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| 7,920 2024 4,349 4,349 |
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