Introduction
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) is a Registered Charity in England and Wales (1157080) and is registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales (08898983). It is governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The charity also uses the name Emmanuel Church Bramcote.
Registered Charity and Company Office: 93 Balmoral Drive, Bramcote, Nottingham. NG9Q 3FT*
The Directors: Richard Adam, Rachel Atkin (from 1] March 2024), Edward Bowerman (until 31 December 2023), Philip Carter, Alec Cobbett, Brian Davies, Richard Hopkins, Paul Jenkins, Brian Kruger
The Members: Richard Adam, Edward Bowerman (until 31 December 2023), Brian Davies**, Richard Hopkins, Paul Jenkins, Brian Kruger
*Previously 10 Crummock Close, Bramcote, Nottingham, NG9 3BG, but changed to the current address on 29 February 2024.
**Brian Davies, already a Director, was appointed a Member in November 2023.
New Members and Directors are appointed by the current Members, following a process involving consultations with the Directors and with the wider church as set out in the bylaws.
The Directors (also referred to as Managing Trustees) normally meet five or six times per year, and the meetings are fully recorded with agendas and minutes. A sub group consisting of the Directors, but excluding those who are also paid members of staff, sets pay and remuneration, using the Teachers Pay Scale as a guide. The Directors are assisted in the day to day care and running of the Church by a body of Elders (also called the Leadership Team) comprising the Members of the company, which meets roughly : fortnightly. Induction to the role of Director and training are provided on an individual basis as appropriate. External training for particular roles is also made available.
The Directors ensure that policies and procedures are regularly updated and reviewed. Legal advice is sought when necessary. A register of Directors’ interests is held to ensure that we are aware of conflicts of interest and manage them appropriately. This is updated regularly, and any potential conflicts are declared at the beginning of each Directors’ meeting. The Directors have aclear procedure that if there is a potential conflict of interest on any matter, the Director with the potential conflict of interest is asked to leave the room and takes no part in the debate or decision. The Church had three paid employees during the period of this report, of whom two were also Directors: Richard Adam and Richard Hopkins. We are heavily dependent in all our activities on help voluntarily given by members of the congregation, including two part time members of staff employed ona voluntary basis.
The company is affiliated to three organisations: The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), the Midlands Gospel Partnership (MGP), and the Evangelical Alliance (EA). These affiliations have no impact on the operating policies adopted by the company.
Objectives and activities
Our charitable purposes:
¢ to advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Faith;
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e® torelieve sickness and financial hardship and to promote and preserve good health by the provision of funds, goods, or services of any kind including through the provision of counselling and support;
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- to advance education.
Our key objectives for this financial year have been:
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¢ to hold weekly church services at Bramcote College to advance the Christian faith in Bramcote. e to livestream these services, making them available online so as to include more people e torunregular activities during our weekly services for children and young people, as well as additional activities outside of the services.
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e to continue with our midweek group meetings to enable church members to grow as Christians together.
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e to provide regular events to which unbelievers can be invited to hear about the Christian faith.
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e to begin to respond to the results of the review of our leadership practices at Emmanuel, conducted in the previous financial year.
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e to raise, through prayerful reliance on God and regular reports to the congregation, sufficient funds to cover our activities for this financial year.
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e to continue the ‘hardship fund’ and use it to help those within the congregation who face financial pressures.
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e to use a minimum of ten percent of our non-trading income to support partner organisations in advancing the Christian Faith in Bramcote, the UK and around the world.
The Directors have had regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in planning the activities of the charity during the year 23-24. This report notes identifiable benefits to the public in line with these purposes.
In the first part of the year, we were significantly affected by staff absences resulting from a difficult situation within the church. Our priority at this time was to enable staff to recover and return to work whilst maintaining the regular running of the church. In God’s grace, and thanks to the hard work of volunteers, we were able to do this. However, this did for a time affect our ability to focus on anything other than regular church activities.
We have since pressed ahead with plans to review staff working conditions, update and expand policies and procedures, and add new members to the Leadership Team (Members) and the Managing Trustees (Directors) of the church. The Directors were pleased to be joined by Rachel Atkin, who was appointed with a particular responsibility for employment, and to make significant progress in the path towards appointing new Directors with responsibility for Safeguarding and Health and Safety. We also appointed Brian Davies, already a Director, to the Leadership Team, and made progress towards making an additional appointment to the Leadership Team.
Many of the actions above were taken in response to a survey of church members conducted in February 2023 regarding healthy leadership within the church. The results of the survey highlighted six areas which the Leadership Team have committed to reviewing. Two of the areas were the burden placed on staff and leaders in the church, and the need to review and expand leadership structures. The Leadership Team has now begun looking at a third area, communication, and hopes to make progress with this in the coming year.
Our weekly services, seeking to advance the Christian faith through teaching, singing and prayer, continued through the year, and were livestreamed online. These meetings are open to all and livestreamed so as to be accessible to as many as possible. Our midweek Growth Groups were reduced to six, but met throughout the year, also advancing the Christian faith through their key aim of helping one another to grow as Christians.
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Other regular meetings also continued: Our monthly prayer meetings, our termly members’ meetings, and regular meetings for both men and women in the church.
Our children and youth work continued alongside our services, as well as our midweek ‘YPF’ group aimed at encouraging 14-19 year olds in their faith, and ‘Pebbles Plus’,a group aimed at preschool children and their carers, providing a place for fun for the children, friendship and support for carers, and a chance to hear something about the Christian faith through the bible stories. We are thrilled to have baptised a number of young people this year.
We also ran anumber of events aimed at introducing non-Christians to the Christian faith. These included a quiz night, carol services and carol singing at Christmas, and a Christmas trail.
It has been ajoy to see the increasing number of our young people attending Christian camps in the summer, and many of our members volunteering to help lead on camps. These camps are open to children from Christian and non-Christian families and help to advance the Christian faith by providing fun holidays with Christian teaching. We were pleased to be able to encourage church members volunteering on these camps by providing small amounts of financial support towards the camps’ running costs. We were also pleased to support a new camp which was run almost exclusively by members of Emmanuel.
We continued to support the work of the Midlands Gospel Partnership and the Midlands Ministry Training Course which seeks to provide practical training for biblical ministry.
We continued our support of alocal charity, Crossteach, both financially and with staff and volunteer time. Crossteach teaches about the Christian faith in schools, through lessons, assemblies and lunchtime clubs.
We have also provided financial support to charities and individuals working in Argentina, Germany, Egypt, Nottingham, and Oxford, seeking to advance the Christian faith. We are pleased that we have once again been able to meet our objective of giving 10% of our non-trading income to such partners. To reduce any risk of fraud, all gifts to those working overseas are made via charities based in the UK. We also support these individuals through regular contact and prayer.
Following a difficult start to the year, we are thankful to God for his faithfulness to us and for the work he has done in and through us over the past twelve months.
Financial Review
General Funds:
income:
This decreased by 10%.
The total amount of donations without conditions received from Directors during the year amounted to £39,920. There were no donations received from the Directors with conditions.
Expenditure:
This increased by 10%. Staff salaries remain our biggest expense. None of the employees earned more than £60,000 during this financial year.
The two ministers were both Directors of the company, and in addition to their salaries totaling £87,033, received employer pension contributions of £10444 and were reimbursed £6,959 for their expenses. The non-staff Directors did not receive any remuneration, nor receive any expenses apart from being reimbursed for expenses for items purchased for the charity.
We are pleased to have been able to meet our aim of giving 10% of our non-trading income to support partners in Bramcote and around the world who share our objectives.
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Balance:
This led to a deficit of £29,680. This meant that our total general funds were £70,149. This equates to circa 4.5 months of our normal expenditure. This remains below the upper limit of our reserves policy of aiming to have between 2 - 6 months’ of running costs and has fallen since April.
Restricted Funds:
Our building fund was not used in this financial year. The donors to this fund are happy that it is kept by us for the future.
We opened a hardship fund at the beginning of the pandemic. In this financial year it had an income of £150 (including Gift Aid) and grants totaling £5,400 were made. This resulted in the net balance in the fund being £15,198. In addition, an interest-free loan was made of £2,400 to be repaid over 4 years in equal monthly instalments. The previous loan issued of £8,000 saw monthly repayments made in line with the planned repayment schedule.
Signed by
Chair of Trustees and Directors
Date approved: 22d fea cO2F
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Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) Financial Statements 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024
Statement of Financial Activities
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Incoming resources | ||||
| Donations& gifts | 165,095 | 150 | 165,245 | 183,633 |
| Investment income | 1,164 | 1,164 | 277 | |
| Total | 166,259 | 150 | 166,409 | 183,910 |
| Resources Expended | ||||
| Church activities | 190,489 | 5,400 | 195,889 | 178,054 |
| Governance costs | 200 | 200 | 200 | |
| Total | 190,689 | 5,400 | 196,089 | 178,254 |
| Net (outgoing)/incoming | ||||
| resources | (24,430) | (5,250) | (29,680) | 5,656 |
| Brought forward | 94,579 | 30,448 | 125,027 | 119,371 |
| Carriedforward | 70,149 | 25,198 | 95,347 | 125,027 |
The attached notes form an integral part of the financial statements
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) Financial Statements 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024
Balance Sheet
| 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 Balance Sheet |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |
| £ | a | |
| Fixed Assets | - | - |
| Current Assets | ||
| Debtors | 39,830 | 43,799 |
| Bank and cash balances | 56,645 | 83,209 |
| 96,475 | 127,008 | |
| Current Liabilities | ||
| Creditors due within one year | 1,128 | 1,981 |
| Net Current Assets | 95,347 | 125,027 |
| Total assets less current liabilities | 95,347 | 125,027 |
| Creditors due after one year | - | - |
| Net Assets | 95,347 | 125,027 |
| Funds ofthe charity | ||
| Unrestricted use income fund | 70,149 | 94,579 |
| Restricted use income fund (Building fund) | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Restricted use income fund (Hardship fund) | 15,198 | 20,448 |
| TotalFunds | 95,347 | 125,027 |
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e The attached notes form an integral part of the financial statements
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® For the year ended 5 April 2024 the Company has taken the exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
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e The members have not required the Company to obtain an audit in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
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e The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
Approved by the Directors on 22 December 2024
And signed on their behalf by:
Brian Davies, Director 22,f he 2u24
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote}
Financial Statements 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year ended 5 April 2024
1 Accounting Policies
Accounting Convention
The accounts have been prepared on the historic cost basis, in accordance with applicable accounting standards.
Depreciation
The historic policy has been to write off the cost of fixtures, fittings and equipment in the year of acquisition.
Funds
Restricted use income funds are to be used for projects designated by donors. The Unrestricted use income fund allows the Church to budget for anticipated commitments and short term emergency needs.
Reserves Policy
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) aims to have financial reserves of between two and six times current average monthly expenditure. The Directors regularly review the financial health of the church at each of their managing trustees meetings.
2 Result for the year
This is stated after charging directors’ insurance (Enil: 2023 £nil) and auditors’ remuneration of £nil (2023: £nil) as the accounts are not subject to audit.
3 Tangible fixed assets
The Church has no capitalised Fixed Assets, the small items of equipment purchased have been written off in the year of acquisition.
4 Debtors
Debtors falling due within one year
2024 2023
Prepayments and accrued income 39,830 43,799
- 5 Creditors due within one year
2024 2023
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Accruals
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1,128 1,981
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote)
Financial Statements 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year ended 5 April 2024
- 6 Provisions for liabilities and charges and contingent liabilities
The directors are not aware of any contingent liabilities and there is no requirement for any provisions.
7 Employees
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|2024|2023|
|Average|number|of employees|during|the|year|3|3|
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8 Directors’ Remuneration
No director received remuneration for services provided in their role as director during the year. Two of the directors have received remuneration during the year as part of their employment by Emmanuel Church (Bramcote).
Richard Hopkins received remuneration of £51,776 (2023: £48,032) and pension contributions of £6,213 (2023: £5,764) for the year and Rich Adam received remuneration of £35,257 (2023: £32,714) and pension contributions of £4,231 (2023: £3,340) for the year.
Three directors (2023: six) received reimbursement of expenses for covering travel and accommodation expenses, costs incurred on behalf of the charity or for training costs. The total amount of expenses reimbursed by Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) to directors was £5,167 (2023: £9,477).
Emmanuel Church (Bramcote) Financial Statements 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Emmanuel Church (Bramcote)
| report on the accounts for the Church for the year ended 5 April 2024 set out on pages 1 to 5.
Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner
As the Charity's Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of $.144(2) Charities Act 2011 does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified by the Charity Commissioners under S 145 of the Act whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Examiner’s Statement
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 in the accounts. The procedures undertaken do not provide ail the evidence required in an audit, and | therefore do not express an audit opinion.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements a) to keep accounting records in accordance with S 130 of the Act; and
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b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 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.