## **CORNERSTONE CHURCH (BOURNEMOUTH)** ## **REPORT** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED** **31[st] DECEMBER 2023** ## **CORNERSTONE CHURCH** **INDEX TO THE REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31[st] December 2023** ||Page| |---|---| |
Charity Information|3| |Report of the Trustees|4 – 8| |Financial Statements|9 – 12| |Copy of independent examiner’s report on the 2023 accounts|13| |for Cornerstone Church|| Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 2 ## **CORNERSTONE CHURCH** ## **CHARITY INFORMATION** The Trustees Mr Toby Butler (Church Leader) Mrs Melinda Fewtrell (until March 2023) Mr Ian Collier Mrs Sue Frewin Secretary Mr David Parish Treasurer Mr David Fleming Principal office address Cornerstone Church Holloway Avenue Bournemouth Dorset BH11 9JR Registered Charity Number 1163367 Inland Revenue charity number X95938 Independent Examiner Mrs Sue Wintle, Oak Accounting Bank CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ 3 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 ## **CORNERSTONE CHURCH REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For the year ended 31[st] December 2023** The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2023. ## **Structure, governance and management** ## **Governing Document** Cornerstone Church is a self-governing, self-financing congregation within the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The decision-making body, being the Church Meeting, comprises all the members of the Church, and is governed in accordance with the constitution adopted on 25[th] September 2014 as part of the process to register with the Charity Commission in accord with the revised rules set out in the Charities Act 2011. Cornerstone Church was registered with the Charity Commission on 26[th] October 2014. ## **Organisational structure** The Church membership appoints Ministers, Elders, a Church Secretary and a Treasurer to oversee the running of the affairs of the church. The individuals holding these posts also act as Trustees of the charity. The church employs Toby & Hannah Butler as joint church leaders with 7 days between them. AJ Fewtrell was employed full-time as our Youth & Children’s Worker until May 2023, when his contract came to an end. Christina Cashell works 2 days a week as our Administrator. Libby Marlow joined in September 2023 on 1.5 days a week, increasing to 2 days a week in December 2023. All the other Trustees and office bearers are non-stipendiary. ## **Recruitment and appointment of New Trustees** Ministers, Secretary and Treasurer are all Trustees of the charity and their appointment is approved by the membership at a General Meeting, as and when required. Elders can be voted in as a trustee, in addition to their appointment as Elder. ## **Objectives and activities** Cornerstone Church is a fellowship of Christian people affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The mission of the church is summarised by the statement: “The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination. The Church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.” ## **Public Benefit** In undertaking the planning of the many activities undertaken during this year, we have taken into account the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and in particular in relation to the guidance relating to the advancement of religion. We have sought to ensure that all our activities are available and open to all within the community in which we serve, both in the provision of services of worship and in provision of community activity and support. 4 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 ## **Reviewing Progress in Relation to Priorities Identified Last Year (2022)** ## **The priorities identified at the end of 2022 were as follows:** 1. To keep prayer & worship of Jesus at the core of all we do. Prayers happen every weekday except Thursday and are an important part of church life. Evening gathering attendance is low and sporadic, so this will prayerfully be considered. 2. We would like to have a focussed prayer event, as well as encouraging people to think about and pray for the wider world and our mission partners. 3. To grow a healthy church, all looking to go further in their journey with Jesus, as missional disciples, building God’s kingdom. We would like to see new housegroups, new leaders, more preachers and others stepping up in ministry. 4. To encourage more people to access prayer ministry on Sundays and beyond. 5. To diversify Sunday gatherings, with regular opportunities for discussion during the gathering. 6. To grow our worship team well. We have recently been joined by some gifted musicians, keen to worship together. 7. To see our children and young people come to know Jesus for themselves. 8. To see yet more families of those who come for kids’ work engaged in the church too, through chats in the café and hopefully see them coming on Sundays too and finding their own faith, as well as finding a sense of belonging here. 9. To see our new members actively engaged in using their gifts and serving in our church community and beyond. 10. To grow as a church in a financially sustainable way. All members are encouraged to tithe regularly, which is a core part of the discipleship life of this church and key to maintaining financial sustainability. 11. To do what we see God doing and go where He goes – to be wise in what we commit to, with a heart for the last, the least and the lost. ## **Progress made on these priorities:** i) Weekly prayers were a priority throughout 2023, with 3-4 sessions a week and a growth in attendance, plus monthly evening gatherings. Prayer & worship of Jesus definitely remains a priority in all that we do. ii) In February 2023 we held a couple of days of prayer, which was well received, but not that well attended. Those who came appreciated the chance to focus on prayer together. In March 2023 we had a Mission Sunday, focussing on our mission partners and why we support them. iii) We were delighted to run another Alpha Course from January - May 2023, followed by a Bible Course from the Bible Society. Both were very much appreciated and two of those who attended Alpha were baptised during the year. Over the course of 2023, we had one new housegroup, with another stopping in June 2023. Toby ran a preaching course in November 2023, which was well attended, and some new preachers stepped up. iv) Prayer Ministry is offered every Sunday and people will often ask for prayer. We have also prayed in groups during our Sunday gatherings and on Sunday evening gatherings and this has been much appreciated. We would like to see more coming forward for prayer still. v) We have had several Sundays where we have split into groups to discuss and pray together as a response to the sermon. This has been well received and we will continue to take this approach. This was particularly prevalent during our Celebration of Discipline series 5 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 ## in the Autumn. vi) Our worship team has grown significantly over the last year and we have begun meeting regularly to grow as team together, initially on Sunday nights, but towards the end of the year it was proposed we do this every Thursday evening. vii) We have seen our children and young people growing in their faith in many ways. We now have a fortnightly bible study group for our youth and one of our young people got baptised in December. Our children’s groups all include time to ask questions and spend time with Jesus. viii) Some families whose children come to our community groups have attended our messy church Christingle, Light Party and on occasion, All Age services. ix) We have seen a number of new members step up to various roles in church: children’s work, welcome team, worship band and tea & coffee rotas. x) As our accounts will show, we are delighted to see sustainable growth in financial giving, which included a generous one off Gift Day showing support for our children’s and youth work. xi) We look to take time always to pray and seek God’s heart on what we choose to do as a church, always encouraging everyone to love the last, the least and the lost. This is reflected in all we have to offer as a church. ## **General Overview of the Year** Our average Sunday church attendance is 70-80 people. Around 80 adults and 30 children would consider this their home church. We ran another Easter holiday club in April, slightly curtailed due to the absence of our children’s and youth worker. We welcomed around 30 children over two days, followed by a Messy Church Good Friday service, which was well attended by those from the local community. We had a wonderful gathering on Easter Sunday, with around 90 in attendance, and an Easter egg hunt beforehand. We held our annual Family Fun Day in August, with up to 300 people attending. Many from the church volunteered to make it a great success. We held a Messy Church Light Party in October for local families. About 70 people attended and it was very well received. Our Fireworks Night was a success, with around 300 people attending, enjoying fireworks, ‘s’mores’, firepits, hot dogs and hot chocolate. Over the course of 2023, we held several all-age gatherings, led by members of our church family. These begin with a breakfast and are well attended and received by all ages, several of whom only attend church on these all age Sundays. Our Advent season began with two wreath-making workshops, well attended by 50 people from our local community. We held a testimony filled carol service with at least one-third of those who came not regular church attendees, a ‘Messy Church’ Christingle for families with around 80 attending and Christmas Day was a wonderful family celebration. ## **Activities mainly geared towards adults** - Tuesday evening Sports Night has seen up and down attendance, with around 15 most nights. 6 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 - Open Door & Wednesday Café have been well attended with around 30-40 local people, mainly over 60, involved. Open Door has welcomed visitors from various local community groups including the choir of Christ the King school. - Housegroups continue to run, generally fortnightly. - Men’s Fire Nights were held several times in 2023, with men gathered around a firepit to chat and pray for one another. - Women’s Wellbeing Café runs in term time every Friday, with coffee, cake and chat, followed by various wellbeing workshops, including: cold porcelain flower making, Zumba, mindfulness, paper crafts, storytelling and much more. Around 15 women, plus 3-5 children attend each week. It has been wonderful to see many women grow in confidence in their giftings and spread their wings beyond women's wellbeing cafe. We have also welcomed several new women along. - Women’s wellbeing, cafe, Open Door and Sports Night are all great ways of building relationships with those who need support, friendship and may not yet know Jesus. Many do then attend Alpha, housegroups or Sunday gatherings as a result of these friendships being built, with some beginning their own relationship with Jesus. ## **Activities geared mainly towards children and young people** - Tuesday morning Parents and Toddlers Group runs every Tuesday in term-time. We have over 50 families in regular attendance. We have run a few lunches afterwards, which have been much appreciated. - Until April 2023, we ran Mini-Mega Club (reception - year 2), Mega Club (years 3-5) and Mega Club Plus (years 6-8) on a weekly basis, with around 30-40 children regularly attending. Youth group occurred on Thursday nights, with around 8-10 young people attending. This changed in April 2023, as our children’s and youth worker role became redundant. The church community stepped up brilliantly and we then ran our groups as follows: Mini Mega Club (YR-Y2) on Wednesday, Mega Club (y3-y6) on Fridays and Youth Group (Y7-12) on Fridays. All of these groups saw growth, and by the end of 2023, we had on average, 8 at Mini Mega Club, 20 at Mega Club and over 20 at youth club. All of these groups open up space to talk about Jesus and ask questions, which is enjoyed by participants and leaders alike. - Our youth worker attended school lunchtime sessions, assemblies and classes, alongside PACE (https://pace.org.uk ) at Oak Academy until March 2023. We hope to resume this in 2024 with the appointment of a new youth worker. - We had 4 Moorlands students with us over the course of 2023, making a big impact in helping with kids, youth clubs and events, as well as other areas of church life. ## **Maintaining the provision of facilities at Cornerstone Church** The church employs the following self-employed contractors on a regular basis: - a) _Leaf Contract Clean_ continue to do our weekly four-hour clean. b) _Benefitz Gardening_ mows the lawn on a fortnightly basis. This ceased in October 2023 as the business is changing. - c) Other contractors are employed on an ad hoc basis as required. 7 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 ## **Links with other Community Agencies** It has been encouraging to receive positive feedback on our activities during the year from the community, schools and community organisations, and to continue to be recognised as being active in supporting the local community. - 30 shoeboxes were collected for distribution via “House of Opportunity” working with needy children in various countries around the world. - Food Bank support continued throughout the year with the church supporting the Kinson Food Bank based at St. Andrew’s Church. - A Macmillan coffee morning was held in September raising £427. - BCHA (Bournemouth Churches Housing Association) continued to run their drop-in advice service, as well as a Freedom Programme, for victims of domestic abuse throughout the year. - Narcotics Anonymous used the facilities at Cornerstone Church throughout the year on a Monday night. - Community Dancing has run throughout 2023. - A weekly badminton group hires the hall every Monday. ## **Looking Ahead** **Here are our 2024 priorities:** **1. To keep our eyes focused on Jesus, lifting Him high above all else.** **2. Maintain a regular rhythm of prayer & worship.** **3. Grow as a church, as disciples and missionaries - missional disciples, seeing growth in depth and new people coming to Christ.** **4. To continue to grow a strong children’s ministry, led by our Children’s ministry lead and supported by a growing team.** **5. To continue to run all of our youth activities, possibly starting new ones and see more young people come to know Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him.** **6. To take the young people to Satellites in Summer 2024 and support them in doing this, before and after the event.** **7. To develop a strong leadership team in the first half of the year, ready to take on the challenge of an interregnum for the second half of the year.** **8. Develop those with leading and preaching skills, particularly in the younger half of the church.** **9. Continue to grow strong disciples, ensuring all those who attend church are able to access a housegroup for regular accountability, support and spiritual growth.** **10. To grow as a church family, developing skills and empowering one another in giftings.** **11. To find a new church leader (or leaders), seeking God in prayer as a church family to do this.** 8 Cornerstone Church (Bournemouth) – Annual Report Jan-Dec 2023 Comerstone Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For th• podod 31•t D•cwnb•r102J Section A Receipts and payments Funds Tolal Iw Last y•ar to TrHr•Dt£ Noi•• to n•4ml E Incom8 from Oflenws & Grft 70.553 51.838 8,269 2.476 18,351 4.603 823 12.255 3.256 16.917 Cafe Other Inco￿ Bviklingl Developrwt Income !￿Ned andpafvl out to thrs Sub (Othl(Gmss trARI 23.417 2.520 149 111150 149 9,169 101981 A2 A$8•t and Invgstm?nt sal88, A3P ments Min151efs' e¥perMs Administrafron osi 18.782 1S,355 735 44061 22,106 34,829 ChikJren'5 Ministy Evan9eli8m Prernises Ministry MISS￿n8.￿$vpP0rt.-. Music Group her Exp. 8uildin9108veknwent Fufvj Pa¥ment of tnccrn8 Tr￿1¥*y for olhws 736 21415 734 13,763 713 734 717 1￿073 035 113,108 119.588 A4 A88et and Ibw•Slmentpurchas￿. 1s08 tablel Sub rtotal £105.073 £8.035 E113,108 £119,868 1091 1.134 33310 A5 TrnnsforB txlwn lufid• A6 Cash fund5 lasl year•nd Cash funds thts 70,287 70,267 t69,>J9 0&176 ,134 £0 £70,267 2023 CC ACco￿ts 1310912024 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period ieyories tund• fvnds Fund5 Totsl fi*KI• year B1 Cash funds Io n•4r•*t t ty) Tr•4r•bt£ CAFbank a644 22 32.934 42.723 4.S3S 72 Re01￿0d Bank Baptlst T¢Jgetherl Loans Fund C8sh In hand Petty Cash 1.375 1.375 £69.309 £0 £70.287 Unrnstrict•d De8lgnat8d R••twlcted lund& t=: to noarest £ to ¥wreJt£ to rx8r8St£ £0 to TwAr•st £ to n•ar•¥t £ At Insur8r￿ Valuati At Insur8rK* Valuabon 1.724,4 332,776 1,724,454 332,T16 Churcth Manse Church Contents £2.057230 a066.230 BS LlatAIitlo5 SkJn•d by Tru5toes on behaw of al the Truste•s SvJnawr• D8t& ofappThal L5HAQT Itlgl 089 Avi ty PAAIsiq i& 2023 CC Accourts 10 13109r2024 Ncts8 to Flnanclal Statements Y￿r Enthd 31st Oecembw X123 1 A¢¢ouniing Poli¢i•s lil Ba$1$ of A¢(x)unbYJ The Finonool Strter￿ts hm beert w•parnd ￿ accordanL* the Charrtes ￿ 2011. ￿ the Roc8pts and P8yrMnts basE. lill Grant Making Policy Grants, grf15 aTrJ dOnat￿nS made trj vafKJUS oryantsalv)rr& In the fiJtherance of Ihe chantys obJÈthves Mon￿$ donated from general lunds to Mtss￿ary (au$6s ale Iletsikd bekm. Monw for srwfic causes are bekj in a R*str￿led Fund per¥Jiry remiltanco of to Ihe aFpropwte ten8fioary. {jjjl A55ets for Church PurFws Asseis aThY property. Af8 re1wr￿d loru ar? by ch￿th Bnd are noTr investhwt 8ss815. ar? valued al Insured values and are IL%ied on the Staternent ofAssets and L*bilit*S 8$ non- monetsryassets 2 An•tysis of Firwcial moveme￿ for thg Yaar Ill UNRESTRICTED FUNDS may t* by tr￿ Churth for any ofrf$ ¢ydmary purposes Tl* mov8rnnt In the bJTrJs aro gwi in Receipts & Payr￿nts knsunt l¥) DES￿￿lTED FUNDS rekyosent lurth set a5th ty tt* Tnts*es. of ¢ydinary unr•strt#ed gerthl fvnd5, for swicir purp0585 or wc48Cts. bul tlw can be tranSfW￿ bad( ￿10 g8rffil fvnds at any time. B•l•rK• 1* Jan 2023 Balanc• 31st tlecembor 2023 nw•st£ PURPOSE Receipts lo P4m¢rts r••*r4#£ SC&4 Home Ba￿$t Misswo SOc￿_ Small Gth5 to other mr)5￿S Oeve nl Furvj Total• 2.450 34,704 £41A54 1S0 31394 £32.394 2.310 £9.310 É150 liiil RESTRICTED FLINDS represent donat￿ or grants r￿￿ed or ￿¥118d for sF*cffic wrposes Any ba*nc4 r¢m8in unpstrnt must bg caFTi8d as a bakince on that cannot te abS￿Le¢ Inlo &wwal fvTrJs. B•L•nc• 318¢ FUND NAME FUND PURPOSE 2023 Receipts Payments to toM•r••t£ Tear FuThJ BCHA 218 312 524 Kinson Fc*Jd Bank Ukrair Toi*i• 173 5Z4 139 Rel*f £109 £1,108 3 Sunthy Accounts rirrfJ this year. 2 more fur*ts hm twn absrted inlo ts rna￿ Churth ao)Junls and to wunts. The fln81 lund Is no *)rYJer (wsKJered a Churth a¢AW aThJ has wo¥ed fr￿n ￿t￿d$ By the end of the ye•r. there ￿re no seperate fvnds Ihat onty exot because Church exists Afinal surnrnary of actsviks r& gNen tr*1¢ Sunthy FuTrJ8 hld ty conr•¢l•d •nd Fwrfls Funds 2023 Tctsl 2022 Total Operatyng ACIN￿e5 to fvrther Chaws objects Operabng AL1Mies to generate fiJr Donat￿n5 Total R8c8lFts Payments Payments tr wrats"ThJ lurxji OperatrrKJ Acbwbes to fvrther Chartys objerts Funds taken by Group thai i8 no kI￿r part ttf1￿ Churth Chantabk payffents Ito Chvrth Furthl Total Paymonts 730 191 672 126 739 739 1.398 1.398 362 Ca¥b lasiyear Ca¥h funds thl$y••r end 1,398 1,76t £1,398 £0 20Z3 CC Comerston• Ch￿￿ h. 8oum•moylh Not•• to FlrwKlal Slatem0￿ for yoar•nd8d 31st De¢•mb8r 2023 4 Anaw ol Rg¢alpts •nd ￿Ym•￿$ IfgmS 32211 372 31,238 122 Rents 7.230 Caré 10,09) 520 14• £112,15ts 12) eA6,JV £9,189 Inlthrn. Exp•￿.. Saw Pen3M)Tr & Nl 12 2,f92 302 Cwroi T8X 927 T(*•l Posts9e & Stats 352 S￿ndr 71 T(rt•i Chlklrqn• Ilts Y(¥th & cMbkn'¥Wc Ch￿1￿¥ Trfal Ev•ry•lhm tsro 829 T+Jtal Pr4mW Grwp 73$ Chuth It*war Totsl klln* Gvoup Viwbtwj 15 379 Tryanry A￿eats Past 734 713 Home .-42 2,1 TO 717 BufjhllW D•¥•50￿ Fund 105m ojs 113.108 S Pald Employ•qs ¥,11 70827 Trtsl St•ff Coots 66.192 7J,12Q 14[th] May 2024 The Trustees Cornerstone Church Holloway Avenue Bournemouth BH11 9JR ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS** ## **Report to the Trustees of Cornerstone Church, on accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2023** ## **Respec've responsibili'es of Trustees and examiner** The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under sec#on 144(2) of the Chari#es Act 2011 (the Act)) and that an independent examina#on is needed. It is my responsibility to: - Examine the accounts (under sec#on 145 of the Act); - To follow the procedures laid down in the General Direc#ons given by the Charity Commission (under sec#on 145(5)(b) of the Act), and - To state whether par#cular ma2ers have come to my a2en#on. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement** My examina#on was carried out in accordance with General Direc#ons given by the Charity Commission. An examina#on includes a review of the accoun#ng records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considera#on of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explana#ons from you as trustees concerning any such ma2ers. 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 ma2ers set out in the statement below. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** In the course of my examina#on, no ma2er has come to my a2en#on: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the Trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that: - a. Proper accoun#ng records are kept (in accordance with sec#on 41 of the Act); and - b. Accounts are prepared which agree with the accoun#ng records and comply with the accoun#ng requirements of the Act; or 2. To which, in my opinion, a2en#on should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed… _SueW_ ……… Date… 14/5/2024….. Sue Wintle FMAAT Accoun#ng Technician 27 Basco2 Road Bournemouth Dorset BH11 8RJ