**HOW WILL THEY KNOW IF NO ONE TELLS THEM? ROMANS 10:14** 



## **GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC BENEFIT** 

Our trustees are appointed and reappointed at our trustee’s meeting in accordance with our constitution. Trustees are appointed for a three year term. All trustees are voluntary and give of their time and expertise without receiving remuneration or benefit. Trustees meet approximately ten times a year. 

The charity adheres to all current child protection legislation and adheres to good practice guidelines in all areas of its work. Youth for Christ Gloucestershire is an affiliated member of British Youth for Christ. Whilst operating as an independent charity Youth For Christ Gloucestershire is a chartered ministry of British Youth For Christ and receives support and advice from them. 

Due to changing circumstances, some of our trustees have stepped down this year. We are working on the recruitment of trustees to increase the number and diversity of the board. 

## **OUR TRUSTEES** 

Rod Pellereau (Chair person)     Rob Goldsmith                  Steph Rollinson 

## **OUR AIM** 

Our aim is to see Good News taken to every young person in Gloucestershire. This will be done in a variety of ways and through many different people. Our approach is to enhance the personal, social and spiritual development of young people through encounters with Christianity. We seek to see young people’s lives changed by Jesus. We believe this can only be achieved when we work in partnership with churches, charities and other youth organisations. 

## **MAIN ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT** 

Our work provides support for young people of any or no faith. We seek to provide for their social, personal and spiritual needs. Despite lower staff levels, we have still managed to maintain a significant number of interactions with young people this year. Across the year, we had approximately 14,000 interactions with young people. We have continued to increase our contacts in schools, and have been working to develop this further. This has been balanced alongside work such as provision of Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) during the summer holiday in partnership with Family Space. During this time over 400 meals were given to families who would receive free school meals during the term time, an increase of 30% against last year. In addition, we provided activities for these families to engage with, mainly through sport. 



With a member of staff having a TEFL qualification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), we set up a project for the growing number of young people in the area who are refugees or asylum seekers. Schools have limited resources, and additional support is often unavailable for young people. The project was initiated and three young people benefitted from language support. Unfortunately, this project cease when the member of staff moved on to work full time with refugees and asylum seekers. 

We have continued to see growth within the youth groups we provide. In our youth groups, we aim to create safe communities that allow young people to develop the confidence and skills to navigate their teenage years and work through the challenges and joys this can bring. Our work with young people from the Christian community enables them to live lives that involve active and positive participation in their peer groups and society in general. These young people are also given the opportunity to develop leadership skills to benefit them in their transition into the workforce. We continue to see significant growth in the confidence and leadership ability for the young people involved in our young leaders training group. Throughout the year, we have supported two churches, by providing a member of staff to lead and develop the youth work. 

During the year, we have continued supporting churches in their youth work. Two of these churches are in Cheltenham, the other in Gloucester. This support is enabling the churches to put structures in place to help them develop their youth ministry over time. This support also involves direct youth work provision within the churches. During the year, we have stepped back for two of the churches to take direct responsibility for their own youth ministry. In addition we support a variety of other churches from a broad denominational background through training, advice, resources and practical support. This includes running youth worker networks to support and encourage. As a result of one network we are involved in we have helped establish the Big Bash events in Gloucester. These events resource churches across the city by providing a termly event for to which young people can invite their friends and discover more about Jesus. As a result of the Big Bash, we are seeing young people making decision to become Christians. 


A final, but short project from the year, was our involvement in the Cyprus Youth for Christ summer camp. In recent years, we have developed a strong relationship with the team in Cyprus, this has involved joint online prayer meetings and training, staff to learn from each other and this year, Paul joined the Cyprus Summer camp as their main speaker. 



## **The Staff Team** 






From left to right: Paul, Matt, Geraldine, Sarah and Robyn 

The year started with a reduced staff team, we knew Matt was arriving in the summer as our Youth Work Lead. Hanna was established in her role as Youth Worker and our Finance Officer, Geraldine, has also been on the team for a considerable time. 

When Matt joined the team in July, it made a real difference. Very quickly the team gelled and we began to reap the benefits of an extended team. Unfortunately, we only enjoyed three months of this extended team. At the end of October, Hanna moved on after five years. With an option of a new and exciting job, she made the decision to switch to working full time with another charity supporting refugees. Whilst we have missed Hanna, we recognise that it was a good move for Hanna, and we wish her well in the future. 

Once again we found ourselves without a full complement of staff. Recruitment in the Christian Youth Work sector is particularly challenging at the current time. We initially advertised for a part time youth worker. As the advert was put out, Hillview Church enquired about doing a joint appointment. As the year came to an end, we were working on this possibility, with a view to advertise in the summer term of 2024. 

In January were also joined by Sarah and Robyn. Sarah joins us for two afternoons a week to provide some much needed administrative support. This support has proved invaluable. Robyn joined as a youth work intern for seven months. Having Robyn around has enabled us to keep the plates spinning whilst we recruit. 

As well as being the Director, Paul also works for British Youth for Christ for two days per week, providing support to other Youth for Christ centre’s in the South West and pioneering new opportunities in the area. 



## **THE YEAR IN REVIEW** PAUL BENNETT DIRECTOR 


Life never stands still, and the year brought lots of changes. It has also been a fruitful year in which we have seen growth in our work and a significant number of young people making decisions to follow Jesus. 

We started the year with a full time staff vacancy, whilst we waited for Matt Craig to join us from London. Matt arrived in July, and added extra strength to the team. In the previous few months, we had kept our work going, but the extra pair of hands was a very welcome relief. Matt arrives 

as an experienced member of staff who was able to quickly step into his role. We soon began to see the benefits of the increased staff team with a spread of the workload. The summer HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) provision was a great example where the extended team made a significant difference. Our increased capacity meant we could add a greater variety of activities. 

Before Matt arrived, we trialed our weekly family devotional, which we later named Together. We created these as a result of the launch of the Youth for Christ Family Bible. A number of people really appreciated the Bible, but many families said they struggled with family devotional times. We believe that discipleship within the family is really important so created the devotionals to aid families. We ran an initial trial with around twelve families. The families found the devotionals helpful, with many commenting that it gave them a structure to follow. Following the trial, we made some tweaks based on the feedback, and launched the devotionals to a wider audience under the banner of Together. By the end of the year, around thirty families were using the devotionals on a regular basis. The subscription base continues to grow. 

At the start of the year, we were supporting St. Luke’s Church and the West Cheltenham Team Ministry in their youth ministry. These came to an end by the summer as both churches were recruiting new members of staff to build on the work we had been doing. Ultimately, we want to help churches develop to a point we can step back and leave the church to flourish on their own. It was great to see this happen in both these situations. Following the summer, we began to start working with St. Catharine’s Church in Gloucester. This similar work is initially for one year, and is focused on developing the work with a view to see the church take the work on full at this point. 





A personal highlight for me was the opportunity to speak at the Cyprus Youth for Christ Summer Camp. This was originally scheduled for the summer of 2020, but the pandemic made this impossible. We had been building a strong relationship with the team in Cyprus, meeting online for prayer and being involved in training, either online, or when staff have visited us from Cyprus. The summer camp added a different dimension. The opportunity to minister in a different culture was a good challenge. It was also an opportunity to learn from the other cultures and consider why and how we do our own youth work. It was a particular privilege to see a significant number of the young people making decisions to follow Jesus. One young person had such a significant encounter with Jesus, that their pastor knew something had happened to them as they returned from camp so significantly different. 

Giving young people the opportunity to have a life changing encounter with Jesus is a key part of our work. Sometimes these opportunities come through residentials, lessons, school clubs or youth clubs but at other times, they seem less obvious. The launch of our English Lessons for refugees or asylum seekers was one such example. We became aware of the difficulties young people in these groups were facing. Schools had limited funding, and are often unable to provide the resources needed. Hanna has a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification, and therefore has the skills to run this project. Three young people were given English lessons. The project came to a natural end when Hanna moved on to work with a another charity. During the time we ran the project, the young people not only improved their English skills, but received additional support that made a significant difference to them. 

This year saw a repeat of the Break Away Weekend, with the venue filled to capacity. We also ran an additional residential in October called Living Beyond. This weekend had a strong discipleship element, and was primarily to resource our young leaders group. The Break Away weekend was very successful, both in terms of the feedback from groups and young people, and also in the positive number of young people choosing to follow Jesus as a result of the residential. 




This year, we launched a new initiative in Gloucester called the Big Bash. There will be three Big Bass events each year. The first event was at Christmas, with the second taking place leading up to Easter.  The third event will take place in the summer. The aim of the Big Bash events is to provide an evangelistic event that gathers groups from across the city. At the first event, over 70 young people attended, this grew to around 120 by the Easter event. Over the first two event, twenty five young people made decision to follow Jesus. 

Our schools work continues to be dominated by collective worship. On average, we do 12 collective worship sessions a term. These are in primary schools, predominantly in Cheltenham. We also are involved in running a faith based group in a primary school in conjunction with St. Luke’s Church. We have taught a number of faith based lessons in schools. 

It has been a positive year, with areas of growth, but still some restrictions around staffing levels. We have continued to see a number of young people make decisions to follow Jesus. We have a sense that there is a greater openness to faith, something borne out of our experience and various bits of research being released. It has felt like a year were we have managed to get many things in place ready for the year ahead. 



## **FINANCIAL STATEMENT** 

Our financial position remains healthy. Our income grew this year, partly due to a significant one-off donation. Income from churches has reduced; this is due to the decrease in hours of support we have provided to churches. Our wage bill remains as our most significant expenditure. This saw an increase as we had a few months when we increased the staff team. The wage bill reduced in the final two quarters of the year when the staff team reduced. Going forward, we expect to see this rise as we recruit another member of staff.  When we return to a full staff completement, we will return to a break even budget, but with increasing inflationary pressures, this could easily tip in to a deficit. 

We are aware that they financial situation we are facing as a country is challenging, but we continually work towards ensuring we remain in a good financial position. We are very grateful to all those individuals, churches and groups who support our work. Without this support we would not be able to function. 




YOUTH FOR CHRIST GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024
Note5
2023124
IOZZ/Z3
Fixed Assets
TanEible assets
2689
2689
1,417
1,417
rot¢ilfixed ossets
CurreTrtA5sets
Debiors
Cash at bank and in hand
4315
59876
2.518
52.448
54.966
Totol ctsrrent ossets
64191
Llabllltles
Creditors.. amounts falling due within one year
2776
61415
64104
1.793
53,173
54,590
Netcurrenti7ssers/(liobilitiesl
Tot171 osset5 less currentliobilities
Creditors.. amounts falling due 3fter rnOTe than one year
TOTAL NET ASSETS OR LIABILITIE5
64104
54,590
ReseTrves
Openlng reserves
Surplu51ldeficitl lor year
Closlni reserves
54590
9514
64104
43,661
10.929
54,S90
Notes to the Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024
2023124
2022123
T•nzlble As$•ts
Furniture, IT. etc
Accumulated depreciation
17,332
14,643
2,689
14.774
13,357
1,417
D•btors
Prepaid Expense
Accounts receivable
Deposit held by landlord
Recoverable Gift Aid
168
2,945
500
702
4,315
12CM)
5C(J
532
2518
Cash at bank and In hand
RBS- Current alc
CAF Cash
CAF Gold
Paypal
1,689
6,843
51.344
2,181
7.986
42.281
59,876
52,448
Credltors {due wlthln one year)
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Income received in advance
1,276
1.5CM)
165
1129
5(hJ
1794
2,776

Imome and Expendlture for the yearendlng 31 Marth 2024
2023124
2022123
INCOME
Donat5ons and L•gacles
Gift aided donations
GASDS
Non gift aided donations
Church donations
othei- Ctsmpanies
other donations
Legacy donations
Gift Aid Receivable
Local Grants
29,479
52
17,198
17.754
25.623
190
14.787
12,609
75
12.310
373
6,480
675
60,811
7,387
5CKI
84.679
Ch•rlt•bl• •rtlvltl•s
Fundraising events
Fundraising sale5
Resources- YFC
Sale5 of resources
1,791
2,$88
3,331
1,053
10,516
11,442
4.034
358
26
Church Partnership
other income Youth Activittes
other income- Forelgn Income
other income
19.312
8.904
557
4,006
37,197
1,921
32,642
I￿￿$1M•nI1
Bank Interest
1,087
1.087
266
266
expENDITURE
Ch•rltabl• *ctlvlil•s
Advertlslng
Affiiiatlon fees
Bank fees
Cost of lundralsln8 event5
Ernployer Nl eontributlons
Employer penslon contrlbutlons
Equipment purchased Inor •ssets1
Storage costs
Flowers & gifti
Gross S818rles & Wages
Health & Safety expense5
Insurance- Property & Contents
IT Costs
Local Mln15tries
Other expenses
Postage & Dellvery
Printin8 and Stationery
Refreshments
Rent Expense
Repairs & Maintenance
Staff expenseslmeetings
Telephone & Internet
Tralning
Travel Expense
YFC Resources
Youth work actDiities
48
125
84
2,718
409
1.731
616
1.656
114
462
927
1,393
2,092
1,310
I,Iso
28
71,121
211
57.685
1,113
875
1.017
963
451
896
95
1,495
1,446
1,912
231
3,600
io
260
868
135
3.600
20
585
501
1,000
1,125
2,424
12,032
107.609
721
529
802
1,468
315
9.102
85.893
Galn5lllossesl on fixed assets
Depretiation forthe year
1,285
1,285
1,451
1.451
SurplusllDeflcltl for the year
9,514
10,9Z9

## **THE YEAR AHEAD** PAUL BENNETT DIRECTOR 

As we move in to the new year, we are also celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our work since we were formed as CYCLE in 1974. CYCLE stood for Cheltenham Young Christians Linkup Events, quite a title! Fifty years of ministry is significant, without looking beyond to Youth for Christ events in the area in the 1940-1960s. We will be celebrating this heritage, as well as looking ahead. 

Our biggest hope for the coming year is a successful recruitment and a developing partnership with Hillview Church. We are also looking forward to this enabling us to extend our schools work once more and redevelop some of our work in secondary schools. We are looking into using the Counties GSUS live resource and hope to run a few weeks of lessons in schools. 

As the year closed, we have made the decision to move our office to Leckhampton Baptist Church. In part this move brings a long held vision to fruition. We have wanted to be in a church who we can help to establish youth work. Leckhampton Baptist has a long history of youth work, but it needs restarting. This will be a slow and steady work with the church, but something we are excited about. 

## **THANK YOU** 

We do what we do, because we want to see young people’s lives changed by Jesus. We see the impact of this on a daily basis, but this is only possible due to the support we receive from individuals, churches, businesses and trusts. 

Thank you for making this possible. Thank you for helping young people to discover Jesus. Thank you for helping young refugees improve their English to help them integrate into their school communities. Thank you for helping families receive a free weekly devotional. Thank you for helping to feed families in the summer. 



**HOW MUCH IS AN UNCHURCHED YOUNG PERSON'S LIFE WORTH?** 

office@yfcgloucestershire.co.uk Tel: 0333 0419356 Charity no: 1163587