2023-12-31-accounts

Wheatley Community Church

Registered Charity 1163593

Trustees’ Annual Report 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023

Charity’s principal address: 128 Church Road Wheatley Oxford OX33 1LU

Governance:

The Charity is governed by a constitution and founded as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). New trustees are appointed by the trustee body.

We are an independent church with a leadership group drawn from people who have been active in the village and involved in ministry in other churches. Our position as an independent church was subject to a review, which was concluded in April 2024.

We are members of Wheatley Area Churches and the Evangelical Alliance.

We have the following policies in place:

• Health & Safety

• Safeguarding

• Finance

• Risk register

• Terms & Conditions (staff)

• Data protection

• Church handbook

We have the following guidance in place:

• Conflict of interest

• Training record

Charitable Objective:

To advance the Christian religion for the benefit of the public in accordance with the statement of faith found in the schedule to our constitution.

Wheatley Community Church Annual Return 2023

**Vision Statement: ***

We believe we are being called by God to be a welcoming, accessible, diverse and nurturing church. Shaped by His word, we respond to His lordship, His love and to this call by seeking to be –

• A community that is journeying, evolving and learning together with the Bible central to our teaching and our values. (Romans 12v16)

• A praying church, a place of significant fellowship and trust where individuals are encouraged and supported to grow and develop spiritually in their walk with God. (Acts 2v42)

• An all-age church, welcoming and catering for children, young people and adults alike, sharing our lives informally through the week as well as through our organised meetings. (Romans 12vv9-13)

• A contemporary, lively and enthusiastic church, guided and equipped by the Holy Spirit and passionate about our faith and God’s love for all people. (John 3v16)

• A community devoted to the love and worship of the God who first loved us – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 4 v 24)

• A church given to loving service, seeking to bring hope and practical support to those around us. (Galatians 6v10)

• A church committed to sharing our faith and inspiring others to discover the transforming love of Jesus. (Matthew 28vv18-20)

• A church concerned for the world we live in, seeking to bring God’s justice, mercy and compassion (Isaiah 1 v 17).

Church leadership:

Wheatley Community Church (WCC) is led by a Core Leadership Team (CLT), each of whom is initially elected by the membership, whose responsibilities include –

• Spiritual and pastoral oversight of the church as a whole

• Teaching programme coordination

• Oversight of corporate worship

• Pastoral care & Small group coordination

• WCC support of Mission work beyond Wheatley, in all its forms

• Strategic and visionary planning

Members of the CLT must agree to the Church’s statement of faith (What We Believe) and exhibit the characteristics of leaders outlined in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. They will have relevant experience in church life and organisation and a heart for service to the Wheatley Community, for pastoral care, seeing people compassionately as individuals, and for mission and outreach.

The CLT is led by the WCC Pastor, who will initiate and lead annual reviews with each of the leadership team. The WCC Pastor is accountable in turn to the charity Trustees (see below).

WCC Charity Trustees:

Wheatley Community Church Annual Return 2023

Wheatley Community Church is a registered Charity. As such, matters of legal and financial compliance are managed by a board of Trustees. WCC Trustees must agree to the Church’s statement of faith (What We Believe). They should also have skills and experience relevant to the oversight of church, organisation and/or charity governance.

This board is made up as follows –

• Up to two representatives of the WCC CLT.

• The Church Treasurer.

• Other church members with relevant experience or expertise, through nomination by members and with appointment by the Trustee body.

• The Chair of Trustees will not be a member of the CLT and is proposed and elected by the other trustees from within their number.

Trustees serving during all or part of period:

• Gordon Ewbank (to July 2023)

• Jill Ewbank (to 18 March 2024)

• Wendy Hill (treasurer)

• Angela Smith (Chair of Trustees to October 2023)

• 

• 

• Mark Humphriss (Chair of Trustees from October 2023 / trustee from 24 May 2023)

• Joel Carras (from 25 October 2023)

Activities:

• Holding services of worship, prayer and teaching

• Celebration of religious festivals

• Pastoral support through one to one and small group meetings

• Producing and sourcing materials to enlighten others about the basis of the Christian faith

• Children & Youth Work/Education

• Training programmes – young people & adults

• Community projects/development

Achievements & performance:

For information on the Charity’s achievements and performance please visit the following site: https://www.wheatleycommunitychurch.org

Summary of Achievements and Performance:

• Weekly services

• Fortnightly small Bible study group meetings

• Monthly prayer meetings

• Quarterly discussion forums

• Quarterly members’ meetings

Wheatley Community Church Annual Return 2023

• Community meals and social events

• Youth Groups (weekly)

• Women’s events

Some of these activities are run in partnership with others of like mind in our community.

Morning Services:

There is some variety in our Sunday meetings, but most of them include the following key elements:

• Singing - normally 4 or 5 songs over the course of the service. Words are put up on a screen, and the congregation are welcome to join in, or not to sing as preferred.

• Prayer - for local, national and international needs, as well as time to bring our own prayers to God. Most people will sit or stand, but people are welcome to kneel if preferred.

• A talk - someone will give a talk for 20-30 minutes on a passage or topic from the Bible.

• Fellowship - after the service, there is opportunity for refreshments and fellowship with other members of the church family and guests.

• Children’s Sunday school – children and youth have their own Sunday School programme run by members of the church community who are DBS checked. Our youth stay in the main service on occasion.

Our style of meeting is quite informal, and kids are encouraged to join in with the singing as they feel comfortable. About 30 minutes into the service, the young people go to separate groups around the school building and have a mix of age-appropriate activities and discussions.

Public benefit:

All Wheatley Community Church activities are designed to be accessible to all who take part. Children and youth activities adhere to Wheatley Community Church's safeguarding policy and are supervised by experienced adults. Children and young people’s activities aim to help them to develop spiritually and morally in line with the Christian faith in order that may better understand the bible and God’s love for them. All community events aim to build social capital, to the benefit of all. Our activities are designed to reinforce the meaning that the Christian faith gives to our members’ lives and the way in which it contributes to their spiritual well-being. It helps to develop their spirituality (including strengthening their relationship with God) as well as providing a moral or ethical framework to live by. This moral or ethical framework offers benefits to wider society, as well as individual comfort, hope and a sense of purpose.

Financial review:

During 2023 Wheatley Community Church maintained its cash position and finished the year with reserves of almost 8 months unrestricted funds - £74,868. We continue to hold funds on behalf of Pulse and Fusion, 2 youth outreaches in Wheatley and at year end these amounted to £7,296 of restricted funds. Our giving to mission continues to be a major focus of our expenditure and in 2023 represented 20% of our total payments. We also funded events for our local community in September at a cost of £839.

On a monthly basis payments continue to outweigh receipts, but a Gift month in Sept/Oct raised almost £7,572 and enabled us to finish the year with £1,000 more in unrestricted cash compared to the January figure.

Wheatley Community Church Annual Return 2023

Whe<ltley All ministy areasfinished theyearunder iujgetwith n￿st planned exFETrliturefulfilled. Theexceptionvmsthat in July•hE relinquished the lease on ourofficewith a saving of £2,6CW.a. Our healthy F*)sition mean5 that￿￿ are able to Flan growth for g)me of our Ministy areasin 2024 Finandal Report/lndependent Examination: Seefvllowing pages. Declaratlon: The trustees declare thatthey have approved the trustees report above. @-tyL • Signed on behalf of the ChariVs trustees. Mark Humphriss, Chair of Trustees Wheatley Community CTra￿Ch Allnual Retsun 2023

	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church	No (if any) 1163593	No (if any) 1163593	CC16a
	Receipts and Payments Accounts
	For the period from	Period start date 01/01/2023	To	Period end date 31/12/2023
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £ 80,769 18,565 4,160 590 160 - - - 104,244 - -		Last year to the nearest £
Donations	80,769		-	80,769		70,506
Gift Aid	18,565	-	-	18,565		20,428
Other	3,810	350	-	4,160		13,939
Pulse	- -	590 160	- -	590		-
Fusion				160		-
	-	-	-	-		-
	-	-	-	-		-
	-	-	-	-		-
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	103,144	1,100	-	104,244		104,873
A2 Asset and investment **sales,(see table). **
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-		-
Sub total	-	-	-	-		-
Total receipts A3 Payments	103,144 69,233 20,840 6,371 - - - 6,860 - -	1,100 - - - - 251 445 350 - -		69,233 20,840 6,371 - 251 445 7,210 - - 104,244
			~~-~~	104,244		104,873
Staff			- - - - - - - - -	69,233		70,477
Mission Giving				20,840		22,127
Cburch Srvices/Meetings				6,371		5,806
Local Outreach				-		3,781
Fusion				251		-
Pulse				445		-
Other				7,210		14,083
				-		-
				-		-
Sub total	103,304	1,046	-	104,350		116,274
	103,304 - - -	2 1,046 ~~54~~ - 1,080 8,322 ~~7,296~~ - - -		104,350 ~~-~~ ~~106~~ - 82,270 82,164 - - -
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
			- -	-
				-
Sub total			-	-		-
CCXX R2 accounts (SS) Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end
			~~-~~	104,350		116,274
	~~-~~ ~~160~~		~~-~~	~~-~~ ~~106~~		~~-~~ ~~11,401~~
	1,080 73,948		- -	-
				82,270		93,671
	~~74,868~~		~~-~~	82,164		~~82,270~~
						17/06/2024

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets	Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details CAF Current Account CAF Gold Account Stewardship Services Account	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
		6,368 66,586 1,914	7,296 - -	- - -
		74,868	7,296	-
		Unrestricted funds to nearest £ OK - - - - - -	Restricted funds to nearest £ OK - - - - - -	OK
				Endowment funds
	Details			to nearest £ - - - - - -

B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use	Details Details	Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates	Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Amount due (optional)	Current value (optional)
				- - - - -
				Current value (optional)
				- - - - - - - - -
				When due (optional)

Details

B5 Liabilities

			- - - - -	17/06/2024
3

CCXX R3 accounts (SS)

Signed by one Of h¥0 trustees c behalf ol all the lJustees sI￿a￿Te Print Name Date of val CCXX R3 a¢ctyJrts (SSI 31n5rJJ24

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church	Charity Name Wheatley Community Church
	31/12/2023	Charity no (if any)	1163593

• I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023

• Responsibilities and basis of As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come statement to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 19/06/2024 Signed: Name: Rebecca Morris Relevant professional ACA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 89 Stanway Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 8HY