## **Wheatley Community Church** Registered Charity 1163593 ## **Trustees’ Annual Report** ## **1[st] January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025** ## **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.** ## **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 His 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). ## **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 - Periodic discussion forums - Members’ meetings three to four times a year - Community meals and social events - Youth Groups (weekly) - Women’s and men’s events Some of these activities are run in partnership with others 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 20-40 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 programme run by members of the church community who are DBS checked. Our youth stay in the main service on appropriate occasions. Our style of meeting is quite informal and children are encouraged to join in with the singing as they feel comfortable. About 30 minutes into the service, the children and young people go to separate groups 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. ## **Church leadership** Wheatley Community Church (WCC) is led by a Leadership Team (LT), 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 LT 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 WCC Pastor is accountable within the Leadership Team and to the charity Trustees (see below). ## **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 unaffiliated independent church was subject to a review, which was concluded in April 2024. We are members of Wheatley Area Churches and the Evangelical Alliance. ## **Charity’s principal address** **128 Church Road Wheatley Oxford OX33 1LU** ## **WCC Charity Trustees** 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 LT. - 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 LT and is proposed and elected by the other trustees from within their number. The Trustees met 5 times during 2025. We cover a series of standing items at each meeting plus some main items. These include safeguarding, finance, staff, health and safety, risk and GDPR and the agenda for forthcoming members’ meetings. As far as possible individual trustees keep an eye on particular areas of responsibility. There have not been any significant issues of concern relating to health and safety, safeguarding or data breaches. This has been a year of major change for the church. Al McNicoll advised us in January that he would be stepping down as Pastor in the summer and his final service was in June. We are very grateful to him, and to the McNicoll family, for his leadership of the church over these past X years. Following a thorough process led by a pastor appointment group made up of trustees, members of the leadership team and other members of the church, we prepared a role profile and then advertised externally and interviewed (with an external panel member). The outcome of this was to appoint as Pastor Tim Hinks, previously a member of the leadership team, and he started in role on 15 September 2025. Priscilla Frances resigned for health reasons in June and, following advertisement and interview, Helen Mendis was appointed as Operations Manager, also with effect from 15 September 2025. Helen resigned as Trustee before she was interviewed for the role. We are very grateful to Tim, Helen and Brandan (all of whom are employed part-time) for all they have done and are doing for the church, to all others involved in leadership roles in the church, and to God for enabling WCC to thrive and to grow. ## **Trustees serving during all or part of period** - Wendy Taylor Hill (treasurer) - Angela Smith - Mark Humphriss (Chair of Trustees) - Helen Mendis (to August 2025) - Simon Garwood (from X 2025) ## **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 ## **Financial review:** Wheatley Community Church finished 2025 £15,000 above the budget we had set ourselves at the start of the year, with closing funds of £61,000. As usual, regular donations from our church family together with Gift Aid accounted for 95% of our receipts although total income was £4,000 below the budgeted level. As a result of a giving day towards the end of the year, regular giving has increased slightly and we were also able to make an extra £3,000 donation to our mission partners which was paid in early 2026 and so explains the high restricted balance at the end of 2025. Expenditure on our 2 regular outreach events - a summer Holiday Club for children and a weekly Hot Chocolate stand in a local park for Secondary school students – amounted to a total o£1,460, which we were able to reclaim from Fusion, the Youth and Community Fund managed by Wheatley Area Churches. New opportunities for our Youth Pastor - including a monthly outreach football activity and work within the local Secondary School - have put the Hot Chocolate Stand on hold for now and these have provided a way into the Sunday Evening youth group, Pulse, for some youngsters. Pulse is self-funding – students pay each week and the funds finance pizzas, drinks, some Christian materials and the occasional outing. Our giving to Mission continues to be a major focus of our expenditure and in 2025 represented almost 20% of our total payments. This year we have again supported ISTL Theological College in Albania; New Dawn School in the township of Huruma Nairobi, Kenya; an Operation Mobilisation project in Germany working amongst refugees; a Christian worldwide refugee and anti-slavery campaign; Christians Against Poverty a UK ministry advising those in our area with financial difficulties; Oxfordshire Schools Chaplaincy supporting religious education in local schools; and a number of 1-off projects. Changes of staff during the year reduced staff costs by £10,000. Our services and meetings payments came in over budget, mainly because we purchased some new, much needed tech equipment and put £2k aside for more tech equipment in 2026. We also paid the deposit on our 2026 Weekend Away during 2025. Wheatley Community Church continues to hold 6 months of reserves. Again this year, we praise God for protecting our finances and enabling us to complete all that we had planned particularly within our church family, our youth work and in support of our mission partners. ## **Financial Report/Independent Examination** _See following pages._ Declaration: The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity's trustees. Mark Humphriss, Chair of Trustees CHARITY COMMISSION FO2 ENGLAND ANO WALES . Communit¥ Church Receipts and payments accounts CC16 For the period 01101r2025 To 31112r2025 Unrestricted Rostricted Endowment fund$ nds funds tothe to the n8are8t to the noarest to the noare8t nearest Total funds Last year to the nearnst £ A1 Recelpts onations Gift Aid ther Income Pulse Mission Gift 74.476 17,394 4,645 495 3.000 76,888 19,830 13,549 271 17.394 2.690 1,955 495 mss income AR) 100.010 110.538 A88et and investment sales. (see table). rotalrn¢wpts 100010 A3Pa Staff Mission Su Services & Meetin Youth Kids other Pulse Fusion ments 65.756 17.688 7.082 65,756 7,688 7,082 73.587 25.78 .668 345 9.366 447 59 7.411 1,955 16. 59 193 Sub total A4 Asset and Investment u￿haSeS. {see table} Sub total Nat of recgipts/(payments) A5 Transfers ￿twe￿n funds A6 Cash funds last year ènd Ca$h funds th1$ yearwd CCXX R1 afx>JJllts ISSI 231Ce12026 Section B Ststement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds to nearost £ 6.632 476 Restricted funds to nearest£ Endowment funds to nearest £ Categories Details B1 Cash fund8 Current Gokl StewaTdship CCLA COIF 287 53,641 61.036 Total cash ftsnds 7.453 Iilylgv ildltlllLXb YNIUI I¥TXIVL> bry and payments 8ccount(s)I Unrestricted funds to nearest £ ReBtricted fund8 to Trearost £ Endowment funds to n•arest £ DetaTIs 82 Other monetsry assets Fund to which asset belongs (optional) Current value tional Details Fund to which asset belong$ Current value onal Details {optlonal) B4 Assots rgtained for tho charity's own use Fund to vthich Amount du• loptionall Wh•n due (optional) rglates Details 85 Llabllltlos Signed by one or two ttustees on behalf of all the trustees Print Name Date of approval s￿natUre CCXX R2 8cuunts ISS} -I&L CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Wheatley Community Chur¢h On accounts for the year ended 2025 Charity no (if any) 1163593 Set out on pages 7&8 I report to the trustees on my examination of Ihe accounts of the above charity I'the Trust.) for the year ended 3111212025 Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounls in aGcordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 1°Ih8 Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 ofthe 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. I have completed my examination. l Confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disGlosed below ") 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 ￿ordS Independent examiner's statement I have no COn￿rn$ 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. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not appty. Slgned: Date: Name: Relevant profèssional qualificationlsl or body (if any): Fccr4 Address: a￿tc￿TL( 7 ax35 IJ IER October 2018 Section Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of Gharity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief dotails of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018