## **Report and Accounts for the Audacious Faith International Church (AFIC), (Derby-Nottingham)** ## **2020 - 2021** Produced by the Audacious Faith International Church Committee (AFICTC), this report offers the chance to telling the aims of the church and what we are doing to make them happen. The following pages review the report section by section. ## **Aim and purposes** The Audacious Faith International Church Trustees Committee (AFICTC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, the Reverend Pastor Didier Hyde Kuku Mesa, in promoting in the ecclesiastical local parishes (Derby and Nottingham), the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The AFICTC is also specifically responsible for all the Church activities related dealings set to promote the effective and efficient running of the Church’s mission. ## **Objectives and Activities** The AFICTC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our Church community at Audacious Faith International Church. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament. Our approach within the AFICTC is to maintain an overview of worship throughout our local branches and makes suggestions on how our services can try and involve, as well spiritually and morally as socially, the many groups that live within our Congregation When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In 1 particular, we try to enable ordinary people to experience and practice their faith in God within our ministry through: - Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus. - Provision of pastoral care for fellow Church members. - Missionary and outreach work. It has come the attention of the AFICTC, throughout the year, for instance, that there was a significant need of getting the children of our Church community in extra activities. Thus, in efforts to try to fulfil the aims of the church for the benefit of everyone (fulfilling pastoral and social aims) in our Congregation, the AFICTC, has, for instance, considered organising, for the children of our Church Sunday School group (more or less 35 children), ludic extra activities such as outings, and other games and fitness activities from time to time (especially in summer school holidays time). Although it is important to stress at this level that the COVD-19 pandemic did not help promote the effective and smooth materialisation of this ambition. The government plan of lifting the COVID-19 restrictions would be a progressive step in setting the appropriate context of fully achieving this ambition. ## **Achievements and Performance** The delivery activity of our Church throughout 2020 – 2021 exclusively involved evangelisation and preaching throughout which some dozens of souls were gained to Christ. The government restrictions related to the COVID-19 (including the social distancing requirements) informed our Congregation in the favour our using the Internet tool (through social media). This had significantly contributed to helping the Church leadership keep contact with the congregation through online worship Services and other various conferences/symposiums, and even reach more people who eventually joined the Congregation, by the grace of God. The statistics have shown that our Sunday Services have the merit of having made 2 99.480 views during the period of 2020 - 2021. The Church also seized the opportunity provided by the Internet to broaden its Evangelical network, and saw various guest speakers of both genders (male and female) share the Word of God with its Congregation throughout the year. It is, however, useful to stress that, although the online option was the only strong alternative on one side in keeping the Church and the Gospel awake, the practice presented on the other side the difficulty and the weakness of guaranteeing the easy access to all, either due to the no access to the Internet for everyone, or due to the lack of knowledge and ability to the use of Internet. Some Church members ran the risk of losing interest and potentially switching to incommode activities as a result. Most of them were actually deeply looking forward to swiftly getting back to face-to-face gathering meetings. ## **Worship and Prayer** The worship Services were held online every Sunday throughout the year, using social media (Facebook, YouTube and other available online streaming tools). So were all the week days intercession prayer meeting sessions held on Mondays and Saturdays morning. Taking into account the government COVID-19 related requirements and other restrictions, and, using social media available tools, the AFICTC offered, in its practice, a range of one-to-one services during the week and over the course of the year, as well as specifically family, children, youth, couple and parental oriented conferences that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling. The average weekly attendance, counted during the year was 1200 views but this number increased at special specific conferences, festivals Christmas and Easter Services. As well as our regular services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. 3 This practice through Internet has the merit of having significantly impacted upon promoting the adhesion of new more families into our church, whilst a dozen of young people were baptised. At present there are 51 Church members all of whom are not resident within the Congregation area (Derby and Nottingham). Meanwhile, the AFICTC and the Congregation leadership resort to the use of social media upon addressing aspect of their mission. Once this arrangement is made, the AFICTC would then be able to set a team made of volunteers from our Congregation, all of whom have been CRB checked and are First Aid qualified people. ## **Pastoral Care** During the COVID-19 related restrictions period, Reverend Didier Hyde Kuku took to pay some social distanced pastoral and distanced doorstep visits to the Church member families, and for some members of our Congregation that were unable to (even virtually) attend our online Services due to sickness or age or on request, these pastoral visits were considered and paid. Reverend Didier Kuku also visited and/or made phone contacts with all hospitalised church members who requested his assistance celebrated communion with them either at their homes or in hospital. ## **Mission and Evangelism** At AFIC we strongly believe that helping those in need (especially spiritual need) is a demonstration of our faith, making it possible that, these efforts on behalf of others can be combined with opportunities for fellowship. 4 The AFICTC has considered launching a monthly leaflet release (both in English and French languages) with the aim of providing spiritual support and summarised teaching through useful and experienced related Biblical verses and other short exhortations, in order to keep warm the fellow members’ faith and trust in Christ. ## **Ecumenical Relationships** The Audacious Faith International Church (AFIC) worked in partnership with different Congregations throughout the period of 2020 – 2021. Thus, through online preaching, the Audacious Faith International Church has welcomed as guest speakers Evangelist Johan Maasbach of World Mission (Holland), Pasteur Yannick Duvivier (Belgium), Pastor Sam Adeosun (London), Pastor Joseph Okoko (Holland), as well as other special guest speakers. ## **Financial Review** Most of the Audacious Faith International Church’s funding is hundred percent essentially made of the fellowship contribution through ordinary offerings and other tithes. Thus, depending on the nature of the needs to address, the income is used the cover all the Church’s financial needs, including the rent, stationeries, fuel, liturgical equipment, evangelical activities, promotion, children related activities, as well as other Church events organisation costs. Moreover, where and when required, the income is also used to support (to some extent) people from our Church community in financial difficulties. The Covid-19 situation having covered 2020 – 2021 has been the main factor that contributed to slowing down the pace of the financial state of the Congregation. ## **Our Reserves Policy** 5 The AFIC’s reliance on a very limited income streams (whose principal sources are offerings and tithes) remains a real fact. However, AFIC’s Reserves Policy paradigm has been set to promote the strategy of keeping a reasonable amount of money, in order to face any situation of ‘rainy day’. This is to ensure we are able to maintain adequate free reserves to enable the management of any reasonably foreseeable contingency. It is indeed held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. Although it is important to admit that the Church does not always afford keeping the reserves at their highest level. Thus, on a three month payments equivalence basis taken as a reference, £800 restricted funds have been set as standard to keep our financial balance on a ‘rainy day’ prospect. We are thankful to the Church community for its effective involvement in making this happen, despite all the difficulties and other hardships having faced the UK community as a whole throughout the lockdown period. As an example, the Church resorted to the reserve funds to financially assist through a small donation a group fellow church members whom financial vulnerability and precariousness throughout the lockdown period required some attention. Total receipts on income stream funds were £1,936 including offerings and tithes, a 45% decrease in income compared to the previous year, due to COVID-19 related lockdown. So was the case with the expenditures. We would like to thank all the volunteers, church wardens, deacons and deaconesses, worshipers and other Church’s ministers who work so hard to make our church the lively and resilient community it is. Each one of them in a particular area of their intervention has tirelessly been a special asset to our church community. ## **Our Structure** 6 The method of appointment of the Audacious Faith International Church Committee (AFICTC) members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At AFIC the membership of the AFICC consists of the incumbent (Senior Reverend Pastor), Churchwardens, Assistant Pastor, appointed and/or co-opted ex-officio Treasurer, Reader, Department Leaders and college of Preachers all of which are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who attend our services / members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the AFICTC. The AFICTC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the Congregation, including deciding on how the funds of the AFICTC are to be spent. New members receive initial training into the workings of the AFICC. The full AFICTC met four times during the year with an average level of attendance of 80%. The AFICTC has a number of departments, each dealing with a particular aspect of the Congregation’ life. These committees, which include worship, mission and outreach, women promotion, Sunday School, and finance, are all responsible to the AFICTC and report back to it regularly with minutes of their decisions being received by the full AFICTC and discussed as necessary. ## **Administrative information** The Audacious Faith International Church is located in Derby on Upper Dale Road/Normanton (at the St Augustine’s Church Upper Dale Road Derby/Normanton DE23 8BP), and has its correspondence address at 20 Lorne Walk Nottingham NG3 4FX. The AFIC is part of the Blessing Churches: Johan Maasbach World Mission, and is a charity currently accepted registration with the Charity Commission. AFICTC members who have served at any time from 1st January 2020 until the date this report was approved are: Ex Officio members: 7 - Incumbent: The Reverend Didier Hyde Kuku (Chair of trustees and Senior Pastor) - Joel Kabamba: Assistant Pastor - Carol Shabantu: Secretary - Joseph Kasongo: Elder - Papy Bokola: Elder - Kouzi Kuzimbila: Deacon - Gisèle Mushiku: Deaconess - Maguy Lemo: Deaconess - Arlette Tshama: Deaconess - Betty Kambala: Treasurer - Nathalie Kasongo: Sunday School Representative - Coco Kambala: Worship Leader and Churchwarden Approved by the AFICC on 09 July 2022 and signed on their behalf by the Reverend Didier Hyde Kuku (AFICC Chair of trustees and Senior Pastor). 8