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2022-03-31-accounts

ChristChurch Tilehurst Trustee Annual Report & Financial Statements April 1[st] 2021 March 31[st] 2022 Registered Charity Number: 1169691

CONTENTS

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS................................3 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT.................................3 AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES.............................................4 Aims...............................................................................................4 Objectives.......................................................................................4 ACHEIVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE..........................................5 Sunday Worship Services.................................................................5 Covid-19.....................................................................................................................5 Outdoor Services. O..................................................................................................5 Preaching Ministries...................................................................................................6 All-Age Services..........................................................................................................7 Sunday School............................................................................................................7 Anniversary Services..................................................................................................7 Baptism......................................................................................................................7 Prayer and Praise.......................................................................................................7 Pastoral Care..................................................................................7 Growth Groups...........................................................................................................7 Prayer............................................................................................8 Courses & Training..........................................................................8 The Marriage Sessions................................................................................................8 Bible Study Workshop.................................................................................................8 Evangelism and Mission...................................................................8 Good News for Tilehurst Magazine.............................................................................8 Christianity Explored..................................................................................................9 Missions & Aid............................................................................................................9 Volunteers......................................................................................9 FINANCIAL REVIEW..................................................................10 DECLARATION.........................................................................10

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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name Registered Charity Number

ChristChurch Tilehurst

1169691

Principal Office 26 Brooksby Road Tilehurst Reading RG31 6LY

Charity Trustees

Daniel Dwelly (Elder/Pastor) Peter Ward (Elder) James Muldoon

Neil Runnalls (Elder) until June 2021

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT

ChristChurch Tilehurst is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and governed by a constitution with trustees elected by charity members in accordance with our Church Handbook.

The Church Handbook also requires the elders of the Church must be trustees, though trustees do not have to be elders. Mr James Muldoon is the only serving trustee who is not also an elder. It is hoped this will give greater accountability for the charity and flexibility that ensures CCT continues to operate with the required number of trustees with proper expertise.

The elders have met on a regular basis through the year to provide oversight of the church activities and discuss pastoral care and ministry business in light of our purpose, objectives and aims.

In June this year, Mr Neil Runnalls stood down as an elder and Trustee. We have been most grateful for his leadership and would like to thank him for his service in the church. We are so glad he continues to serve as an active member of the fellowship.

This year began with a membership of 44 individuals. Five new members were added in this year and five were removed from membership.[1] The members have met quarterly to discuss church business, assess the finances and vote on church matters.

1 Deceased (x2), Transferred to membership in another church (x2), Resignation (x1)

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In addition, ChristChurch Tilehurst is a member of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC, fiec.org.uk), a network organisation supporting independent churches across the UK. The FIEC has no governing authority or responsibility for the charity but offers a supporting role, facilitating partnerships with other churches in the network, running training and conferences and providing advice.

AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

AIMS

The aims and objectives or ChristChurch Tilehurst (CCT) are set out in the charity’s governing constitution which states that the purposes of the church are;

The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Doctrinal Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Tilehurst, Reading and the surrounding neighbourhood; and such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the members of the Church in general meeting, put into practice the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in accordance with the Doctrinal Basis of Faith provided that the advancement of such purposes must be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the Doctrinal Distinctives and Ethical Statements as may be adopted and amended by the Church from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Church Handbook.

OBJECTIVES

CCT is committed to its objective of furthering the Christian faith in Tilehurst, Reading and beyond. When planning activities, the trustees have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and have sought to enable anyone in our reach to live out the Christian faith within the local church community, or have the opportunity to explore Christianity for themselves.

Some of the particular activities we engage in to achieve our objectives include:

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The church also pro-actively engages with the wider community at a number of events through the year, including community fayres or by celebrating key festivals and cultural events (Christmas, Easter, Harvest, All-Hallows Eve ‘Light Parties’, Remembrance Sunday).

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ACHEIVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES

The focal point of church life is our weekly Sunday morning services hosted at Westwood Farm Junior School at 10.30am. The services aim to provide an engaging time of worship through contemporary and traditional music, prayers, Bible readings, the Lord’s Supper and sermons. These services have been open to all and provide a good opportunity for the general public to observe and participate in church life or connect with our Christian community.

We have had the privilege of worshipping together as a mixed group of people from different backgrounds, nationalities and economic status. It has been our aim to ensure a very warm welcome to everyone attending our services, especially visitors and newcomers and whether they are Christian believers or not.

Covid-19 . Meeting our objectives has continued despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the previous year, we produced a range of online content and live-streamed services on YouTube or Zoom when we were unable to meet in-person due to government restrictions. As the situation improved, we were pleased to host in-person services again. Due to social distancing and limited meeting space, these services could only accommodate a smaller number of people so we continued to livestream our services for those unable to attend.

Outdoor Services. On Sunday 25[th] April 2021, we were thrilled to host our first in-person outdoor service on the school playground.[2] This service enabled us to remove many of the restrictions of our indoor gatherings and allowed the vast majority of the congregation to meet together again. A particular highlight of this service was the opportunity to share in the Lord’s Supper again.

We are extremely grateful for the diligent hard work of so many volunteers who tackled the logistical challenges of setting up our PA

2 Later, we moved around to the school playing field where we hoped to minimise any sound-disturbance for local residents.

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systems and chairs outside, allowing us to meet. Our Welcome & Set-Up Team did exceptionally well in making sure our congregation and visitors were warmly welcomed and comfortable too.

We continued to meet outdoors each Sunday for most of the year, resorting back to indoor services during bad weather on only a few occasions. Only one service needed to be cancelled altogether, on Sunday 25[th] July, after a substantial number of our team were unwell. We also continued to Live Stream or upload recorded services online.

Preaching Ministries. The Bible is a primary element to our church life and remains a central component of our worship and practice. Through the Bible, we believe Jesus speaks to us, encouraging and challenging us to live our lives for him. In this year, the preaching and Bible ministry has covered:

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feedback to each other on their sermons. The book of Joshua traces the Israelite occupation of the Promised Land and the lessons they learn about God’s faithfulness to them and their commitment to him. It has been especially encouraging to hear some of our young men preaching.

All-Age Services. As well as these sermon series, we included some AllAge services which are especially aimed at children and families. These services typically fell on Easter, Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas.

Sunday School. Sadly, for the duration of the pandemic and for the first half of this year we were not able to run our usually Sunday School ministry. Including children in the life of the church is important to us so we were especially glad to relaunch this in September 2021.

Anniversary Services. A very special service was held on January 16[th] 2022 to mark our 10year anniversary. This was a unique opportunity to reflect on the last decade since Carey Baptist Church launched a new congregation in Tilehurst and give thanks together for God’s grace to our church. The all-age, interactive service included special presentations and testimonies reviewing the previous 10 years and the many significant milestones along the way. Several members of the church, old and new, shared their memories and stories of joining CCT. James Muldoon, a pastor from Carey Baptist Church and fellow trustee, preached a message from Revelation chapter 7 encouraging us to keep going with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Baptism. Another very encouraging service was held on January 23[rd] 2022 when we baptised one of our members. The service was held at Carey Baptist Church where we could make use of their baptismal pool and facilities.

Prayer and Praise. CCT is blessed with a large and gifted team of musicians so we were pleased to host a Sunday evening of informal prayer and sung worship. These sessions are well attended and allow an alternative style of worship to our Sunday morning services.

Many of these services can be viewed on YouTube: youtube.com/@christchurchtilehurst.

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PASTORAL CARE

The elders and pastor have continued to provide pastoral care for the congregation which has been much easier as the pandemic restrictions were eased, allowing more in-person visitation and counselling. It has also been encouraging to see how church members have continued to care and support one another too, showing Christ-like love and compassion.

Growth Groups. These were smaller groups of Christians in the church meeting in-person or on Zoom on a bi-weekly basis for prayer, support, encouragement, and Bible teaching. We are especially grateful for the team of volunteer leaders who have led these groups. These proved to be a great encouragement to the members and where we saw some exciting growth in Christian maturity.

PRAYER

Enabling opportunity for corporate prayer has remained a key priority for the elders and a vital part of church life. Although prayer permeates almost everything we do, over the year, we have continued to meet either in person or on Zoom for prayer on a Sunday evening each month.

COURSES & TRAINING

The Marriage Sessions. Through October and November 2021 we hosted a series of four Zoom sessions aimed at married couples in the church. Using material produced by Care for the Family, The Marriage Sessions are intended to help “couples to create and sustain a strong and loving relationship.” The content included a video presentation and time for personal and group discussion. Around 6 couples joined the group who found it beneficial.

Bible Study Workshop . One of our church members also ran a one-off workshop aimed at helping us learn how to properly study a Bible passage, understanding its meaning and make appropriate application to our lives. The session was well attended and more sessions have been planned for the future.

EVANGELISM AND MISSION

Sharing the message of Jesus Christ has remained a key priority for the church during this year and we have been encouraged by some of the opportunities God has given us. Perhaps our primary evangelistic endeavour this year has

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continued to be our Sunday morning services where we often receive visitors, some of whom are not Christians, and when we seek to faithfully proclaim the good news about life in Jesus every week.[3]

As well as these services, we can highlight some other key opportunities:

Good News for Tilehurst Magazine. We have been very glad to continue producing two more editions of our community magazine this year. This was a high quality, professionally produced 20page magazine. The content included articles from the pastor and personal stories from our church members, connecting their life experiences and faith in relatable ways. There were activities for children, recipes, games and information on resources and organisations offering help, such as Christians Against Poverty (CAP). Each magazine was delivered by our members to around 4000 homes in our area. The magazine has been well received by the community and our members have been encouraged by the opportunities it has given them to build connections with their neighbours. We have also seen new people attending our church having received a copy.

Christianity Explored. Over the span of seven sessions, this course presents the heart of the Christian faith to those who are investigating Jesus for themselves. Through a video presentation, Bible study and set questions, this course provides participants with an interactive and informal opportunity to discover the good news about Jesus for themselves. This year, we were pleased to run the course for two new people who started attending our church.

Missions & Aid. We have also continued to support a number of overseas missionaries financially and by prayer in India, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In March 2022, in the wake of the outbreak of war in the Ukraine, our church were eager to provide practical aid. A large collection was made of essential items which, through some contacts held by our

members and in partnership with other churches, we were able to send to the Ukraine.

VOLUNTEERS

The elders and trustees would like to thank all our volunteers who work incredibly hard to make CCT a welcoming and supportive Christian community. We believe the church is like a body, with different members providing different gifts and abilities and it has been fantastic to see them serving each other with these gifts.

3 These services and messages also reach a wider ‘unseen’ audience through our online content on YouTube and social media.

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We would especially like to thank Mrs Hannah Martin, our Safeguarding Lead, and Mr Louie Over, our Church Treasurer. Also, Jan Broady and Keith Munday, our Health and Safety team, who have provided excellent advice and produced helpful Risk Assessments that allowed us to safely transition to in-person and outdoor services. We are also grateful to Clive Knewell and the Welcome and Set-up team who have been very conscientious, working hard during the pandemic to make sure we could meet safely and comfortably. Each of these have given up a lot of time to help the church in these roles and assist the trustees in their responsibilities.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

The church is supported through the generous voluntary giving of its members and congregants.

The trustees have implemented a policy of maintaining a balance of unrestricted funds greater than or equal to approximately three months of operating costs for the charity, wherever possible. This is designed to support the ongoing operation of the charity in the event of fluctuations in donation income, upon which the charity relies. Three months is considered sufficient time for the trustees to identify an enduring decline in giving and take action to control costs or generate income as required.

As at 31 March 2022 the charity’s general unrestricted funds stood at £75,783 .

DECLARATION

This annual report has been prepared by the trustees and approved by them.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees:

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DATE:
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HARITY COMMISSION FtsQ ENGLANO AND WALES Recelpts and payments accounts CC16a To 3ttUY2Q22 Section A Receipts and p ments Unr•&tr£t fvnd Endowtrwrt T+>tsllvn La¥tywr Al l•)tll¢kns3rrKt)rn krAP) s￿¢*1 •02 •nts sr• Sxa¥w 71 y￿E￿ L¥effts k151knn 47 47J22 17J4• 17 12 24 .107 Section B Statement of assets and liabllltss at the end of the period lunds ISS)

74785 fvnds B4A*ts r•tshdx I SpJn•d by f•t•• truses•n •Yof IM151R $6-01-13 OJX Fra a¢<wffi8 ($$1