## **Catch The Fire Manchester - Aim and Purposes**
Catch The Fire Manchester (CTFM) exists to advance the Christian faith in Greater Manchester for the benefit of the public in accordance with our statement of faith by creating a place of worship and a worshipping community that walks out the pastoral and evangelistic mission of the Church.
## **Objectives and Activities**
CTFM conducts a number of public meetings from Sunday morning celebrations, worship events, designated prayer ministry events as well as mid-week small group bible study/devotional/fellowship times. All of these events focus on allowing the community to grow in their understanding of the Christian faith and the gospel of Jesus and to develop and walk out their own faith. This is done using worship music, sharing scripture, pastoral and prayer ministry as well as peer-support networks. We aim to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of a wider Christian community in Greater Manchester. The ability to do this effectively was put under significant strain in March 2020 with the arrival of Covid-19 and the subsequent disruptions that ensued. We were able to sustain our contact with the community and ensure that we met our aims and purposes by using a number of different online tools.
## **Achievements and Performance**
## Worship and Prayer
Our varied calendar of events allows anyone and everyone, regardless of their previous experience of the Christian faith or lack thereof, the ability to access a meaningful connection with their own faith journey. In 2020 this looked like online worship and prayer times using Zoom as a platform. That enabled us to not just stream content but to sustain relationships and offer real time support and prayer. We also took our mid-week groups onto Zoom for the same reason. As a church we held monthly corporate prayer times on Zoom where we prayed exclusively for the community.
Alongside our Zoom gatherings on Sundays and mid-week we also launched a YouTube Channel where we recorded and released content to help people navigate the difficult season we found ourselves in. We posted testimonies of changed lives, bible teaching, thoughts for the days and prayer.
## Church Buildings
Since its inception CTFM has had the privilege of hiring venue space at Gorse Hill Methodist Church (GHMC) and when extra space was needed, Gorse Hill Studios (GHS). We have been able to use these spaces at a very reasonable price. At the end of January 2020 we signed a contract with GHMC to lease out office space at the church building, allowing us to have a footprint in the community full time and creating a safe place for those in need to reach out for support. While we were restricted from public worship for the duration of lockdown, we still kept a presence on site by utilising the office space for streaming our meetings.
## _Pastoral Care_
Pastoral care at CTFM is managed by the Lead Pastors supported by a number of volunteers. These volunteers run a peer-support network that aims to ensure any and all members of the wider community can access the support they need both to develop their faith journey but also on a much more practical humanitarian level. As lockdown hit, we moved quickly to get every member of the church into a weekly, digital mid-week group to ensure that none were left without appropriate pastoral support. The Lead Pastors, along with the wider leaders were also available for 1:1 meetups in local parks and open spaces.
In order to ensure that these groups were accessible to both existing members of the community and to Greater Manchester as a whole, we used the lockdown to launch a website where all of our content and information about our online meetings was accessible. We also launched a Church Center App to create a central place for people to communicate together and support each other.
## _Mission and Evangelism_
Helping those in need is something we value at CTFM as a clear demonstration of our own gratitude towards God and trust in Him to continue to provide for us. Our Family Fun Sundays are geared up as an evangelistic event with much more focus placed on making these events universally accessible. We also serve breakfast at these events to foster community and give those who may struggle financially an opportunity to access a meal with community at no cost to them. We also run open-house sessions every other month where we host worship nights where prayer is openly accessible.
This year we hosted an event called The Great Giveaway, where we gathered donations from our church family and the wider community, including donations from Tesco. Alongside the local council and housing associations, we were
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able to distribute toys, clothes and homewares to families most in need in the run up to Christmas. Many relationships we formed during this time have translated into ongoing support and connection.
## Wider Connections
Kieron and Laura Densham, The Lead Pastors at CTFM are connected with local, national and international networks which support them as they lead CTFM. These include locally, The Greater Manchester Prayer Gathering, a local Pastors and Leaders Prayer Group and more widely, Catch The Fire Partners and the work they are doing in the UK and Europe to see the gospel of Jesus made accessible to all.
## **Financial Review**
Total receipts in unrestricted funds between February 1st 2020 and January 31st 2021 was £40,733. We also carried £23,238 over from unrestricted funds the previous year. Our outgoings during the same period were £47,652.
As with most things during this season, finances at CTFM have been impacted. Due to the lockdown we were not able to meet at the church building for gathered worship. While we retained the office space we were released from paying rent on the church building itself for the duration of lockdown; this meant that our monthly overheads for rent dropped. We did however have to shift our focus from in-person meetings to online meetings and therefore had to purchase a professional account with Zoom for online meetings which incurred a monthly cost. During lockdown we had a website built to enable our wider community to stay connected. We also opted to purchase camera equipment, lighting and a small portable digital sound desk so that we could improve the quality of our online meetings and make sure they were as accessible as possible for those connecting from home. All of these things carried either an initial outlay or an ongoing commitment financially. We did make use of some excellent free software also including Youtube and Church Center, which really facilitated connection. We saw a number of changes to our income during lockdown also, because with the lack of in-person meetings, opportunities to take an offering were made more difficult. We also had a few key benefactors that were unable to continue giving to the CIO after covid caused their circumstances to change.
The largest expenditure this year were payments to Kieron and Laura Densham of £24,635 for services rendered to the CIO. It was also proposed, by Daniel Thomas and seconded by Phil Bradbury, during a meeting of the leadership team that Kieron and Laura needed a vehicle in order to more effectively support the objects of the CIO. Options were discussed and a proposal made to the Trustees. It was agreed in the absence of Kieron and Laura that a special offering would be taken with the aim of securing Kieron and Laura a vehicle. £5,815 was given to Kieron and Laura as a grant for this purpose.
## **Volunteers**
We would like to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make our church the lively and vibrant community it is. We have a wonderful community at CTFM who pour their hearts into the development of this charity and the mission it stands for. We love and appreciate them all wholeheartedly. The work that they do has seen many lives touched both by practical support as well as facilitating a deepening relationship with God. This year has seen many challenges, due to covid restrictions, that have made normal day-to-day running much more challenging and our volunteers have adapted beautifully to this ensuring that the community of faith remains at the heart of everything we do.
## **Structure, governance and management**
CTFM is governed by 3 trustees. The Chair is Kieron Densham who, alongside his wife, is also the Lead Pastor of the church. This group of trustees, informed by the Lead Pastors and the leadership team at CTFM, is responsible for final approval and decision making on all matters of general concern and importance for this community. All parties are listed below and are gifted leaders in their own right both within a faith and secular context. We are so thankful for their support and input as we move forward.
## **Administrative information**
Catch The Fire Manchester is situated in Gorse Hill. This is a community in Stretford just west of Manchester City. It began in Nov 2016 with a small group of interested parties meeting and praying together and stirring each other up to faith and good works. This small group grew and we became a registered charity in March 2017. We officially launched CTFM in March 2018 and have been operating since.
In November 2020 both Daniel Thomas and Jordan Wigston stood down as trustees having served faithfully on the board since Catch The Fire Manchester was initiated in March 2017. We want to thank them for supporting the CIO in its inception. They were succeeded by Tom Allsop and Deborah McLean. CTFM Board of Trustees who have served since December 10th 2020 until the date this report was approved are:
_Mr Thomas Allsop - Trustee and Treasurer_
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_Mrs Deborah McLean- Trustee and Health and Safety Mr Kieron Densham - Chair of Trustees and Lead Pastor_
Approved by Catch The Fire Manchester Board of Trustees on 26/11/2021 and signed on their behalf by Kieron Densham (Chair of Trustees and Lead Pastor)
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## **Catch the Fire - Manchester 1171974**
**Receipts and payments accounts For the period 2/1/2020 1/31/2021 To from**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds
funds funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
Donations 39,230 - - 39,230
Grants payable 25 25
Reimbursements 79 79
Rent/hire of rooms 1,500 - - 1,500
Sub total (Gross income for AR) 40,834 - - 40,834
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
Not Applicable - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total receipts 40,834 - - 40,834
A3 Payments
Advertising 2 - - 2
Charges 25 - - 25
Grants payable 10,437 - - 10,437
Hardware, books and supplies 2,826 - - 2,826
Hospitality 1,639 - - 1,639
Insurance 345 - - 345
Printing, postage and stationery 1,836 - - 1,836
Rent/hire of rooms 3,065 - - 3,065
Staff costs 25,145 - - 25,145
Telephone, postage and internet 1,749 - - 1,749
Travel and accommodation 540 - - 540
Sub total 47,609 - - 47,609
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
Not Applicable - - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 47,609 - - 47,609
Net of receipts/(payments) - 6,775 - - - 6,775
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - -
Cash funds this year end - 6,775 - - - 6,775
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**Section B Statement**|**Section B Statement**|**of assets**|**and liabilities at the end of the period**|**and liabilities at the end of the period**|**and liabilities at the end of the period**|**and liabilities at the end of the period**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|
||**Categories**|**Details**||**funds**||**funds**|
|**B1**|**Cash funds**|Current Account Balance
**_Total cash funds_**||**to nearest £**
**16,319**
**16,319**|
|**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**|
|||(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))||Agreement Error|OK||
|||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|
|||||**funds**||**funds**|
|**B2**|**Other monetary assets**|**Details**
Not Applicable||**to nearest £**
**-**||**to nearest £**
**-**|
|**B3**|**Investment assets**|**Details**
Not Applicable||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**|**Cost (optional)**
**-**||
|**B4**|**Assets retained for the**|**Details**
Not Applicable||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**|**Cost (optional)**
**-**||
|**h**|**it ’**||||||
|||||**Fund to which**||**Amount due**|
|**B5**|**Liabilities**|**Details**
Not Applicable||**liability relates**||**-**
**(optional)**|
|Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|||Signature|Print|Name||
**----- Start of picture text -----**
CC16a
**----- End of picture text -----**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
## **Endowment funds to nearest £**
**-**
OK
**Endowment funds to nearest £**
**-**
**Current value (optional)**
**-**
**Current value (optional)**
**-**
**When due (optional)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Date of
approval
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **CATCH THE FIRE - MANCHESTER**
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2021**
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 January 2021.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act;
- to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act; and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
- • to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have not been met; or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
……………………………………. Dated 29[th] November 2021 L M Howson MAAT Independent Examiner
Finansure Limited, 2 Sheppard Street, Brymbo, Wrexham, LL11 5FF