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 worshiping 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. This disruption continued through to May of 2021 when we were able to begin meeting together in person again. At which point many activities were able to restart.
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. For part of 2021 this looked like online worship and prayer times using Zoom. 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 of May 2021 we were able to begin meeting in person again and opened up our building to the community. We began meeting in person for our weekly worship gatherings. As part of these meetings we really prioritised connection and relationship, making space for people to talk with each other in a safe environment. This was extremely valuable to some of our community who had been living in isolation for extended periods of time. As well as creating a welcoming environment for our community, it also helped us to ascertain where the immediate felt needs were in an ever changing landscape. We also launched a new structure to our mid week groups. We began to meet in three groups around the priorities of worship, prayer and outreach. Each community focused on one of the priorities.
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. We have been in a long term arrangement 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. The office space was valuable for streaming and for 1:1 meetings. For the first part of the year, the main building was closed but we reopened in August of 2021. This was very well received and so valuable for this community. GHMC were very generous in their support during lockdown and did not charge us full rates for the building space until we were able to reopen.
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 soon as meeting in groups of 6 was allowed, we began to hold small group meetings at the church office. These were hosted by the Lead Pastors Kieron and Laura Densham. Kieron gathered small groups of men and Laura women. The value of meeting in person was significant. We also ran our priority groups, these were online, meaning anyone still shielding or uncertain about meeting in person, could still access community support. Our web platform continued to be a useful tool where people could reach out for support. Likewise the Church Center App offered us chat spaces where people could post prayer needs.
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 outreach priority group took point on leading the community efforts this year. This meant that there were more people helping to establish, not just sporadic events, but also encourage the
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whole community to be outreach minded in all they do. For example, the outreach team created an advent calendar. This involved challenges set for our church members each day. The challenges involved everything from finding someone in their sphere of influence that needed help. praying for them, reaching out to offer support, Inviting them to join in one of our community events, Random acts of kindness etc. We also ran our Great Giveaway again. This involved sourcing and distributing gifts, clothes and household items to families in need. We also had a donation of a large number of brand new toys ahead of Christmas and were able to run a Great Gift Away making Christmas presents available to families in our community.
In September 2021 we also launched a Home Ed community called Ignite Learning Community. We found the number of children in our area who were Home Educated had increased after lockdown and these parents were in need of community and peer support. This has been a wonderful connection point with our wider community.
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 2021 and January 31st 2022 was £36,237.05. We also carried £16,318.57 over from unrestricted funds the previous year. Our outgoings during the same period were £42,315.63.
During this season, we saw a decline in attendance and therefore giving was impacted. Some were still concerned about in person meetings and some key givers had moved on to other places of worship during the Covid season. Our spending on venue costs began again. The Methodist Church we hire recognised the difficulty of reopening and were incredibly generous with their pricing and created a sliding scale that increased month on month. This eventually ramped back up to £915 per month for building use. In order to make the building covid safe we had some extra reopening costs including, signage, sanitizer, cleaning supplies and perspex screens etc. We also spent on a digital sound desk and speaker system that meant we would be able to better facilitate meetings in person and online simultaneously. The largest expenditure this year were payments to Kieron and Laura Densham of £24,635 for services rendered to the CIO.
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. The team of volunteers and the magnitude of the work they carry out is significant. From sermons, sung worship, and refreshments, to children's ministry, administration, online support groups and in this season, weekly deep cleaning. This church would not function without the generosity of people with regards to their talent and time.
Administrative information
Catch The Fire Manchester is situated in Gorse Hill. This is a community in Stretford, just west of Manchester City in the borough of Trafford. 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.
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 continue to be so thankful for their support and input as we move forward.
Kieron has served on the board of trustees since the charity's inception in March 2017. Tom and Deborah have served since December 10th 2020.
Mr Thomas Allsop - Trustee and Treasurer
Mrs Deborah McLean- Trustee and Health and Safety Officer Mr Kieron Densham - Chair of Trustees and Lead Pastor
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Approved by Catch The Fire Manchester Board of Trustees on 16/11/22 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 2/1/2021 1/31/2022 To from
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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 32,453 - - 32,453
Gift Aid tax reclaimed 3,784 3,784
Reimbursements - -
Rent/hire of rooms - - - -
Sub total (Gross income for AR) 36,237 - - 36,237
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
Not Applicable - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total receipts 36,237 - - 36,237
A3 Payments
Advertising 5 - - 5
Charges 255 - - 255
Grants payable 127 - - 127
Hardware, books and supplies 4,574 - - 4,574
Hospitality 1,417 - - 1,417
Insurance 376 - - 376
Printing, postage and stationery 1,903 - - 1,903
Rent/hire of rooms 8,175 - - 8,175
Staff costs 24,635 - - 24,635
Telephone, postage and internet 395 - - 395
Travel and accommodation 453 - - 453
Sub total 42,316 - - 42,316
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
Not Applicable - - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 42,316 - - 42,316
Net of receipts/(payments) - 6,079 - - - 6,079
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - -
Cash funds this year end - 6,079 - - - 6,079
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Section B Statement of assets 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 £ 10,240 10,240 |
to nearest £ - - |
||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
Agreement Error | OK | |||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
| funds | funds | ||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Not Applicable | - | - | ||
| B3 Investment assets | Details Not Applicable |
Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - |
||
| B4 Assets retained for the | Details PA Equipment |
General Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) 2,442 |
||
| charity’s own use | |||||
| 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 | Name | |||
| Kieron Densham Thomas Allsop |
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CC16a
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Last year
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
Endowment funds
to nearest £
-
OK
Endowment funds
to nearest £
-
Current value (optional)
-
Current value (optional)
1,832
When due (optional)
Date of approval 11/16/2022 11/16/2022
CATCH THE FIRE - MANCHESTER
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES
YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2022
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 January 2022.
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:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act;
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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
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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:
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have not been met; or
- to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
……………………………………. Dated 17[th] November 2022 L M Howson MAAT Independent Examiner
Finansure Limited, 2 Sheppard Street, Brymbo, Wrexham, LL11 5FF