Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st March 2025
This report includes information required by the Charities (Accounts and Reports)
Regulations 2008 and the Ststement of Recommended Practice for Accounting by
Charities 2005 as applicable to charities entitled to prepare accounts on the receipts
and payments basis.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church is a local church of the Independent
Methodist Association in Great Britain. It was registered on 20 March 2017 as Charity
Number 1172160,
Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church is situated at:
2, Barton Avenue, Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2LE
The trustees who served during the financial year from April 2024 to March 2025 are,,
Robert E Brooks (Chair)
Susan J McArthur
Allyson D H Ashcroft
Anne Pridden
Glenys Baguley
Kathleen Middleton
Timothy Jordan
Godfrey Gwilliam
Roy Findlay
The Church building is held under trust with legal title vested in the nominated
Trustees.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The activities of Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church are overseen by the
Deacons of the Church and administrative matters are overseen by the Church
Council. The governing document of the registered charity is a statement adopted by
the Church Meeting on 9 February 2017.
The Church Council is responsible for the financial administration of the Church, and
the care and maintenance of Church premises. The Church Meeting (of all members
wishing to attend) gives general guidance on the life and work of the Church.
The members of the Church Council are nominated and elected by the members of
Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church at an Annual General Meeting. This
meeting also nominates and elects trustees as necessary.
The Church Council met 10 times during the year. The Deacons met 10 times during
the year and the Trustees met twice.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church seeks to advance the Christian faith
through its activities and the facilities offered to the community by its building.
The Deacons are aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in
"The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit" and has regard to it in the
administration of the Church.
The Deacons believe that the Church provides benefit to the public by,.
providing resources and facilities for public worship, pastoral care, and
spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for the congregation and
for anyone else who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers.
promoting Christian values and service by members of the congregation to
the community, for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.
REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The opening of the Fir Grove Hotel as an Asylum Centre brought us into contact with
people who we never have imagined would walk through our door. People from
Namibia, Botswana and Iran, just to identify those who we had the most meaningful
contact with and with whom we tried to help and support as best as we could within our
limitations. These individuals have now largely been settled elsewhere and we wish
them well, but it is a reminder that we never know who is coming through our door next
and how we should be prepared to welcome and assist whenever possible in Christian
love.
New contacts have not been limited to asylum seekers and others have joined us for
worship and fellowship during the year. Some have joined us for a short time whilst
others are still with us and again this serves as a reminder that we need to continue to
engage with those in our local Gommunily and be seen as a church which is welcoming,
engaging and has something to offer. Our regular after service tea and coffee in the hall
continues to be a positive aspect of what we do as church and is appreciated by most of
our congregation. A special thanks to those who work in the kitchen each Sunday.
Our ability to serve the community is very much dependent on the spiritual strength and
commitment of our core membership. The Deacons continue to look at opportunities to
strengthen and develop our fellowship.
Sunday services continue to be well attended but we do suffer fluctuations due to
number of factors including holidays, illness and those who only attend now and then.
The pulpit continues to be served by a combination of our own preachers, visiting
preachers and fellowship led worship. Whilst the current mix serves us well, we are
mindful that our time of fellowship and worship must remain inclusive and relevant, and
we continue to look for new and different opportunities to achieve those goals.
Engagement with our local community must be a priority because if we are not rooted
within it, we become irrelevant and will eventually cease to exist.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
1 Summary
Our offertory continues to hold steady despite falling numbers. Donations to the church
increased significantly by around £6000 as a result of income received from the sale of
Buckley Street Church. Room rental is a valuable source of income but requires
Management. We received a grant of £5500 from the Independent Methodist Connexion
as a contribution towards the cost of installing Audio Visual equipment. Our income for
the year was £32184 which reflects an overall increase of £10000 on the previous year.
Our expenses remained relatively steady, and we ended the year with a General Fund
Balance of £20144.
We are currently in the process of reviewing the costs of letting the room out. We
charge a relatively nominal figure but need to review it to ensure that we are covering
the cost of the utilities and wear and tear.
2 Reserv88 Policy
Unre8tricted fund8: Ideally, the Deacons would wish to have in hand an amount
equal to at least 6 months, regular expenditure as "free reserves, to meet future
shortfalls in income or unexpected expenses. The balance at 31 March 2025
represents 12 months of budgeted expenditure for 202512026.
Designated Funds: There are currently no designated funds.
This report was approved by the Annual General Meeting on 19 October 2025 and is
signed on its behalf by Robert E Brooks, (Minister).
/ia
Robert E Brooks
Minister
|**Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church**
**Income and Expenditure Account**
**Period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025**
**Income**
**2024/2025**
**2023/2024**
**Offertories:**
10,752.83
£
9,439.74
£
**Donations:**
Keep Fit Group
400.00
£
C H Hutchings
900.00
£
D W Preston
400.00
£
Sale of Buckley Street
6,175.00
£
Oulton Court
20.00
£
Brownies
25.00
£
Mark Cleaver - Romans Course
50.00
£
7,970.00
£
2,035.00
£
**Room Rental:**
5,240.00
£
3,130.00
£
**HMRC Gift Aid Refund**
2,039.25
£
2,489.81
£
**Grant Income**
IM Association - Audio Visual Equipment
5,500.00
£
4,000.00
£
**Events & Collections:**
Concert
130.00
£
Christmas Income
193.72
£
323.72
£
1,163.00
£
**Sundry Income**
Laptop Refund
349.00
£
Other
10.00
£
359.00
£
342.17
£
Total Income
32,184.80
£
22,599.72
£
Balance Fwd @ 31/03/2024
15,010.02
£
47,194.82
£
Expenses
27,050.73
£
Balance @ 31/03/2025
**20,144.09**
**£**|**Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church**
**Income and Expenditure Account**
**Period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025**
**Income**
**2024/2025**
**2023/2024**
**Offertories:**
10,752.83
£
9,439.74
£
**Donations:**
Keep Fit Group
400.00
£
C H Hutchings
900.00
£
D W Preston
400.00
£
Sale of Buckley Street
6,175.00
£
Oulton Court
20.00
£
Brownies
25.00
£
Mark Cleaver - Romans Course
50.00
£
7,970.00
£
2,035.00
£
**Room Rental:**
5,240.00
£
3,130.00
£
**HMRC Gift Aid Refund**
2,039.25
£
2,489.81
£
**Grant Income**
IM Association - Audio Visual Equipment
5,500.00
£
4,000.00
£
**Events & Collections:**
Concert
130.00
£
Christmas Income
193.72
£
323.72
£
1,163.00
£
**Sundry Income**
Laptop Refund
349.00
£
Other
10.00
£
359.00
£
342.17
£
Total Income
32,184.80
£
22,599.72
£
Balance Fwd @ 31/03/2024
15,010.02
£
47,194.82
£
Expenses
27,050.73
£
Balance @ 31/03/2025
**20,144.09**
**£**|**Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church**
**Income and Expenditure Account**
**Period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025**
**Income**
**2024/2025**
**2023/2024**
**Offertories:**
10,752.83
£
9,439.74
£
**Donations:**
Keep Fit Group
400.00
£
C H Hutchings
900.00
£
D W Preston
400.00
£
Sale of Buckley Street
6,175.00
£
Oulton Court
20.00
£
Brownies
25.00
£
Mark Cleaver - Romans Course
50.00
£
7,970.00
£
2,035.00
£
**Room Rental:**
5,240.00
£
3,130.00
£
**HMRC Gift Aid Refund**
2,039.25
£
2,489.81
£
**Grant Income**
IM Association - Audio Visual Equipment
5,500.00
£
4,000.00
£
**Events & Collections:**
Concert
130.00
£
Christmas Income
193.72
£
323.72
£
1,163.00
£
**Sundry Income**
Laptop Refund
349.00
£
Other
10.00
£
359.00
£
342.17
£
Total Income
32,184.80
£
22,599.72
£
Balance Fwd @ 31/03/2024
15,010.02
£
47,194.82
£
Expenses
27,050.73
£
Balance @ 31/03/2025
**20,144.09**
**£**|
|---|---|---|
|||10,752.83
£
9,439.74
£
7,970.00
£
2,035.00
£
5,240.00
£
3,130.00
£
2,039.25
£
2,489.81
£
5,500.00
£
4,000.00
£
323.72
£
1,163.00
£
359.00
£
342.17
£
32,184.80
£
22,599.72
£
15,010.02
£
47,194.82
£
27,050.73
£
**20,144.09**
**£**|
||349.00
£
10.00
£||
||||
## **Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025**
|Lloyds TSB
Cash in hand
General Fund Ledger|20,144.09
£
-
£|
|---|---|
||20,144.09
£
20,144.09
£|
|**Expenditure**
**Utilities:**
Water Plus (United Utilities)
Business Gas
Scottish Power/British Gas electricity
British Telecom
**Caretaker and Cleaning Costs**
**Insurance**
**Property Costs**
Ceiling Repair
Plastering
Garden
Gutter Cleaning and repair
Skip Hire
Drain blockage
Sundry costs
**Repairs and Replacements**
Electric Fires
TV and Stand
Fire Inspection
Sundry
**Equipment**
Audio Visual Equipment
Laptops
**Stationery/Publicity:**
IM Resource Centre
Roots Subscription
Palm Crosses
Stationery and posters
Printing costs
**Connexional Dues**
2024/2025
2025/2026
**Donations:**
G & D Castro
Lymm IM Romania
Overseas Missions
Warrington Youth for Christ
Zoes Place
MacMillan
**Sundry Expenses**
Zoom Licence
Green Bin Subscription
Other
**Expenses 2023/2024**|514.79
£
2,292.86
£
1,756.53
£
608.41
£|**2024/2025**|**2023/2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||5,172.59
£
3,022.52
£
2,340.53
£
2,752.56
£
897.56
£
8,267.41
£
1,426.97
£
1,267.00
£
1,673.72
£
229.87
£|417.39
£
3,041.43
£
2,685.06
£
907.29
£|
||120.00
£
410.00
£
870.79
£
175.00
£
230.00
£
668.00
£
278.77
£||7,051.17
£
2,680.68
£
2,362.57
£
4,129.40
£
5,113.78
£
1,211.00
£
1,585.36
£
1,456.00
£
900.00
£
150.00
£
26,639.96
£|
||431.58
£
318.99
£
95.70
£
51.29
£|||
||7,515.60
£
751.81
£|||
||337.05
£
172.96
£
18.97
£
396.80
£
501.19
£|||
||1,134.00
£
133.00
£|||
||600.00
£
150.00
£
100.00
£
300.00
£
323.72
£
200.00
£|||
||155.88
£
43.50
£
30.49
£|||
|||||
|||**27,050.73**
**£**||