City Church Lancaster
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued in March 2005.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Charity number
1172291
Principal address
4 Prospect Drive Hest Bank Lancaster Lancashire LA2 6HX
Trustees
Mr Scott Lingard (Chair) Mr Malcolm Robinson Mr Peter Carrington Mr Jethro Niven Mrs Hannah Little
Independent Examiner
John Fazackerley A.C.M.A (retired) 6 Queens Drive, Preston, PR2 9YH
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes an unincorporated charity. This deed of trust was first adopted on 01/03/2017.
Trustee Selection
Potential trustees are identified by current trustees. Candidates are then recommended to the board of trustees and if no objections are raised then candidates are formally appointed.
Charity Organisational Structure
Corporately the trustees hold responsibility for the financial health and legal requirements of the charity. The day to day running of the charity is carried out under the leadership of the eldership team with the authority of the charity’s trustees.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
In all cases two signatories are required to authorise online payments and appropriate records including receipts and invoices to support payments are held. Our financial risks are managed by our financial controls policy.
Appropriate insurance cover is in place and is reviewed regularly to ensure that the charities risks are covered adequately. A health and safety policy is in place and additional policies in place for all the charities projects.
We also have a safeguarding policy in place and all staff and volunteers who work in relevant projects are subject to a DBS check. We also subscribe to a Protection Advisory Service to ensure compliance with rules and regulations relating to the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Objectives
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i. To promote the Christian faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world with particular focus on the Lancaster and Lancashire area.
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ii. The relief of poverty, hardship and distress in particular but not exclusively within the areas of Lancaster and Morecambe through provision of grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty
Activities and achievements
Our church community has continued to grow over the last 12 months with over 110 regularly attending our Sunday gatherings and with new mid-week small groups launched. This growth is a result of some new families and students joining us who have moved to the area looking for a church as well as people who have started to engage with faith and church for the first time.
Other activities of note from this last year include an Alpha course, a church leaders conference our core team attended in June in Darlington and as always a particular highlight was our annual church weekend away in March. This year we took 140 of our church plus guests away to Blaithwaite House in the lake district.
One of our focusses as a church this last year has been social action and we have hosted a number of other charities in our Sunday mornings giving them a platform to share about their work and encouraging people in the church to support and/or volunteer with them.
There have been some staffing changes this last year with one of our elders; Pete Carrington starting formal employment with the church for three days a week. We have also recruited an administrator for 12 hours a week.
The strategic and day to day leadership of the church continues to be held by our newly formed core leadership team and a small number of paid staff under the direction of the eldership.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Reserves Policy
It is intended that sufficient reserves are retained in order to enable the charity to undertake its financial commitments for a minimum of three months. Principle funding sources are generous contributions and regular giving from individuals who are a part of the church.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD : Mr P Carrington
CHARITY (OMMISSION Independent Examiner's Repoit on the Accounts Se(Iion A IndLpendent Exiiminer s Repoil £4d/&f G &hJtc •<42 btyb (d a•r) /.
gLQtion B
Receipts and pa ents accounts CC16a Forth• pgriod Section A Receipts and payments A1 RK•i 1117T to211 T33 AR) {M•tabl•l. A3Pa 102 Watsllp 21341 341 110*2
1.118
(1 A6 Cash lund* last •Thd 91.060 CCXX R1 at4)yJts ISSI
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestrictod Rèstrtct•d Endtswment nd• D•tall Bl Ca¥h fund Detai15 Details Details BS Uabllltl•s fefCK C*rfAI¥frTOA) 01 {j&V1r2l
CHARITY (OMMISSION Independent Examiner's Repoit on the Accounts Se(Iion A IndLpendent Exiiminer s Repoil £4d/&f G &hJtc •<42 btyb (d a•r) /.
gLQtion B
Receipts and pa ents accounts CC16a Forth• pgriod Section A Receipts and payments A1 RK•i 1117T to211 T33 AR) {M•tabl•l. A3Pa 102 Watsllp 21341 341 110*2
1.118
(1 A6 Cash lund* last •Thd 91.060 CCXX R1 at4)yJts ISSI
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestrictod Rèstrtct•d Endtswment nd• D•tall Bl Ca¥h fund Detai15 Details Details BS Uabllltl•s fefCK C*rfAI¥frTOA) 01 {j&V1r2l