OUTPOST CHURCH
OUTPOST CHURCH TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1[ST] OCTOBER 2019 – 30[TH] SEPTEMBER 2020
| Contents:- |
Page:- |
|---|---|
| Administrative & legal information | 2 |
| Objectives and activities | 3 |
| Achievements and performance |
3 |
| Financial review | 6 |
| Receipts and payments account | 8 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 9 |
| Notes to the accounts | 10 |
| Summary | 11 |
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OUTPOST CHURCH
Administrative & legal information
Registered Charity Name: Outpost Church Registered Charity Number: 1173519 Registered Office: Shepherd Croft, Bond Lane, Kingsnorth, Ashford TN23 3ES Trustees: Roger Tanton (Chair) Peter Morris (Treasurer) Jessica Cayuela Joe Lillicrap Amanda Nunn Elders: Roger Tanton (Pastor) Deacons: Peter Morris
Structure
Outpost Church is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), governed by a Constitution, under which the trustees (the elders, plus others appointed) are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the Church. The appointment of new trustees is initiated by the elders and approved by the trustees once all necessary eligibility checks have taken place. Anyone may make suggestions to the elders for a proposed trustee appointment.
The beliefs and practices of Outpost Church are set out in our handbook, under which the spiritual leadership of the Church rests with the elders. The work is supported by deacons who lead and serve in practical and spiritual ways under the guidance of the elders.
Our handbook sets out the provisions whereby Christian believers at Outpost Church may join as members. Any person wishing to join the church as a member should speak to an elder or deacon to request a copy of the handbook and/or to express their desire to join in membership.
We are an independent church, affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
Charitable objects
The Church is required to comply with its legal charitable objects in all its activities:
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a. The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith, primarily, but not exclusively, within Kent and the surrounding area; and
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b. such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, put into practice the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith, including but not limited to: the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness; the advancement of education; and the provision of community facilities;
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 CIO from time to time.
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OUTPOST CHURCH
Objectives and activities
As a Christian church we aim to point people to who God is and what he has done for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are passionate about spreading the good news of Jesus to all, and desire to see people experience his transforming work flow out from their hearts and into their homes, church, communities and the world.
Our main activity is our weekly Sunday service for music/worship, prayer and bible teaching, which is open to all and aims to be contemporary in style, friendly and informal. Primary school aged children have the option of staying in the service during the bible teaching or going to adventurers for age appropriate teaching with games and craft, re-joining the service for a time of music/worship at the end. We held smaller mid-week groups and meetings during the year to spend more time studying God’s Word and learn how to apply it to our lives.
In March 2020 we suspended our Sunday services and all physical meetings, groups and events in line with government guidance and advice from the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, we continued our mission online, publishing services on YouTube and meeting virtually during the week online via video conference.
In the planning of all our activities, the trustees have complied with their duty to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Achievements and performance
Sunday Services
We held weekly Sunday services at the Woodchurch Community Centre throughout the first half of the year, advertising through social media and encouraging those in regular attendance to invite others to come along. Attendance was regularly between 55 and 65 people and it was exciting to see and hear of individuals and families being positively impacted by the ministry of the church in various ways. Our 2019 Christmas Carol Service was a key opportunity for us to share the good news of Jesus with many of our friends, families and wider contacts, and a total of 98 people came to this event.
The bible teaching is a central part of our public gatherings and during the year we were able to cover a number of key series. In Autumn 2019 we focussed on the book of Romans discovering how we can be ‘Right with God’. In January and February of 2020, we covered a topical series, ‘The Victorious Life’, where we looked at the victory that Jesus gives in our hearts, homes,
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OUTPOST CHURCH
communities and the world. We then briefly returned to our long running series in Luke’s gospel before suspending our physical gatherings in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though “apart in body” during this time, we wanted to remain “together in spirit” (Colossians 2:5), and so every week we released our own YouTube video service, aiming to make our homes into mini churches where Jesus could be proclaimed and praised. To help work through many of the fears and anxieties of lockdown, we titled our first series of online messages ‘Keep calm and carry on with Jesus’ focussing primarily on the book of Philippians. We then spent a few months in the book of Ezra thinking about the restoration that Jesus can bring to our lives. It was great to have several individuals from within the church reading the bible for us as part of the videos, and we are hugely thankful that we were able to continue praising God in our homes by singing along to worship times led by one of our musicians.
It was encouraging to hear that many of our regular attenders had been sharing the video links with friends and family, and it is notable that many of our videos received in excess of 100 views owing to the ease to which anybody was able to access the ministry of the church.
Following the easing of the lockdown in July 2020, we worked carefully through the government guidance and advice from the FIEC toward being able to resume our public gatherings in a COVID secure way. We were very much aware of the impact that the lockdown was having on people, spiritually and emotionally, and so we were pleased to be in a position to recommence our services at the end of September 2020.
Children’s work
During our Sunday services, prior to the lockdown, primary school aged children were able to go to adventurers where they could learn about the bible through craft, activities and teaching. From November to December 2019 the children learnt about different elements of the Christmas story each week and practiced a nativity which they performed at the Carol Service. In early 2020 the children explored some of the parables in Matthew’s gospel.
After adventurers was suspended in March 2020 we encouraged families to watch our online video messages together with their children, and supplied resources to assist, making mini churches of their own homes. We hope to be able to resume the work of adventurers in the future when restrictions are lifted further.
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Mid-week groups
With numbers increasing at Outpost Church we saw a growing need in late 2019 to develop our existing mid-week meeting to serve more people in different locations. Thus, in early 2020 we divided our mid-week meeting into two ‘Life Groups’ to further build our family and friendships and encourage each other in our spiritual walk, with a ‘Central Meeting’ taking place once a month where we could meet altogether again with a focus on biblical training and prayer.
The new format was still in its infancy when we suspended all gatherings in March 2020 and it is our hope that we may be able to return to holding these groups in the future when restrictions are lifted further.
During lockdown we met virtually during the week via video conferencing to discuss the message from Sunday and pray together. Whilst not the same as meeting in person, we are thankful that we were still able to meet in this way.
Other events
In previous years, we held a number of other events including a Good Friday Walk and Summer Family Festival. These activities were not able to take place this year due to the lockdown.
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OUTPOST CHURCH
Financial review
Introduction
We have prepared our accounts using the simplified receipts and payments format together with a statement of assets and liabilities. The totals for the previous year are given for comparison.
We continued to use two funds to help us manage our resources effectively. All funds were unrestricted in nature meaning that they could be used to freely advance any of the church’s charitable purposes. The funds were as follows:
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General Fund – to manage all regular income and regular expenses associated with running the church.
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General Reserve Fund – to easily identify and manage surpluses carried forward, using the funds for larger one-off/extraordinary expenses, new opportunities, and as a means of meeting any potential shortfall in regular income against expenses.
Review
We are incredibly thankful to God for bringing us through another year and for all the gifts received from individuals and families to support the work of the church. The church is solely reliant on these donations and associated gift aid to meet its costs and did not receive any income from other sources during the year.
Donations totalled £16,437, an increase of nearly £1,000 on the previous year’s amount. A further £4,054 was received as gift aid from HMRC (£826 of this amount relating to the previous year’s donations) bringing our total income to £20,491.
Our expenditure totalled £18,962 which is significantly more than that of the previous year due to us commencing paid employment of our pastor in October 2019. A notable drop in other forms of expenditure was seen this year due to the COVID-19 lockdown. This meant that, whilst we had originally budgeted to expend some of our reserves, our overall expenditure was reduced to a level that enabled us to finish the year with a surplus instead.
In summary, we were able to cover all our expenditure and complete the year with a surplus, bringing our closing balance to £26,247 across funds. This is now available to spend in accordance with the church’s charitable purposes.
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The statement on page 9 lists the assets held by the church and gives a broad understanding of any outstanding liabilities at year end. The liabilities shown is a list of the main payments that were immediately due within 1 month of year end.
Reserve Policy
Our reserve policy is to hold four months of expenditure to enable the church to adapt to reductions in income, plus a further £2,000 to meet larger extraordinary expenses and as a means of responding to new opportunities that may arise. The target reserves figure based on the budget for the year was therefore £11,314. Reserves held at the end of the year were £26,247.
The trustees acknowledge that reserves are considerably more than the target figure, but are cautious not to significantly deplete resources in light of the uncertainties of COVID-19. A proportion of these reserves has however been allocated in the forthcoming year to continue to advance the work and mission of the church, and the situation will continue to be monitored and reviewed.
Employees
The church had one paid employee during the year, Roger Tanton. In line with the regulations and our governing documents, Roger’s employment related solely to his role as pastor of the church under a contract of employment for two days per week (it was not given to him for any of his work as a trustee).
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Receipts and payments account
| Notes Receipts Donations received Gift aid recovered Total receipts Payments Wages & payroll costs 1 Venue hire Insurance, fees & memberships 2 Supplies for weekly activities & events 3 Sound & visual equipment 4 Study materials, books & literature Donations to individuals/organisations 5 Office supplies General publicity Miscellaneous 6 Total payments Excess receipts over payments Opening balance on 1 Oct 2019 Internal transfers between funds Closing balance on 30 Sept 2020 |
General Fund £ General Reserve Fund £ 16,437 - 3,228 826 |
This year 2019/20 TOTAL £ 16,437 4,054 |
Last year 2018/19 TOTAL £ 15,484 2,682 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19,665 826 |
20,491 | 18,166 | |
| 13,802 - 1,700 - 1,298 - 1,053 - 604 - 242 - 100 - 96 - 66 - - - |
13,802 1,700 1,298 1,053 604 242 100 96 66 - |
- 2,310 1,258 2,656 2,023 376 660 231 90 213 |
|
| 18,962 - |
18,962 | 9,816 | |
| 704 826 9,859 14,858 - - |
1,529 24,717 - |
8,349 16,368 - |
|
| 10,563 15,684 |
26,247 | 24,717 |
*Note: Numbers may not add up precisely due to rounding.
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OUTPOST CHURCH
Statement of assets & liabilities
| Notes Assets Barclays Bank account Cash in hand Gift aid still to be received Total assets Liabilities Wages & payroll costs FIEC annual membership Annual licence renewals Annual safeguarding fees Total liabilities |
General Fund £ General Reserve Fund £ 10,563 15,684 - - |
TOTAL £ 26,247 - |
|---|---|---|
| 10,563 15,684 |
26,247 | |
| 334 - |
334 | |
| 10,897 15,684 |
26,581 | |
| 1,500 - 468 - 213 - 152 - |
1,500 468 213 152 |
|
| 2,333 - |
2,333 |
*Note: Numbers may not add up precisely due to rounding.
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Notes to the accounts
1 Wages & payroll costs
In addition to wages, the figure shown includes all one-off setup fees for payroll and pension incurred towards the start of the year and ongoing monthly overheads and administration costs for running the payroll.
2 Insurance, fees & memberships
The total expenditure of £1,298 comprised of the following: FIEC membership [£468]; public liability insurance [£321]; copyright licences [£186]; online media & video conferencing [£147]; safeguarding [£120]; microphone licences [£56].
3 Supplies for weekly activities & events
The total expenditure of £1,053 comprised of the following: Sunday coffee/tea supplies [£323]; Christmas Services [£316]; Adventurers / Baby & Toddler Room [£260]; Harvest Service [£115]; Storage boxes for equipment & supplies [£21]; Craft for all-age services [£18];
4 Sound & visual equipment
It should be noted that the previous year’s total expenditure of £2,023 included the one-off purchase of a digital piano costing £1,510 accounting for the significant difference between the two annual figures presented.
5 Donations to individuals & organisations
The expenditure of £100 related to honoraria for photography at a carol service.
6 Miscellaneous
It should be noted that the previous year’s total expenditure of £213 was a one-off repayment to HMRC for overpaid gift aid. There were no similar payments of this nature made during this year.
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Summary
We are incredibly thankful to God for sustaining us through another year, one that has been very challenging for many due to COVID-19 and the lockdown. We give thanks that the work of the church has continued to be supported financially due to the generosity of individuals and families of Outpost Church. This continued support, together with a reduction in planned spending in the second half of the year, made it possible for us to cover all our expenditure this year. Overall, our income totalled £20,491, enough to cover expenditure of £18,962. We now go forward with a balance of £26,247 to continue advancing the work and mission of the church.
We remember the individuals and families who have continued to serve the church in various ways, without whom much of the work would not have been possible. We give thanks to God for placing on each of our hearts a love for his people and a desire to serve his church.
Despite all the difficulties of lockdown this year, we pray that we can go forward together with a confidence in the Lord and trust him that he has a good plan for each one of his people and his church, and that we would continue to be given opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with many others around us.
Rog, Jess, Amanda, Joe & Pete Trustees
Declaration
The trustees declare they have approved the trustees’ report and accounts. Named and dated 20[th] June 2021 on behalf of the trustees:
Jessica Cayuela Joe Lillicrap (Trustee) (Trustee)
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