2021-09-30-accounts - Outpost Church

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OUTPOST CHURCH TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1[ST] OCTOBER 2020 – 30[TH] SEPTEMBER 2021

Contents:-	Page:-
Administrative & legal information	1
Objectives and activities	2
Achievements and performance	2
Financial review	4
Receipts and payments account	6
Statement of assets and liabilities	7
Notes to the accounts	8
Summary	9

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 and 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:

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
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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Objectives and activities

As a Christian church our aim is 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 God’s transforming work flow out from their hearts and into their homes, their church, their community and the world.

The main activity of the week is our Sunday service where we gather together for worship, prayer, praise and bible teaching. Our services are open to all and aim to be contemporary in style, friendly and informal.

Many of our other usual physical meetings, activities and events continued to be suspended throughout much of the year due to the pandemic and there were also occasions where we reverted to online services due to increased lockdown restrictions. Mid-week groups for prayer, bible study and encouragement were held throughout much of the year online, however we were pleased to be able to recommence physical mid-week meetings in late July 2021 as restrictions were lifted. In September 2021, we recommenced Adventurers for primary school aged children which they were able to attend during the Sunday service for bible teaching, games and craft.

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 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 Woodchurch Community Centre at the end of September 2020. To gather again for worship was a huge blessing to many of the families and individuals amongst us. For those deciding not to attend, a video recording of our service was uploaded to YouTube each week and it was encouraging to hear of several others from outside of our regular congregation also benefitting from the ministry in this way. Given the circumstances it was still good to see around 40 people attending our services each week with others remaining in contact in various ways.

Bible teaching is a key part of our Sunday services and during the year we were able to cover a number of series. In October 2020 we returned briefly to our long running series in Luke’s gospel before commencing a Christmas series online during the November lockdown. Although unable to hold our usual Christmas events and carol service in 2020, we were thankful to able to return

OUTPOST CHURCH

to physical Sunday services in December to celebrate Jesus’ birth over the Christmas period. Between January and June 2021, we focussed on the book of 1 Timothy in a series entitled ‘The Household of God’ followed by a topical series, ‘The Real Jesus’, where we investigated the truth claims of Jesus in the gospel of John.

We were unable to hold our Summer Family Festival again this year. However, with the lifting of most restrictions in late July 2021, it was a joy to be able to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Outpost Church with a service on 25[th] July where we were able to sing altogether for the first time in around 16 months. We finished the service with a very memorable and powerfully sung version of the song “Behold our God” (Sovereign Grace Praise, 2011) as we remembered that God remains in control, whatever our circumstances, and is worthy of all adoration and praise.

As we approached the end of the reporting year we began to see more people return to our services in person and it was a blessing to be able to re-establish these connections and share again with them in Christian fellowship.

Children’s work

In September 2021 we restarted adventurers for primary school aged children during our Sunday services where they could learn about the bible through craft, games and teaching. The adventurers commenced the new term with a series in the book of Jonah thinking about how the story of Jonah is a picture of Jesus.

Mid-week groups

Throughout much of the year we continued to meet 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.

As restrictions lifted in late July 2021 we began gathering together again, in person, twice a month for ‘Central Meeting’. This was an opportunity to meet altogether with a focus on digging deeper into God’s Word together with a time of prayer at the end. By the end of the reporting year we were planning a return to men and women’s ‘Life Groups’ to further build our family and friendships and encourage each other in our spiritual walk.

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.

OUTPOST CHURCH

Financial review

Introduction

We have prepared our accounts using the simplified receipts and payments format accompanied by 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:

General Fund – for managing all regular income and regular expenses associated with running the church.
General Reserve Fund – for easily identifying and managing 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.

Receipts & Payments Account (see page 6)

After another uncertain year for so many individuals and families, we again give thanks to God for his continued provision to us. Our general fund outgoings this year totalled £23,716 and, through the generosity of God’s people, incoming funds totalled £22,487 leaving a shortfall of just £1,229 to be covered by reserves.

We were actually anticipating a much larger shortfall this year, and had planned to accommodate this from reserves, but the continued cancellation of events due to lockdown together with some increased giving toward year end enabled the shortfall to be reduced. It is notable that our total income actually increased from £20,491 in the previous year to £22,487 this year. We give thanks to God for his goodness to us.

A further £494 was spent on our general reserve fund bringing total unrestricted expenditure for the year to £24,210. This brought our overall shortfall to £1,723 which was met by reserves giving us a year end closing balance across both funds of £24,524. These funds are now available to spend in accordance with the church’s charitable purposes.

OUTPOST CHURCH

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

(see page 7)

The statement on page 8 lists the assets held by the church and gives a broad understanding of the 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 £11,418. Reserves held at the end of the year were £24,524.

The trustees acknowledge that reserves amount to more than the target figure, and a significant proportion of these reserves was allocated for the forthcoming year, 2021-22 to continue to advance the work and mission of the church. 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 three 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

General Fund £ General Reserve Fund £ 18,039 - 4,449 -	This year *2020/21* TOTAL £ 18,039 4,449	Last year 2019/20 TOTAL £ 16,437 4,054
22,487 -	22,487	20,491
19,248 - 1,170 - 1,440 - 765 - 773 494 210 - 70 - 7 - 33 -	19,248 1,170 1,440 765 1,267 210 70 7 33	13,802 1,700 1,298 1,053 604 242 100 96 66
23,716 494	24,210	18,962
(1,229) (494) 10,563 15,684 - -	(1,723) 26,247 -	1,529 24,717 -
9,334 15,190	24,524	26,247

*Note: Numbers may not add up precisely due to rounding.

OUTPOST CHURCH

Statement of assets & liabilities

Notes 6 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 membership Total liabilities	General Fund £ General Reserve Fund £ 9,334 15,190 - -	TOTAL £ 24,524 -
	9,334 15,190	24,524
	130 -	130
	9,464 15,190	24,654
	1,630 - 468 - 258 - 129 -	1,630 468 258 129
	2,485 -	2,485

*Note: Numbers may not add up precisely due to rounding.

OUTPOST CHURCH

Notes to the accounts

1 Wages & payroll costs

In addition to wages, the figure shown includes the monthly overheads and administration costs relating to running the payroll.

2 Insurance, fees & memberships

The total expenditure of £1,440 comprised of the following: FIEC membership [£468]; insurances including public liability [£335]; online media and resources, website, & video conferencing [£299]; safeguarding [£186]; copyright licences [£96]; microphone licences [£56].

3 Supplies for weekly activities & events

The total expenditure of £765 comprised of the following: Covid-19 cleaning & equipment [£195]; Sunday coffee/tea supplies [£105]; Adventurers [£100]; communion supplies [£95]; craft for all-age services [£73]; storage boxes for equipment & supplies [£52]; Christmas services [£47]; Light Party (event taking place in next reporting year) [£45]; miscellaneous supplies [£44]; Easter [£10];

4 Sound & visual equipment

The general fund expenditure of £773 comprised of the following: sound and visual equipment for physical Sunday services [£544]; recording equipment for online Sunday services [£179] regular consumables [£50].

A further £494 was spent to purchase a new projector for Sunday services.

5 Donations to individuals & organisations

The expenditure of £70 related to honoraria for visiting speakers at Sunday services.

6 Other disclosures

There are no debts or guarantees to report in relation to the specific disclosures required under section 62 of The Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012.

OUTPOST CHURCH

Summary

Once again, we want to give all our thanks to God for sustaining us through another year especially in light of the continued uncertainties of the pandemic.

The church is solely reliant on the gifts and offerings from individuals and families and we are incredibly thankful for the financial support that has been received making it possible to continue the work and mission of the church. Overall, our income totalled £22,487, and with an expenditure of £24,210 we now go forward with a balance of £24,524.

We also remember and give thanks to God for 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.

It was a huge blessing this year to be able to mark ten years of Outpost Church and reflect on God’s goodness to us. It is our prayer that the work would continue to grow, that God would raise up more people to serve him, and that all the glory and honour would go to his Name alone as we continue our mission to point people to Jesus.

Rog, Jess, Amanda, Joe & Pete Trustees

Declaration

The trustees declare they have approved the trustees’ report and accounts. Named and dated 16[th] January 2022 on behalf of the trustees:

Peter Morris Amanda Nunn (Trustee) (Trustee)