2023-03-31-accounts

TRUSTEES REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS

1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 Charity Registration: 1173974

Charity Reference and Administration

Registered Number: 1173974 Registered: 27 July 2017 Location: Kirklees, West Yorkshire Contact: Kevin Ball, 57 The Drive, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 8EG; [e-mail]

Trustee Board:
Name	Appointed Position
Graham Thomson	27-Jul-2017 Chairman and Pastor
Kevin Ball	29-Apr-2020 Elder
Mark Frost	28-Mar-2021 Acting Trustee
Note of Record:	As an external Acting Trustee, Mark Frost was re-elected to this role
	during this reporting period, at an extraordinary members’ meeting
	held on 09-Oct-2022.
Bankers:	CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
Note:
public benefit	In compiling this report and in exercising their powers and duties,
	the Trustees have had due regard to the guidance on public benefit
	published by the Commission and, in particular, on charities for the
	advancement of religion.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Purposes of Spen Valley Church

The church Constitution Section 3 has the following:

“The purposes of the Church are:

• the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Cleckheaton and the surrounding neighbourhood; and

• 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 facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.”

Trusteeship of Spen Valley Church

There must be at least three trustees at all times, and non-paid trustees of the charity must be in the majority for Spen Valley Church to function, and appointment and duties must be as per sections 13– 20 of the church Constitution.

The charity trustees are the Officers of the Church, as defined by the Constitution. The criteria and qualification for being elected as a Church Officer are defined in the Church Handbook.

If the number of Church Officers falls below three, the Constitution makes provision for the church members to elect temporary Acting Trustees who are Pastors of like-minded local churches to fulfil the legal required minimum number of trustees.

Governance and Management

The Trustees meet at least four times a year as stated in section 19 of the church Constitution. Extra meetings can be arranged for urgent matters if the chairman or two trustees call a meeting. Ten days’ notice must be given to all trustees unless the trustees all agree on an earlier date. An agenda is sent out for each meeting and proper minutes are taken as per section 19.4 of the Constitution.

Meetings can be held by suitable electronic means as per the guidelines set out in 19.5 of the Constitution.

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Activities and Achievements

Trustees Report 1 April 2022 - 31 March 2023 :

2022 started with the massive encouragement of us baptising our first local convert – the baptism had been delayed because of Covid restrictions, so it was good to finally be able to celebrate that together as a church, and with visitors from other churches joining with us also.

During 2022/2023 the leadership of the Church encouraged all the members to think about how they could re-engage in the local community, now that Covid restrictions are consigned to history. We’re encouraged to see the ways that most all of the church members have been seeking out opportunities to serve in the community, including the library, the school (where we meet in the hall each Sunday morning), one of the charity shops in town, and just generally being more engaged in fellowship and discipleship together during the weeks.

During the spring/early summer of 2022 our Pastor took a few weeks of sabbatical rest, the first pastor’s sabbatical since the church was formed in 2017, so it was a well-deserved opportunity for Graham to step back from the day-to-day running of the church for rest and recuperation.

Throughout 2022 relationships have been growing with the regulars of one of the pubs in town, as a group from the church regularly go out together there. We are hoping this proves strategic in building more links with the community.

The whole local church membership attended the Medhurst Ministries weekender in Jun 2022, a weekend filled with great ministry, fellowship, and connections. The church is blessed by our Medhurst connections, the links we are forging with other churches working in similar deprived communities up and down the land is challenging us and helping us serve the wider church.

The summer period is often a time when church congregations temporarily shrink because of people taking family holidays. This year we partnered with another local church, Hope Church Middleton, who are even smaller than us. We attended each other’s services during the summer months, which helped make the public worship services viable, and also fostered opportunities for one-to-one friendships to develop between members of the two congregations. This has been very helpful for both churches, something we will certainly look to continue in future years.

We ran an ‘Away weekend’ in Oct 2022 at a nearby church, with a guest speaker, and many opportunities for fellowship, growth, and fun. It was enjoyed by all who attended.

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Dec 2022 saw three new regular attenders arrive on the scene, a massive encouragement to the church, and a real answer to prayer for new workers. As the year closes all three are actively pursuing membership applications, so whilst technically this year the church membership reduced, we are hopeful that the trend is starting to reverse, and we will see a growth of the congregation and membership numerically as well as spiritually.

Dec 2022 saw us holding another public carol service, and we were encouraged to see some people attending one of our services for the very first time. We’re always encouraged to see new people, and are seeking to encourage them to greater engagement with us as a church.

It was possible for us to run our third ever Holiday Bible Club during the February 2023 half term, and we were thrilled to have 15-20 kids, and 7-8 Mums/Grandmas who stayed around to chat in the café. We’re hopeful that we can return to running these two or three times a year next year, as they are always enjoyed, and provide a superb way for us to serve the school community we are linked to.

February was also the month where we heard that a Christian organisation in the USA were prepared to significantly fund our wage bill each month, probably for a few years. We were thrilled to hear that Christians from prosperous churches abroad are so keen to invest in small church ministries here in the UK. This generous commitment is an answer to prayer for the viability of our church, which is still heavily dependent on external giving to balance our accounts.

The year finished as it began for us, with another baptism, not a local convert this time but one of our new attenders who realised he needed to be baptised, and so was happy for us to baptise him. These occasions are such a joy to see Christians keen to be disciples of Jesus, and go on to serve their church family and the wider community. So whilst 2022/2023 wasn’t a year of numerical growth for the church, it has been a year of significant encouragement for us.

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Financial Review

Spen Valley Church began the year with cash in the bank of £44,757.92

During the year, total receipts amounted to a further £63,448.90

During the year, total expenditure amounted to a further £56,804.04

The year closed with a balance of £51,402.78

Spen Valley Church has two paid employees, and relies on internal and external giving throughout the year. We are pleased to be able to report that our income exceeded our expenditure for this reporting period, thanks to both the good level of giving from members and also some generous external givers. The trustees continue to explore additional avenues of external giving to enable the church to function for the coming years.

Declaration

The Trustees of Spen Valley Church declare that they have approved the above Trustees’ Annual Report, and the following has signed on behalf of the Trustees:

Kevin Ball Trustee (Elder) 15 January 2024

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Statement of Financial Activities

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Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at 31-Mar-2023

	2023	2022
	£	£
Current assets
Cash in Bank	40,139	44,758
Total assets less current
liabilities	40,139	44,758
Income funds
Unrestricted funds	43,807	57,801
Restricted funds	19,642	8,598
Total income	63,449	66,399

Approved by the Trustees on 15-Jan-2024 and signed on their behalf by Graham Thomson (Chair) and Kevin Ball (Secretary)

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Independent Examiner’s Report

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