TRUSTEES REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS
1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 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; office@spenvalleychurch.org
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 extraordinary members’ meetings held on 01-Oct-2023 and 31-Mar-2024. 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:
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the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Cleckheaton and the surrounding neighbourhood; and
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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, 01 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 :
After a year or two of readjusting after Covid disruptions, this year saw Spen Valley Church firmly re-established in the community. We have continued to hold public worship services on Sunday mornings, which provide a welcome time of informal fellowship, friendship, refreshments, worship of God, and a time to reconnect. We have seen a number of new people start to regularly attend our services this year, which has been a real encouragement. A big highlight of our year is the carol service that we hold each December, which again saw new people and guests attending.
In total, this year we added 8 new members to our number – people who have committed to each other for encouragement, discipleship, and accountability. The number is a mix of local people new to the Christian faith, as well as other Christians who have moved into the area for a few different reasons but whom have chosen to make their spiritual home with Spen Valley Church. Three of the new people were baptised (we have to borrow the use of a local church with a baptistery to do this), and this is a great thrill to us. We are very encouraged!
From Sep 2023 we changed the time of our Sunday afternoon Discipleship meeting, and started a new varied programme of Bible overview, times of sharing and praying for each other, and specific training sessions on contemporary issues – all to help people grow in their faith and understanding of Christianity, as well as built community links between us.
We have seen a number of new individual support relationships grow between members, as we help and support one another during the week. This expression of love and support in day-to-day life is a great encouragement to the church, and even includes some regular attenders who meet regularly with various of our number as they explore their relationship with Christianity.
After a number of years of quite intense work to plant the church and then navigate us through Covid, we were pleased to be able to grant Graham (our employed pastor) a threeweek sabbatical in July 2023, extra time for him to reflect and care for his own soul. Our regular meetings continued during this time, covered by others.
In September 2023 we started a year of eldership training with one of our members who had shown significant growth and potential to be a new leader. This programme explored the challenges of church leadership and the personal characteristics that define strong leaders, and was a help to both current elders as well as the potential candidate.
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Our elders were further supported this year by a number of conferences: we sent 4 delegates to the FIEC Leaders conference in November; Graham (our employed pastor) attended a spiritual leadership conference in Romania for a week, and then Graham and his wife assisted with the weekend FIEC Hub conference in January, where potential ministry candidates are helped and trained. And much of the church was again able to attend the Medhurst Ministry weekender in June, where friendship, fellowship, and teaching for churches working in deprived areas were all strengthened.
We ran an ‘Away weekend’ in Oct 2023 at a nearby church, with a guest speaker from another Medhurst Ministries church, and many opportunities for fellowship, growth, and fun.
January saw us appoint our first ministry apprentice, an opportunity for us to see rapid growth in an individual who had shown potential for possible future ministry service. It’s exciting that the church has enough resources to enable us to explore these sorts of opportunities, the better to grow future workers – we hope to do more of this sort of training in the future, as the need for ministry workers in our context remains pressing.
Three times during this year we were able to run a Holiday Bible Club during school holidays. Each time we used facilities at the school where we hire the hall for our Sundays, and where our pastor is a school governor. This has continued to strengthen our links with the school community, and has attracted a number of new children this year, with opportunities for us to get to know their families also. All who attend are very grateful for the provision of these activities.
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Financial Review
Spen Valley Church began the year with cash in the bank of £51,403
During the year, total receipts amounted to a further £84,740
During the year, total expenditure amounted to £70,534
The year closed with a balance of £65,609
Spen Valley Church has two paid employees and a ministry apprentice, 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)
13 January 2024
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Statement of Financial Activities
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Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at 31-Mar-2024
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Current assets | ||
| Cash in Bank | 65,609 | 40,139 |
| Total assets less current | ||
| liabilities | 65,609 | 40,139 |
| Income funds | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 40,986 | 43,807 |
| Restricted funds | 43,754 | 19,642 |
| Total income | 84,740 | 63,449 |
Approved by the Trustees on 13-Jan-2025 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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