TRUSTEES REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS
1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025 Charity Registration: 1173974
Charity Reference and Administration
Registered Number: 1173974 Registered: 27 July 2017 Location: Kirklees, West Yorkshire Address: 32 Ashbourne Way, Cleckheaton, BD19 5JA office@spenvalleychurch.org
| Trustee Board: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Appointed | Position |
| Graham Thomson | 27-Jul-2017 | Chairman and Pastor |
| Kevin Ball | 29-Apr-2020 | Elder |
| David Bowley | 27-Oct-2024 | 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’ meetings held on 29-Sep-2024, and finally ceased being an Acting Trustee six months later on 30-Mar-2025. Bankers: The Co-operative Bank plc, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M4 4BE 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 2024 – 31 March 2025 :
After adding quite a few people to our church membership last year, this past year has been more of a consolidation year, with just one new member joining (bringing our membership up to 18). Nevertheless, it has been a good year of growing together, and of continuing to strengthen our community links and relationships.
Regular Church life has continued during this year – Sunday morning public worship services, Sunday evening Discipleship group for members, and monthly teaching and fellowship nights for men, and a similar monthly ‘Titus 2’ group for women. We again held our Carol Service in December 2024, as well as lots of our members getting involved in various community events and groups.
After just over a year of training and meeting with the current Elders, we were pleased to be able to appoint Dave as a new Elder (and hence also Charity Trustee) in October 2024. This strengthening of the church leadership will help with the ongoing pastoral care of both the members and also any regular attenders, as well as help share out the leadership responsibilities of the church, so this is very welcome.
This year Graham (our employed pastor) and his family attended the Medhurst Ministries family retreat in North Yorkshire, for training, fellowship, and recuperation – this is a very welcome benefit of our membership of Medhurst Ministries. Graham and his wife also attended the FIEC Leadership conference in Blackpool in November 2024.
As last year, 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.
After a few years of exploring partnership options with other churches, we were thrilled this year to begin a partnership with another Medhurst Ministries church, Banstead Community Church. We have started meeting with them (virtually) one evening a month, and we are enjoying the opportunity to get to know them, and mutually support the other church’s ministries.
We ran an ‘Away weekend’ in September 2024 at a nearby church, and the pastor of Banstead Community Church was our guest speaker this time, which further helped to strengthen our new partnership.
After having appointed our very first ministry apprentice last January, we released him back into full-time secular employment in June 2024 – a little earlier than expected, but we were
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grateful for the growth we saw and the learning we obtained from having this role within the church for 6 months.
Twice 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 is a great opportunity for church members to pitch in and enjoy some time leading the kids in games, songs, and crafts, which others run a café for the parents and guardians. Good community links are being forged, with a number of families now coming to us every time we run a holiday club.
One of our members this year started a Medhurst training course in September 2024, a part-time practical theology course aimed at helping equip ordinary people for wider church ministry. We’re excited about this opportunity, and hope that others in the future will take advantage of this opportunity.
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Financial Review ~~OO~~
Spen Valley Church began the year with cash in the bank of £65,609
During the year, total receipts amounted to a further £90,431
During the year, total expenditure amounted to £75,954
The year closed with a balance of £80,086
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 ~~OO~~ 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) 12 January 2026
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Statement of Financial Activities
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Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at 31-Mar-2025
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~~pO~~
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Current assets | ||
| Cash in Bank | 80,086 | 65,609 |
| Total assets less current | ||
| liabilities | 80,086 | 65,609 |
| Income funds | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 41,111 | 40,986 |
| Restricted funds | 49,320 | 43,754 |
| Total income | 90,431 | 84,740 |
Approved by the Trustees on 12-Jan-2026 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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