THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST A Charitable Incorporated Organisation
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Registered charity: 01174322
THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Annual Report of the Trustees | 1 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 4 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 5 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilites | 6 |
| Additonal Notes | 7 |
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
The Rochester Good Stewards Trust
The Rochester Good Stewards Trust ("the Trust") is a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with Charity Commission (No. 01174322) and governed by the terms of its constitution.
The principal object of the Trust is to advance the Christian religion, as this is set forth in the doctrine of the Church of England, for the benefit of the public residing in the dioceses of Rochester, Canterbury and Chichester, by supporting, through the making of grants and otherwise,
a) the provision and maintence of facilities for public worship,
b) the provision of ministers for the conduct of public worship and provision of pastoral care, c) outreach and evangelisation, and
d) the promotion of the awareness and understanding of the doctrine of the Church of England.
The doctrine of the Church of England is for these purposes construed in accordance with the Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 as originally enacted.
Trustees
The persons who have acted as Trustees since the beginning of the period are listed below. Under the terms of the constitution the first charity trustees were appointed for a fixed term specified in the constitution and subsequent trustees are appointed for a fixed three year term. New trustees are appointed by the existing trustees and retiring trustees are eligible for reappointment for up to three consecutive terms.
| consecutve terms. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | Originally appointed | Current term ends | |
| David Alan Dryer | 1 | 18 August 2017 | 17 August 2024 |
| Michael Philip Warren | 2 | 18 August 2017 | 17 August 2026 |
| Paul Michael Freeman | 2 | 18 August 2017 | 17 August 2025 |
| Paul Batchelor | 1 | 19 November 2018 | 18 November 2024 |
| Andrew Bratby | 3 | 08 June 2023 | 07 June 2026 |
| Mark Pucket | 3 | 31 July 2023 | 30 July 2026 |
(1) David Dryer and Paul Batchelor each retired when their term of office ended after the period covered by this report.
(2) On expiry of their existing terms of office, Michael Warren and Paul Freeman will be ineligible for reappointment having served three consecutive terms.
(3) On expiry of their existing terms of office, Andrew Bratby and Mark Puckett are each eligible to be reappointed for at most two further three-year terms.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (Continued.) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
Activities
During the year, the Rochester Good Stewards Trust has continued to fund and promote different types of gospel activity in diverse settings across the diocese, promoting Christ-centred ministry and facilitating long-term growth.
The Trustees continued to pursue the principal object of the Trust primarily by making grants to relevant churches in order to support them in meeting expenditure consistent with that object. Work was undertaken to publicise the existence of the Trust and encourage applications for grants. In considering applications regard was had to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Grants paid in the year totalled £34,000 (2024: £45,540) and related to one churche. Summaries of the nature of the Trust's support (the outcomes from which are monitored by the Trustees) are given below.
Having previously assisted a church in the north of the diocese with the costs of initially appointing and training a full-time youth minister, we have now begun to provide a three-year package of support for the ongoing costs of this work.
THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (Continued.)
Page 2
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Grants made by the Trust have been funded by donations received from churches which are in a position to share resources. With the many pressures of recent years, the finances of many churches have been constrained, including those of current and potential donor churches. The Trustees therefore give particular thanks to God for the provision of donations of £40,981 (2023: £34,000) over the past financial year, and for the opportunity to use them for gospel work.
We look forward in faith to the future, as we seek additional donors to partner with us, and new opportunities to extend Christ’s kingdom.
As a result of General Synod decisions on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) programme, there is considerable disquiet and uncertainty about the future of historically orthodox Anglican ministry. It will become even more important for churches to be sure about the usage of funds that they are contributing to wider ministry. One consequence of LFF is that the Church of England Evangelical Council has set up the Ephesian Fund as a channel of funding for its member churches. We and other Good Stewards Trusts provide local knowledge in assessing, delivering and monitoring grants; it remains to be seen whether such services can and should continue to complement the national initiative that is the Ephesian Fund.
Reserves
The Trust has minimal overheads and accordingly the Trustees do not currently envisage a need to hold significant reserves.
Contact details
The Trust may be contacted at its principal address:
St. John's Church Centre Amherst Road Tunbridge Wells TN4 9LG
Signed for and on behalf of the Trustees of The Rochester Good Stewards Trust
Andrew Bratby 46,048 ……………………………………………………………………………. Date: ………………………….. Andrew Bratby - Chair of Trustees
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THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Report to the Trustees of The Rochester Good Stewards Trust (Registered charity 01174322) on the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 set out on pages 5 - 7.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act").
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent Examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act, or
-
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
……………………………………………………………………………. Alan Bright 22 Peridot Street Beckton E6 5LZ =
Date: … 1/24/2026
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THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
| Notes Receipts Donatons received Total receipts Payments Grants paid Website and publicity costs Independent examinaton Bank charges Total payments Net receipts/(payments) Opening cash balance Closing cash balance 1 |
Unrestricted £ 25,500 25,500 34,000 36 30 60 34,126 (8,626) 36,560 27,934 |
Restricted £ - - - - - - - - |
Year ended 31 March 2025 £ 25,500 25,500 34,000 36 30 60 34,126 (8,626) 36,560 27,934 |
Year ended 31 March 2024 £ 40,981 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,981 | ||||
| 45,540 49 105 60 |
||||
| 45,754 | ||||
| (4,773) 41,333 |
||||
| 36,560 |
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THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
| Notes Cash funds Cash at bank 1 Total assets 2 Liabilites Unpaid grants 3 Total liabilites Net assets/(liabilites) |
Unrestricted £ 27,934 27,934 27,934 27,934 - |
Restricted £ - - - - - |
31 March 2025 £ 27,934 27,934 27,934 27,934 - |
31 March 2024 £ 36,560 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36,560 | ||||
| 36,560 | ||||
| 36,560 | ||||
| - |
Signed for and on behalf of the Trustees of The Rochester Good Stewards Trust
| Mark Pucket | 46,048 |
|---|---|
| ……………………………………………………………………………. | Date: ………………………….. |
| Mark Pucket |
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THE ROCHESTER GOOD STEWARDS TRUST
ADDITIONAL NOTES
1 Restricted funds
Restricted funds relate to donations received specifically for the purpose of funding particular grants awarded by the Trust.
2 Guarantees and charges
The Trust had given no guarantees as at 31 March 2025, nor was any debt secured by an express charge over any assets of the Trust outstanding as at that date.
3 Unpaid grants
Grants awarded by the Trust are, to the extent that they have not been paid, recognised as liabilities once the decision to make the award has been formally notified to the applicant.
Where the Trust awards a grant to be paid in instalments over time, it is the Trust's usual practice to make future payments explicitly contingent on the beneficiaries remaining eligible for support under the Trust's constitutional documents, satisfactory monitoring and, in particular, the Trust having sufficient funds available. This latter point reflects the fact that the Trust will occasionally make awards which it anticipates being funded through forecast donations having had appropriate discussions with donor churches. In this scenario, the liability recognised for accounting purposes will be the lower of the unpaid portion of the grants and the cash available to the Trust to settle the award as at the balance sheet date.
The balance of grants unpaid as at the year end relate to:
- A grant of £102,000 made during the year ended 31 March 2023 and payable over three years. As at 31 March 2025 £33,000 remained to be paid.
4 Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions during the years ended 31 March 2024 and 2025.
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