Market Overton Free Church CIO 1174840
Annual Report 2022
The trustees are: Correspondence address: Peter Rush The Croft Tim Perkins 11 West End Roy Palframan (Elected Acting Trustee Feb. 2022) Wymondham Leicestershire LE14 2AX
Market Overton Free Church is an independent church affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC). The church is governed by its Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, as he has made his will known in the Bible. It operates with a congregational form of church government. The number of members at the end of 2022 is 16. With 15 people having removed from the congregation in recent times, we have commenced a ‘revitalisation’ process with a view to recovering and rebuilding from this loss.
Church activities Our activities returned to ‘normal’ operations following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, with compliance with relevant guidance during the transition. Sunday morning meetings were held at Market Overton Village Hall throughout the year. We post recordings of the message on our YouTube channel. Sunday evening meetings were held in Edmondthorpe. Thursday evening meetings alternated between in person and online, before becoming in person only. A monthly informal ladies’ gathering has continued throughout the year. Prayer meetings were held on a regular basis, some in person and some online. We have held quarterly united prayer meetings with evangelical churches from Newark, Grantham, Melton Mowbray, and Bourne.
Community activities. Our monthly coffee hour meetings in Market Overton and street evangelism in Oakham have continued through the year. We hosted a Blue Grass Gospel concert in May. We held a Holiday Bible Club in Cottesmore for children in August and a Time with Friends event with lunch in October. We distributed copies of the magazine ‘Life’ in Market Overton and surrounding villages. We held various events around Christmas. Our ministry to schools continued with a Bible Times Exhibition in March, and our pastor’s regular assembly visits to 10 local primary schools.
Finances. The Lord has continued to provide for the financial needs of the church through the faithful giving of members and friends, and through grants from local Christian Trusts. During the year gifts have been made to UK missionary organisations working in the UK and abroad, amounting to £1,630. Additional gifts to other gospel work makes a total of £2,802. Harvest gifts were sent to the local Oakham Food Bank and a special offering was made at our Christmas Day service for support of Ukrainian refugees being supported by a church in Poland.
The overall income for the year was £41,983.58 and expenditure £45,632.31. The year therefore ended with an overall deficit of £3,648.73. With £12,034.29 brought forward from 2021 our balance at the end of the year is £8,385.51 for which we are grateful to God.
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3 Ascendale Deeplng St James PETERBOROUGH PE6 8NZ 01778 342699 or 07736 335234 paul.muldoon@btinternet.com Mr T R Palframan The Croft Rookery Lane WYMONDHAM LE14 2A 31 January 2023 Dear Roy Market Overton Free Church CIO l am pleased to confirm that I have examined the accounts and supporting documents for the church for the year ended 31 December 2022 and have found everything to be in order. With kind regards Paul Muldoon