Cornerstone Evangelical Church (Abergavenn Registered Charity – 1175258
Annual Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31[st] March 2022
Charity Details
Name: CORNERSTONE EVAN G ELICAL CHURCH (Abergavenny)
Registered: 20 October 2017
Organisation Type: Charitable I n corporated Organisation
Registered purposes
The purposes of the Church are :
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the advancement of the C hristian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Ab e rgavenny and the surrounding neighbourhood ; and
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such other charitable pu r poses as shall, in the opinion of the members o f the Church in general meeting, put int o practice the Christian faith in accordance with t he Basis of Faith, including but not limited t o: the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness; and the advancement of edu c ation;
provided that the advancem e nt of such purposes must be undertaken in a m anner that is consistent with the Doctrinal Distinctives and Ethical Statements as may be adopted and amended by the Church fro m time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Church Handbook.
Structure, governance and management
Cornerstone Evangelical Churc h is a CIO. Our governing document is the chur c h constitution, which is approved by church m e mbers, and supported by further provisions in a church handbook, which specifies the percentage o f the vote required to pass certain resolutions.
The trustees during 2021/22 were:
Andrew Cottom Jonathan Thomas Martin Brown Timothy Beckingsale Neil Holloman (elected trustee following members’ vote in November 2021)
Trustees are elected by the membership of CEC, and voted upon at formally constituted members meetings. Trustees meet six times a year, with a planned structure in place to ensure appropriate governance of the charity’s resources. These meetings ensure there are mechanisms in place to monitor all of our key areas of responsibility when it comes to overall management and administration of the charity, such as financial stewardship, risk management, safeguarding, data protection and health and safety.
Membership - at the start of April 2021 there were 85 formal members of CEC. Our members form the backbone of our activities, voluntarily giving up their time to serve in a number of different areas, such as bible teaching, children’s work, catering, music and event planning. We hold 3-4 members meetings throughout the year, including an AGM, to keep members informed and up-todate and to vote on relevant issues, according to the guidelines set out in our handbook.
A number of membership applications have been made in early 2022 which are going through the application process. In addition, the church continues to welcome and include a number of families and individuals in its activities who chose not to take up membership at the present time.
Staffing - To enable the church/charity to meet its purposes, it employed three members of staff for different periods during the year:-
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Pastor Jonathan Thomas – employed for the whole of the year on a full-time basis
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Teens & Twenties Worker – a part-time role, until the end of October 2021.
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Church Administrator – a part-time role, beginning November 2021.
Buildings – CEC (Abergavenny) does not own a building. The mains centres it uses are:-
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Deri View Primary School, Abergavenny – used during 2021/22 for our Sunday activities when regulations permitted. It is occupied under licence.
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Cornerstone Centre, 2/3 Horsingtons Yard, Lion Street, Abergavenny, NP7 5PN. This building is in the centre of Abergavenny and during the week is our main base for teaching, pastoral and community activities. The building is on lease to CEC (Abergavenny).
Objectives, activities and achievements
In 2021/22, the main activities through which we sought to pursue our purposes were
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o Preaching and teaching of God’s word – the Bible - to encouraging a deepening of our personal experience of God and a closer walk with Jesus as our King. At the start of the financial year, the preaching and teaching ministry of the church was conducted on-line due to the ongoing Covid situation, but as restrictions eased, there was a gradual return to in-person meetings and services. This included:-
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Sunday morning congregational worship service as the centre point of CEC’s ministry. The Cornerstone Centre proved to be a valuable resource for both the live and recorded programmes the church made during Covid restrictions, including prerecorded music from Cornerstone musicians and singers. Sunday morning services returned to in-person from April 2021 onwards, with various safeguards in place in line with Covid legislation, such as facemasks, increased social distancing and advanced booking.
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Sunday evening teaching serviceonline – this has been provided as a pre-recorded service on YouTube, although halfway through the year, this service switched to Zoom, to provide amich-missed ‘live’ element and opportunities for interaction.
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Community groups – these groups provide an opportunity to study God’s word in small informal settings, and a chance to deepen friendships and create support networks. Some groups have chosen to remain on Zoom, while others have now returned to meeting in homes and at the Cornerstone Centre.
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We continue to provide age-appropriate teaching of the Bible to children aged 0 to 14 at Sunday services through our crèche, Sunday School and Narnians group.
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Daily and weekly devotionals – the pastor and various church members posted online devotionals during the spring to reach out and encourage members at home; while at Christmas we posted weekly Advent devotions.
o Caring for each other – the approach of the church is to encourage networks of care within its membership and attendees. These either happen naturally in an ad-hoc way from the social opportunities provided by meeting together for events and services, or in a more structured way through community groups. The Elders maintain an oversight of pastoral needs and meet twice a month. When Covid regulations allowed, pastoral visiting remained a main stay of pastoral care, either by the church pastor, Jonathan Thomas, or through other elders and church members who visit one another and regularly provide hospitality. Other events held throughout the year to provide this type of care and support included:
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Men’s walking event – a day-long hike in the Brecon Beacons in October 2021, followed by an overnight ‘wild camp’ to encourage fellowship and time enjoying God’s creation.
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A half-day women’s retreat on the topic of ‘rest’, with time for prayer and reflection.
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Community groups have the dual purpose of teaching and supporting one another.
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A group of volunteers from our Welcome Team made phone calls during times of Covid restrictions to ensure people who were at home were supported and felt part of the church family.
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Serve our local community . In 2021/22, this was carried out through:-
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Tiny Tunes – at the start of the year, this weekly session of singing rhymes and playing musical instruments for babies and pre-schoolers was provided online on YouTube.
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Go Wild! – a monthly outdoor club for children aged 0-10, based in Castle Meadows, Abergavenny. This provided an outdoor, Covid-safe way of bringing together children from the church, their friends and visitors, accompanied by an adult, for a time of fun activities, followed by a short time of bible teaching related to the activity. At Christmas, we were also able to provide hot drinks and mince pies, and a time for conversation and socialising.
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Due to the continuing Covid restrictions around Easter time, we made a half an hour online Easter programme which focused on the issue of how the ongoing pandemic had affected our mental health. With a very much local Abergavenny focus, the programme was designed to reach out to the local population and offer them hope and community at a difficult time.
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The Watering Hole – we hosted this monthly online Q&A programme on YouTube which looked at different topics every month that were relevant to current events or experiences that people were going through. For example, topics included anxiety, parenting, loneliness and alcoholism. Viewers were invited to submit questions for answering by an expert.
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Holiday bible club – In 2021 we were able to move our holiday bible club to in-person again. In the October half-term, we ran a half-day club at Pen y Pound football stadium for children aged 4-11, with a Tiny Tots for under 4s running concurrently at a different venue.
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Christmas nativity trail – This free, family-trail around Abergavenny was designed to tell people the Christmas story in a new and innovative way. The self-guided trail could be done at any time over the course of 10 days, and told the nativity story through hand-made decorated stars in homes and shop windows. A free pack, with chocolate, craft and a book, was available for every participant at the end of the trail.
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At Christmas we also produced another half-an-hour YouTube programme, with a strong Abergavenny focus, which aimed to reach out to those who would find it difficult to get to an in-person, traditional carol service, at a time when the Omicron strain of Covid was causing concern.
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Towards the end of the year in March 2022, we ran a series of events to reach out the local community with the hope and good news of Jesus. We held two events at a local pub, one on the search for happiness, and another on suffering. Each event was supported by live music, and were well-attended by church members and their invited guests.
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During 2021/22, we enhanced our teaching and support networks for young teens aged 1014 through the expansion of our ‘Narnians’ group. They now have regular meet-ups over Friday night firepits in church members’ gardens, or pizza at the Cornerstone Centre. They also took part in a fun organised overnight camp in September.
In planning these activities, the Trustees have applied the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Finance
The Annual Accounts of CEC(Abergavenny) are included in this report together with the Independent Examiners Report of our accounts. The following table summarises our financial position:-
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2021/22 Previous
Year
Income & Expenditure £000’s £000’s
Total Income 148 122
Total Spend 125 128
Surplus/(Deficit) for year:- 23 (6)
Funds Available 31/03/22 31/03/21
£000’s £000’s
Fund Balances 138 115
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Overall income was significantly up on last year due to the generous Ukraine appeal in February 2022 (10k) and some one-off gifts to the church (8k) as well as an increase in the monthly giving over the course of the year. This increase in the monthly giving has allowed the church to budget for the employment of a youth worker during the coming year.
The graph below gives an analysis of the main areas of spend demonstrating that staffing and accommodation including equipment, represents the majority of our costs. This is consistent with our purpose with staffing and accommodation being the main enablers of our purpose. Missionary giving is normally closer to 10% of income but has been skewed by the Ukraine Appeal.
GRAPH – Distribution of costs in 2021/22
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Expenditure 2021/22
Staffing
Premises
Outreach
Mission Partners
Ministry expenses
Governence
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There are no material liabilities recorded in the accounts.
This Report was approved by the Trustees on 14[th ] September 2022
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and is signed on their beholf by Neil Holloma Iro
TO THE TRUSTEES OF CORNERSTONE EVANGELICALCHURCH
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 March 2022.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Paul Burnell
Paul Burnell ACMI 18[th] July 2022 For and on behalf of:
C Management Services (trading name of C Mgmnt Services Ltd) 69 Velindre Road Cardiff CF14 2TF
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CORNERSTONE EVANGELICALCHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2022
| Note RECEIPTS Receipts from generated funds 2 Receipts from charitable activities 3 Other receipts 4 Total Receipts PAYMENTS Charitable activities 5 Governance costs Total payments Net Receipts/(Payments) Transfers between funds Fund balances at 1stApril 2021 Fund balances at 31stMarch 2022 |
Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total Funds 2022 £ Total Funds 2021 £ 147,601 - 147,601 121,543 - - - - 227 - 227 175 |
|---|---|
| 147,828 - 147,828 121,718 125,150 - 125,150 127,557 - - - - |
|
| 125,150 - 125,150 127,557 |
|
| 22,678 - 22,678 (5,839) 99,448 15,660 115,108 120,947 |
|
| 122,126 15,660 137,786 115,108 |
The notes on pages 8-9form part of these accounts.
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CORNERSTONE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2022
1. Fixed Assets
| The value of assets owned are: Equipment 2. Bank & Cash Balances Investments Cash at bank and in hand 3. Other Assets and Liabilities Assets Gift aid tax recovery not yet received Liabilitie Unbilled fee for Independent Examination |
Insurance Value 2022 £ 92,691 2022 2021 £ £ 69,414 69,345 68,372 45,763 137,786 115,108 2022 2021 £ £ 7,288 - 350 350 |
|---|---|
The accounts were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 14[th] September 2022.
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The notes on pages9-10 form part of these accounts.
CORNERSTONE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2022
1. Accounting Policies
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities
| 2. Voluntary receipts Gift Aid donations Other donations Tax recovered 3. Receipts from charitable activities Conferences and events 4. Other Receipts Grant received Investment income Other sundry receipts 5. Charitable activities Salaries, pensions and expenses Foodbank Outreach Worship Youth Pulpit supply Grants & donations (note 5c) b. Support and Administration Printing, postage, stationery & equipment Rent and other property bills Catering Insurance Fees & subscriptions Website & software Miscellaneous |
Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2022 £ Total 2021 £ 96,544 - 96,544 84,980 29,369 - 29,369 14,837 21,689 - 21,689 21,726 |
|---|---|
| 147,602 - 147,602 121,543 |
|
| - - - Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2022 £ Total 2021 £ - 74 - 74 86 153 - 153 89 |
|
| 227 - 227 175 |
|
| Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2022 £ Total 2021 £ 57,400 - 57,400 73,200 - - - - 3,138 596 - 3,138 596 1,985 - - - - - 1,625 - 1,625 575 23,328 - 23,328 12.949 |
|
| 86,087 - 86,087 88,709 |
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| 4,324 - 4,324 6,245 29,429 - 29,429 28,051 129 - 129 170 2,155 - 2,155 1,757 1,766 - 1,766 1,396 150 - 150 749 1,110 - 1,110 480 |
|
| 39,063 - 39,063 38,848 |
Institutions Individuals 2022 2021
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| c. Grants Organisations Individuals |
£ £ £ £ 4,020 - 4,020 4,949 17,373 1,935 19,308 8,000 |
|---|---|
| 21,393 1,935 23,328 12,949 |
6. Staff and Trustees
The charity has two employed staff members, one of which is part-time and the other full-time. Its activities are generally carried out by volunteers. No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum.
The pastor, Jonathan Thomas received a salary of £38,166 in his capacity as pastor of the church.
No remuneration or trustee expenses were paid to any other trustee during the year, nor to any person connected to them.
7. Funds
The restricted funds represent amounts received for specific purposes and the movements in the year areas follows:
| Building Close Encounters |
Opening Balance £ Receipts £ Payments £ Transfers in the year £ Closing balance £ 15,274 - - - 15,274 386 - - - 386 15,660 - - - 15,660 |
|---|---|
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