Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 1 January to 31 December 2020
Cornerstone Church Portsmouth (Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Office G Friendship House Elm Grove Southsea PO5 1JT
Registered Charity Number: 1178431
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| Contents | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Trustees | Page 3 | ||
| 2.Employees | Page 3 | ||
| 3.Bankers | Page 3 | ||
| 4.Legal Advisers | Page 3 | ||
| 5.Independent Examiners | Page 3 | ||
| 6.Structure, Governance and Management | Page 3 | ||
| 7.Charitable Objects | Page 4 | ||
| 8.Review of activities and impact for Public Benefit | Page 4 | ||
| 9.Financial Review | Page 6 | ||
| 10.Plans for future periods | Page 7 | ||
| 11.Declaration | Page 7 | ||
| 12.Appendices | Page 8 |
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1. Trustees
Trustees who served during the year are set out below:
J.P. Shulver (Pastor, Elder) A.J. Pontin (Elder) T.J. Beaumont N.P. Bridges (Until 20 May 2020)
2. Employees
Employees who served during the year are set out below:
J.P. Shulver (Pastor)
C.L. Pontin (Part-time Administrator)
3. Bankers
CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA
4. Legal Advisers
FIEC Practical Services, 39 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU
5. Independent Examiners
Rachel Goddard ACA. ICAEW member 1456222.
6. Structure, Governance and Management
The Church as a legal entity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
Registered Charity status was granted on 18 May 2018 under Registration Number 1178431.
The Charity is governed by a board of Trustees, two of whom also constitute the members of the Charity and the leadership of the Church. They meet at least once a year to set policy and review the activities of the Church. The elders generally meet twice monthly to oversee activity and pray for attendees. Decisions deemed critical to the running of the Charity are subject to the scrutiny of the partners of the Church body (normally twice yearly), with ad hoc correspondence between the bi-annual meetings, where necessary. Significant financial decisions are taken with the approval of the partners of the Church body through a formal vote.
Trustees are appointed by existing trustees where they have satisfied themselves of the need of further trustees and the qualifications – spiritual and otherwise – of the person proposed for the role, through consultation with the Church body.
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All Trustees served without remuneration in their capacity as Trustees between January and December 2020. One Trustee, who is the Pastor, received remuneration in that capacity at levels determined by non-Pastor Trustees, as well as rent payments in connection with the Church Manse agreement at levels determined by the non-Pastor Trustees, meeting separately, at or below the appropriate market levels for the relevant property. The Pastor does not participate in any determination of the remuneration he receives. Similarly, Trustee Andrew Pontin has no involvement in the discussion of remuneration for part-time Administrator Christel Pontin. No other Trustees had a beneficial interest in the Church.
The Charity has a close relationship with Christ Church Southampton CIO, from whom it was started, and Redeemer Church Winchester CIO. The three independent Churches form a partnership called Reach South, with the aim to train God’s people, share expertise and reach the cities in which they reside with the good news of Jesus.
7. Charitable Objects
The objects 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, in the Portsmouth and neighbouring areas.
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Such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, facilitate the work of the church. This is provided that such purposes must first be approved by a resolution of the partners of the church and must be carried out in a manner consistent with the basis of faith set out by the FIEC.
8. Review of activities and impact for Public Benefit
In the period between January and March 2020, Cornerstone Church weekly gatherings and meetings were in person, as normal. Sunday gatherings saw around 90 people in attendance, including adults and children. The Church ran midweek groups to enable church attendees to explore their faith in more depth, as part of the object of the advancement of the Christian faith. Partners were also encouraged to meet for 1-2-1 Bible study in the same vein.
Between March and September all aforementioned activity was moved online, in line with Covid-19 restrictions. During this time, we also published an online seminar on ‘Helping those dealing with depression’ and ‘Marriage reflection’ to support those in the church through unprecedented times. There was also the opportunity to connect with a family we support financially in Sweden to hear how their mission was progressing and pray with them for their future there. From early September 2020, restrictions for churches were eased and Sunday gatherings saw 50-70 people in person as well as an additional 30 watching live online. Data shows
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views, retrospective and live, of up to around 60 on some weeks between September and December 2020.
Once we were able to meet in person more easily, we took the opportunity to hold a worship evening called ‘Praise the King of Heaven’, both in-person and virtually, where a group of musicians played and sang music with Bible readings interspersed. We took a similar approach for our Christmas Carol Service where we were able to welcome many from the church, along with some visitors. As well as this, we were able to meet on Christmas Day for the first time since we started meeting as a church.
When in person, the children’s Sunday School welcomed around 10 children and crèche saw three under threes on a weekly basis. Online sessions were provided for primary school-aged children during periods of no in-person gatherings. All leaders of the relevant groups are DBS checked and support the groups on a roster system, whether in person or virtually.
The Church is committed to supporting students of the University of Portsmouth as they start, and/or continue, their studies in the city. The student group was made up of roughly 8 students and 4 leaders, with restricted in-person contact during the first semester. Although we were unable to run the events we normally would to welcome students in September, we did make every effort to welcome them in other ways; such as a Treasure Hunt around Southsea, café socials and Bible studies. We were able to share the Christian faith with those who are looking to learn more about it, as set out in our charitable object. Students were also able to watch Sunday livestreams and join for online tea and coffee afterwards to get to know others in the church. Those who requested it, were given the opportunity to meet with individuals in the Church for 1-2-1 Bible study, either in-person or online. As well as internal support for students, the church supported the local Christian Union; the pastor undertook two talks in the CU’s formal meetings and the Ministry Trainee offered pastoral support to those who required it.
There is a strong training ethos in the Church, and opportunities are provided for self-funded, full-time volunteers, known as ‘Ministry trainees’(MT), to learn about Christian ministry in the context of the church. Two MTs served over the period between January and December 2020 and were able to link with other MTs weekly through our Reach South partnership. They also attended the year-long South Central training course. Other volunteers are given training or guidance in various areas; children’s work, safeguarding , student work, group leadership and general Christian ministry. This has mostly been provided in-house this year; other elements are achieved through attendance at conferences and training courses further afield, those of which have been online.
As stated above, the Church is part of a partnership called Reach South. This is made up of three Churches on the South coast with the mutual aim to train God’s people, share expertise and reach locals with the good news of Jesus. As well as a spiritual connection, the group shares practical help in these areas. Each year the three churches join together to share in fellowship and look back on the year – this year this happened online. The partnership also ran a Bible expository series called
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“Behold our God”, as well as a Baby & Toddler Group online training session led by Mel Lacey.
The Church was able to work with Guinness Care in supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Portsmouth on two occasions. The first was through giving lockdown packs with resources to residents of Friendship House and the second was by providing shoeboxes filled with practical Christmas gifts which were handed out to those who needed them most in the local area. We did this in a Covid-secure way and were pleased to hear that the gifts were well-received at a time when the people in question were quite isolated.
In terms of outreach events, after March, the following in-person activities were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, issues with social distancing and rented space. The plan is to restart these as soon as possible; Baby & Toddler Group as a way of reaching parents and carers in the local area, café outreach events, and Easter events. Sunday gatherings and monthly prayer meetings were moved online, with some periods of in-person meeting when guidance and space permitted. We were however able to support the homeless people of Portsmouth by housing them in churches around Portsmouth in January and February, three people were baptised in mid-March, we ran an online Christianity Explored course for those seeking to know more about the Christian faith and we participated in a Tearfund Quiz to raise money to help tackle poverty in some of the poorest countries. As well as the external quiz, we ran an internal online quiz for church attendees with the opportunity to invite people. Although this year has been more turbulent than others, the Church has used the opportunities available to fulfil the charitable objects.
9. Financial Review
Please see Appendix 1 for detail of the Charity’s financials and see Appendix 2 for the independent examination.
A reserves policy exists whereby, in normal circumstances, cash reserves should be retained amounting to 3 months’ basic operating costs (such costs being estimated at a nominal 80% of the full current-year charity budget).
The Charity’s funding principally comes from gifts and donations made by members of the congregation together with associated Gift Aid and an external trust’s support. In this financial year there was restricted external trust and grant funding, with sole use for staff salary. This was used accordingly and can be seen in Appendix 1. All other income was unrestricted and has been used in accordance with the 2020 budget.
The outgoings of the Church were impacted in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and consequently savings were made, some of which were re-distributed to external charities in December 2020 and January 2021, and some which will be allocated to employing a new member of staff in 2021. Please see * on page 14 for more information.
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Budgeting for the coming year has been done with the expectation that the Church would resume meeting in person and would therefore be required to pay for rented space.
10. Plans for future periods
The Charity anticipates continuing activities in a similar manner to 2019 (i.e. preCovid-19 restrictions) with regards to activities and overall ministries, in line with Government guidance as it changes.
11. Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity’s trustees
----- Start of picture text -----
Full name(s) Jonathan Philip Shulver Andrew James Pontin
Signature(s)
Position held Pastor Elder
Date 29.09.2021 29.09.2021
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12. Appendices
Appendix 1 – Receipts and payments accounts
Cornerstone Church Portsmouth CIO 1178431 Receipts and payments accounts For the period 01/01/2020 To 31/12/2020 from
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
| payments | payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 53,123 8,457 425 500 100 321 17,311 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - 15,000 - - |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 53,123 8,457 425 15,500 100 321 17,311 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
||
| Gift Aided Individualgiving | 53,123 | - | - | 53,123 | 38,875 | |
| Non-gift aidedindividual giving | 8,457 | - | - | 8,457 | 9,116 | |
| One-offgiving | 425 | - | - | 425 | - | |
| Trust andgrant income | 500 | 15,000 | - | 15,500 | 22,000 | |
| Bookstallincome | 100 | - | - | 100 | 533 | |
| Eventsincome | 321 | - | - | 321 | 2,106 | |
| Gift aid reclaimed | 17,311 | 17,311 | - |
A1 Receipts
| A1 Receipts | Unrest fun to the |
|---|---|
| Gift Aided Individualgiving | 53,123 |
| Non-gift aidedindividual giving | 8,457 |
| One-offgiving | 425 |
| Trust andgrant income | 500 |
| Bookstallincome | 100 |
| Eventsincome | 321 |
| Gift aid reclaimed | 17,311 |
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| Sundryincome | 51 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Foodincome | - | ||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 80,288 | 15,000 |
| 51 | 123 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 281 | |||
| - | 95,288 | 73,034 |
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 80,288 | 15,000 | - | 95,288 | 73,034 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | ||||||||||
| (see table). | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | - |
- | - | - | - | |||||
| Total receipts | 80,288 | 15,000 | - | 95,288 | 73,034 | |||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||||
| Stipends | ||||||||||
| 12,117 | 15,000 | - | 27,117 | 30,786 | ||||||
| NI | ||||||||||
| 201 | 201 | 1,812 | ||||||||
| Pension | ||||||||||
| 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,009 | ||||||||
| Staff accommodation costs | ||||||||||
| 12,000 | 12,000 | 13,000 | ||||||||
| Venue hire | ||||||||||
| 9,989 | 9,989 | 14,294 | ||||||||
| Office expenses | ||||||||||
| 812 | 812 | 890 | ||||||||
| Motor expenses | ||||||||||
| 439 | 439 | 1,205 | ||||||||
| Insurance | ||||||||||
| 327 | - | - | 327 | 324 | ||||||
| Equipment | ||||||||||
| 2,552 | - | - | 2,552 | 748 | ||||||
| Music and CCLI expenses | ||||||||||
| 258 | - | - | 258 | 215 |
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| Profile raising expenses | 302 | - | - | 302 | 530 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 332 | - | - | 332 | 2,074 | ||||
| Youth activities | 381 | 381 | 897 | ||||||
| Student connect | 32 | 32 | 42 | ||||||
| Evangelistic resources | 1,243 | 1,243 | 302 | ||||||
| Events expenses | 616 | 616 | 4,869 | ||||||
| Affiliations | 146 | 146 | 972 | ||||||
| Preacher and visiting speaker gifts | 250 | 250 | 540 | ||||||
| Subscriptions | 1,180 | 1,180 | 785 | ||||||
| Council tax and rates | 1,347 | 1,347 | 1,416 | ||||||
| Travel expense | 31 | 31 | 198 | ||||||
| Open Church Project expenses | 211 | 211 | 254 | ||||||
| External mission* | 6,639 | 6,639 | 250 | ||||||
| Volunteer training | 70 | 70 | 1,610 | ||||||
| Other expenses | 140 | 140 | 119 | ||||||
| Bookstall expenses | 220 | - | - | 220 | 698 | ||||
| Books (staff) expense | 139 | - | - | 139 | 117 | ||||
| Charitable donations | - | 880 | |||||||
| NIC, PAYE, Pensions | 2,014 | ||||||||
| Community Outreach | 885 | - | - | 885 | - | ||||
| Miscellaneous | 22 |
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| Sub total | 56,859 | 15,000 | - | 71,882 | 85,850 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 Asset and investment | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases,(see table) | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 56,859 | 15,000 | - | 71,882 | 85,850 | |||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 25,907 | - | - | 25,907 | 12,816 | |||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | ||||||||||
| 35,716 | - | - | 35,716 | 48,532 | ||||||
| Cash funds this year end | 61,623 | - | - | 61,623 | 35,716 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Details B1 Cash funds CAF Cash
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
| Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 61,623 61,623 Agreement Error |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - OK |
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - OK |
|---|---|---|
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----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
funds funds funds
Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets
- -
Fund to which Current value
Cost (optional)
Details asset belongs (optional)
B3 Investment assets
- -
Fund to which Current value
Cost (optional)
Details asset belongs (optional)
B5 Liabilities -
Signed by one or two trustees on Date of
behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name
approval
Jon Shulver
29.09.2021
Andrew Pontin
29.09.2021
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*£2500 of the external mission fund was due to leave the account on 30 December but only left it on 6th January 2021; this has been included in the 2020 figures. The final bank balance at year end is therefore £2500 more than the bank balance as of 30 December states i.e. the bank balance should have been £61,623 less £2,500.
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Appendix 2 - Independent Examination – Rachel Goddard ACA. ICAEW member 1456222.
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