Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 1 January to 31 December 2021
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 6 | ||
| 11.Declaration | Page 6 | ||
| 12.Appendices | Page 7 |
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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
2. Employees
Employees who served during the year are set out below:
J.P. Shulver (Pastor) D.Shaw (Assistant 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 three times a year), 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 2021. 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 places in which they reside with the good news of Jesus.
7. Charitable Objects
The objects of the church are:
-
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 December 2021, Cornerstone Church weekly gatherings and meetings were in-person, in accordance with Government guidance and restrictions. Sunday gatherings saw around 70 people in attendance, including adults and children. Some of these were online at the beginning of the year, but we saw a return of most people to in-person gatherings by summer 2021. The children’s Sunday School welcomed around 10 children and crèche saw three to six under threes on a weekly basis. Group leaders of the relevant groups are DBS checked and support the groups on a roster system, whether in person or virtually. 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.
Cornerstone 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 few months of the year. Although we were unable to run
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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. One MT served over the period between January and April 2021 and another joined in Sept 2021. Both were able to link with other MTs weekly through our Reach South partnership and receiving other training.
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 we were able to have an outdoor gathering in Southampton where we heard about plans for a new Church starting as part of Reach South in Salisbury in 2022.
Other events the church arranged during the year included 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. There was an online event called ‘Different Lives’ shortly after this, with the view of sharing the good news of Jesus with friends by hearing from two people about how they became Christians. ‘The King and I’ course was a four-part course to introduce people to the claims of Jesus, which saw 6 people join.
Easter events included a Good Friday broadcast and Easter Sunday gathering. We also shared in a ‘Rule of six picnic’ where people could meet others in the church, as a way of reconnecting people and introducing newcomers to regulars. We also held a ‘Men’s breakfast’ and ‘Ladies’ Fish and Chip evening’ and a Church walk, in the same vein. As a practical response to the struggles of Covid-19 and for support, various seminars were broadcasted; dealing with relationships, marriage, dating, friendships and parenting. Again, all of the in-person events were done within the guidance at the time.
There was church camping trip in Kent which saw over 40 adults and children spend 3 days and nights together - with teaching and activities.
We had the privilege of appointing and welcoming an Assistant Pastor to join the staff team in July 2021. David Shaw arrived with his family and was given responsibility to oversee student ministry and to help the church share the good news of Jesus.
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Various Christmas events were arranged including a ladies craft evening, a student outreach event in a cafe, a family event and a traditional Carol Service.
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 2021 budget.
The outgoings of the Church were back to a level consistent with the Charity’s standard activity, where Covid-19 restrictions were eased and we were able to meet in-person again. Said activities are described in section 8 of this document.
Budgeting for the coming year has been done with the expectation that the Church, and associated groups, 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 its pre-Covid capacity with a budget that reflects the appropriate expenditure.
11. Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity’s trustees
| Full name(s) Signature(s) Position held Date |
Jonathan Philip Shulver | Andrew James Pontin |
| Pastor | Elder | |
| 26.10.2022 | 26.10.2022 |
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12. Appendices
Appendix 1 – Receipts and payments accounts
| payments accounts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Church Portsmouth CIO 1178431 |
||
| Receipts andpayments accounts For the period from 01/01/2021 To 31/12/2021 |
CC16a |
Section A Receipts and payments
| Section A Receipts and | payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 53,716 12,577 342 - 91 190 1,154 19,123 30 87,225 - - 87,225 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - 15,000 - - - - - 15,000 - - 15,000 |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 53,716 12,577 342 15,000 91 190 1,154 19,123 30 102,225 - - 102,225 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| Gift Aided Individual giving | 53,716 | 53,123 | |||
| Non-gift aidedindividualgiving | 12,577 | 8,457 | |||
| One-off giving | 342 | 425 | |||
| Trust and grant income | - | 15,500 | |||
| Food income | 91 | - | |||
| Bookstall income | 190 | 100 | |||
| Events income | 1,154 | 321 | |||
| Gift aid reclaimed | 19,123 | 17,311 | |||
| Sundryincome | 30 | 51 | |||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 87,225 | 95,288 | |||
| A2 Asset and investment sales | |||||
| - | - | ||||
| Sub total | - |
- | |||
| Total receipts | |||||
| 87,225 | 15,000 | - | 102,225 | 95,288 |
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| A3 Payments | 24,005 1,861 4,319 21,420 14,570 599 135 345 2,073 940 306 614 614 54 149 229 1,882 163 422 1,234 2,365 748 - 7,034 - 131 365 135 376 - 87,087 |
15,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15,000 |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
39,005 1,861 4,319 21,420 14,570 599 135 345 2,073 940 306 614 614 54 149 229 1,882 163 422 1,234 2,365 748 - 7,034 - 131 365 135 376 - 102,087 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stipends | 24,005 | 15,000 | - | 39,005 | 27,117 |
| NI | 1,861 | - | - | 1,861 | 201 |
| Pension | 4,319 | - | - | 4,319 | 4,000 |
| Staff accommodation costs | 21,420 | - | - | 21,420 | 12,000 |
| Venue hire | 14,570 | - | - | 14,570 | 9,989 |
| Office expenses | 599 | - | - | 599 | 812 |
| Motor expenses | 135 | - | - | 135 | 439 |
| Insurance | 345 | - | - | 345 | 327 |
| Equipment | 2,073 | - | - | 2,073 | 2,552 |
| Staff training costs | 940 | - | - | 940 | - |
| Music and CCLI expenses | 306 | - | - | 306 | 258 |
| Profile raising expenses | 614 | - | - | 614 | 302 |
| Food | 614 | - | - | 614 | 332 |
| Youth activities | 54 | - | - | 54 | 381 |
| Student connect | 149 | - | - | 149 | 32 |
| Evangelistic resources | 229 | - | - | 229 | 1,243 |
| Events expenses | 1,882 | - | - | 1,882 | 616 |
| Affiliations | 163 | - | - | 163 | 146 |
| Preacher and visiting speaker gifts | 422 | - | - | 422 | 250 |
| Subscriptions | 1,234 | - | - | 1,234 | 1,180 |
| Council tax and rates | 2,365 | - | - | 2,365 | 1,347 |
| Travel expense | 748 | - | - | 748 | 31 |
| Open Church Project expenses | - | - | - | - | 211 |
| External mission | 7,034 | - | - | 7,034 | 6,639 |
| Volunteer training | - | - | - | - | 70 |
| Other expenses | 131 | - | - | 131 | 140 |
| Bookstall expenses | 365 | - | - | 365 | 220 |
| Books (staff) expense | 135 | - | - | 135 | 139 |
| Community Outreach | 376 | - | - | 376 | 885 |
| Miscellaneous | - | - | - | - | 22 |
| Sub total | 87,087 | 15,000 | - | 102,087 | 71,882 |
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| A4 Asset and | investment | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 87,087 | 15,000 | - | 102,087 | 71,882 | |||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 137 | - | - | 137 | 23,406 | |||||
| A5 Transfers | between funds | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 59,123 | - | - | 59,123 | 35,716 | |||||
| Cash funds this year end | 59,261 | - | - | 59,261 | 59,122 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets |
Details CAF Cash Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 59,261 - - 59,261 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - |
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Endowment funds to nearest £ - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - |
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| B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities |
Details Details Details Accounts payable Wages payable PAYE payable NIC payable Pensions payable |
Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates unrestricted unrestricted unrestricted unrestricted unrestricted |
Cost (optional) - Cost (optional) - Amount due (optional) 53 36 7,051 561 1 |
Current value (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) |
||||
| Accounts payable | unrestricted | 53 | ||
| Wages payable | unrestricted | 36 | ||
| PAYE payable | unrestricted | 7,051 | ||
| NIC payable | unrestricted | 561 | ||
| Pensions payable | unrestricted | 1 |
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature
Print Name
Date of approval
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Appendix 2 – Independent Examiner’s Report – Rachel Goddard ACA. ICAEW member 1456222.
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