2023-12-31-accounts

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Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 1 January to 31 December 2023

Cornerstone Church Portsmouth (Charitable Incorporated Organisation)

Immanuel Baptist Church 109 Victoria Road North Southsea Portsmouth PO5 1PS

Registered Charity Number: 1178431

Contents	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

1. Trustees

Trustees who served during the year are set out below:

J.P. Shulver (Pastor, Elder)
D.I. Shaw (Assistant Pastor, Elder)
A.J. Pontin (Elder)
T.J. Beaumont (Trustee)

2. Employees

Employees who served during the year are set out below:

J.P. Shulver (Pastor)

D.I. 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

Lydia Evans. FCCA.

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 who meet regularly to discuss the running of the Charity and set policy. Three of the trustees also constitute the leadership of the Church (known as elders). One of the trustees, Tom Beaumont does not serve as an elder. The elders generally meet twice monthly to oversee general 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 four times a year), with ad hoc correspondence between 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.

All Trustees served without remuneration in their capacity as Trustees between January and December 2023. Two Trustees, who are the Pastor and Assistant 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 and Assistant Pastor do not participate in any determination of the remuneration they receive. 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, Redeemer Church Winchester CIO and Trinity Church Salisbury CIO. The four 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.
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 2023, Cornerstone Church’s weekly gatherings and activities continued as normal. Sunday gatherings saw around 100120 people in attendance by the end of the year, including adults and children. The children’s Sunday School welcomed around 16 children and crèche saw around eight children under four on a weekly basis. The youth group continued once a month as an opportunity for teenagers to connect, learn from the Bible and socialise. Group leaders of the relevant groups are DBS checked and support the groups on a roster system. The Church ran midweek groups and prayer meetings 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. The Church saw more newcomers in 2023, so there was a continued emphasis on ways of welcoming them and integrating them into the church community; through lunches and Partnership courses, which led to some becoming Partners of the Church. The weekly Baby and Toddler group

ran successfully during term-time with around 40 parents/carers attending regularly with around 55 children.

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 continued her time in Portsmouth and served until July 2023, while the second stayed until August 2023. Both were able to continue to link with other MTs weekly through our Reach South partnership whilst receiving practical ministry training. They also continued to take on responsibility within the life of the church and to put the training they received into practice. Some from the church also attended the Confident Christianity conference run by Solas, a Christian organisation, and the Solent Women’s Conference. Both days put an emphasis on sharing the good news of the Bible and how it affects the life of a Christian.

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 10 students and 5 leaders. September saw a busy welcome period for new and returning students to the Church, with meals on Sundays and the beginning of a weekly Bible study. There were other welcome events in Freshers week as a means of raising the profile of the church, in order to share the Christian faith with those who are looking to learn more about it, as set out in our charitable object. Those who requested it, were given the opportunity to meet with individuals in the Church for 1-2-1 Bible study. As well as internal support for students, the church supported the local Christian Union; the Assistant Pastor attended a panel discussion, the MTs offered pastoral support to those who required it and the church was able to donate food for an outreach event at the beginning of the year. The student group also enjoyed a weekend away together where they studied the Bible and socialised to build community together.

As well as supporting students, Cornerstone has a desire to support those who come to the church from other parts of the world. We have seen an increase in refugees and internationals looking to improve their English. In response to this need, and in line with the first charitable object, the English Café was set up to offer a space where attendees can have conversations with native English speakers, make friends and join in with an optional Bible study. This was originally set up for people already attending Sunday services but we have seen several friends of attendees and others from around Portsmouth join the group. The hope is to continue this group into 2024 and welcome more people who require this support.

As stated above, the Church is part of a partnership called Reach South. This is made up of four 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 four churches join together to share in fellowship and look back on the year. This year around 500 people from the four churches were able to meet at Thornden School, Chandlers Ford for this event. The Equip Course ran for the second time from September 2023, with the aim to grow in faith and knowledge of the Bible and train attendees to share with those wanting to know more. This course also

offered a one-off training day for attendees of the four churches. Both the Pastor and Assistant Pastor taught and mentored around 15 people enrolled on the course at various points throughout the year.

Other events the church arranged during the year included a Hope Explored course and a Men’s breakfast. The bi-annual church camping trip took place as a way of people having an affordable holiday where they can share a couple of days in a social setting, enjoying each other’s company and deepening their faith in God through relaxed conversation and times looking at the Bible. There have also been parenting evenings where parents within the church have been able to come together to think about raising children in a biblical way, and sharing practical tips. Finally, the church ran Christmas events to engage with the local community as part of the first charitable object. These included a Ladies’ craft evening, Carol Service and Sunday services with a particular aim of welcoming families.

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. All income was unrestricted and has been used in accordance with the 2023 budget, set out by the Trustees and approved by Partners.

The financial outgoings of the Church were at a level consistent with the Charity’s standard activity. Said activities are described in section 8 of this document. As such, b udgeting for the coming year has been done with the expectation that the Church, and associated groups, would continue as per the usual activity, with the addition of the English Café, which runs at a very low expenditure given the voluntary nature and existing and pre-paid hall hire.

As a continuation to the 2022 Charity Commission report there is some variability in the financials regarding the gift-aid received. The amount received in 2022 did not include the fourth quarter, which was then received in 2023. The Charity claimed gift-aid up until November 2023 in an attempt to fairly reflect gift-aidable income for the year and clarify true figures when budgeting for the next financial year. As such, any income from December 2023 will be recuperated in 2024. This will be repeated in the 2024 report as well.

10. Plans for future periods

The Charity anticipates continuing activities as outlined in this report 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	David Ian Shaw	Andrew James Pontin

	Pastor, Trustee	Assistant Pastor, Trustee	Trustee
	31/10/2024	31/10/2024	31/10/2024

12. Appendices

Appendix 1 – Receipts and payments accounts

	Charity Name Cornerstone Church Portsmouth	Charity Name Cornerstone Church Portsmouth	Charity Name Cornerstone Church Portsmouth	No (if any) 1178431	CC16a
	Receipts andpayments accounts
	For the period from	01/01/2023	To	31/12/2023

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £
Regular individualgiving	93,240	50 - - - - - - 125 - -	-	93,290	77,267 16,676 4,863 1,260 4,569 - - - 37 6,712
GiftAidreclaimed	20,951		-	20,951
One-offgiving	8,800		-	8,800
Events	919		-	919
WeekendAway	1,218		-	1,218
Baby andToddlerGroup	835		-	835
Students	593		-	593
Trusts and grants	-		-	125
Bank interest	72		-	72
Other	399		-	399
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	127,028	175 - - 175	-	127,203	111,384

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-		-	-
*Sub total*	-		-	-	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
			-	127,203	111,384

Staffand trainees	88,085	- - - - - - - 125 - - - - -	-	88,085	88,984 18,445 7,722 - 795 629 1,213 2,181 6,331 1,871 3,483 35 357
Halland officehire	19,324		-	19,324
Evangelism&Mission	9,041		-	9,041
Baby andToddlerGroup	1,140		-	1,140
Students	2,240		-	2,240
Children&Youth	421		-	421
Hospitality	880		-	880
Events	1,678		-	1,803
WeekendAway	1,211		-	1,211
Equipment	2,333		-	2,333
Running costs	2,657		-	2,657
Other	216		-	216
Governance costs	284		-	284
**Sub total **	129,512	125 - - - 125 50	-	129,637	132,045

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-		-	-
	-		-	-
**Sub total **	-		-	-	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
			-	129,637	132,045

	(2,484)		-	(2,434)	(20,661)
	-	- -	-	-	- 59,261
	38,599		-	38,599
	36,115	50	-	36,165	38,599

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds Notes to nearest £ - 3 - OK Endowment funds to nearest £ - - Current value (optional) - Current value (optional) - - - When due (optional)
CAF Cash	36,115	50	-
*Total cash funds* (agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s)) Details	36,115	50	-
	OK	OK
	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £
Gift Aid receivable Card reader payments	2,545	-	-
	678	-	-
Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)
		-	-
Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)
Audiovisual equipment Musical equipment inc. digital piano Office equipment inc. printer	Unrestricted	-	-
	Unrestricted	-	-
	Unrestricted	-	-
Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)
PAYE and NIC owed for Oct-Dec '23 Pension contributions owed for Dec '23 Stipends/wages payable Contribution to 2023 Reach South event	Unrestricted	2,021
	Unrestricted	98
	Unrestricted	37
	Unrestricted	597

Notes to the Account and Statement

The following notes, cross-referenced above, form part of this Account and Statement.

1. STAFF AND TRAINEES COSTS

1 STAFF AND TRAINEES COSTS
. Gross stipends & wages Staff accommodation Pension contributions Training Travel expenses Total Staff and Trainees costs 2. EVANGELISM & MISSION External Mission Evangelistic resources inc. bookstall and publicity Support to church family members in need Total Evangelism & Mission 3. RESTRICTED FUNDS MOVEMENT Restricted Fund description "Where there are no words" concert New projector Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	2023 2022 £ £ 49,976 49,121 30,557 31,967 4,693 4,413 1,857 2,214 1,002 1,269 88,085 88,984 2023 2022 £ £ 7,661 5,838 1,206 1,884 174 - 9,041 7,722 Balance 01 Jan 2023 Receipts £ £ - 125 - 50 Signature	Payments Transfer £ £ 125 - - - Print Name	Balance 31 Dec 2023 £ - 50 Date of approval

Appendix 2 – Independent Examiner’s Report – Lydia Evans. FCCA.