2023-03-31-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod
**From **	Period start date			To	Period end date
	01	04	2022		31	03	2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name

Pemberton Free Grace Church, Wigan

Other names charity is known by

Registered charity number (if any) 1179175

Charity's principal address	Jireh Chapel,	Jireh Chapel,
	Chapel Street, Orrell Road,
	Orrell, Wigan
	Postcode	WN5 0AG

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any)
	Matthew Gray	Pastor & Elder		General Members’ Meeting
	Richard Waller	Deacon & Church Secretary		General Members’ Meeting
	Raymond Trainer	OverseeingElder		General Members’ Meeting
	Trevor Condy	OverseeingElder		General Members’ Meeting

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

• (eg. trust deed, constitution)

Charitable incorporated organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company) Elected by General Members’ Meeting Trustee selection methods

• (eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

There have been no major incidents or accidents during the period covered by this report.

• policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;

• the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;

• relationship with any related parties;

• trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Section C Objectives and activities

To advance the Christian faith in accordance with our Basis of Faith primarily within Pemberton, Wigan and the surrounding area.

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

This also can include other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the members of the Church, put into practice the Christian faith including the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness; the advancement of education; and the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

This year was the first year for a few years where none of the months of the year, either at the beginning or towards the end, were affected by restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The church was therefore able to conduct its activities with a large degree of ‘normality’ again, for the first time in a good while. Therefore as a church we have prioritised our efforts towards holding services of worship in our premises, which we did for all 52 Sundays of the year, holding services both on Sunday mornings at 10:45am and Sunday evenings at 6:00pm. This regular holding of services both morning and evening has been of benefit to many people every week, and at times ones who were not able to attend in the morning in a given week were instead able to attend on Sunday evening. We also have held regular Wednesday evening meetings, for Bible study and prayer, and this is the time when many people who have expressed desire for us to pray for them, are prayed for by the church. This has been of particular importance to people who have been in physical or emotional need. We continued to use Rehoboth chapel for our Sunday morning and Wednesday evening meetings, as it could more comfortably accommodate a larger congregation. During this year we also invested considerable effort in maintaining our regular programme of activities, including our Oasis craft and coffee morning group on Tuesdays, and the English Club to help asylum seekers to learn English, on Fridays. We also held a number of regular ‘Walk and Talk’ events on Saturdays monthly, as part of our church programme, giving people opportunity for exercise and friendship whilst enjoying open countryside. All these activities have meant that we were able to cater more specifically for a wider number of people in our community. For those who were more cautious, or unable to attend our meetings physically, we have continued to provide recordings of our Sunday morning service each week, either uploaded to our church website, or distributed locally door to door on CDs. We have also advertised our worship to the general public via our website, as well as using social media, notice boards on the outside of the buildings, leaflets, fliers, and word of mouth. The Church advances Christian religion by the preaching of the Gospel, and dissemination of literature and word of mouth conversations, as well as information on our website and social media. On occasions throughout the summer we held a ‘literature table’ outreach near shops in the local community in Kitt Green. The church has continued to provide pastoral support to persons and practical help to those with whom it has come into contact who are in need. Restrictions having been lifted, more of this has been face-to-face, although it has also continued on the telephone. Funerals were also conducted by the pastor physically. Our pastor was also able to go back into a local school more regularly in order to conduct assemblies, in the heart of the local community. A number of special events and occasions have also been held, along with visiting speakers of interest travelling from further afield. Such events included a Passover Demonstration with visitor from Tel Aviv, Israel – as well as missionary presentations about work overseas in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Bible translation. The church has financially supported the work of Christian organisations that work in the UK and overseas. Visiting preachers came from a good number of places, including Scotland, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Cumbria as well as more locally. And we also hosted a trainee minister from Reading, who came to participate in the work alongside our pastor, for 9 days during the year. We have continued to play a very active role in a Lancashire region fellowship of churches, and have both hosted and attended combined church events and meetings of this regional fellowship. When planning and carrying out our activities, the trustees confirm that they have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and in particular the guidance for charities which are primarily concerned with the advancement of religion.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

You may choose to Our activities are carried out by both those who are paid employees, and those include further within the church who (when they are able) act as volunteers. statements, where Our church in its covenant of membership encourages the involvement of relevant, about: members in the active support of the church in its aims and objectives, not just by giving financially but by their active personal involvement as volunteers.  policy on grantmaking; Those who are volunteers, where it is appropriate, will have had the necessary  policy programme DBS checks and suitability for their roles is assessed, according to role related investment; descriptions in our Safeguarding policy.

• contribution made by volunteers.

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

The church has provided:

• A suitable place of worship for persons in our locality to physically attend, in every week of the year.

• Weekly Christian worship services and teaching meetings which are also open to the public.

• Services of worship and prayer, on both Sunday mornings and evening, as well as Wednesday evenings, for all who wished to attend, held at Rehoboth chapel.

• Information in the form of a letter, along with a Christian tract, distributed to over 2,000 homes in the local area around Easter 2022 and in the week leading up to Christmas, 2022.

• For those not able to attend our regular services, we made audio recordings of our services and distributed them either via CD in the local area to those who wanted them.

• We also made audio recordings of our weekly Sunday services, and uploaded audio recordings of our services each week to our church website, which is available to the general public.

• Additional posts and videos were made available to the general public, such as on our Facebook page.

• Other regular outreach activities to accommodate more particular groups, such as Ladies Meetings, or for those whose first language is not English.

• Performance:  Attendance at our worship services has been maintained at good levels, for much of the time we saw congregations at levels similar to or even exceeding the levels before the pandemic in 2019.

• At our services of worship, members of the public who are not currently members of the church have been regularly present. This we believe is important in the continuance of our work.

• We have also added to our membership throughout the year, with others also expressing an interest in joining, which is encouraging.

• The church has been reaching into the local community in a number of places and ways including local shopping areas, door to door, and in local schools, in addition to what is done on its own premises.

• We have continued to seek to maintain our premises to suitable standards, commissioning a survey of necessary repairs along with seeking plans from a contractor to quote for works to be done as soon as funding is available.

• Despite the increasing utility prices, we have been able to provide a warm space for people to meet in at all of the meetings of the church throughout the year, in all weathers, using our resources and the heating systems we have available.

• We have also done a review and implementation of our Fire Safety policy, in order to maintain standards in this area.

• This past year the overall income was at a surplus over expenditure. However, the financial position of the charity remains one where without a significant external grant being given, we would be operating at a deficit. Nevertheless, we have seen an increase in regular giving to the church over this year, and that is an encouraging sign.

Section E Financial review

99

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Details of any funds materially in deficit

Our aim as a charity is to look to keep at least six months’ income in our reserves (approx £13,500). At present, the level of our reserves is higher than this (circa £27,000). Although the church is currently operating at a small surplus, this surplus is due to an external grant being given, without which we would be in deficit. The reserves are therefore at a reasonable level, because they are required to meet our projected financial obligations in the coming year.

N / A

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

• the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);

• how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

• investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) M. T. Gray R. M. Waller Full name(s) Matthew Tarus Gray Richard Melvyn Waller Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Secretary etc)[Chairman ] Date 20th September 2023

Pembei'ton Fl'ee Gl'ace Chui'ch Receipts Pai"mellts Accounts Apiryl 1st 2022 _ IIAI'ch 31st 2021 A1 RECEIPTS Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds lo the nearest £ to the nearest £ 21,797 19,823 146 43 4,119 T￿al lo the nearest £ 21,797 26,517 153 43 4,119 Last year to the nearest £ General Offenng DoTrat￿ns 89nk Interest Refunds for Costs InCu￿ed Gift Aid Glaim Donakn'ons to Felkwship Fund Building Fund GBM tx)x Harvest Offeri Grfts for Earthquake relief Income lor LRBF Total Eamwked Income Total receipts 17,236 5,331 18 108 3,928 6,694 37 196 371 300 120 139 155 796 796 528 A3 PAYMENTS Unrestncled Funds Restncted Funds Total to the neare￿ £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ 25,893 460 364 413 770 Last year to the neaTest £ 25,706 572 438 155 605 43 Salaries& tension Office Expenses Travelling Expenses Conference ExKtnses Other preacher5 Mis￿lIaneOUS expenses Total Min￿try 27,899 27,899 27,519 Utilrties Repairs and Maintenance Total Jireh Building 3,813 339 261 4,152 4,152 1,916 Ublrties Repairs and Maintenance Total Reh(thlh B￿.Iding Building Suppl￿5 Buildings Project Evawelisffl 5,324 2,462 1,153 6,288 7,787 7,787 7,441 246 250 5,723 5,972 580 Insuran Othef 1,359 1,454 2,648 1,548 Total Other ExJtEnses Grfts lo M"&yons 2.813 1,940 2,813 1,940 4,196 2,250 Hatvesl gtft Gift to Barna￿ls AKI for Earthquake relief Fellowship FuTrJ GBM LRBF 371 139 155 15 Total Earmarked Expenditure Tolal Payments Net of rEcWPts/(payn￿ntsJ 751 324 1,023 .17.￿8 A5 Transfers behveen Funds A6 Fund balanc•s last year •nd Cash funds this year end -20 24,594 25,028 20 1,1Q5 2.148 25,699 27,176 43,047 25,699

Pembeiton Fl-ee Gl'ace Chui-ch Statement of .4ssets and Liabilities at the end of the period Unrestriued Funds Restricted Funds to the rte2rest £ to the tteatesl £ 25.028 Bl C'ash Fullds Gener31 Fund Fello￿.$hi Fuud Buildthg Fund Ronoiition Fund LRBF hold￿￿ Fund(F0rD￿ty IITRBF) Total Casb Funds 242 443 971 491 2,148 25.028 BI .4ssers rtrained for iht chariries own use Fund io MFll"ch asset belollg5 Fixtyre$ 3nd fittsngs Office eqWpll￿llt "tchen equipnleni H)T]n books and bibles The Chwth is the beneficial (Subject to ielei%Lt tn151s) of the follo￿￿8 promes. tILe legal title to is held bv the Church's cuslodian ttustee- Gface Bapftsi Trust Corporation and The Trustees of Rehot*Mb Cbapel: Pemberm. Jireh Cha￿1 Reboboth Cha￿] 05.000 120.0(K) on 18106118 oo99il0118 The above ￿l￿atri￿5 reP￿sellt n]3tht as a5ses5ed by Pa￿]￿50￿ Real E5t3te on tbe date5 sboFa Sigoed by one or hvo ttustees on behalf of all ibe Msiees s￿natur• Pnnt Name Date ol approval M. Gray Matthew Gray 23107123 R. M. Waller Richard Waller 23107123

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name PEMBERTON FREE GRACE CHURCH WIGAN members of

PEMBERTON

On accounts for the year 31 MARCH 2023 Charity no 1179175 ended (if any) Set out on pages 7 & 8 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2023

• Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

• Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed: W A Harrison Date: 15 AUGUST 2023

Name: WILLIAM ARCHIE HARRISON Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address: APARTMENT 37 BRUNLEES COURT 19-23 CAMBRIDGE ROAD

SOUTHPORT MERSEYSIDE PR9 9DH

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

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