2022-04-30-accounts

Trustees Annual Report 2021/2

In accordance with our Constitution the object[s] of the CIO are:

• a. The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith and the Church Rules, primarily but not exclusively within Shaw, Oldham and the surrounding neighbourhood; and

• b. Such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the members of the church in general meeting further the work of the Church.

At the time of writing the Trustees of Hope Church Shaw are as follows: Karen Monks, Ivan Wooller, Emmanuel Oyowe, Nahum Evans and Marie Sutcliffe. During the year David Percy resigned his membership of the Church and as Trustee. This report seeks to summarise the progress that has been during the year to meet the objectives of the CIO. This report is split into a number of different areas to cover the activities that were undertaken during the year.

1. Church Membership

This has been a difficult year for the church and a number of things have added to the issues that remained coming out of lockdown restrictions as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. Whilst we had worked hard during these restrictions to maintain an on-line broadcast of weekly services, we have seen a few people not return to regular attendance on a Sunday morning. In addition, there were a number of issues that arose within the fellowship that related to the practical outworking of the vision for the Church in particular the connection of the church with the local community of Shaw. This essentially related to the establishment of an outreach Café operated by the church aimed at drawing in people who normally have no connection with church. The communication and engagement of the fellowship was considered by some to have been ineffective and presented as a ‘fait a complet’. This began to arouse other differences amongst us and eventually led to the resignation of 10 members, approximately 30% of the formal membership. This was difficult for the whole fellowship and brought a real sense of hurt and pain which we are still seeking to work through.

However, on the positive side we have seen 5 new people come into formal membership and a further 2 seeking to be brought in. This has been particularly encouraging as 2 of them are the Husband and Wife of a family who have recently all come to faith in Jesus (see Baptisms). At the end of the year, we had a total of 26 members, having started the year with 31.

2. Baptisms

During the year we have had a total of 8 baptisms, 3 of them have been as a result of new people coming into a personal faith relationship with Jesus. This is a great encouragement to us all as this is the primary objective that we believe Jesus has given to us as His church on earth – to make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Two of them were Iranian asylum seekers who had been in the UK for some time and were moved to Oldham under the NAS system. Both had professed

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faith in Iran and that was the reason for them seeking asylum. As a church we had welcomed them and supported them. Both of them have now received leave to remain.

3. Church Ministries

There are a number of church ministries that are in place and operate on a regular basis each of them is listed below with a summary of activities that have taken place during the year.

a. Sunday Services

The Sunday Services provide the main focus of the Church and generally we achieve somewhere between 50-60 people though towards the end of the year we saw this reduce slightly as people resigned their membership and therefore no longer met with us on a Sunday. Having said that we have seen a number of new people join us regularly on a Sunday and whilst they are generally not new believers, they have none the less felt led to join with us. The loss of members has meant that those who were being used to lead and preach in these services are no longer available and we have had to re-organise ourselves. This has meant that others have been able to step up. This has been especially true in the areas of leading worship and preaching and we have been blessed that God has provided gifted people to move into these roles. We had begun the year looking at the Gospel of John and have now moved to look at the book of Colossians. We have also been able to have a number of visiting ministers from other churches and this has brought a freshness to the ministry of the Word of God.

b. Sunday school

From April 2021 Sunday School moved from zoom meetings to physical meetings at church. Initially there were COVID restrictions that were in place. As we have had some changes in membership of the church, 5 children stopped attending Sunday School. However new families have been coming to church, and our regular attendance is between 6 and 10 primary school aged children.

We have been focusing on building relationships within the group ad learning about God’s love for us and how we can share His love with the community around us. We have learnt about the Good Samaritan and how we can be good neighbours. The children participated in a sponsored ‘Danceathon’ and raised £350 to help people escaping the war in Ukraine.

Moving forward we hope to start to sponsor a child abroad through a Christian charity. We also plan to involve the children in sharing the Good News of Jesus to our community of Shaw by making and placing painted rocks in our local park.

c. Mid-week meetings

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We generally have about 12-15 people attending this meeting and it is an opportunity for us to study Gods word and pray. At the start of the year our Wednesday evening meeting was focused on further study and discussion on the sermon that was delivered on the preceding Sunday. The purpose was to encourage further meditation on the Word of God and to apply it further to our lives. We have also run a series on Prayer based on short book by RA Torrey. We are currently working through the Freedom in Christ course. This has been particularly helpful and has been a real help for many in bringing deliverance from the strongholds that have been established in our lives.

As we look forward to next year, we are looking to change how we use these mid-week meetings and wanting to establish Life Groups. We have, as leaders, thought through how these will work and we will now begin to communicate to the wider fellowship and will look to set them up in September.

d. Youth Group

The youth group has gone through some significant changes in this year with a number of the group leaving either because of moving away from the area or their parents leaving the church. This has meant that the group is both smaller and made up of different people and different ages. We currently have 4-5 attending and the meetings have been held fortnightly. We have also lost 3 of the leaders but have been able to replace them with 3 new people. The programme of meetings covers a variety of aspects and includes both social events and bible teaching sessions.

e. Street Evangelism

This ministry is responsible for organizing, strategizing and executing planned activities for the Street Evangelism. They play an important role in connecting with the larger community of Shaw who would rather not set foot in a church building where Christians gather for fellowship. The Outreach ministry holds their regular outreach meeting twice a month, going into the local community of Shaw to share the gospel, by sharing Gospel tracts and having meaning full conversations with the public in a respectful manner, praying for those who request for prayers and also praying for the inhabitants/residents of each street, that they may come to faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We have this year seen one lady come to faith having been approached whilst leaving the Tram at Shaw. Having spoken with her at the Tram Stop she was invited to come back to share food with us and subsequently came to Church on Sunday where she heard and responded to the Gospel.

f. Coffee Mornings

We have recently started a weekly Coffee Morning on a Thursday. This is open to anyone from the fellowship to meet for a chat and if required prayer too. This has only been going for about 3 sessions, and it is still early days, however we have had about 12-13 people each time we have met. For the future we are looking to see how we can use this as a

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base to reach out into the community of Shaw and many of the ideas that were linked with the outreach café are being considered as future options. The intention is to make the church a recognized hub in the community where people can met and be introduced to the message of the Gospel and to the church in its midst.

g. Community Connections

We have for some years now been connected with the Shaw and Crompton Events Committee. This is a volunteer organization that seeks to put on community events based in Shaw. We have already been regular participants in the Christmas activities and have been invited to help in the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. This is a useful connection, even if not a very spiritual one, as it gets us known in the community. We will continue to work with them as we can to engage in the activities they put on.

4. Financial Status

The annual financial report of the Charity has been submitted separately but the overall financial position of the CIO looks good. There was an income of £33,564 and an expenditure of £34,726. All of the assets of the CIO are made up of physical equipment necessary to operate the church functions and cash in the bank. At the end of this year there was £18,562 in the bank.

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Income

Tithes / Offerings HMRC GiftAid Flat Rent

Use of premises (Age Other income

Total Income

Expenditure

Church Rent

Building Maintenance Church Equipment Lighting / Heating / W Love Gifts

Ministry / Stationary Insurance/Licences Internet/Website Other Expenses

Total Expenditure

Cur Closing Balance Opening Balance

I

I ncome

Financial Report Summary

01 May 2021 to 30 April 2022

£23,207 £2,313 £2,915 UK) £1,386 £3,743 £33,564 £17,143 e £3,865 £1,068 Water £3,347 £5,191 £794 £1,747 £720 £853 £34,726	UK)	£23,207
		£2,313
		£2,915
		£1,386
		£3,743
	£33,564
		£17,143
		£3,865
		£1,068
		£3,347
		£5,191
		£794
		£1,747
		£720
		£853

rrent Account £18,562 £19,725

Expenditure

Report of the Independent Examiner(s) to the Trustees of: Hope Church Shaw

On the accounts for the year ended _30 April 2022_

Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner.

The Church’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The church’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the church 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 the 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 material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

• the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I 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.

Signed by or on behalf of the Examiner

Date:18/06/22

Name : Andrew Shepherd FCA

Relevant Professional Qualification(s) or body (if any) Address