LIFE CHURCH LICHFIELD TRUSTEES'ANNUAL REPORTand ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD.. Ist January 2024- 31st December 2024 REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEfAILS Charity name.. Life Church Lichfield Charity address: Netherstowe, Lichf ield WS13 6TS Charity registration number.. 1182297 Names of the charity Trustees: Trustee Name Off ice Comment Steve Speight MarkAndrews Juliet Smithson Wendy Williamson Leah Chilengwe James Terry Chair of Trustees Trustee Isince 20191 Trustee Isince 20191 Trustee (since 20191 Trustee (since 20211 Trustee (since 22 January 20241 Trustee (since 22 January 20241 Treasurer Secretary Trustee Trustee Trustee STRucfuRE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Type of governing documenL' CIO Icharitable Incorporated Organisationl Constitution adopted Ist July 2019. How the charity is constituted: The CIO members are the Senior Leadership Team. Trustee Appointment: New senior leaders are appointed by current senior leaders as per the constitution. There is a safeguarding policy in place. DBS checks are carried out prior to commencement of employment, trusteeship or relevant volunteer work, renewed every three years. Life Church Lichf ield is a member of Thirty One.'Eight who provide support and guidance for safeguarding matters. Life Church Lichfield is aff iliated with The Pioneer Network of churches, who provide helpful advice, leadership, resources, training and accountability. Life Church Lichf ield has a leadership structure, which includes Senior Leaders, Core Team Leaders, Team Leaders and a Church Administrator to carry out the day-to-day requirements of the church. Trustees of the charity give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benef its, with the exception of the Minister Steve Speight who is employed. Bankers for the charity are The Cooperative Bank, PO Box 250, Delf House, Southway. Skelmersdale WN8 6.
OBJECTIVES AND AcfiviTIES Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document: The object of the Church is for the advancement of the Christian faith and for public benefit. Summary of the main activities in relation to those are identif led in the accounts: The overall programme of worship and community activity is shown below: Worship, communion and family services for all continued during 2024 as we welcomed many new faces into the congregation. Programmes for children and young people continued to grow and empower the younger generation. Prayer, outreach and community activities make up part of the rotating programme. Life Groups continue to be the real connecting point of Life Church as people gathered in homes around the city during the week. We have grown the number of Life Groups to15 where people meet to grow in friendship and faith. The Alpha course continues as our introduction to faith for new people from the community and beyond. Lunch Club reached out once again to those who would normally eat alone, in the pursuit of reducing isolation. regularly feeding more than 40 people. In 2024 the below were initiated or developed: Our Life Group impact grew as new leaders were welcomed, and more homes were opened up around the city. We held two outreach Sundays to welcome new people. Saltmine Theatre Company came with their annual Christmas production, and we welcomed over 300 people to enjoy and celebrate. 10 of the leadership team attended the Pioneer annual leadership conference. Our youth and children's work continued to steadily grow during the year under the leadership of Connor Burns, ouryouth and children's worker. A gift of £31,000 was sent to further extend the school building in Kenya. Our Church Manager resigned from her position in May after many years of wonderful service. A member of the congregation took over administrative tasks on a temporary basis for the remainder of the year. Summer Coffee mornings were held on the car park to welcome the neighbourhood. Worship evenings called 'LIFTED' were run to invite people for a relaxed evening of Christian worship. Our'care fund, granted a number of people financial support to help with the current cost of living climate. We received a grant f rom Love Lichf ield to support our annual youth weekend away January. Five teenagers were sponsored to join 'Amplify', a youth training programme. Our annual Leadership retreat was held welcoming 30 people for the day. We hosted a national Pioneer training event, 'Pioneer Core,. Steve Speight Iministerl was invited to be a part of a Pioneer regional leadership team, specifically supporting three churches in the region. We ran Christmas events and handed out a number of Christmas hampers to local families. Two church members completed a Christian course titled 'DNA'.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit: The church aimsto continue to.. Provide space for worship and connection. o Contribute to the spiritual and moral education of children & young people. Contributeto a bettersociety bythe provision of a lunch club and toddler group to reduce social isolation and a toddler group to promote social cohesion. Weddings, funerals and child dedications took place. Provide support and comfort to the bereaved, damaged and those in varied areas of personal need. Contribution made by volunteers: A great contribution is made by our partners and volunteers. We are very grateful for the many hours which volunteers spend week by week to enable the charity to fulfil its purpose with all the generations of our community. Withoutthis valuable contribution of time.energyand expertisewe would not have been able to achieve so much. Grant-making Policy". The Trustees, alongside the Finance Team, decide upon individuals and organisations that are to receive financial support out of the charity's assets. FUTURE PLANS We continue our focus on discipleship and mission over the next years. This will be achieved primarily through our gatherings, whether that be Sundays or the various groups during the week. Our plan is to be a church that is not simply'sunday centred, but developing personal faith and mission during the168 hours of every week. We will continue to invest time and training to the Life Groups and all leaders to see this develop and fulfil the vision of Life Church. We are considering making internal alterations to our current building to create a dedicated and permanent'coffee area,; potential plans have been drawn up as we look to the costing and funding of this exciting development. We hope to progress this project in 2025. FINANCIAL REVIEW Reserves Policy: This is the church's policy to hold a minimum equivalent to four month's expenditure and a maximum of eight month's expenditure, excluding any designated funds, to enable it to continue operating during a short-term downturn in its income, or to allow a period of restructuring should a longer-term downturn occur. However, this is an Unrestricted Fund and can be accessed if deemed necessary. This amounts to a minimum of approximately £50,000 for the period of this report. Actual unrestricted cash reserves at 31st December 2024 were £104,295. Investment Selection Policy. Life Church Lichfield currently only invests in cash deposits with UK banks. The charity's principal source of funds continues to be partner donations,. gift aid and hall hire contribute to the overall income. Details of any funds materially in def icit: Not applicable
DECLARATION The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees, Annual Report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Signature: Name: Steve Speight Mark Andrews Position: Chair of Trustees Treasurer l(olzg
Life Church Lichfield Roceipts & Payments Account: Yaar to 31112124 Unr6strkt8d Rostricted FuYl$ Funds Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds Total Total Receipts: Donat'ons and sinNlar recei Offerings rft aid s¢hen N¢t• 2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023 94.436 11.622 54,599 385 149,034 12,007 89,561 30,995 37,537 3,433 127,099 34,428 ratin actimties to lutth r chari Chikyrenlyoulh actiifities Luncheon club itKon Elenl incon cts 3.039 3,148 3,039 3,148 988 2,771 3,1CK) 750 2,771 3,100 750 ratin a¢tiMties to Flre of hall enerate funds 5.449 5,449 5,634 5,634 InstnEnl income recei Deposit interest Sub-total 1.478 114.711 1,403 128.581 1,403 175,185 175,144 46,604 Cts recei LX)er incorr Inol Courn9 as'gross InccfiR'I 2,775 2,775 1,889 1,889 Total RK 130 470 Payrnnts: CharItae Grants aid Mission eyendibjre 30,492 30,492 73,948 73,948 Chwitable actiiites Salaries and national insurance Mnisty fees Books & lrteratsjre )tor & tra1 e4)enses Childrenlytjuthlgroup fe Family 81.433 81,433 88.655 3.950 60 891 11,049 88,655 3.950 76 449 11,890 6,615 449 11,8S 6,615 891 11,049 7.222 Administration e)penses Heating. lightr.ng & Teleph(x)e Inswance Buikling rrointenance 'scelL8neou$ 8,100 10,291 482 2.803 6.590 8,1 10.291 482 2,803 32,190 10,337 11.043 624 2,450 15.7 115 10,337 11.043 624 2.450 15.067 115 23,600 Mana e1 & administr Independent e>2ninati Stal 133,957 73,948 erPa npnts {rK*I cn1'ng as endIre'l Capit21 e>pendittJre Realkjcations {see"Restri¢ted Funds") Total Paymnts 1,146 1.048 2,194 7,588 7.588 135103 23 998 Not I01pts for thg yaar Cash & bank baLare$ at 1st Jan Transfgrs In1808 rK>to 2} Cash 8 bank balare5 at 31st De¢ -17,616 121.911 5,292 9,200 -12.324 131.111 -20,992 142.903 -31932 44,132 .55,924 187,036 14.492 118787 121.911 9,200 131.111
Lrfe Church Lichfiekl Statement of Assets & Liabilities at 31112124 Unrestrktfjd Restricted FurKIs Funds Pety cash Current account Deposit account 300 26,455 77.539 4.000 10,492 Gfftaid ekim Fund Unrestricted Lknrestricte(I Church buikling FIreS, fith'ngs and equprrent 386,245 54,091 440,336 Ll Current liabilities- supKAiers Tayation 8nd scLial UrIty Fund Lhrestricled Unrestricted AnUnt dug 1,338 1156 2,494 1. Trustee salarles and expenses Trustees salaries paid Trustees e>penses pd 45,196 3,595 48.792 2. Trusteè Ex Gratla PayThnt LCL Curr•ni Liabililigs InvDate Su True Pcrtenb. Citron HYge J Spevjhl T HaYY A Bartr 423.51 170.52 12. 18 101.43 1337.64 S. Speight M. Andrews
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Life Church Lichf ield Charitable Incorporated Organisation ('the CIO,) I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 December 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charitytrustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act'l. I report in respect of my examination of the CIO'S accounts carried out undor section 145 of the Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515)Ibl of the 2011 Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: l. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed Date 2¥ tsd-a- 202 lan Barnes FCA 39 Smiths Way Water Orton Birmingham B46 ITW