Ecclesia in Cambridge (charity no 1184416) Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts
Objectives, aims and purposes
Ecclesia in Cambridge also known as the Church in Cambridge aims at fulfilling following objectives, aims and purposes:
To advance the faith revealed in the Bible: that is the truth concerning the Bible being the complete and inspired Word of God, concerning God being triune, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, concerning the completeness and efficacy of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in and upon the believers for their complete salvation, concerning the oneness of the Body of Christ both universally and in its expression locally, concerning the hope in the Lord’s return at the end of this age, and concerning the ultimate consummation of God’s purpose in the New Jerusalem in eternity — by the preaching of the gospel, by the spiritual nourishment of the new believers, by the perfecting of all believers to be living, functioning members in the Body of Christ, by holding meetings for prayer, for remembrance of the Lord and for prophesying unto mutual encouragement, exhortation and building up, by seeking to raise up and support full time workers, by supporting works to spread the gospel both in Cambridge and beyond and by regular and frequent fellowship with other churches throughout the earth for the practical keeping of the oneness of the Body of Christ universally.
In addition, the charity engages in children and young people’s activities such as Sunday schools, meetings, camps, and conferences and any such pursuits that it deems beneficial to the younger generation with the view to fulfilling charity’s wider goals and presenting to the young ones the basic and underlying truths of the Christian faith and living.
Activities
The charity’s commitment is to enable a wide participation for the public in worship, prayer, truth pursuits and trainings, singing and praising and mutual fellowship directed towards building communal bonds aiming at the building up of the church locally and to be related in a variety of ways to the wider Christian community regardless of geographical distance. In order to meet the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion, Ecclesia in Cambridge engages in and facilitates a number of regular activities each week and throughout the year as well as engages in regular pastoral care as outlined below.
Meetings
We hold regular Sunday worship meetings open to the public, for both individuals and entire families, which are usually held at one of several rented facilities in Cambridge. Alongside Sunday meetings there is usually a substantial meal being served by volunteers at the end of
worship and teaching activities, and a regular children and young people’s meeting involving singing, teaching, and crafts. All our volunteers who are involved with children work are DBS checked.
In addition to larger, regular weekly meetings on Sundays, the charity, in accordance with New Testament principles of home meetings encourages local believers to gather in smaller settings for further prayer, fellowship, support, and Bible studies often accompanied by meals.
In post-Covid reality the charity decided to keep hybrid meetings involving streaming online (Zoom) for both Sunday worship and prayer meetings on Tuesdays. In addition to those gathering in person a broadcasting kit has been purchased to accommodate those who cannot attend in person but would like to participate remotely.
Student Work
The charity regularly engages in student gospel work and outreach with our volunteers often being students or researchers themselves involved in local universities’ Christian societies. Charity regularly sponsors welcoming events for freshers and oversees care and support for students including frequent meetings, meals, and activities whether in larger settings or smaller groups. Many of our students appreciate this care throughout the academic year and beyond. We encourage and support financially, according to needs, for our students to participate in several student or university-age-oriented conferences and trainings each year held in the UK or abroad. We usually organise transport to at least one national event each year for our local students.
Regional, national, and international involvement
Regional
The church regularly meets with other similar churches in the East of England for further, enhanced experience of the universal Body of Christ. Regular, combined meetings of a number of those churches rotate between Cambridge and Norwich with Ecclesia in Cambridge being host to these gatherings on average 5 times a year.
National & International
The charity’s goal related to wider involvement with Christian pursuits is often facilitated by participation in conferences, trainings and young people’s camps and retreats which usually take place several times a year in the UK and Europe and all the members are encouraged to participate in as many of them as possible. For those who may struggle financially with meeting costs of these events or cost of transportation, the charity provides financial support for part or all of the cost, depending on individual needs. On occasions we sponsor partially or fully international trips for members who are willing to participate in ministry or missionary trainings abroad or be part of organised efforts visiting similarly minded groups of Christians abroad for the purpose of edification, mutual encouragement and building of
relatedness in the wider context of the universal church. In this reporting period the charity supplied volunteers to participate in phone calling campaign and phone bible studies as well as sponsored part-time workers on two occasions to help with the campaign and help with local pastoral care.
During this accounting period the charity supported financially a few volunteers who went to Poland during the wave of Ukrainian migration to distribute care packages and gospel materials to refugees and their children.
The church was also involved in coordinating with other churches and organisations regarding bringing a refugee mum with her 3-year-old son under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and they stayed with one of the families in the church.
International guests
On occasion the church welcomes international speakers or spiritual leaders for additional meetings and teaching and facilitates meals and a Church History tour around Cambridge for international short-term trainees who usually come to Cambridge 4 times during the month of May as part of larger Christian training organisation based in Havering, Essex. We also welcome organised and informal groups of fellow believers and individuals from around the world who wish to visit Cambridge and meet with us during their stay. In this accounting period frequency of these visits was somewhat lower than in previous years.
Trainees
The church’s aim is to provide financial and pastoral support for anyone who wishes to participate in either short-term or full-time training in church service, biblical truth, character, and gospel outreach with a view to becoming well equipped member of their local church and even perhaps consecrating themselves to full-time service and work of the ministry.
To facilitate this goal, the charity has a long-term relationship with established Bible Truth and Church Service training centre in the Romford area who provide a number of different types of trainings for willing Christians, ranging from short weekend retreats to one-week, one-month, or one-term short-time trainings with their main activity being a full-time, 2 year comprehensive live-in training for those who meet the criteria and are willing to participate in such an undertaking. Ecclesia in Cambridge regularly sponsors trainees sent from Cambridge and helps with costs of trainees sent from the regional cluster of churches (inc. Ipswich and Norwich). These churches contribute to a combined pot dedicated to financial support of these trainees whether for the purposes of tuition, accommodation or costs related to upkeeping during periods of recess. All financial needs and offers of financial support are considered on individual bases and granted following agreement among the trustees and with involvement of the applicant. The church also sponsors partly or in full those trainees who are willing to extend their training by joining apprenticeship programme
at the aforementioned bible school or who want to practice serving/ministering full-time for shorter and longer periods of time.
Achievements and Performance
Worship and prayer
The charity does not hold a membership scheme nor encourages any form of organisational subscription, maintaining the freedom of public to participate in any or all of the activities without constraint or pressure. During this period of reporting (15 July 2021 – 14 July 2022) the average numbers of adults participating regularly in Sunday worship in person and on Zoom (hybrid) were about 25 adults with numbers fluctuating throughout the year depending on holiday timings, as many of our participants are students. Some meetings were only gathering 10-12 adults whilst at other times we had more than 25. The numbers increase significantly to 60-70+ during the regular bi-monthly regional meetings. In addition to Sunday worship, we normally run children and young people meetings alongside with average attendance of the young ones being 10 and occasionally rising to 12 or more.
Weekly prayer meetings and home meetings are smaller in numbers but more frequent and spread out across the city and in the greater Cambridge area often rotating between households. The prayer meeting is held in hybrid form with those who want to cluster in person then joining others on Zoom. Majority of small home meetings are held fully inperson.
Every year we have new ones joining on either a temporary or permanent basis. These may be students, contract workers, temporary visa holders etc – this being the character of the city, we have had many hundreds of regular members being part of our community over the past 20+ years, but it also means that they often leave the city after their studies or contract work is finished. The church maintains a core group of local believers and makes efforts to gain more of those living locally on a permanent basis to join the community.
Pastoral Care
The church stresses the relatedness of all the members and mutual support and care for one another whether in a meeting setting or during the week in homes and informal gatherings, all the members should feel completely at home and be able to open to one another to receive mutual encouragement and care. More mature members of the church are especially of benefit in facilitating this care, and if any major consideration or a problem is brought to the elders or trustees, appropriate care is being administered with great care being taken in dealing with any personal matters that are brought forth.
During last accounting period trustees also felt to contribute to funeral costs of a family member of some of our regular members.
One of the features of our meetings together is frequent meals in homes and larger settings which contribute substantially to the practical shepherding of the participants. Most of these
meals are either prepared by respective homes or brought by many to the meeting place as pot-luck feast where all can be fed regardless of whether they have brought anything or not. On occasion the charity contributes financially to those meals or other related costs. In the last accounting period those meals on Sundays were organised every other week on average.
Some members are quite active in supporting the sick or those in hospital as and when needs arise.
A great effort is being put by many volunteers to facilitate children’s meetings with singing and lessons, playtime, and crafts. Most parents are actively involved on a rota bases aided by young couples and individuals.
Members of the church pursue hospitality and generously host guests and visitors from other parts of the country and abroad.
Mission and Evangelism
Main aspects of outreach are fulfilled in the student work, individual contacting of people as well as spreading of informative leaflets, giving away Bibles, tracts, and literature, facilitating meetings and trainings, organising trips, events, and outings as well as pointing interested people toward many sources of healthy teaching and ministry whether online or through the Premier Radio daily broadcasts which carry the message of the ministry at the core of our mission. All members and visitors who come to regular meetings are encouraged to speak from their enjoyment of the ministry and experiences.
COVID-19 DISRUPTION AND ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
This accounting period briefly overlaps some of the last remaining Covid restrictions in the UK but in essence the charity’s activities returned to normal after the period of restrictions and engaging in online activities in the previous accounting period.
Financial Review
Total receipts of unrestricted funds were £19,757.65 made of general donations via bank transfers or paying in of cash collected in the offering box. This sum includes small amounts of interest gained on the held deposits and an Amazon scheme that paid small percentage of money from donors shopping as a charitable giving. In this period, we had two categories of designated funds: designated towards financial support of the trainees from Cambridge and the East of England – donations into this fund amounted to £560.00. There were few donations designated as a gifts/financial support to a specific person or persons amounting to £5,045.00. The total amount of all restricted and unrestricted donations for this accounting period was £25,362.65.
All expenses, both restricted and unrestricted, amounted to £9,525.75 during this accounting period and are outlined below. The major expense normally is the rental of the meeting rooms and financial support for trainees attending Full-time Training in London Ltd and related costs. During this accounting period the biggest share of expenses went towards hiring meeting halls, support of trainees and support of part time serving one on an apprenticeship for a few months. Some of non-regular expenses during this period were purchasing of broadcasting kit to facilitate hybrid meeting, help with funeral costs and financial support for volunteers travelling to Poland to serve among refugees.
Reserves policy
Before receiving charity status, the church in Cambridge was operating in a similar way and kept accumulating funds over the years with donations usually exceeding yearly outgoings. The amount of money at the trustees’ disposal exceeds any current, foreseeable, and planned needs; therefore, there is no formal reserves policy in place at this stage. However, the excess monies accumulated are provisionally marked towards either employment in the future of full-time church workers or putting down as part of a deposit for the charity’s own meeting hall. When the funds available start receding by being used for the furtherance of our mission in a larger amount than to date, we will consider putting a robust reserves policy in place.
Following this reporting period due to healthy surplus of funds incoming versus outgoing decisions were made not to introduce reserves policy yet.
Volunteers
Almost all activities and pursuits of the charity are carried out by the members for the members and for the wider public, therefore the volunteering in all aspects of the church life and engagement in its mission is a core value and common practice among us. Both the trustees and the majority of our members participate in a variety of volunteering efforts ranging from accounting, cooking, cleaning, and setting up rooms, through coordinating content and service for children and young people meetings, driving, handing out literature, contacting interested members of public, opening homes for meetings and meals as well as coordination with other groups on regional, national, and international level to facilitate participation in extra-local events.
Structure, governance, and management
The initial board of trustees evolved naturally from the small group of leaders and coordinators who have been overseeing the church’s day-to-day affairs in recent years. For the purposes of legal representation and accountability, the four trustees bear the responsibility of running the charity in an orderly manner, including the obligations set out in the Charities Act on top of the work they have been doing previously as leading members of the community. As and when there will be a need for further inclusion (or replacement) of board members, the board will closely look at capable, locally established members of
congregation with skills matching the requirements of managing the charity in effective manner. We will also consider any applications or proposals of members wishing to join the board or management structure. Most major decisions made by trustees are clearly communicated to the community, and public feeling on particular issues is sought prior to any major decisions being made.
Trustees meet regularly, on average 3 times per month on Zoom and in person with at least 75% attendance to coordinate, consider, make decisions, and take actions on all the affairs that fall under their responsibility in a day-to-day framework of governance. Records of major decisions, correspondence and meetings are held electronically for future reference. Many conversations and day-to-day running correspondence is done via WhatsApp group.
Administrative information
Ecclesia in Cambridge usually meets for Sunday worship, children and young people’s meeting and lunch at The Akeman Community Centre, Akeman Street, Cambridge, CB4 3HG on most Sundays and at the 26[th] Scouts Centre, Logans Way, Cambridge, CB5 1BL on first Sunday of each month.
The correspondence address is: 30 Iceni Way, Cambridge, CB4 2NZ
Current board members serving from the date charity was given its status to date are: Mr Theodore Wang (Chairman)
Dr Jonathan Woodruff
Mr Stanislaw Syrek
Mr Filip Syrek
Ecclesia in Cambridge (Charity No.1184416) Accounts
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 14 JULY 2022
| Bank Account | UK Brothers Acc | Savings Acc | Current Acc | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance as of 15 Jul 2021 | £ 17,985.60 | £ 675.90 | £ 53,594.26 | £ 72,255.76 |
| Incoming funds | ||||
| Offering | £ 400.00 | £ 19,354.68 | £ 19,754.68 | |
| Designated Trainees Offering | £ 560.00 | £ 560.00 | ||
| Other Designated Offering | £ 5,045.00 | £ 5,045.00 | ||
| Interest | £ 2.56 | £ 0.41 | £ 2.97 | |
| Total Incoming funds | £ 2.56 | £ 6,005.41 | £ 19,354.68 | £ 25,362.65 |
| Outgoing expenses | ||||
| MeetingHall Rental Costs | -£ 3,236.21 | -£ 3,236.21 | ||
| Trainee Accommodation | £ - | |||
| Trainee Support to Amana Trust | £ - | |||
| Trainee Standard Allowance | -£ 2,200.00 | -£ 2,200.00 | ||
| ServingOnes Support | -£ 1,410.00 | -£ 1,410.00 | ||
| Conferences | -£ 127.45 | -£ 127.45 | ||
| Other designatedgiving | -£ 580.00 | -£ 580.00 | ||
| MeetingFood Costs | £ - | |||
| Transport | -£ 315.06 | -£ 315.06 | ||
| IT Costs | -£ 964.25 | -£ 964.25 | ||
| Accountant Fee | £ - | |||
| Misc | -£ 232.78 | -£ 232.78 | ||
| Ukraininan Project | -£ 460.00 | -£ 460.00 | ||
| Total outgoing | -£ 1,410.00 | -£ 2,200.00 | -£ 5,915.75 | -£ 9,525.75 |
| Balance | £ 16,578.16 | £ 4,481.31 | £ 67,033.19 | £ 88,092.66 |
No assets or liabilities recorded.
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of ECCLESIA IN CAMBRIDGE On accounts for the year 14[th] July 2022 Charity no 1184416 ended (if any) Set out on pages One, only
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 14/07/2022
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation 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 all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's The charity’s gross income exceeded £25,000 but did not exceed £250,000. statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination ( ~~other than that disclosed below *)~~ which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did 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 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 a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Date: 05/05/2023
Signed: Name: Tim Phillips Relevant professional Money Laundering Regulations registration 12289611 qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: Tim Phillips & Co Ltd., Cart House 2, Copley Hill Business Park Cambridge Road, Babraham Cambridge CB22 3GN
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material 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 .