Registered number: 1187107
Emmanuel Church Northstowe
Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended 31[st] August 2025
EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
CHARITY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
| Trustees | J F Monteiro |
|---|---|
| A K White | |
| J M Cardwell (resigned 05/09/2024) | |
| D Runciman | |
| A Thompson | |
| C Wilson | |
| A Thomas | |
| J Brown (appointed 07/07/2025) | |
| Charity Registration Number | 1187107 |
| Principal Address | 45 Eaton Way |
| Longstanton | |
| Cambridge | |
| CB24 3ET | |
| Independent examiner | Lisa Darby FCA |
| Stewardship | |
| 1 Lamb's Passage | |
| London | |
| EC1Y 8AB | |
| Bankers | The Co-operative Bank - Business |
| Business Customer Services | |
| PO Box 250 | |
| Skelmersdale | |
| WN8 6WT | |
| Governing Document and Constitution | Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) |
| Constitution registered 20/12/2019 |
EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees' Annual Report | 1 - 7 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 11 - 22 |
EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
The Trustees present their report and the accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2025.
Achievements and activities
The 2024-25 year has been a significant and transformational year for Emmanuel Church Northstowe, as we grew our staff team significantly to serve our growing and diverse church family and the growing community of Northstowe.
In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
General aims
Emmanuel Church Northstowe aims for everyone in Northstowe and the surrounding villages to know Jesus in all his grace and truth as they hear the good news about Jesus, see the difference Jesus makes in individuals and communities, and are invited to receive Jesus’ forgiveness and join Jesus’ family.
Specifc aims
- Emmanuel Church Northstowe aims to display the glory of Jesus by enjoying Jesus’ grace and truth , which is directly fulfilling our charitable purpose: the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Northstowe, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding neighbourhood
Our strategy to display the glory of Jesus by enjoying Jesus’ grace and truth is for our main church Sunday gatherings to be occasions for church members, children, and visitors to enjoy Jesus together, and so encourage everyone to keep enjoying Jesus through the week. We enable people to enjoy Jesus by hearing the Bible faithfully and relevantly taught, by using the privilege of prayer and joining in confessing faith and worshipping with singing. We also aim to depend on God as we do this by praying for everything we do.
Activities undertaken Our main event each week is our Sunday morning gathering. Organising, training and preparation for leading and speaking at the Sunday gathering takes one third of our staff elder time. Our Sunday venue hire is also our largest venue cost. Along with providing children's group resources and refreshments, the Sunday morning gathering costs £51,106. The morning is also only possible with large teams of volunteers for music, children’s groups, refreshments, tech, and stewarding.
Our main regular prayer meeting is the weekly Monday evening Zoom prayer time.
Achievements and performance The weekly Sunday gathering has grown and by the end of the 2024-2025 year had around 140-150 people (adults and children) attending a typical
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
Sunday. The hard work and investment is sustaining faith, providing fellowship and support, training people in following Jesus, helping people explore faith, and growing the worshipping community. We especially enjoyed a baptism service with 5 baptisms this year. We are particularly encouraged to see growing participation of people from diverse backgrounds in the Sunday gatherings, with people from East and South Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Eastern Europe joining together in worshipping Jesus. We have an option to receive translation through an app.
The recruitment of a second staff elder, starting August 2025, will also assist in our Sunday gathering to enjoy Jesus’ grace and truth together, especially in the area of prayer. We believe God grows the church and therefore we believe our prayer times have underpinned other work, as we seek God’s work to grow us.
Future plans We will continue to develop our Sunday morning gathering to serve the growing town of Northstowe, providing a joint way to enjoy Jesus for people with diverse backgrounds and needs. We plan to add a pre-service prayer meeting.
- Emmanuel Church Northstowe aims to display the glory of Jesus by growing in Jesus’ grace and truth , which is directly fulfilling our charitable purpose.
Our strategy to display the glory of Jesus by growing in Jesus’ grace and truth is for all our gatherings to combine community and Bible teaching, so that we grow as disciples of Jesus. This is particularly the case with some of our smaller weekly gatherings in which gathering around food, family-like relationships of care and shared life, encouragement to grow as everyday disciples of Jesus, and opportunities to serve others (ministry) are fostered.
We empower individuals for ministry in church by training and mentoring people for a wide range of roles, and encouraging people to volunteer to serve in teams in church.
We provide additional care for those who need it by pastoral visits and organising support groups.
Activities undertaken Homegroups are the weekly small group gatherings for fellowship, prayer and Bible study. There were 8 homegroups running weekly, some with meals together. In addition, there were two regular mums’ groups meeting to share and support each other in parenting young children. The Ignite youth group (school years 7-9) and Resolved youth group (school years 10-13) ran fortnightly providing fun and discipleship.
There is also specific help and care for people in need, with a hardship fund (paid out £2,040) and support for counselling if people require it. Our new women’s workers, beginning November 2024, have both helped individuals with significant need and encouraged women’s fellowship and discipleship.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
We provide specific training to help equip people in the church to minister to each other. For the year ending August 2025 our occasional training evenings were focused on internationals, helping them to understand Emmanuel and us to understand their home church experience. We have also had a women’s training event, and training evenings for homegroup leaders and for service leaders. £48,002 was spent on enabling all these activities, training and support.
Achievements and performance Growth in personal connections, loving relationships, care for others, and knowledge of Jesus is hard to measure and never perfected in this life. However we are investing in helping existing attenders and having capacity to serve people moving to the area.
Future plans We are aiming to increase the number of homegroups to enable us to continue welcoming new people.
- Emmanuel Church Northstowe aims to display the glory of Jesus by sharing Jesus’ grace and truth , which is fulfilling our charitable purpose, including 1.2 such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, put into practice the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith…
Our strategy to display the glory of Jesus by sharing Jesus’ grace and truth is to proclaim the good news of Jesus to everyone by putting on special events to which we invite everyone in the community by word of mouth, posters, and online. We offer a friendly welcome to everyone who visits on Sunday, and help people find out more about us with welcome packs. We stand for justice by engaging with specific issues as they arise in our Bible series or from the news. We bless the communities we are in by seeking to develop ministries meeting specific needs, as well as joining in wider community events. We connect to worldwide mission by sharing information about individuals and ministries, praying, and aiming to give more than 10% of our church income to ministries and needs in the UK and overseas.
Activities undertaken We ran regular “Real Lives” events with a chance to hear from a range of people who had found Jesus relevant to them. These included a tech industry professional talking about Christ and the workplace, hearing about cross-cultural experiences of moving to Hong Kong, and a Real Questions event with Dr Kim Phillips looking at Hebrew manuscript evidence. Special events have included advent packs, Christmas services and events, an Easter Saturday craft event and Easter services. We supported Light Up Northstowe with music and joining the lantern procession, and the Northstowe Midsummer Festival with live music and a craft stall.
Achievements and performance We have welcomed a number of visitors to our special events.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
Connecting to God’s worldwide mission, we have given £12,542 spread between 15 organisations and causes (see page 17). This is roughly 7% of our income.
Future plans We plan to run Christianity Explored and Real Lives again, as well as seasonal events, and joining with large community events.
General running of Church
Trustees’ review of our main actvites
In summary, the Trustees praise God for the work Jesus is doing among us, and for the way we as a charity and community are serving him. With a growing number of people attending our regular Sunday gathering and small groups, we are helping more people to enjoy and grow in Jesus’ grace and truth. This year has been particularly focused on growing our staff team, with three new staff added, helping existing leadership as we seek to support and empower every member to serve Jesus.
Most of this work is on-going – very little of it is ever ‘finished’ and we continue to see new people moving into Northstowe, Christians looking for a local church, people exploring the Christian faith. We rejoice that God continues to work through Emmanuel Church Northstowe in the lives of so many people.
Membership
Our membership at the start of the reporting period was 78. Since then, 21 new members joined. Seven members left, of whom one died, two moved overseas, and four resigned. At the end of August 2025 our membership was 92.
Staffing
The church had five staff members during 2024-2025, two staff elders (pastor/ minister of religion), two part time women’s pastoral workers, and a part time administrator.
Volunteers
Like most churches, Emmanuel is heavily dependent on volunteers to carry out our activities. Homegroup leaders, musicians, refreshment servers, Sunday School teachers, Deacons, Trustees/Elders, etc. are, apart from our staff elder, all volunteers. We encourage all our Members to get involved in areas of church life where they feel gifted and equipped – and most do, some in multiple areas of church life. As a church, we see it as a key element of membership to use one’s God-given gifts and skills, time and resources for building one another up in Jesus.
Engagement with other charitable organisations
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
Several Emmanuel Members are involved as staff members, volunteers or trustees of other Christian organisations. Josh Monteiro (Staff elder) is seconded one day a week to run the CGP’s training course. We are committed to supporting people being trained for Christian ministry.
Fundraising
Emmanuel does not engage in any material fundraising activities to support its operations, other than to encourage Members to prayerfully consider financial support of the church as a part of broader Christian discipleship.
Looking ahead
We are grateful for the growing size and diversity of the church community. We continue to look to Jesus for wisdom to help every individual grow in Jesus and play an active part in the church community. We also want to develop ways of serving the Northstowe community as it continues to grow.
Financial review
We have on average £14,150 in donations per month (including gift aid), thanks to the generosity of church members. Total income came to £181,187, and total expenditure was £152,636, giving us a surplus of £28,551. We anticipate rising costs due to inflation and investment in growing our staff team will mean a deficit in the coming year.
Reserves
The church is fully dependent on the giving of members. This giving is not fixed. Members and/or their level of giving could change but the church does have fixed commitments of spend. Reserves help mitigate the risk of fluctuating income. Reserves should be appropriate to cope with a reasonable range of possible scenarios, however they do not need to allow the church to cope with extreme scenarios.
Income needs to be considered and is regularly reviewed. Five families together donate 39% of church income, so a small number of people changing their giving could alter church finances substantially. The church does not hold any significant assets or have any expectation of receiving any legacies.
Emmanuel Church Northstowe’s most significant regular expenditure commitments are the staff salaries and venue rental payments. Reserves need to be kept to ensure the continuation of these payments through a period of reduced income or church adjustment.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
At present, the church does not have any long-term commitments to mission partners, which reduces risk.
Emmanuel Church Northstowe's policy is to hold between three and six months of expenditure (approximately £59,600-119,000 by the end of this period) in reserves. We began the year with reserves of £204,941. Thanks to the generosity of church members, the end of year reserves balance was £233,492. We are making plans for our future church growth, which will include more staff, for which our reserves above £119,000 will be allocated.
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
There must be at least three charity trustees. In accordance with the Constitution, Trustees are appointed or re-appointed for a term of five years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity’s members. The elders nominate candidates, who are confirmed by the resolution. In appointing Trustees due consideration is given to ensuring that the Trustees have, between them, the skills and experience necessary to manage the charity effectively and in accordance with charity law. Church members have the opportunity to interview and speak with candidates prior to the resolution. During this year, Mark Cardwell’s term as a trustee came to an end, and he later died. We wish to express our deep gratefulness for his work setting up the charity and helping us get established.
Responsibilities of trustees under charity law
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charity as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
-
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-
state whether the applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
-
prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
A K White ~~___~~ A K White (May 16, 2026 15:24:52 GMT+1) ____ ALAN WHITE
May 16, 2026 Date: _______
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
('the Charity')
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 August 2025 on pages 9 to 22 following, which have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out on pages 11 to 14.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the Charity’s trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation 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 Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 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 statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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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 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.
Lisa Darby
Lisa Darby (May 27, 2026 11:20:29 GMT+1) Lisa Darby FCA Date: May 27, 2026
Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage London EC1Y 8AB
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
| Note Income from: Donations and legacies 4 Charitable activities 5 Investments 6 Expenditure on: Charitable activities 7 Net income Transfers between funds 17 Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward 17 Total funds carried forward 17 |
Unrestricted Designated Total funds funds funds £ £ £ 169,913 - 169,913 7,218 1,985 9,203 2,071 - 2,071 179,202 1,985 181,187 (148,195) (4,441) (152,636) (148,195) (4,441) (152,636) 31,007 (2,456) 28,551 (2,792) 2,792 - 204,277 664 204,941 232,492 1,000 233,492 2025 |
2024 Total funds £ 156,363 6,990 2,339 165,692 (123,620) (123,620) 42,072 - 162,869 204,941 |
|---|---|---|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing operations.
The notes on pages 11 - 22 form part of these accounts.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
| Note Current assets Investments 13 Debtors 14 Cash at bank and in hand 15 Liabilities Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 16 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity General fund 17 Hardship (Designated) fund 17 Weekend Away & Events fund 17 Total charity funds |
2025 Total funds £ £ 88,128 15,108 136,596 239,832 (6,340) 233,492 233,492 232,492 1,000 - 233,492 |
2024 Total funds £ £ 87,339 14,811 105,450 207,600 (2,659) 204,941 204,941 204,277 664 - 204,941 |
|---|---|---|
The accounts were approved by the Board of Trustees and were signed on its behalf on May 16, 2026
A K White
A K White (May 16, 2026 15:24:52 GMT+1)
Alan White
Trustee
The notes on pages 11 - 22 form part of these accounts.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
1. Statutory information
The Charity is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission in England & Wales. The Charity's registered number and principal address can be found on the Charity Information page.
2. Accounting policies
2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) ("the Charities SORP") issued in October 2019, with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ("FRS 102") issued in March 2018 and with the Charities Act 2011. The Charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity as set out in FRS 102.
The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the Charities SORP rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
The Charity has taken advantage of an exemption conferred by the Charities SORP and has not prepared a cash flow statement.
The following principal accounting policies have been applied:
2.2 Going concern
The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the Charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.
In particular the trustees have considered the Charity's forecasts and projections and the possible implications should projected income and/or expenditure vary unexpectedly. The trustees have concluded that, whilst the Charity is anticipated to have a monthly deficit for a number of years following recent increases in staff headcount, forecasts suggest that the reserves will remain above the minimum threshold set out in the reserves policy (namely six months' expenditure) for the forecast period of two years. The key supporting factors are the size of the accumulated surplus, the signalled willingness of members to increase donations and a number of identified financial efficiencies.
Thus, there is a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, and the trustees conclude that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue so they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
2.3 Income
Income is recognised in the period in which the Charity becomes entitled to receipt, the amount receivable can be measured with reasonable certainty, and receipt is probable. For direct donations, income is recognised when it is received. Donations from Stewardship (a donor advised fund) are recognised when Stewardship transfers the funds from the original donors, since all gifts remain at the discretion of their trustees. Income is only deferred when the Charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period.
Donations from Stewardship are recognised net of the fees charged by Stewardship to donors, in line with its legal structure as a donor advised fund. The aggregate of these fees is disclosed in Note 10.
Recoverable gift aid is recognised when the related donation is received. Gift aid that has not been recovered by the balance sheet date is included as a debtor.
Donations from Stewardship have gift aid claimed at source and are paid out of a gross balance regardless of the stage of Stewardship's own gift aid claim. Therefore, no portion of such donations are classified as 'recoverable gift aid on donations' in Note 4.
Income from donations and legacies comprises donations received and recoverable gift aid.
Income from charitable activities comprises reimbursement for a paid secondment of a portion of Josh Monteiro's time to Training for East Anglia Ministry (TEAM).
Bank interest on the Kingdom Bank savings deposit account is calculated on a non-compounding, daily basis with a variable interest rate and is paid annually on the 31st of December. It is recognised in the financial statements as investment income using an effective interest rate (EIR) calculation. The EIR is updated whenever the bank account's interest rate updates using the assumption that the rate will remain unchanged for the remainder of that interest period.
The value of volunteers' time, on which the Charity relies to carry out many of its activities, has not been recognised as income as it cannot be reliably measured.
2.4 Expenditure
Expenditure, including irrecoverable VAT, is recognised when it is incurred or, if earlier, when a legal or constructive obligation for a payment arises provided that it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
The Charity makes grants to other institutions and individuals to further its charitable objectives. Grants payable are recognised at the point that constructive obligations arise, which is generally when the Charity expresses a commitment to the recipient that can be measured reliably and then only to the extent that any conditions associated with the grant are outside of the control of the Charity.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
2.4 Expenditure (continued)
Governance costs, which are included in expenditure on charitable activities but are identified separately in the notes to the accounts, include costs associated with the independent examination of the financial statements, compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and any other expenditure incurred for the strategic management of the Charity.
Expenditure that is not directly attributable to one of the primary activities of the Charity is allocated evenly between all the activities. Expenditure is allocated to the General Fund unless it is directly related to a Designated or Restricted Fund.
2.5 Pensions
The Charity operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the Charity pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the Charity has no further payment obligations.
The contributions are recognised as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities when they fall due, allocated to the activities and funds in the same proportions as the other employment expenditure for the same staff. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals as a liability in the Balance Sheet.
The assets of the plan are held separately from the Charity in independently administered funds.
2.6 Taxation
The Charity has taken advantage of the various reliefs from taxation available to charities and no tax is payable on the Charity's income.
2.7 Tangible fixed assets
Items purchased or donated for the Charity's own use are capitalised when the cost of purchased items, or the fair value of donated items, is more than £1,000 and the item is expected to benefit the Charity over more than one accounting period. Depreciation is charged on a straight line basis so as to write down the value of each asset to its estimated residual value (if any) over its expected useful economic life. To achieve this objective the following rates of depreciation are charged:
Equipment Over 3 to 7 years
The carrying values of tangible fixed assets are reviewed for impairment in periods when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable.
2.8 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash is represented by cash in hand and deposits with financial institutions repayable without penalty on notice of not more than 24 hours.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
2.9 Financial instruments
The Charity has only entered into basic financial instruments transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors.
The Kingdom Bank savings deposit account requires notice of 90 days to withdraw funds. Therefore, the balance is recognised as a financial asset rather than cash. It is held at its undiscounted balance. Any cumulative accrued interest income is recognised as an accrued income debtor using an effective interest rate (EIR) calculation.
Debt instruments that are payable or receivable within one year, typically trade debtors and creditors, are measured, initially and subsequently, at the undiscounted amount of the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received.
Financial assets that are measured at cost and amortised cost are assessed at the end of each reporting period for objective evidence of impairment. If objective evidence of impairment is found, an impairment loss is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
The impairment loss is measured as the difference between an asset's carrying amount and best estimate, which is an approximation of the amount that the Charity would receive for the asset if it were to be sold at the Balance Sheet date.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the Balance Sheet when there is an enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
2.10 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects. Endowment funds are donations that are retained as capital in accordance with the donor's wishes. The nature of the restriction determines whether the endowments represent permanent endowments or expendable endowments.
3. Judgements in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The trustees do not consider that there are any material sources of judgement, estimation or uncertainty at the balance sheet date that could result in a material adjustment to the carrying values of assets and liabilities in the next reporting period.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
4. Income from donations and legacies
| 4. | Income from donations and legacies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Donations of cash and similar | 157,900 | 147,183 | ||
| Recoverable gift aid on donations | 12,013 | 9,180 | ||
| 169,913 | 156,363 | |||
| 5. | Income from charitable activities | |||
| Reimbursement for TEAM secondment | 2025 £ 7,218 |
2024 £ 6,990 |
||
| Monies for Church Away Day | 1,090 | - | ||
| Monies for Youth Weekend Away | 895 | - | ||
| 9,203 | 6,990 | |||
| 6. | Income from investments | |||
| Kingdom Bank savings deposit account | interest | 2025 £ 2,071 |
2024 £ 2,339 |
|
| 2,071 | 2,339 | |||
| 7. | Expenditure | |||
| Activity or | Grant funding Activities |
Support | 2025 | |
| programme | of activities undertaken directly |
costs | Total | |
| Enjoying Jesus’ grace and truth | £ £ 51,106 - |
£ 5,235 |
£ 56,341 |
|
| Growing in Jesus’ grace and truth | 48,002 2,040 |
5,235 | 55,277 | |
| Sharing Jesus’ grace and truth | 23,240 12,542 |
5,235 | 41,017 | |
| 122,348 14,582 |
15,706 | 152,636 |
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
7. Expenditure (continued)
2024
| Enjoying Jesus’ grace and truth Growing in Jesus’ grace and truth Sharing Jesus’ grace and truth Activity or programme |
£ £ £ £ 46,147 - 4,466 50,613 23,420 1,742 4,466 29,628 18,637 20,276 4,466 43,379 88,204 22,018 13,398 123,620 Total Support costs Grant funding of activities Activities under- taken directly |
|---|---|
The Charity has chosen to voluntarily report on an activity basis, in line with the encouragement in the Charities SORP clause 4.22.
The activities are aligned with the Charity's mission statement and values statement, which can be found at https://emmanuelchurchnorthstowe.org/Groups/303801/Our_Vision.aspx.
In particular, allocating expenses to each activity followed the following principles:
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Enjoying Jesus’ grace and truth : Sunday gatherings
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Growing in Jesus’ grace and truth : Homegroups, church family meetings, mums' group, youth group, training, counselling and Hardship Fund grants
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Sharing Jesus’ grace and truth : Evangelism, community engagement, courses, CAP, international café and grants to other charities
Employment costs for the staff elders were apportioned equally between the three activities.
8. Support costs
| Administrator employment costs Independent examiner's fee (Governance costs) Other HR costs Other costs below £1,000 |
2025 2024 £ £ 8,004 7,171 1,680 1,500 1,550 - 4,473 4,727 15,706 13,398 |
|---|---|
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
9. Grants payable
| Grants for UK and overseas mission Relief of poverty and need The Charity's principal grants to institutions comprised: FIEC Medhurst Ministries Ukraine Christian Ministries Trust Nea Zoi Northstowe News Christians Against Poverty Cornerstone Care in Confidence GenR8 Cambridge Food Bank Central Eastern European Ministries Cambridgeshire Gospel Partnership Evangelical Alliance Romsey Mill Africa Inland Mission Ukrainian Churches (multiple partners) * |
2025 2024 £ £ 8,047 11,018 6,536 9,259 14,582 20,276 2025 2024 £ £ 2,784 1,518 1,000 5,000 1,000 998 1,993 600 - 500 3,476 500 1,000 500 500 500 500 500 300 - 113 - - 1,000 - 500 - (2,446) 9,294 13,041 |
|---|---|
- A donation to one of the Ukrainian churches was returned in October 2023 as the payment failed.
The Charity's principal grants to individuals comprised:
| Hardship Fund grants (multiple individuals) SIM International (multiple partners) People International (one partner) Myrto Theocharous |
2025 2024 £ £ 2,040 1,742 1,250 3,500 1,000 - 998 1,993 5,288 7,235 |
|---|---|
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
10. Independent examiner's remuneration
| Other fees payable to the Charity's independent examiner: Payroll administration Fees payable to the Charity's independent examiner for examining the accounts |
2025 2024 £ £ 1,680 1,500 1,680 1,500 2025 2024 £ £ 793 503 793 503 |
|---|---|
Some donations to the Charity are from Stewardship. This is a donor advised fund which is part of the same organisation as the Charity's independent examiner. The original donors were charged total fees of £3,724 (2024: £4,059) by Stewardship, which then granted the net balance to the Charity. In line with the legal structure of the fund, these fees are not treated as a cost to the Charity.
11. Employees
Staff costs, including trustees' remuneration, were as follows:
| Staff costs, including trustees' remuneration, were as follows: | |
|---|---|
| Wages and salaries Social security costs Cost of defined contribution pension scheme Other employee benefits |
2025 2024 £ £ 57,318 35,153 - - 4,996 3,516 25,895 23,880 |
| 88,208 62,548 |
|
| The average monthly number of FTE employees during the year was as follows: Staff Elder Administrator Women's Pastoral Workers |
2025 2024 1.1 1.0 0.3 0.2 0.7 0.0 |
| 2.1 1.2 |
No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
11. Employees (continued)
The Charity relies on volunteers to carry out many of its activities, particularly in running the Sunday services, home groups, children's work and outreach.
12. Trustees' remuneration
| Trustees: Josh Monteiro John Brown |
2025 2024 £ £ Total Total 30,960 24,919 2,948 58,827 55,377 952 976 95 2,022 - 31,912 25,895 3,043 60,849 55,377 Wages & salaries Other employment benefits pension contributi ons |
|---|---|
'Other employment benefits' relates to the provision of accommodation to Josh Monteiro - a trustee - so that they could better perform their duties. This is a related party transaction, as the property is also rented by the Charity from Josh and Karuna Monteiro.
Josh Monteiro and John Brown served as church leaders and received the above remuneration for serving in that capacity and not for serving as trustees. This remuneration is permitted under the Charity's governing document.
The Charity's key management personnel comprise the trustees.
During the year key management personnel received employment benefits totalling £60,849 (2024: £55,377).
13. Investments
| Kingdom Bank savings deposit account | 2025 2024 £ £ 88,128 87,339 88,128 87,339 |
|---|---|
The Kingdom Bank savings deposit account is a 90-day notice savings account. Non-compounding interest accrues daily at a variable rate, and is paid into the account annually on 31st December.
The interest rates for the year were in the range 2.05% - 2.75% (2024: 2.75% - 3.75%) with an average rate of 2.37% (2024: 3.61%).
14. Debtors
| Prepayments and accrued income Gift Aid Due Staff loan |
2025 2024 £ £ 5,703 4,301 5,775 10,510 3,630 - 15,108 14,811 |
|---|---|
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
15. Cash at bank and in hand
| Cash at bank Stewardship Petty cash Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Expenses to be reimbursed Invoices to be paid Accruals Deferred income |
2025 2024 £ £ 136,594 101,780 - 3,225 2 445 136,596 105,450 2025 2024 £ £ 825 483 1,219 226 3,228 1,897 1,068 53 6,340 2,659 |
|---|---|
16. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
17. Funds
General fund
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity.
Hardship fund (Designated)
The Hardship fund is to provide short-term support to members of the community known to the Charity (members and non-members) who are experiencing significant financial difficulty.
During the year, there were transfers between the General Fund and the Hardship Fund totalling £2,376 (2024: £1,742). These transfers were to replenish the fund following grants.
CAP fund (Designated)
The CAP fund was for costs incurred by the church's activities with the charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP), including a seconded CAP worker. The secondment finished in December 2022. Since no alternative activity with CAP commenced, the remainder of the fund was transferred to CAP as a grant in August 2024.
Weekend Away & Events fund (Designated)
The Weekend Away & Events fund is for costs received and incurred in relation to specific large events such as the Youth Weekend Away or the Church Day Away, during which attendees can worship, enjoy fellowship and teaching from the Bible.
During the year, there was a transfer between the General Fund and the Weekend Away & Events Fund totalling £416 (2024: £nil). This transfer was to cover the deficit between the income and expenditure following the Youth Weekend Away.
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EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
17. Funds (continued)
Outline summary of fund movements for the period ended 31[st] August 2025
| Fund balances | Fund balances | Gains and | Fund balance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b/fwd | Income | Expenditure | Transfers | losses | c/fwd | ||
| Fund name | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| General fund | 204,277 | 179,202 | (148,195) | (2,792) | - | 232,492 | |
| Hardship (Designated) fund | 664 | - | (2,040) | 2,376 | - | 1,000 | |
| Weekend Away & Events (Designated) fund |
- | 1,985 | (2,401) | 416 | - | - | |
| 204,941 | 181,187 | (152,636) | - | - | 233,492 |
Outline summary of fund movements for the period ended 31[st] August 2024
| Fund name | Income Expenditure Transfers £ £ £ £ £ £ Fund balance c/fwd Gains and losses Fund balances b/fwd |
|---|---|
| General fund | 158,729 165,692 (118,402) (1,742) - 204,277 |
| Hardship (Designated) fund | 664 - (1,742) 1,742 - 664 |
| CAP (Designated) fund | 3,476 - (3,476) - - - |
| 162,869 165,692 (123,620) - - 204,941 |
Outline summary of fund assets and liabilities as at 31[st] August 2025
| Fund name General fund Hardship (Designated) fund Weekend Away & Events fund |
Investments £ £ £ £ £ 88,128 15,080 134,528 (5,244) 232,492 - - 1,000 - 1,000 28 1,068 (1,096) - 88,128 15,108 136,596 (6,340) 233,492 Debtors Cash Creditors due within 1 year Net assets |
|---|---|
Outline summary of fund assets and liabilities as at 31[st] August 2024
| Fund name General fund Hardship (Designated) fund |
Investments £ £ £ £ £ 87,339 14,811 104,786 204,277 - - 664 - 664 87,339 14,811 105,450 204,941 Page 21 (2,659) Debtors Cash Creditors due within 1 year Net assets (2,659) |
|---|---|
EMMANUEL CHURCH NORTHSTOWE
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2025
18. Related party transactions
Apart from Trustee remuneration (including housing costs) outlined in Note 12, the following transactions occurred with related parties during the year:
The Charity paid a security and rent deposit on a rental property which was intended to be provided to John Brown as an employment benefit. Despite earlier commitments to the contrary, the landlord concluded that they were not prepared to rent to a church and so reneged. John Brown took over the rent agreement privately, and agreed to repay the amount of the deposit to the Charity as an interestfree loan over 12 months. The year-end balance of £3,630 is disclosed as a debtor in Note 14.
Josh Monteiro was reimbursed for £1,331 (2024: £963) of expenses incurred during his duties as a church leader. This mainly comprised theological books, conferences, IT and travel expenses. These expenses were not incurred in his capacity as a trustee. This reimbursement is permitted under the Charity's governing document.
No trustees incurred expenses specifically as a result of their duties as trustees. Expenses claimed by trustees outside of their duties were solely incurred as agents of the charity, except as disclosed above.
Named donations from trustees and persons closely connected to trustees totalled £50,282 (2024: £63,801) and were given without attached conditions.
Donors are able to request that Stewardship grants their donations to the Charity anonymously. Therefore, additional donations from trustees or persons closely connected to trustees may have been made in this manner and, accordingly, would not be identifiable as such.
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