2022-03-31-accounts - New City Church Milton Keynes

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Trustees’ Annual Report

and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st March 2022

Registered Address: 62 Eridge Green, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, MK7 6JE

Registered Charity Number: 1187160

New City Church Milton Keynes Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 March 2022

AIM AND PURPOSES

The main purpose of New City Church Milton Keynes is the advancement of the Christian faith primarily but not exclusively within Milton Keynes and the surrounding neighbourhood; and such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, further the work of the church.

BACKGROUND

New City Church Milton Keynes began as an unincorporated charity in 2003 under the name Britten Grove Baptist Church. To reflect a change in location and purpose the name of the church was changed to New City Church Milton Keynes in 2013. New City Church Milton Keynes is affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) (Registered Charity Number 263354).

In the year 2018-2019 the church decided that it was in its best interest to convert to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in December 2019. A new charity was duly established with the Charity Commission in December 2019 and all the assets of the previous charity were transferred to the new CIO with effect from 30 March 2020.

The church is an independent church that welcomes people from all denominational backgrounds and none. Membership of the church is on the basis of adherence to core gospel beliefs as set out in the Statement of Faith contained in the Church Constitution signed on 1 December 2019. The members of the church come from a variety of church backgrounds and none.

The church is led by a team of pastors and elders who are equal in status. In accordance with the Constitution (clause 12.4) the pastors and elders are also Trustees. The elders make decisions collectively, whilst certain matters as set out in the Church Handbook are decided by the church members during business meetings held. The elders as at 31 March 2022 were Richard Wardman (Chair), Gavin Naylor, Stephen Riisnaes, Mark Sewall and Paul Sherwood.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

When planning our activities for the year 2021-22, the elders considered the Commission's guidance on public benefit and in particular the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular we endeavoured to enable ordinary people to live out their Christian faith as part of our church community through:

worship and prayer; learning about the gospel; and developing their knowledge and faith in the Lord Jesus;
the provision of pastoral care for people living in the local community and attending the church; and
missionary and outreach work.

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New City Church Milton Keynes Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 March 2022

CURRENT ACTIVITIES OF NEW CITY CHURCH MILTON KEYNES

Sunday Meetings

During the year our weekly Sunday morning services were held at Monkston Primary School, which we hired for the purpose. As the COVID-19 restrictions lifted we made adjustments to how our meetings were conducted, creating additional room for people to attend and particularly the reintroduction of corporate singing. Services were live streamed to YouTube until Spring 2022. Sermons are now recorded and uploaded later.

We continued to hold Sunday evening meetings on Zoom during the year, as this was of some benefit to those who may not otherwise have been able to attend. These meetings were primarily for prayer but also included sermons, talks and discussions on various topics.

All these meetings were open to the general public, whom we invited regularly by means of social media and other advertisements. The aim of the activities was to strengthen the Christian faith of those who were already Christians, and to promote, teach and live out the Christian faith for those who wished to know more. All of these activities were provided free of charge. The church also continued to support the promotion of the Christian faith throughout the UK and in other countries.

New City Kids (Sunday School)

During the year we also reintroduced our weekly Sunday School groups (known as New City Kids). These took place during the Sunday morning meetings for children aged 4-11. There was also a creche for children aged 0-3. These groups, which are run by a team of volunteers, were open to all families attending the meetings and operated under the church’s Safeguarding Policy.

New City Youth (Youth Group)

Our youth group also started meeting again in person, also at Monkston Primary School. These take place twice a month and are run in accordance with the church’s Safeguarding Policy by a team of volunteers.

Playtime and Dadtime

The church ran a weekly parent and toddler group known as Playtime. The group provided toys, crafts, songs and Bible stories for the many local families that attended. The church hired Kents Hill Community Centre for this purpose. Similarly, Dadtime was a monthly group aimed at pre-school children and their male carers. Both groups have restarted following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Safeguarding

All those working with children and young people are required to apply for a Disclosure Statement through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The church requires these statements to be renewed every three years and these are verified by our Safeguarding Officer or Deputy Safeguarding Officer. Everyone working with children and young people is also required to undergo Safeguarding Training every three years to ensure up to date compliance and awareness.

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New City Church Milton Keynes Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 March 2022

This year, the Church also received advice and training from Christian Safeguarding Services. In particular, the Trustees received training concerning their safeguarding responsibilities.

Home Groups

Weekly Home Group meetings continued to provide the focus for basic pastoral care and discipleship. Over the year these groups met on Tuesday evenings in members’ homes, with some groups also offering the chance to join via Zoom to those unable to attend in person.

Women’s Bible Study

A weekly meeting for women ran during the year. This had been taking place at Wavendon Community Centre which was hired for this purpose, but has been meeting in a member’s home.

Pastoral Care

The Church offers and provides help and support for anyone who may encounter difficulty in their life. Such support may come from one of the Pastors or Elders, but everyone in the church is encouraged to show compassion and care to others. Anyone connected with the church continued to be able to request contact from a Pastor or Elder.

Care Fund

The Church has a Care Fund in order to provide financial support for members of the church or those known to the church. Church members are encouraged to donate specifically for this purpose and several people have been helped as a result. The fund is used at the discretion of the elders who collectively decide when financial support would be appropriate.

Mission and evangelism

In addition to ensuring that our Sunday services were accessible to people who would not normally engage with the church, other evangelistic events were organised during the year, including Easter and Christmas services, Christmas Carol Singing, and courses aimed at introducing people to the Christian faith. These were all conducted in line with government requirements at the time, where appropriate.

We also participated in a nationwide initiative known as A Passion for Life, which encouraged churches to engage their local communities with the good news about Jesus Christ. As part of this initiative, we held a meeting which included an interview with a Christian man living with terminal cancer who shared how his faith has helped him during severe illness. This event was advertised locally and was also streamed online.

FULL-TIME WORKERS

The church continues to support two full-time workers in the role of Pastor. These are supported by means of funds raised by the members of the church via regular and one-off donations.

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New City Church Milton Keynes Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 March 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Receipts and Payments

Total receipts on unrestricted funds were £99,842. This came mainly from regular donations provided through standing orders and cash offerings. There were also restricted funds of £2,163. This gave a total of £102,005 funds received.

£60,113 was spent on stipendiary costs in support of two full-time pastors. A further £38,362 went towards the rent of two houses for the use of the pastors and their families. A total of £8,603 was spent on the hiring of venues for Sunday meetings and other meetings, such as Playtime/Dadtime and the Women’s Bible Study.

Other expenses totalled £19,091, including £7,278 in donations to the FIEC; to full-time gospel workers in Japan (Overseas Mission Fellowship); to a church planting network in Scotland (20Schemes); to a UK-based Christian Youth camp charity (Contagious Bible Conferences); and to a local hospice (Willen Hospice). We also put funds towards the support of refugees from Afghanistan.

The total unrestricted payments for the year were £121,319. The total restricted payments for the year were £4,850.

The net result was a deficit of unrestricted receipts over unrestricted payments of £21,478, and a deficit of restricted receipts over restricted payments of £2,687. This is line with our plan to run down reserves in support of a second full-time worker.

Reserves Policy

The total cash fund balance as of 31 March 2022 was £191,040 of unrestricted funds, and £688 of restricted funds.

The unrestricted funds were made up of the General Fund of £151,858 and the following designated funds: an External Causes fund of £3,031; a Training Fund of £3,350 which is for any training needs that may occur; an Equipment Fund of £301; and a Contingency Fund of £32,500.

It is the policy of the church to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds, where possible, which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. The balance of £191,040 clearly exceeds this. However, for several years the trustees have been accumulating reserves in anticipation of calling a second full-time worker, which we did in the summer of 2020.

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New City Church Milton Keynes Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 March 2022

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The method of appointing church members is set out in the Church Handbook. The elders are appointed by the members of the church in accordance with the policies and procedures set out in the Handbook.

The elders meet once a fortnight. They are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the church, and these are presented to the church during regular general meetings.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Registered Charity Number: 1187160

Correspondence address: 62 Eridge Green, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, MK7 6JE

Phone: 01908 665871

Email: info@newcitychurch.co.uk

Website: www.newcitychurch.co.uk

Trustees of the charity as at 31 March 2022 were:

Gavin Naylor Stephen Riisnaes Mark Sewall Paul Sherwood Richard Wardman (Chair)

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustee's report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees

Signature:

Full Name: Richard Wardman

Date: 1 July 2022

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Charity Name No (if any)
NEW CITY CHURCH MILTON KEYNES 1187160
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period 01/04/2021 31/03/2022
To
from
----- End of picture text -----

Section A Receipts and payments

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
General Offering (non Gift Aidable) 14,671 14,671 9,003
General Offering (Gift Aidable) 68,788 68,788 59,298
Gift Aid Tax Return 16,383 16,383 42,514
Restricted Offerings 759 759 -
Dadtime Donations - - -
Playtime Donations - - -
Care Fund 711 711 3,380
Other 693 693 1,112
Sub total (Gross income for AR) 99,842 2,163 - 102,005 115,307
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 99,842 2,163 - 102,005 115,307
A3 Payments
Administration (incl. IT and regulatory) 2,986 2,986 3,599
Care Fund 1,425 1,425 2,067
Catering and Hospitality 219 219 11
Children and Youth - General 441 1,328 1,769 364
Children and Youth - Dadtime 176 176 18
Children and Youth - Playtime 766 766 216
Equipment 1,599 1,599 764
Employees - Wages and National Insurance 53,039 53,039 41,468
Employees - Pension Contributions 6,607 6,607 5,212
Employees - Expenses 467 467 144
External Causes (general offerings) 7,278 7,278 8,389
External Causes (restricted offerings) 988 988 609
Insurance 187 187 184
Learning and Development Resources 530 167 697 1,316
Outreach and Events 770 770 541
Property and Venue Hire 46,966 46,966 38,969
Sundry 130 130 3,118
Visiting Speakers 100 100 250
Sub total [ 121,319 ] 4,850 - 126,169 107,239
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 121,319 4,850 - 126,169 107,239
Net of receipts/(payments)
- 21,477 - 2,687 - - 24,164 8,068
A5 Transfers between funds - 1,852 1,852 - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 214,369 1,523 - 215,892
Cash funds this year end 191,040 688 - 191,728
----- End of picture text -----

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

15/07/2022

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Details General Fund *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Restricted Fund - Other Restricted Fund - Dadtime Designated Fund - External Causes Restricted Fund - Playtime Designated Fund - Training Fund Designated Fund - Equipment Fund Designated Fund - Contingency Fund Restricted Fund - Restricted Offerings Restricted Fund - Care Fund Details Details Details Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 151,858 3,031 3,350 301 32,500 191,040 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - - Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates	Restricted funds to nearest £ 89 - - 599 - 688 OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - Cost (optional) - - - Cost (optional) - - - - Amount due (optional)	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - Current value (optional) - - - Current value (optional) - - - - When due (optional)
Cancellation notice period for Monkston Primary venue hire as per hire agreement (one school term)	General	2,100 - - -
Signature	Print Name Richard Wardman		Date of approval 1 July 2021

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

15/07/2022