CHURCH (Short Form)
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
ACCOUNTS
THE METHODIST CHURCH
STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS
(SHORT FORM)
Christchurch L.E.P.
Church
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 December 2023
Granlham and Vale belvoir
Circuit
Circuit no
22115
Registered Charity - Charity Registration number
1187168
If not a registered charity Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Glft Aid number
(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terrns of eviden￿ of charitable status
and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing lo see eviden￿ of the organisation's charitable
status. Melhodist char¢ties in England and Wales that are not registered tharities are excepted from
registration under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242)
Minister..
Rev.Dr.Peter Stevenson
Church Stewards:
Mr Alan Greenslade June Ruddock
Mrs Isabel Wyatt
Mr Trevor Ridsdale Mrs Jean Breckenridge
Mrs Sue Sulston Mr John Heald
Brian Bowes
Marion Bevan
Mrs Lesliey Mees
Treasurer=
Mr Chris Morgan
1014
Church short Std form of accls 2012 R.P.xL*

Chwrh
Fonn
Short
th￿b
AC¢(YJNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDEDJ1 A￿$¢2￿23
SEt¥lONA
ftE¢EIPTS
a2
ILX)
e4
16.982
52.9
13.703
TQTALRECEIPT5
66M14
SECnOM B
PAYMENTS
b2
24.3rJ
b3
RepaIrs#￿j
b5
33fft1
Other￿Y￿ents
TOTAL PAYMENT$
19.814
15371
b7
•1.5S9
SECTk)W
NETRECEIPTSTrAYMENTS FOR THEVEAR
(￿-b7>
f14.Wl
tz
Totellunds brovgthlloAw*d Iromlasls*
¢25.481
140.1&3
TofAL FUNDSATENDOF YÈAR
1$2.791
12S.4I1
SlatettérÈtr lotsl
erassèts(**eth
ts
$14le her8 kn&tolaofarryWhtse5&thÈCPK
state￿e￿￿&1￿5￿£d
SECllON DANALYSL8OFFUNO8
al TMCP4131
14747.
Ba￿￿$￿ he￿a1¢F￿ u131 A
05.120
d3
bank andCashW4￿1t2f
51.617
d4
TOTAL Sox
11SWI
sECT￿N E
FOR INFORMATKJNQNLY.. klONEY RECÈWED ANDPASSEDON TO EYTERlIIL¢RGAf*￿rK)￿S
lihèaè 4mounLs ar¢nottob&includ•d lrt totsl fvJuFw•bob*l
Ba￿tr￿h1 *￿wardfrorn￿*ve4r
e2
orrertngslGrfIs . IqC•Avedioiextefn•
¢3
OffenngsIGIlls - p&s88d
370
BALANCÈ s￿LL TO8E PWD
297
201

Name ofchurch..........
Chrlst Church
Declarations and Scrutiny
I confirm Ihal these Re￿Ipl and Paymenl based accounts for the year lo 31 August 2023 have been
prepared from the records of Ihe Church and that they include all funds under the control of the
Church Iruslees.
Signature of treasurer.
Name and address ol treasurer .
L A. 111oLGft
G R I¥￿
Posl Cc4Je. t! ¢£ 11 8 IL
Presenlallon to the Church trustees
I confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 All9[￿ 2023 we￿A￿lI1 be"
presented lo the meeting of the Church Irtjstees he
don....
Signature of the Chaii of the meeting
Name of the Chair of the meeting
Dale. l!
119491
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the
Christ Church
Charlty Number 1187168 #Ml*#lf
Responslbilitlgs and basis of report
I report lo the trustee5 on my
n of the accounts of the .
Church for the year ended 31
023 sel out on pages .
lo
As the Church's Iruslees. you
are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requ1￿mentS of the
Charities Act 20111'lhe Acl'l.
amina
I report in respect of my examination of the Church'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 se¢lion 14515llbl of Ihe Act.
delete or circle as appropriate
3of4

Name of Church . Christ Church
Independent Examinerfs Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come lo my attention in
connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below") which give me cause to believe
that in, any mateiial respect..
the accounting records were not kept in accordall￿ with secb.on 130 01 the Act., or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection wtth the examination to
which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the
accounts lo be reached.
I havelhave not. obtained independent verification of all investments with the Trustees for Melhodisl
Church Purposes or held in other Irusls, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the
Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10.000 {len thousand pounds} at the balance
sheet dale.
Signature of independent examiner
119491
Name of independent examiner
. Mrs Susan Radf(Kd
Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner
. ci
Name of firm {wheie appropriate)
Address Cordwaifters Car Cols¢cx) Notts
Post Code .. NG138JG
Dale
. 1510212024
delete or circle as appropriate
short-rorm-standard-forrn￿f-aCtoUnts-IrX-rknUrChes-2023
4of4

CHRISTCHURCH
FINKIN STRf, ET
GRANTHAM
NG316QZ
A Welcoming Local Ecumenical Partnership
TRUSTEES, A]¥NUAL REPORT FOR 2023.
Introduetion:
The accounts are being prepared and will be submitted to ihe Independent Examiner. and show a true
refleclion of payments and income over the financial year which runs from I, January 2023 to 31,
December 2023.
Aims and organi$ation'.
Christchurch is a Local Fcumenical Partnership b¢lwe¢n the Meth(Klist Church and the United Reformed
Church. It ts part of the Grantham and Vale of Belvolr Circuit in the Nottingham and Derby Districl of the
Meihodist Church of Great Britain, and the United Reformed Church East Midlands Synod.
'rhe Church Mission slalement was developed in line with those of the two sponsoring denominations using
the five marks of mission. We seek io make our worship stimulating, challengingy and relevant to the n¢¢ds
of our congregation. We share in fellowshtp ihrough study, fundraising activities and social groups.
Review of the year:
The members of ihe Ecumenical Church Council, (E.C.C.) are the Managing Trnstees of Christchurch.
2023 has been a challenging year with th¢ Church still being affected by ihe Covid 19 pandemic although
things have improved on this aspect. but Covid is still around and as a Church we do need to be mindful of
that especially with some of our more vulnerable congregation. Our letlings have almost retumed io normal.
On the posilive side we have also gained some new lettings. The Managing Tn￿teeS (E.C.C.) were kept
fully updated on the Covid siluation locally. and ECC having fully assessed all the risks and mitt8ations put
in place. The Risk Assessment was regularly r¢viewed and updated. Probably the factor that has affected us
most, especially the financial side. is ihe Cost-of-Living Crisis. As a Church we have suffered just as much
as individuals have and we have se¢n our gas and electricity bills soar to 3 times more than it had been
previously.
Income:
The church's regular income is primarily drawn from the giving of Church members, Sunday colleclions,
regular coffee mornings and letting income from users hiring rooms. For 2023 thi5 income has been slightly
reduced Ihan the expeclalion. due lo the cautiousness of some of our groups returning to hire the rooms and
the relevant reduction of attendanc¢ once the pr¢mises were opened. However, the Congregation have
continued to Supply iheir offerings by direct bank payments. for which the Trustees are v¢ry grateful.
Wiihout this support and financial help, it would not be wssible to maintain the premises to a salisfactory
standard and develop ihem to serve the Church's mission more eif¢¢tively.

Expenditur¢:
The major regular expenditure is ihe assessm¢nt paid to the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Circuit, and the
Minislry and Mission payment made lo th¢ U.R.C. East Midlands Synod, the conlribulion Inade by
Christchurch to the cosls met centrally by the Circuit and ihe Synod, including the slipends and Manse costs
for Ministers. Additional costs this year have related to ongoing maintenance issues ihal arise from the
running and maintenance of a Grade Il listed building over 175 years old in a conservation area. Repairs thi5
year were just under £34k (the previous year they were just over £20k) but we have had the Shepherd 14all
roof replaced, and new flooring in the Shepherd Hall and also had lh¢ ceiling repair in the Sanctuary fully
completed, so all in all I believe this is an acceptable figure
Fund Balanc￿..
As stated in ih¢ first paragraph, the accounts are being prepared for the Independent Examiner. As of 31,
December 2023. we had the following balances in our accounts:
H.S.B.C. (working account)
£29,847
H.S.B.C. (Kenwick Drive account)
£6.688
H.S.B.C. (Friends account)
£1331
Central Finance Board Account.
£63.120
Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (T.M.C.P.) Accouni £14,782
TOTAL
£115,768
{2022 £30,212)
(2022 £6.354)
(2022 £1.418. )
(2022 £59,062)
(2022 £14,782)
£111,828
As can be seen from those figures we have £3.940 more in our accounts as 0131112123 as. the same time. Ihe
previous year. In my view this is quite an achievemenl considering our expected total expenditure for the
year. but I do want to comment too much on this unlil the Stsndard Fom] of Accounts are received back
from ihe Independent Examiner.
Plans:
Durin8 2024 there are a number of plans that will require lo be finalised
a) The next Phasc of th¢ Community Project. has been fully discussed and consulted up on. lo
redevelop the rear of Church. lo make this into a more accessible and working area, for m¢mb¢rs of
Church and other Church users. The awhitects work needed. went out to tender and cbp Architects of
Nottingham were the successful architects. We have been in regular contact with them and they are
preparing plans for the work. The initial cosi for ihis (architects) work as agreed with cbp is £60k which
has bcen approved by E.C.C. However cbp are hopeful that this amount will be reduced, because of the
recent changes that have been proposed.
b) The building itself is a Grade Jl listed building, in an important Conservalion area and due to its age
will always r¢quire maintenance, and because of its statu5, this does mean ihat any work and advice can be
expensive.
The Quinquennial report was completed during 2022 and there are still a number of issues here that
do need to be tnvcstigaled and resolved- This work has already commenced. and will hopefully be
completed within the proposed Project.
Basis of preparation and legal framework:
Christchurch accounts for the year ended 31" December 2023 have been prepared in accordance with the
giiidance from the Methodist Church and will be presented at the Church meeting in April 2023. for
approval, once they have been returned from the Ind¢p¢ndcni Examiner.
Full Name of Chureh - Christchurch L.E.P. - The Church is regislered as a charity. Due to ihc annual
income. This was approved by the Charity Commission and Christchurch L.E.P. is now a Registered
Charity (Charity No. 1187168).
The members ofihe Christchurch Ecumenical Council are the Managing Trustees, membership being made
up of ofyice holders, represenlatives ap￿inted by ihe Church at the Annual General Meeling wilh a Circuit
Represcnlative.

The Ircasurer, Mr Chris Morgan, has acted as the principal oificer overseeing the day-to-day financial
management and accounting for the Church during the year.
Independent Examiner: Mrs Susan RADFORD. Screveton Road, Car Colston. Nottingham NGI 3 7ND
Inv¢$lment Bankers: Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church
Trustees for M¢ihodisi Church PuTFK)ses.
Present¢d to Christchurch L.E.P. E.C.C. meeling of January 2024 for the report to be discussed and the
request Ihat full approval given to the report.
Chris. Morgan, Treasurer. Christchurch L.E.P. (January 2024)

Chrlstchurch Methodist
Unlted Reformed Church L.E.P
Reserves Polic
This policy relates to bank accounts held by .
Central Finance Board
HSBC
2024
T.M.C.P.
What are Reserves?
A reserve is an amount of money held by the church to carry out its ongoing commitments
and set aside for specific purposes. These monies may be classified as.. Unrestricted, which are
the general funds of the church, Restricted, which means their use is restricted under the
provisions of a trust deed, or Endowed. which in most cases only allows the interest to be used
by the church.
Planned expenditure
Usual running costs
Surplus funds to cover unforeseen expenditure
Property repair5 and maintenance (including quinquennial inspection outcomes)
Planned developments in the property at Christchurch, which includes the Christchurch
Community Project
It Is "best practice" that any organisatlon should keep at least 6mths of expenditure in
reserve.
For 2024,1 would recommend that the reserve is set at £38,000 the same as last year
Total expenditure for 2023 was just over £94k, (more than the previous year of approx. £76k}.
Durin8 2023 we were able to maintain the reserves, despite the difficult times and we are
more fortunate than a number of other Churches in the area. It is seen as best practice to hold
approx. 6 months expenditure figure as a Reserve. However, our expenditure for 2023 was
unusually high due to the fact of the costly replacement of the Shepherd Hall Roof, and the
new flooring in the Shepherd Hall which obviously will not need doing again for some time. So,
as I have said, I recommend that the reserve remains the same as last year
Income can be unpredictable e.g., lettings, giving. Thus, it is important to ensure there is a
reserve to cover all essential costs e.g., assessment, utilities, and maintenance.
The Treasurer/Managing Trustees will monitor the church finances at regular intervals to
ensure the reserve is kept, where possible, and action taken if the reserve is not maintained, I
have not recommended an increase in the amount for this year, because last yearfs expenses
were unusually high, as stated. However, to take into account Cost of living increases,
especially the energy costs and increased costs for any work that needs to be carried out due
to the age of the building and the fact that it is a Grade 11 listed building in an important
Conservation area within Grantham town centre, it is important to maintain this flexibility and
the reserve5.
2023 has obviously been a challenging year, the Covid 19 pandemic is Still with us, the "C05t of

Living Crisis" and major repairs and maintenance that have been carried out. Our Income has
increased, in 2023 with lettings income starting to get back to pre-covid figures. Income from
the coffee mornings, has reduced, as it was decided not to charge for coffee but to ask for
donations. However, our Congregation have remained very supportive, and regular giving has
carried on through giving via direct bank payments and the Stewardship account, and the Gift
Aid payment received.
Money set aside for projects
Money may be set aside from the reserves towards a long-term project. However, not to the
risk to general church finances. This money will be listed as such to evidence why it is not
being used currently.
Christchurch 15 currently developing the Christchurch Community Project, which is part of the
overall development vision that our premises should be used to develop town centre ministry
and serve the poor and marginalised in the town. It is hoped that during 2024, the next phase,
.hich has been consulted on will be planned.
Christchurch is looking at the possibility of redeveloping the rear of the Church to make this a
more accessible and useable place for all our congregation and other users of the premises.
All reserves should be earnlng Interest where possible.
No interest is earned in the HSBC accounts.so where possible larger sums of money will be
transferred to the CFB account where interest can be earned.
The Reserves policy will be reviewed each financial year.
Trustees are under a general legal duty to apply charitable funds within a reasonable time
of receiving them. If reserves are held without reasonable justification the trustees may be
in breach of trust.
The treasurer will report to General Church Council, advising reserve status.
Signature
CAM
Date January 2024
Accepted at Ecumenical Church Council
Date li
Accepted at General Church Council
Date
111214
Review due 31112/2024