NEW KAPPORET
(Registered Charity No. 1188055)
Annual Report for 1[st] April 2021 to 31[st] March 2022
Registered address: Manor Cottage Manor Road Caunton Notts NG23 6AD
Trustees: Trevor Ogden (Chairman and Treasurer) Timothy Harding (Director) Barbara Harding (Secretary) Joanna Semmelroth James Semmelroth Lois Hickman (from 7/6/2021)
CHARITABLE PURPOSE
New Kapporet was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the Charity Commission in February 2020, with the following charitable purpose:
To enable persons in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential, Christian-based emotional support at any time of the day or night in order to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicide.
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Our aim is to provide a Freephone and confidential Christian Helpline, which would offer listening and prayer support to anyone who needs it.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
When we launched the ministry in May 2020, we planned to develop a ministry founded on the twin pillars of listening and prayer, where we wouldn’t judge, advise or seek to evangelise, but where we would try to represent to each caller the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. Since its launch, the Lord has greatly blessed the ministry, but here I don’t want to spotlight our successes. Rather, and far more important, I want to report on the key lessons that the Lord has taught us, as we brought our tentative plans to fruition.
First, we have always understood that the notion of a new Christian Helpline came directly from God and through no great wisdom or insight of ours, and we witness the Lord’s direction and involvement every day. However, to aid our understanding of the nature of His commission, He early gave our embryonic organisation its name, ‘New Kapporet’.
In the Old Testament, Kapporet was the name given to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was located in the Holy of Holies, the innermost and most sacred room in the temple of Jerusalem. The cover was made of pure gold, with two Cherubim made from hammered gold, located one at each end. Between the two cherubim was the ‘Seat of Mercy’. This was the place where God would listen to His people. We soon began to see that our ministry hadn’t been initiated so that we could minister to the callers ourselves. We are only gatekeepers (John 10: 3). By offering our helpline, we simply open the gate, so that the Lord may summon each caller by name into His presence. When a caller calls or emails the helpline, it isn’t our listening that is important, but the caller’s interaction with God. Our role is simply to encourage them into His presence, so that they might converse with Him in prayer.
Following on from this realisation, our second major lesson concerned the role of our own prayers in the ministry. Initially, we believed that our prayers were important during a call, but the Lord has gradually taught us otherwise. Those callers, whom the Lord has summoned into His presence, need no mediator to offer prayers on their behalf. God wants them to tell Him directly about their struggles and sufferings. We have learned that the greatest comfort for a caller will come from encouraging them to pray. Many callers find this difficult. They often don’t have the words or the confidence to speak to God directly. But, with some virtual handholding, they sometimes begin and, having started, they then pour out their hearts to the Lord. This is the greatest reward that we receive from our involvement in the ministry; when we listen to a caller find the courage to speak to God directly and when, in consequence, they experience His compassion and love for them – not as they wish to be, but as they are.
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The third key lesson concerned the qualities required to do the small task assigned to us. I will not pretend that the last eighteen months have been without challenge. One might imagine that just listening to a caller, without judgement, advice or evangelisation, and then encouraging them to pray would be easy. In reality, it is anything but. Some of our volunteers find listening to the suffering of others almost unbearable; some want to solve the caller’s problems themselves, not realising that this is the Lord’s undertaking, not ours; and some, as in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23), join the ministry with a rush of enthusiasm, but are quickly distracted by other concerns or priorities. It has, therefore, proved challenging to recruit, train and retain the listening volunteers we need. However, we are increasingly blessed with a group of committed Christians from all denominations, who have grasped the simplicity and privilege of the work we are commissioned to do. They persevere and, in consequence, are themselves richly blessed.
Between 1[st] April 2021 and 31[st] March 2022, our Christian Helpline received over 20,000 calls, of which over 8,200 were connected to a listener, a connection rate of around 40%. We also responded to 300 emails. However, we have no reason to boast of our achievements. This is the Lord’s ministry. He has given us a clear but limited commission. He summons each caller by name, and we gently encourage her or him into His presence. Then we witness how He embraces them and blesses them with His mercy and grace. The ministry is growing fast, both in listeners and callers, but none of this is our doing. We know that we will continue to prosper only so long as we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord and recognise that this is all His doing. If we are serving His purpose in this small way, then that is enough
FINANCE REPORT
When a ministry is dependent upon volunteers and individual financial support, it is always a challenge to have faith that God will provide the funds to cover the cost, much of which is related to the provision of our Freephone service. However, God has again proved His faithfulness this year by providing more than was needed, some 23% more than expenditure. The funding has come from regular individual donations and increasing support from churches, although we have continued to be reliant upon contributions from the Trustees. As the number of callers increases, so do our costs. We are conscious of the challenge to fund an ever-expanding service and continue to explore all opportunities to encourage fellow Christians to support this vital ministry as its costs increase.
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UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
FOR
NEW KAPPORET
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NEW KAPPORET
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Legal and Administrative Information | 6 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 |
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NEW KAPPORET
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
TRUSTEES: T J Ogden - Chairman T J Harding - Director B H Harding L Hickman J R Semmelroth J L Semmelroth CHARITY NUMBER: 1188055 ADDRESS: Manor Cottage Manor Road Caunton Newark Nottinghamshire NG23 6AD ACCOUNTANTS: Darrington & Co Limited 71 High Street Gt Barford Bedford Bedfordshire MK44 3LF BANKERS: CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ
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NEW KAPPORET
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is our responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
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to state whether particular matters have come to our attention.
Our examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
In connection with our examination, no material matters have come to our attention which gives us cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
We have come across no matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Darrington & Co Limited 71 High Street Gt Barford BEDFORD MK44 3LF
Dated: 25[th] April 2022
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NEW KAPPORET
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
| 31.3.22 | 31.3.21 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £ £ |
£ |
£ | |
| Income | |||
| Gift Aid donations and tax recoverable | 14,238 | 16,438 | |
| Other donations | 4,506 | 1,783 | |
| Donations from Churches | 4,560 | 500 | |
| 23,304 | 18,721 | ||
| Expenditure | |||
| Insurance | 481 | 431 | |
| Postage | 159 | 953 | |
| Telephone and virtual call centre | 11,353 | 5,848 | |
| Stationery | 324 | 611 | |
| Advertising | 3,285 | 4,123 | |
| Travelling | 24 | - | |
| Equipment | - | 489 | |
| Conference expenses | 525 | - | |
| Website costs | 1,643 | 363 | |
| Sundry expenses | 34 | - | |
| DBS - uchecks | 715 | 708 | |
| Accountancy | 384 | 360 | |
| Licences and subscriptions | - | 175 | |
| 18,927 | 14,061 | ||
| 4,377 | 4,660 | ||
| Finance costs | |||
| Bank charges | 97 | 69 | |
| EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE | 4,280 |
4,591 |
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NEW KAPPORET
| CURRENT ASSETS Gift Aid recoverable Prepayments Bank account CURRENT LIABILITIES Accrued expenses NET ASSETS FINANCED BY ACCUMULATED FUNDS Brought forward Add Excess of income over expenditure |
BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2022 31.3.22 £ 805 1,103 8,996 10,904 2,033 4,591 4,280 |
£ 8,871 8,871 8,871 8,871 |
31.3.21 £ 250 781 4,354 5,385 794 - 4,591 |
£ 4,591 4,591 4,591 4,591 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Approved by the Trustees on 25[th] April 2022
T J Ogden, Chairman
T J Harding, Director
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