2025-03-31-accounts

ENDERBY LIFE CHURCH

Moores Lane, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 4AN TRUSTEES REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH 2025

The Charity Trustees present their report and independently examined accounts for year ending 31st March 2025.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Charity operates under its Constitution dated 21st July 2020. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered with the Charity Commission (registered charity No. 1190574) and recognised as such by the Inland Revenue for Tax purposes.

The Trustees of the Charity comprise:

• Andrew Briars (Chairman)

• David Banton

• Charles Clark

• Karen Smith

The Charity is seeking to appoint more Trustees.

In order to be appointed, Charity Trustees must

• Be conformable to scriptural qualification. (1 Timothy 3:8-13).

• Be in agreement with the doctrinal basis and objectives of Enderby Life Church.

• Be nominated by the Church Eldership and submitted for spiritual witness and approval to the Church Leadership Team and to the Church congregation.

The Charity Trustees have legal and financial responsibility for the Charity, whilst the Church Elders have spiritual responsibility for the Church. Additionally, a Leadership Team provides advice and support in all areas of the Church’s life and ministry.

The Trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit and confirm that all activities are undertaken for the benefit of the public.

The Charity employs one full-time paid member of staff (the Church Pastor/Elder). Volunteers from the Church congregation, varying from time to time as needs arise, work alongside the Pastor to fulfil the Church’s objectives.

The Trustees give regular consideration to the major risks to which the Charity may be exposed, including financial, regulatory and legal, and are satisfied that such risks are adequately identified, monitored and controlled through policies, procedures and insurance arrangements.

The Church is an autonomous body following an historical independent tradition and does not belong to any denominational organisation. It is a local expression of the world-wide fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ. However, the church is a member of the Ground Level Network of churches and the Evangelical Alliance (the EA). Whereas Ground Level is a movement networked together through regional and relational connections (largely in the Midlands), the EA supports churches in a wider sense across the UK. Both exist to equip, support and care for churches and ministries.

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Objectives and Activities

The main objectives of the Charity are summarised as:

• The advancement of the Christian faith and the worship of God.

• The proclamation and furtherance of the gospel of Christ.

• The preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

• The provision of pastoral care, counselling and support.

• The education of children and adults on the basis of Christian principles.

These objectives are met in accordance with the Charity’s constitution and will be fulfilled in such ways and in such parts of the United Kingdom or elsewhere as the Trustees, Elders and Leadership from time to time may think fit.

The main activities of the Church to further its charitable objectives are:

• A weekly programme of Sunday worship, communion and family services.

• Regular meetings during the week for prayer, Bible study and fellowship, both at the church and at homes of individual members of the congregation.

• Special programmes for families, children, young people, those seeking to deepen their relationship with God and people from the Church and local community who want to meet for friendship and improve their wellbeing.

• Funerals, weddings, adult baptisms and baby dedications.

• Social support and benevolent giving, both at home and abroad. The Church Elders and Leaders decide upon individuals and organisations that are to receive financial support out of the Charity’s assets in support of the Charity’s objectives. For the year April 2024 to March 2025 10.3% of Unrestricted income from General Offerings was allocated in this way.

Through these objectives and activities, the Charity’s aim is to effectively serve the community for the benefit of the public. By upholding Christian values and beliefs, it is the Trustees’ conviction that through these activities a positive impact into the community is being achieved for the good of all.

Achievements

Some particular achievements during the year April 2024 to March 2025 were:

• We completed the purchase of the old Methodist Church, Cross Street, Enderby in March 2025. The building needs substantial renovation and building work before it can be used as our place of worship. This requires planning permission and the Trustees and Building Committee continue to work with our developers, post yearend.

• New people and new families have joined us, both experienced Christians and those seeking. They have contributed greatly to our church community and two were baptised during the year.

• We hosted a visit from ‘Teen Challenge’. Teen Challenge, a registered charity and operates nationally to help young people who have developed life controlling problems, especially drug and alcohol addictions.

• We hosted a visit from ‘International Miners Mission’, who support the vulnerable in mining communities around the world. They were involved when our existing building was built for the quarry workers circa. 1905.

• We continued to provide live streaming of our services for those unable to attend in person.

• We continued to run ‘Monday Club’. This is a weekly, evening club for primary school children.

• We continued to run ‘Stonebaked’. This is a monthly after-school club for high school children.

• Our ‘Renew Life’ continued to attract people from both the church and the local community. This is a well-being drop-in held weekly at the Enderby Civic Centre offering activities, friendship, refreshments, and prayers with people from our community who need and value these things.

• We ran a Freedom in Christ Discipleship course, aimed at helping Christians become fruitful disciples.

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• We continued to provide support and strengthen our connections with a country where Christian persecution is prevalent through a ministry who provide refuge for impoverished children from the slum area. Schooling, food, shelter, clothing, medical care and rehabilitation are provided for the children.

• We provided regular financial and prayer support to missionaries working for;

• Hellenic Ministries in Athens, involved in evangelism, discipleship and church planting.

• Iris global in South Africa, providing residential, education and healthcare for orphaned children.

• Jaikin, a Christian Counselling Service, which provides counselling and support for those going through crisis pregnancies, pregnancy loss and stillbirth.

• We saw continued co-operation with the other churches in Enderby through united prayer times and various pulpit exchanges.

Mission Foodbank

• During the financial year of 2024/25, the demand for support from Mission Foodbank continued to grow. It has supplied over 5200 food parcels to households in need in Enderby and 9 neighbouring villages. Each food parcel is roughly £40 in value and contains ambient products and fresh items such as fruit, vegetables and bread. This equates to providing approximately 25,000 meals.

• We were able to help out 2 neighbouring foodbanks who were struggling with their stock levels, so we provided them with numerous food parcels throughout the year.

• We expanded our service area to include 3 new villages/areas, one of which has some of the highest rates of depravation in Blaby District, this has seen a steep rise in requests for food support.

• We supported some households for a fixed period of time (usually 4-8 weeks on 2 different programmes) to help them through a difficult period in their lives, along with emergency one-off support parcels to residents experiencing homelessness, unforeseen circumstances or those being relocated into emergency accommodation.

• Working alongside the District and County Councils, we have also provided food support to residents being housed in temporary accommodation, whilst waiting for benefit applications to process or until the council resolves their housing difficulties. Oftentimes, those facing homelessness are housed in local hotels, hostels and have little to no cooking facilities available to them so we specifically tailored food parcels with this in mind.

• We increased our food 'donation drop-off points' from 10 to 12 across neighbouring villages in places such as schools, nurseries, local shops, libraries, cafes and small businesses. This helped us keep up with the demand for food support after expanding our service catchment area.

• We regularly collected surplus food items, such as bread and fruit and vegetables, sandwiches, cakes etc. from a local bakery, Co-op store, Aldi and 3 large coffee shop chain stores. We then distributed it to local families to not only help the residents' situation but also helped tackle food waste on a larger scale.

• Local schools have supported the foodbank by holding various fundraising events throughout the year. From Christmas jumper or non-uniform days to sponsored sports days and other sporting events. We used the money raised to help provide extra support to families in need throughout the school holidays.

• We visited local primary schools to deliver short assemblies and provided educational videos to describe the work of our foodbank and the impact of food insecurity in communities. This contributed to the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons within these schools’ curriculum.

• At Christmas, approximately 120 households received a Christmas parcel containing festive treats and at Easter, we provided over 130 easter eggs, one for each child in the families we were supporting.

• In the winter, we received funding from The National Grid to put together 150 ‘Heat Hampers’ containing electric blankets, radiator reflector panels, hot water bottles and thermal blankets for adults and children. These were given out to help households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty.

• We received grant funding from Leicestershire County Council, Blaby District Council and The National Lottery Community Fund amongst other sources, which helped us to retain our Foodbank Coordinator, cover running costs such as insurance, road tax and fuel for our delivery van and also purchasing specialist food items such as 'Free From' items for those with food allergies and / or intolerances and baby food and other essentials.

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Other Notable Items

• Our pastor remains the only elder and we continue to actively seek an additional elder.

• During the year, we negotiated the sale of our existing church premises, subject to planning permission. We are excited to partner with a Christian development company who will develop the site into a children’s home, on behalf of a local council. We are hopeful that this will be concluded during the spring of 2026.

Financial Review

There are no material uncertainties about the ability of Enderby Life Church to continue as a going concern.

We benefit from full ownership of our property and land in Moores Lane, Enderby, which continues to be used for the charity's main purposes. The Charity's funds have all been applied in accordance with its charitable objectives.

• Income for the year ending 31[st] March 2025 was £135,365 (compared to £123,042 during 2023/24).

• Expenditure in the year was £349,432 (£97,507).

• This resulted in a deficit for the year of -£214,067 (£25,534).

• As at 31st March 2025, the church had total funds of £67,720 (£281,788) which included £37,420 (£251,842) of Restricted Funds (see breakdown below between Vision Fund & Foodbank).

The principal source of funds is regular giving and one-off donations from members of the Church congregation. We are registered for Gift Aid, and where appropriate this is encouraged to maximise this source of income. As indicated below Grants for the Foodbank increased during 2024/25 therefore funding is adequate to support the continuation of the charity’s current activities for the foreseeable future.

As detailed on pages 7 to 8 the Charity received funds for use in our Foodbank in the form of Grants and Donations from Companies, Organisations and Individuals outside of the Church. Grants from Leicestershire County Council and Blaby District Council totalled £13,200 and we also received a Grant of £20,000 from TNL Community Fund and £4,739 from the National Grid. This resulted in a total of £37,939 from 6 Grants (£13,825 from 1 Grant in 2023/24).

Money set aside in our Vision Fund for the church expansion project and held as Restricted Funds as at 31st March 2025 stands at £29,173 (£249,140).

Money set aside in our Foodbank and held as Restricted Funds as at 31st March 2025 stands at £8,246 (£2,702).

The Church only invests its cash reserves in deposits with UK banks. There are no outstanding payments to be made. We currently hold a mortgage of £50,000.

The Church’s policy on holding cash reserves as Unrestricted Funds is to maintain an equivalent of three months average expenditure so as to enable it to continue operating during a short term down turn in its income, or to allow a period of restructuring should a longer term down turn occur. Two separate bank deposit accounts are maintained for this purpose. Actual cash reserves held as Unrestricted Funds as at 31st March 2025 were £16,345 (£15,938).

A remuneration committee made up of Trustees and Leadership Team members (including the Treasurer) meet annually to consider the skills, experiences and competencies needed from our paid staff, so as to offer fair remuneration within our ability to pay, bearing in mind the charity’s performance and staffs’ performance against expectations, in both the short and long term.

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Looking Ahead

The purchase of the new building (the former Methodist Church) in the heart of Enderby will allow us to address the challenges of the changing needs of our existing congregation and enable us to undertake a broader range of Christian based activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. The location will make us more visible to the local community, especially with outreach activities like our food bank and Renew Wellbeing (which will relocate from the nearby Enderby Civic Centre).

Full renovation of the new building is dependent on receiving the sale proceeds of the Moores Lane site, although we have received a number of pledges from the congregation which will allow work to start. We may also seek bridging finance and have had constructive discussions with our mortgage lender.

In the continuing financial climate we understand the hardship that some are suffering in our community. Our foodbank continues to be in demand and it is anticipated that this will increase in the year ahead. We will continue to assess the financial and logistical requirements and will work to see how we can assist in our community practically through ‘Mission Foodbank’ and mental health support through ‘Renew Wellbeing’. The Trustees will monitor income and expenditure. Grant applications for funding for the foodbank will continue as needed / available.

To this end, we have recently launched Renew Wellbeing on a Tuesday evenings, from the church building on Moores Lane. The location means that this ministry is aimed largely at our own congregation, who perhaps work and are unable to attend during the day. We hope to expand this as an outreach when the church relocates to the new church.

There is an increasing demand for the church to provide a youth club (coming from Monday Club and Stonebaked). At the moment, we do not have the necessary volunteers to run this, but it is a key priority going forwards.

Responsibilities and Declaration of the Trustees

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' report above.

The Trustees recognise their responsibility for the preparation of accounts for each financial year to give a true and fair view of the Charity's incoming resources and application of resources during the year and of its state of affairs at the end of the year, and for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. The trustees have opted to prepare receipts and payments accounts as the church is a non-company charity with income less than £250,000.

The Trustees also recognise their responsibility in safeguarding the assets of the Charity and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. To that end, the Trustees certify that the books, vouchers and information produced to enable the independent examination of the accounts to be conducted contain a full and correct record of the financial transactions and activities to the best of their knowledge and belief.

Signed on behalf of the Charity's Trustees:

Date : 14[th] January 2026

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Examinerfs Re ort to the Trustees of Enderb Life Church Report on the Accounts of the Charity for the year ending 315t March 2025, which are set out on pages 7 and 8. Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charittys 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 my responsibility to.. examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 14515llbl of the Charities Act), and to state whether particulèr matters have come to my attention. Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement My 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 SLJch 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 3 "true and fair" view and the report is limited to those matters in the statement below. Independent Examiner's Statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention.. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect, the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act, have not been met,. or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed Date: 14th January 2026 Name .' Andrew Hopkins Address '. Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, Latham House, 33-34 Paradise Street, Birmingham, Bl 2AJ

	2024-25 ACCOUNTS Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds
	RECEIPTS
	General Offerings £5,973		£5,973
	Gift Aid Offerings £39,539	£665	£40,204
	GASDS £5,343		£5,343
	Vision Income (Includes some GASDS)	£17,996	£17,996
	Stewardship Income £3,323	£171	£3,494
	Gift Aid Tax (Stewardship) £356	£12	£369
	Gift Aid Tax (HMRC) £13,474		£13,474
	Investment income £1,919	£3,007	£4,927
	Foodbank Income (Foodbank Restricted)	£43,063	£43,063
	Childrens Ministry £522		£522
	Mortgage Drawdown	£50,000	£50,000
	Total Receipts £70,450	£114,915	£185,365
	PAYMENTS
	Charitable activities
	Salaries & NHI costs (allowing for £5,000 scheme) £39,696		£39,696
	Pensions (Total Employee & Employer contributions) £2,484		£2,484
	Visiting speakers - pulpit gifts £550		£550
	Pastor & General Ministry Expenses £642		£642
	Photocopier Contract / Fire extinguisher service £1,715		£1,715
	Church utilities (Water Rates) £216		£216
	Church utilities (Electricity) £3,849		£3,849
	Church utilities (Gas) £1,509		£1,509
	Church utilities (Telephone) £944		£944
	Church insurance £1,149		£1,149
	International gifts (Asia) £2,400		£2,400
	Ministry Support (Hope Centre & Iris Global) £1,930		£1,930
	Donations to Groups (Tearfund, Compassion, Jaikin) £1,514		£1,514
	Love Gifts £1,382		£1,382
	Miscellaneous expenditure £7,092		£7,092
	Foodbank Expenditure (Foodbank Restricted)	£37,510	£37,510
	Governance costs (Audit, Accountancy) £353		£353
	Utilities Claire Court £1,193		£1,193
	Pastor mileage £1,478		£1,478
	Cross Street Development	£241,827	£241,827
	Mortgage for Cross Street Church Purchase	£50,000	£50,000
	Total Expenditure £70,095	£329,337	£399,432
	Net movement of funds for the year £355	-£214,422	-£214,067
	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds
	Net movement of funds for the year £355	-£214,422	-£214,067
	Balance brought forward from thepreviousyear £29,945	£251,842	£281,787
	Fund balances carried forward to next year £30,300	£37,420	£67,720

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			Unrestricted Funds		Restricted Funds		Total Funds
	CASH FUNDS (End Balances 31/03/2025)
	Barclays Current Account		£13,929				£13,929
	Barclays Current Account (for Vision Fund)		£0				£0
	Mission Foodbank - Petty Cash (for Foodbank)		£0		£0		£0
	Main / Pastors - Petty Cash		£26				£26
	Barclays Savings Account (for Vision Fund)				£29,102		£29,102
	Market Harborough Building Society (for Vision Fund)				£70		£70
	Kingdom Bank Postal 60 Account (for Vision Fund)				£1		£1
	Kingdom Bank 32 day Account (for Reserves Fund)		£16,345				£16,345
	Kingdom Bank Mortgage		£0		£0		£0
	CoopBank(for Foodbank)				£8,246		£8,246
	Total cash funds		£30,300		£37,420		£67,720

Figures rounded to the nearest Pound

NB - There are no other monetary or investment assets held by the charity

Debtors & Creditors falling due after 31st March 2024

+£3,926.12 : Gift Aid Claim for 2024/25 Q4 & GASDS

ASSETS RETAINED FOR THE CHARITY’S OWN USE

Church premises, Moores Lane, Enderby Church premises, Cross Street, Enderby Other tangible fixed assets (allowing for depreciation etc.) Total assets retained for the charity's own use	Current Value £415,000 £279,500 £14,000 £708,500

NB - These values are shown at the Trustees’ best estimate of market value.

LIABILITIES

We have a mortgage of £50,000 with payments starting April 2025, over a period of 30 years.

Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees:

Signed :

Name : Andrew Briars Position : Trustee / Treasurer

Date : 14th January 2026

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