CHARITY NUMBER: 1191530
LIVE FROM REST
2 0 2 1 ANNUAL REPORT
MEDITATION ROOTED IN THE WAY OF JESUS
I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N
F R O M F O U N D E R D R S T E V E S M I T H :
I am delighted to share with you our first annual report since Live From Rest became a UK registered charity in September 2020.
Our Christian meditation app was initially launched on both the Apple App store and Google Play in 2018, since when there have been many thousands of downloads across the world. We have been inundated with grateful emails and messages of support, not to mention hundreds of fivestar ratings and reviews. It has also been extremely gratifying to read many thankful testimonies. These include people having dramatically reduced anxiety or finding new depths of peace since using the app. Phrases such as “life changing” are not infrequent! This has clearly demonstrated to us that this app has been, and continues to be, instrumental in helping many people find greater depth in their walk with God alongside significantly improved mental health, especially in relation to freedom from anxiety and depression.
Early in 2019 we clearly felt called by God to make the Live From Rest app and our web based resources entirely free for God's people. At that time chose to seek charitable status in the UK and we expect to achieve 'Not For Profit' status in the USA very soon.
Our resources include a number of online courses, teachings, a blog and a podcast. We continue to receive positive feedback for all these, which is spurring us on to develop more! Furthermore, a book which helps us to know our true identity as children of God, has been written by one of our team and this will be published by LFR in 2022. More on that later!
We believe that what Live From Rest offers is unique in several respects. The meditations give space in which users can develop the beneficial discipline of ‘mindfulness’. This is in the context of knowing the presence of God and meditating on life-changing Biblical truth and promises, with resulting joy, peace and freedom from the various forms of negativity that so easily plague God’s children.
Thanks to the very generous support of certain individuals, the initial set up costs of LFR have mostly been met. I am pleased to present our accounts at the end of this report, which document all our transactions to date. These have been independently checked by our chartered accountant.
Moving forwards, we will continue to seek God for funding. Our goal is for a significant re-build of the app in 2022 which will make it more functional and even easier to use. We also want to continue producing new content to keep the app fresh. We have ideas and plans for new courses and website-based material that we are keen to produce. Furthermore, we would love to advertise LFR in order to further promote the app and our resources, but this will be dependent upon adequate funds. It is also our goal to produce resources in other languages.
I trust you will find this report inspiring and encouraging.
The Lord bless you!
Steve
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W H O W E A R E
T H E L I V E F R O M R E S T T E A M
The Live From Rest founders: Steve Smith and Joshua Smith
Father and son, Steve and Josh Smith together created the Live From Rest app. They are both passionate about helping people walk in true freedom and live from a place of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’, which is how Live From Rest was birthed.
Steve is a medical doctor, specialising in treatment of addictions and part of the goal of Live From Rest, is to aid users in their quest for better mental health. Josh and Steve maintain that they developed the app because they themselves needed it. To this day they continue to use it!
J O S H U A S M I T H
D R S T E V E S M I T H
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Author and speaker, Lucinda is the writer of the Live From Rest blog and some our small group courses too. She is passionate that people understand their true identity as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. Her first book will be published by Live From Rest in early 2022. Lucinda is also Steve’s wife and Joshua’s mother!
L U C I N D A S M I T H
Kara is Josh’s wife and her gentle voice has been a great asset to the App. As well as being a busy mother, Kara is also an experienced life coach and counsellor.
K A R A S M I T H
Hanna joined the Live From Rest team in the Summer of 2021. Her role involves helping to create visuals for social media platforms and seeking media promotional opportunities for Live From Rest. Hanna is also an accomplished poet and spoken word artist. We are hoping to have her comforting voice on some of the meditations in 2022.
H A N N A G L O V E R
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O U R T R U S T E E S
We are extremely grateful for the wise direction and support that we get from our three experienced and godly trustees. They each share a passion for the values of Live From Rest.
D R J O H N B I B B Y John (Chair) is a retired General Practitioner and is the wellbeing lead for his local medical committee in Yorkshire.
L Y N D A B R O O K S
Lynda has had many years of healthcare experience as a nurse manager. She currently works as a life and medical coach.
D R J O N D I X O N
Jon is a General Practitioner in Yorkshire. He is also a GP appraiser and keen to mentor and support colleagues struggling with work pressures.
O U R A P P D E V E L O P E R S
B E N L A W R E N C E
Ben lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England. He has many years of experience in app development and is the developer behind the Apple version of our App.
D A N S O R E N S E N
Dan is studying computer science at Durham University in the north of England. We are so grateful to Dan for developing the Android version of our app.
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O U R M I S S I O N
I N A W O R L D O B S E S S E D W I T H D O I N G , W E A R E D I S C O V E R I N G T H E A N C I E N T A R T O F B E I N G
Life for too many is a struggle. So often we adopt a lifestyle that is frantic and busy and we then long for the next day off, for the next vacation or to simply get beyond the next deadline. We find ourselves longing and living FOR rest. Yet for those who know God, life can, and should be lived FROM rest!
Our meditation app and our various other resources are all designed to help our users find and maintain a place of peace. It is from this place that we actually become so much more productive. When we learn to “let go and let God” life becomes more joyful and fruitful.
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2 0 2 1 A C H I E V E M E N T S
T H E A P P
App - the development and release of the “Live From Rest” Christian Meditation app, which has had thousands of downloads on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. Consistently positive reviews testify to the beneficial impact this app is having on many around the world (see page 10) . From our online app analytics, we can reliably estimate that we have about 2000 regular users of the app.
O N L I N E C O U R S E S
A key part of what we offer beyond the Live From Rest app is free resources to help people achieve a more centred and restful life. Our video courses are free and unpack various topics. Whilst being designed for a small group setting, they can of course be used by individuals. Positive feedback received in relation to the courses is also a great source of encouragement to the team.
P O D C A S T S
33 podcasts had been released by the end of September 2021. The podcasts explore life lived from rest and include many interviews as well as reflections given by Steve. They have had thousands of plays across the world, on numerous platforms (such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts).
B L O G S
Lucinda had released 13 blog posts by the end of September 2021. These have proved to be an encouragement and inspiration to many.
S O C I A L M E D I A
Our Instagram and Facebook pages continue to be a great way for many to connect with inspiring and thought-provoking content about the importance and value of living from rest. We see significant engagement with our posts.
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2 0 2 1 A C H I E V E M E N T S
O U R F I R S T ' L I V E F R O M R E S T ' B O O K
The Red Thread: Finding Home in the Heart of God by Lucinda Smith
Understanding our true identity as children of our Heavenly Father is considered by us to be perhaps the most important path to true and lasting contentment. Over the last year, Lucinda has written her first book, to be released by Live From Rest in March 2022.
Praise for The Red Thread
"The Red Thread is written by a fellow traveller who’s walked through deep waters and learned the tender mercies of God. This book will nurture, comfort and feed the thirsty soul."
Mike Raiter – Director, Centre for Biblical Teaching, Melbourne, Australia
" With the pressure in current age of social media to only present to the world what is polished and perfected, this book gives space to be vulnerable and authentic in the arms of our loving Father and teaches what it truly means to live an abundant life."
Emma Bourquaye – Founder of Girlgotfaith.com
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A P P P E R F O R M A N C E
A P P D O W N L O A D S
In 2021 alone we have gained nearly 4K new users on our app across both IOS and Android. We have seen a big increase in engagement on the app as well.
We hope to continue this growth into the next calendar year.
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A P P A U D I E N C E
An overview of our app audience by demographics and location:
Online app analytics show the many thousands of app downloads in numerous countries across the world.
Our users are predominantly female (in keeping with western church demographics), with users across the age ranges.
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S T R U C T U R E , G O V E R A N C E & M A N A G E M E N T
Organisation Type
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Governing Document
The Constitution of The KEYS Project
Charitable Objectives
The objectives of The KEYS Project as recorded within its constitution are as follows:
“To advance the Christian Faith for the public benefit mainly, but not exclusively, by means of spiritual encouragement and teaching through a Christian meditation app, website and podcasts.”
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
Trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing Board of Trustees and are representative of medical, professional, business, and charitable Christian service backgrounds.
Investment Policy
Live From Rest does not have any investments
Trustees
Dr John Bibby – Chair Dr Jonathan Dixon Mrs Lynda Brooks
Registration History:
Registered as a CIO on the 29th September 2020 UK Registered Charity Number: 1191539
Project Director
Dr Steve Smith
Accountants for Independent
Registered address:
Preston Minster Church Street Preston PR1 3BT
Examination of Accounts: Hart Wright Accounting 24 Hall Drive, Sutton-in-Craven, BD20 7NH
Bank:
Website: www.livefromrest.com Email: hello@livefromrest.com @livefromrest
Santander UK Bridle Road, Bottle, Merseyside, L30 4GB
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R E V I E W S
We have received many encouraging reviews of the Live From Rest app via the App Store (average 5) and Google Play (average 4.8). Here are just a few:
A P P S T O R E R E V I E W S
Beautifully designed
This app is everything I’ve been looking for! It enables me to take time out from busy-ness. The sessions are really manageable - anything from 1 min to 25 mins, I usually pick a 10 min session and then add on another one because I don’t want to stop! The backing tracks are well chosen and take me to places I feel peaceful... the beach, the mountains or inside a cathedral. Brilliant when stuck at home!! I love the focus on a single verse with a truth about life and relationship with God. The sessions set me up for a time of prayer which I struggled with before as I was too easily distracted or not in the right mindset. So glad to have been recommended this app. Thank you to the developers and their team!
Comfort amongst the pain
Such an amazing app. Really helped me through some of the most challenging times in my life. Particularly with anxiety and grief. I HIGHLY recommend this wonderful app
Highly recommended
I’ve tried a few Christian Meditation Apps, but this is the best I’ve found. Lovely clear voices which are soothing and therapeutic to listen too. I love that you can tailor the background music and sounds. I am a Mental Health Practitioner and recommend this to clients. Hearing meditations which are totally Christian is wonderful and being able to choose by topic, length etc is so helpful. Mental Health issues are covered too which is a much needed resource. Excellent quality and professionally done with warmth in the tones. Would have no hesitation in recommending this App.
Peace on tap!
My husband and I love this app and have recommended it to lots of friends. A wonderful resource for taking some ‘Sabbath’ rest time and deeply ingesting scriptural truths. I love all the adjustable features- the time, background noise and the different voices (we like Joshua most!) Thank you for providing this valuable tool for peace and connection with God!
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G O O G L E P L A Y R E V I E W S
I love love from rest! I find it particularly useful in quieting my mind down to go to sleep. It is great to have a meditation app where the focus is Jesus and connecting with him. The choice of voice, background music, theme and balance of sounds make it nice and customisable to what you want as well.
I am enjoying using this app. Works well and helps me to focus in the mornings. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to try Christian meditation but is unsure where to begin.
Lovely app. A real blessing and so grateful for it. I use it every day and it really helps me in my Christian walk.
This is my favorite App probably after The Bible App. I have been blessed countless times by hearing and joining the deep Christian mediations of this Brethren from Live for Rest. The best off all: Most of the time i can really feel the presence of the Lord in my heart when i meditade on the word of God. Thank you guys so much for giving the body of Christ such a great gift with this App.
A great addition to my quiet time. Helps me to be still and rest in the Lord.
A lovely app that has really helped strengthen my faith.
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F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T
We are pleased to present here our financial report for our first year as a registered UK charity.
Our accounts have been independently examined by our accountants (Hart Wright Accounting), in accordance with the UK Charity Commission regulations.
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name Live From Rest members of On accounts for the year 30/09/2021 Charity no 1191530 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-4
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in responsibilities of accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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to follow the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act, and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
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Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner’s statement 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.
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Independent In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my
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examiner's statement attention (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me 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
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I have no concerns and have come across no other 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.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Date: 28/10/21 Signed: Name: Simon Hart Relevant professional FCCA qualification(s) or body (if any):
1
Oct 2021
IER
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Live From Rest Annual Report
Address: Hart Wright Accounting; 24 Hall Drive; Sutton In Craven. BD20 7NH
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
2
Oct 2021
IER
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Live From Rest Annual Report
| Live From Rest | Live From Rest | Live From Rest | Live From Rest | Live From Rest | 1191530 | 1191530 | 1191530 | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
29/09/2020 | To | 30/09/2021 | ||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ |
Total funds to the nearest £ |
Last year to the nearest £ |
||||
| - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Incomefrom App providers | 11561 | - | - | 11,561 | |||||
| Individual Donations | 8072 | - | - | 8,072 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 19,633 | - | - | 19,633 | - | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | |||||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| App development | 5,128.00 | - | |||||||
| Payroll& Contractor Fees | 1,987.00 | - | |||||||
| OtherStaffCosts | 162.00 | - | |||||||
| Office Costs | 536.00 | - | |||||||
| ITand CommunicationCosts | 3,698.00 | - | |||||||
| Advertising | 7,378.00 | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| **Sub total ** | 18,889.00 | - | |||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | |||||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| 744 | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| 744 | - |
15/12/2021
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds |
Signature Details Details Details Details Bank Current account Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 744 - - - - 744 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - Print Name DR JOHN BIBBY (CHAIR) |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval 15th DEC 2021 |
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15/12/2021
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
2
M E D I T A T I O N R O O T E D I N T H E W A Y O F J E S U S
MEDITATION ROOTED IN THE WAY OF JESUS