Whitstable Community Church REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024 FOR WHITSTABLE COMMUNITY CHURCH (Charitable Incorporated Organisationl Registered charity number: 1192378 ## **WHITSTABLE COMMUNITY CHURCH** **CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the Year Ended 31 August 2024** ||**Page**| |---|---| |**Report of the Trustees**|1| |**Statement of Financial Activity**|6| |**Statement of Financial Position**|7| |**Notes to the Financial Statements**|8| |**Independent Accountants' Report**|12| WHrrsTABLE COMMUNTfi CHVRCH REPORT OF THE TRusfEES lor the Year Ended 31 August 2024 CHARrrY INFORMATIQN The churth was registered as a Chantsble JnovrpLWOted I￿nIsat￿n {CIOI on 17 Ilovernber 2020 under registered nurn￿r 1192378. The followiry trustees seryed dunng the year and have continued to serve up to the date of this report.. Jeanette Michelk Clernents- Chair {re51gned as trustee and choir effective IB June 20241 Ian Grant (from 16 Mav 2024. aPkX)InteO chalr 18 June 20241 Keith Wllliam Milne - Treasurer Justine Mrhelk Fitchett 38A Pigeix) Lane Herne Bay Kent cr6 7ES Hllary ￿am5 Ltd Chartered Accountants 158 Hlgh Street erne 8ay Kent CT6 SNP Page I WHrrSTABLE COMMUNTfi CHVRCH REPORT OF THE TRIISTEES for the Year Ended 31 Aupust 2024 The trustees present their annual report and the accounts of Whitstable Community Church (the church) for the year ended 31 August 2024. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting Oicies set out and comply with the church's constitution and applicable law. STRUCTUR4 GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Whitstable Community Church is a Charitable Incorpjrated Oryanisation {CIOI. The church has b&n led by a teom of th￿ elders. two of whom are Unpa￿ vc4unteers, ond a wlder leadership team comprising a further six unpaid volunteer5. The one fvll-tiffle salaried elder left in July to take up a similar positlon elsewhere. ané we a￿ currenyy seeking a ￿p1)￿N￿nL Meanwhlle we have created two teM￿)rary part-tlme salèrfed wsts. The first of these. Church Adrninlstrator. started in July. We have just cornpleted the recruitment prO￿5S for the second post. Coordlnator of Under-18's Work. to start In September. The management of the CIO Is the ￿spOnsibl11ty of the trustees, also unpaid. The methc*1 of appolntment of the trusrees, and thelr funttions and dutles, are set (wf In the chur(h's constitvtlon. The trustees are rhe only members or the CIO. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES The prlnclpal object of the CIO Is the a¢fvancement or the Chrlstlan faith In Whltstsble and the surroundlng area. and also elsewhere In the Unlted Klngdom and the W￿10 as apprq)rfate. Our princlpal activity Is the provlsien ol worshlp, prnyer, tommunity and Chdstlan teaL*lng, through our maln Sunday meetings and other activities Ourlng the week. Followlng Jesus. Growing together. Sharlng our hope. In deciding what activities the church should undertake during the ￿￿{￿1 Ihe trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. The trustees cong%Jer that the objectives for which the church was registered as a charity, and the manner In which they have exerosed thelr du￿e$ and powers. are for the publlc beneflt. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE While rhis rekx)rt, by irs very nature, indudes a 9￿at deal of finanoal infom)ation and shows us to be in healthy state In this re9ard, this Is not our primary measure of suc￿$s. Instead. we look to less tangible areas such as strong reLAtI￿shIpS among church members and with the wider community, authentlc corporate worshlp. a shared commitment to regular prayer and a breadth and depth of Bible-bèsed teachlng. These are obviously harder to rneasure but we iElieve this report detnw5tr6te5 dear progress in all these areas desplte 50me Significant ond unexpetted change5 ill PEf50nnd. Our membership has seen è slight dedine in numbers. endirwj rhe year at 46. Of these. at least 30 are actlvely serving In one or more roles. Cornmunity is at the heart of most of our church activities. At our regular Sunday morning meetings our worthip, while being ￿ from the front, always makes tirrE for contributions from all those present. Thi5 year we have been encouraged by a Trnge of contributions frotn tK)th young and old. Page 2 WHrrSTABLE COMMUNTfi CHVRCH REPORT OF THE TRIISTEES for the Year E￿ded 31 Aupust 2024 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE (eontlnued) At the beginning of 2024 we launched Community Groups. These are a rernoclelling of our olcj Srnall Groups, seeking to create the feel of extended fatnily round the taLle. eating and drinking and sharing life together. This has brought a fresh dyn4mlC to the* gathering5 and allowed us to develop twl leader5 and to connect everyone In thè church to a smaller group. On two ￿CaSIonS this year we have replaced our norn￿1 SuTh1ay morning meeting wlth Communlty Group gatherings in people's homes, giving more opportunity to ￿lId relationships and support one another. We have also continued our termly Hospitality Sun(Jays. when rrEmbers open their homes to others In the church and their wider farnilles, and (Keas￿nal pcnics when weather permi At the end of July we took eight young peO￿e lsome with speoal &Jucational needs) to the NeviDay Christlan YO￿th event In Norfolk. This was a five day event Whe￿ we camped with young people and leaders from other local R&latlonal Mlsslon churches. This was thjr first eXperIen￿ of organising such an event as an Independent church. and a 9￿3t deal of careful planning tCA* rAace. as well as enthusiastic fund-raising by the young people themselves, to ensure that a good time was had by all. with some making first-time commitments. The plannlng for thls event provided the opportunity for a ￿vieW of our safeguarding Oicles and Prnttlces, and the development of a mediclnes pdicy and a workaue approach ro rlsk assessment. The Immedlate t)enerir of thls was that our youth leaders had a basis on which to work with the event organisers to Secu￿ the necessary a￿$$ arrangetr*nts and nsk manage￿¢￿t to ensu￿ safety for our specific group. The longer rerm benefit was that it proved the efficacy of our aFyroach to safeguarding. with a dedKated tearn working dosely with trustees and children's and youth worker5 to ensure oll policies and practice5 are fit for purpose. Our Deeper meetings, one Sunday evening a month. f¢xus on worship and e¥tenéed prayer. We h8ve also reated other opportunities to pray together. wlth dedicated weeks of prayer In November and June, and a number of prayer walks in Whltsrable and Heme Bay rArtnershlp wlth other IKal d)urd)es. We have had a vaned prOjrnm￿￿ of Bl￿e teathing through the year, pnmonly on Sunday mornings through growlng range of preachers. rnalnly from within the churth, and have developed monthly farnlly-fotused serwltts provldlng opportunlty to Invlte other5 to a less formal gathenng. In )uly we completed part one, the Testa￿￿t, of Joumey Through The 8itle, a $￿e9 of evening evenr$ givlng an overvlew of how the whde Blbk fits rogether. A key comFonent of our church vislon is 'sharing our hope.. This means we want to look Leyond our lrnmedlate church family* and find ways of serving the whler community In Whitstable and further afield. In order to bulld relatI￿ShIpS and ccnnectlon5 we have established an annual ￿11 Night, which has also served as a way of ralsing funds for other chartties such as Christians Againsr Poverty. At Christmas we arranged a community carol gnging event at Whitstable ha￿Ur, as well as joining with our friends at Harbour Church In Whitstable for a carol se￿Ice ond a Chrtstrnas nvnlng servlce. Also in partnership with Harbour Church, we have Lvntinued to run ihe Playmates group for parents and Loddle nd, during the winter months, a weekly After 5th(￿ Club. We aim to ser aside at leasr io% of our income as a tithe funtj, and this has enabled us to financially support local mlnlstries such as the CAP WhItStsb￿ Detrrt CeTht￿. Coastal Family Hub, Haven Pro)ect and Canterbury Christlan Schools Work Trust. and overseas ministries Induding Barnabas Aid, Leprosy Mission and Misslon AvlatlN FellowshSp, In addltion to vanous thurch F4anting Inlilatlves Sn the UK and overseas. Members have also contributed to VariQU5 specific aptEals suth a5 equipping a flat for a Ukrainian refugee familyi and the annual &rnaritan's Purse shoebox appeal whKh provides Chnstma5 gifts for children in need across the world. Although we start the next year with some uncertainty regarding the prttess and outcome of our sea￿h for a new full-time leader, we have taken po￿tIve steps to provide extra stability by reviewing the rol￿ of trustee5 nd Identifying two additional trustee5. who will be taking up their role in the next tnonth or tsvo. We have also recruited two part-tirne temporary staff to cover essential operational roles, and have started a full review of our recruitrnent pr(Kedure5. These step5 will ensure that we (3n ￿n￿True to 5UPPDrt tnember5 and welcome newcomÈrs. Page 3 WHrrSTABLE COMMUNTfi CHVRCH REPORT OF THE TRIISTEES for the Year Ended 31 Aupust 2024 FINANCIAL REVIEW The results for the pen(KJ a￿ Set out in the occounts which follow th15 ￿pOTL LncotT* received In the period £77,744 12023.. £72,450). and expenditure of £66.669 12023.. £62.8991 was incur￿. resulting in a net surplus of £iL.075 12023.. E9.5511. All regular income is derive£J from church members. donations and no outside fund raising Is undertaken. All funcjs donated to the church are used either for the ¢Jay-ttrday operdtion and meetings of the church or to further Christlan work in the UK or overseas ac¢ordance with the obiectlves of the CIO. Regular monthly glvin9 has been sustained at a hi9h level. which has been more than sufflclent to cover the church's day-to-day operntions and to add to its general cash ￿elveS. A prime objective of the church is to gwe away an average of IO% of unrestricted Income each year to support the advancement of the Christian faith in the UK and overseas. txjring the penod covered by these accounts the arrount given away or set a51de for church plantin9 or humanitsnan projects ha5 met this taryet. The pollo/ of the trustees Is to maintain su￿￿￿ent liquid reserves to fInan￿ ￿goIng commitments such as ￿nt and salaries. and to bulld sufficient resetves to enable the future development and expansion of the mInist￿e$ of the church. Page 4 WHrrSTABLE COMMUNTfi CHVRCH REPORT OF THE TRIISTEES for the Year Ended 31 Aupust 2024 RESPONSIBILrriES OF THE TRUSTEES The trustees are responsible lor preparing the trustees. annual report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United King¢Jcffl Accounting Standarijs Iuniteij King(hxn Generally AC￿pted Accounting Practice). The law appllcable to charities In England and Wales requires the trustees to pre￿￿ accounts for each financlèl year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the church and of f(s Incoming resources and application of resources for that year. In preparing those accounts. the tnjstees are required to:_ sdect suitable accounting pc4lcies and aWy them o)nsistently- obseNe the methods and pnnds*s or the Cha￿¢￿$ Ststement of Recommended Practice "Accountlng and Reportlng by Charltles-: make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.. follow appllcable accounting sranJards. sublett to any material ￿e￿)rtU￿$ dlsckjsed and explalned In the ccounts,. and prepare the accounts on the golng COr￿M bJsls unless It Is inapprcyrlate io assume that the church wlll continue In existence. The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial p￿ItIon OF the church, and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Charites Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Rewrt51 Regui8tion5 2008, and the provisions of the church's consritufion. The trustees a￿ also reswnsible for safeguarding rhe assets of rhe Church and hen￿ for taklng reasonable steps for the preventlon and detection of fraud and other Irregulant*s. The trustees are resp)nsI￿e for the mointenance and Integrity of the churth and financial Infotination Induded on the church's webslte In accordance wlth leglslatlon In the Unlted KIngd￿n governing the preparatlon and dissernination of accwnts. Approved by the 8oard of Trustees and slgr*d on thelr behalf by: Date.. lan Grant- Chair Page S WHITSTABLE COMMUNITY CHURCH ATEmE1￿ OF FINANCIAL ACTIvrriES {Includin9 Ineome and Expendlture Act0￿￿t) for the Year Ended 31 August 2024 lInrest￿Cted Restricted Funds Funds 2024 2024 Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 Nutes Intoming resources: Voluntary income.. Donalions & legatles Investrnent Income Dlvldends recelved Actlvltles for generatlng funds.. Fundraising incorne Incoming resources from charitable activities: Subscrlptlons 74.532 1.917 1.295 75,827 1.917 71,591 859 Total In