Trustees’ Annual Report
Introduction:
The Trustees of the church are the elders. They have the responsibility to ensure that the church, as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, fulfils the purposes laid down in its Constitution and in a way that is consistent with the Church Handbook. To that end the Trustees are required to produce an Annual Report to report on what activities the church has conducted in seeking to fulfil those objectives. This document is in the public domain.
Section 1: Legal and Administrative Information
Charity Name : Newtown Evangelical Church or EglwysEfengylaidd y Drenewydd
Registered Charity Number: 1193768
For the period beginning on 01/04/22 and ending on 31/03/23
Charity Address : Newtown Evangelical Church, Llanidloes Road, Newtown, Powys, SY16 1HL Governance Documents : Constitution adopted by the Church Members on 17[th] February 2021 and approved and registered by the Charity Commission on 10[th] March 2021, and Church Handbook which was approved by the Church Members on 17[th] February 2021
Objects of the Charity : According to the Constitution (Section 3), “The purposes of the Church are:
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the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Newtown, Powys and the surrounding neighbourhood; and
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such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, put into practice the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith, including but not limited to: the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness; the advancement of education; and the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life;
provided that the advancement of such purposes must be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the Doctrinal Distinctives and Ethical Statements as may be adopted and amended by the Church from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Church Handbook.”
Section 2: Trustees and Governance
Trustees consisting of
- Elders: Ben Christofides, Tim Gill, Owain Jones, Dan Owen, Lloyd Pritchard and Gareth Pugh.
Section 3. Activities and Achievements
According to our constitution the first purpose of the church is “the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Newtown, Powys and the surrounding neighbourhood”.
Throughout the period we have met twice a week on a Sunday for corporate worship. Throughout the period when we have been holding services in the building we have provided a private live-stream of the services on our YouTube channel, so that those of our congregation who were prevented from attending because of concerns about the pandemic, or are otherwise “housebound” might benefit from the services. These meetings contain praise of God. At the centre of them has been the systematic exposition of Scripture. We have completed sermon series on the book of Acts and on the book of Daniel. Series on Esther and Hebrews have started and the (long-running!) series on Psalms has continued. We have been very grateful to have received faithful and helpful preaching from visiting preachers, particularly from those who came
during Tim’s sabbatical. We have continued to give prayer a central place in those meetings, believing that the Christian faith can only be advanced through a prayerful dependence on God.
We have held weekly midweek meetings. Some of these meetings are held on the church premises on a Wednesday evening for prayer and Bible Study (or to hear reports of missions work).Twice monthly “Home Groups” have continued (except in late July, August and September). These “Home Groups” include both discussion about the teaching of the Bible and prayer for one another and for the work of the church. We have celebrated the Lord’s Supper on a fortnightly basis.We have continued to hold two prayer meetings each week (online using Zoom), and one in the building,to pray specifically for the salvation of sinners and the restoration of backsliders and for the strengthening of those who are struggling in their faith. We have also held regular prayer meetings prior to our Sunday services to seek God’s blessing on the services.
A Fellowship Meeting for Women in the church has been restarted (after the pandemic). This meets twice a month.We thank God that we have held a baptismal service at which one person was baptised.
The Elders (trustees) have sought to consistently lead the church in such a way that all our teaching and practise is in accord with the Word of God. We do this through the regular preaching and teaching ministry, and through regular Elders’ Meetings at which we seek to apply the teaching of the Bible to the issues facing the church. We have been supported in this by the Deacons who have been delegated the responsibility to oversee many practical areas of the life of the church. These decisions are subject to further scrutiny at Church Members’ meetings which have been held throughout the year. By God’s grace we believe that we are a church that is preserved from serious error, but recognise that we can never be complacent in this regard.
In seeking to train up potential future leaders, our two employed elders have being meeting regularly with two young men – Joshua Edwin and Dave Owen – to engage in training. The church has recently approved the appointment of Dave Owen as a Ministry Trainee (which will involve being employed by the church parttime, and part-time working as a volunteer) for two years beginning on 01/04/23.
In our endeavour to advance the Christian faith we have run a number of evangelistic events for young and old, for men and women – and some open to all. This year “Coffee and Cake” has restarted (after stopping during the pandemic), and a new monthly outreach for women on a Monday afternoon has started (“Getting to know …”). The aim of this latter activity is particularly to build on the contacts we made during “Holiday@Home” held in July. Occasional evangelistic events for women – aimed particularly at those who are not free for daytime meetings – have also restarted. We have also run Hot Potato evenings, where speakerswere invited to talk about a controversial subject with the aim both of defending the faith before those from outside the church and also of equipping members to live in a God-honouring way in 21[st] century Wales, as well as equipping them to answer questions those outside the church might have.
One of the strengths of the church has been the work amongst children and young people. Classes for providing age-appropriate Bible teaching for children take place within our morning services. Suitable teaching for those aged 11-14 is arranged either on a small group basis, or on a one-to-one basis. On Friday evenings there are clubs for primary aged children and high school aged children. These have been very well attended throughout the period with any up to about 150 attending the two clubs. In this way we have had much opportunity to advance the Christian faith among these age groups. They all meet charitable purposes (our other aim) by providing leisure activities for youth which are greatly appreciated in our local community. Additionally, Bible studies for boys and girls have been run on a weekly basis so that those in the Youth Club who wish to find out more about the Christian faith can do so. Our Parents and Toddlers group (attended by as many as 60-70) also meets a need amongst parents of young children, and indeed for
the young children themselves. There is also some Christian teaching provided at a suitable level to these very young children.
Our interest in advancing the Christian faith beyond our area has been widespread. Two of our members, together with their youngest child, have continued to serve in another country.Another couple have been serving in Cyprus particularly among two particularly disadvantaged communities. Another couple are doing evangelistic work in south-west Shropshire – an area currently without a gospel proclaiming, Bible teaching church.During the period we have also heard from speakers on a monthly basis who assist us in playing our part in the advancement of the Christian faith across the world. A number of our church members have served on Christian Easter and Summer camps, and on Beach Missions. We have continued a monthly prayer meeting specifically devoted to praying for the missionaries we have particular links with.
We have expressed our co-operation,in the work of advancing the Christian faith, with other Churches who embrace the evangelical faith in a variety of ways. For example, at a national level we have continued to be linked to the Associating Evangelical Churches of Wales and the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and through them with Affinity. These links arise from a desire to further partner with other churches in reaching Wales, England and Scotland with the gospel. We have continued to seek to express our fellowship with other Christians and churches who suffer persecution for their faith across the world in a variety of ways.
A major development in the life of the church over these twelve months has been our involvement in supporting Christians who have left Ukraine as a result of the war there. Fourteen Ukrainians – from four families – all of whom are members of, or connected to, a church in the south-west of Ukraine, are now living with members of the church, or in housing organised by a member of the church, and are worshipping with us. This we believe is in accordance with our second purpose as a church according to our constitution as a charity. Being joined by these Christian brothers and sisters has been a great blessing to us as a church.
Section 4: Policies
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Reserves policy: To have reserves amounting to approximately £100,000 which the managing trustees
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consider to be an appropriate level of general reserve, being sufficient to cover at least 9 months expenditure.
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Grant-making policy: We do not make grants.
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Investments selection policy: The Managing Trustees have adopted a low risk approach to investments, as
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we require access to funds on a short term basis, so deposit accounts bearing the maximum interest with the minimum length of term commitment are used.
Section 5: Signature and Declaration
Declaration: I declare, in my capacity of charity trustee, that:
the have approved the report above; and have authorised me to sign it on their behalf.
Gareth Pugh (Chairman of Trustees)
Charity Number
1193768
Newtown Evangelical Church
Statement of Financial Activities
INCOME & EXPENDITURE
| NOTES INCOME 1 e General Fund Donations (inc Gift Aid) Restricted Funds Donations (inc Gift Aid) Donations for use of premises Bookstall Insurance Claim Interest Received EXPENDITURE Salary & Pension Costs Travel and Conference Expenses Visiting Preachers Outreach (inc Young Peoples Work) Literature Total Ministry Costs AWM / Missionary Support Welshpool Community Church Graingers South Shropshire SAT7 Benevolent Fund SGA Camp Open Doors OM UFM Cardiff Met CU FIEC & AECW Ukraine House Poland Total Mission Support Insurance Water Rates Light and Heat Repairs and Maintenance Architects Fees Cleaning Grounds Expenses Total Property Expenses A/V Photocopying and Stationery Communications Subscriptions and Licences Legal Fees Independent Examination of Accounts Bank Charges Consumables Total Office Costs Total Expenditure Net Income / (expenditure) for the Year Reconciliation of Funds Funds brought forward Funds carried forward |
3 months to 31.3.2022 Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds TOTAL FUNDS TOTAL FUNDS £ £ £ £ 118,783 118,783 27,240 68,814 68,814 11,151 1,294 1,294 0 100 100 0 28,922 28,922 0 685 685 2 149,784 68,814 218,598 38,393 66,450 66,450 17,935 2,514 2,514 660 1,879 1,879 720 3,016 3,016 97 3,675 3,675 526 77,533 0 77,533 19,937 8,153 5,180 13,333 1,800 27,640 27,640 7,460 5,060 5,060 298 738 738 61 230 230 125 1,854 1,854 0 100 100 2,075 2,045 2,045 0 345 690 1,035 0 200 200 0 200 200 0 200 200 0 2,200 2,200 0 500 500 0 13,000 13,000 0 11,628 56,706 68,335 11,818 2,846 2,846 1,669 393 393 63 5,524 5,524 1,192 16,368 16,368 2,564 4,308 4,308 0 513 513 0 89 89 0 30,041 0 30,041 5,488 1,650 250 1,900 3,039 1,168 1,168 239 1,771 1,771 171 1,824 1,824 136 975 975 0 330 330 450 120 120 9 1,086 1,086 0 8,923 250 9,174 4,043 128,126 56,957 185,083 41,287 21,658 11,857 33,515 -2,894 77,404 24,988 102,393 105,287 99,062 36,846 135,908 102,393 For the Year Ended 31.3.2023 |
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Gwasanaethau Busnes Dolgellau Dol ellau Business Services Cilcain • Flordd Penceln • Dolgellsu • (Jll")'nedd • LL402YP Fron Si mudol 07913 371362 1obile Pholle E-knst advice@ alamwoodbridge.rn.uk E-rn*il Independent examinerfs report to the trustees of Newtown Evangelical Church CIO I Eglvrys Efengylaidd y Drenewydd CIO, Charity Number 1193768. I rewrt on the a¢counts of the Newtown Evangelical Church CIO l Eglwys Efengylaidd y Drenewydd CIO for the year ended 31SI March 2023. wh are set out on the following pages. Responslbilrtles and S18 of rnport As the charity tDJStees ot the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of Ihe accounts in accordan with the requirements of the Charitses Act 20111.the Acfl. I report in respect of my examination of the CIO'S accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinatton I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under secbon 145(51{b} of the ACL Independenl examlneV$ statement I have completed my examination. l Confimi that no material matters have to my attention in nnection with the examination giving me cause to bele that in any material respect 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by secbon 130 of the Act,. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no ¢on¢ems and have Come across no other matters in conneclion with the examinab'on to whb¢h attention should be drawn in this ret in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. oo Alan Woodbridge MIC Date: V June 2023 Alan Woodbridge Limited Coltcslredi£ %ne NEimru Rhif Cofrcstrn Cwmni RegierLY1 in Wal 4787064 C¢)fflpan)' R¢gi51Tation NuThkr