## **– – Hope Community Church Biddenden Annual Report** ## **Aims & Purposes** Hope Community Church (HCC) is a new church in Biddenden, Kent that started in January of 2020. We aim to share the gospel of Jesus with those in Biddenden, the surrounding area and beyond. We are a Bible-centred, family church looking to serve our community. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death and resurrection are good news for everyone who trusts in him. In the last year, the Eldership felt called to begin a search for a Pastor. A search team was formed from a cross-section of the church membership. A suitable candidate became available after a relatively short time and, following a detailed selection process, the membership appointed Dave Stone as the church Pastor in 2021. HCC is a member of the Kent Gospel Partnership. ## **Objectives & Activities** We aim to live out our faith in Christ in the community around us and we welcome new people to join in any of our regular activities regardless of belief or background. In particular, we do this through: - Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus - Provision of pastoral care for people in the congregation - Outreach work - Partnerships with other churches in Kent and overseas ## **Achievements & Performance** ## _Worship & Prayer_ We offer a regular, Sunday morning service throughout the year together with special events such as a Christmas carol service, a stall at the annual village fete and hosting special guest speakers such as Rory Stein who was once Nelson Mandela’s bodyguard but now travels around delivering a message of hope and redemption. Communion is integral to the Sunday morning service on a monthly basis and we hold three separate mid-week Home Group meetings where Bible passages are discussed in detail. We have recently commenced a monthly prayer meeting which follows the Sunday morning service and, from September, we will hold a bimonthly coffee morning for older members of the congregation and the local community. We hold regular membership meetings where votes are held on important issues. ## _Pastoral Care_ HCC has a WhatsApp group for anyone who wishes to join it. This serves as a useful tool to keep those involved informed of specific requests for prayer or practical assistance with, for example, providing meals to those who, for whatever reason, are not able to cook for themselves. Apart from a break in the summer, our regular Sunday morning service also includes provision of a Sunday School for school age children and a supervised creche for babies and toddlers. During the pandemic when physical attendance at church services was not permitted, sermons were streamed into people’s homes and, now that normal attendance at church has resumed, we continue to stream Sunday morning services so that those who cannot, or prefer not to attend, can see and hear the service and still feel part of the proceedings. ## _Outreach Work_ - School assembly talks Our pastor has begun a regular engagement to take assemblies at the local village primary school. This runs once a month and involves teaching about 100 children between reception and year 6. He would usually lead a song and then teach a story from the bible with as much interaction as possible, finishing with short prayer. - Christian Adventure Holidays Our pastor was involved in leading and speaking at a summer camp in the Lake District (Christian Adventure Holidays). It was attended by 40 young people from both church and non-church backgrounds. The camp aims that finances should not be a barrier to any young people attending and a number of the young people this year were from families of very limited resources. 25 leaders volunteer their time to allow the young people to attend. The young people took part in activities such as sailing, canoeing, hill walking and climbing and then had an evening meeting with songs, interaction and a bible-based talk. - Petrovaradin Evangelical Church Hope Church has a partnership with Petrovaradin Church (PCP) in Serbia. This is a small church plant with a similar theological outlook to Hope Church. Our partnership with PCP involves a commitment to regular prayer, seeking to grow relationships between PCP members and Hope members, and helping Hope Church to expand our involvement in global mission. We also give financial support to PCP which is channeled through the UK charity Grace Baptist Mission (GBM). We recently had a visit from the pastor of PCP and his wife and our Pastor has just returned from a visit to PCP. - Village Fete This summer the church was able to run a small stall at the village fete. We offered game and a lucky dip. The stall was well attended and we strengthened existing contacts with village residents and engaged with some new people. Lots of our church members volunteered in one capacity or another. - Coffee plus This is our biweekly coffee morning for older people. This is a free event to connect with and support older people in and around the Biddenden community. Coffee plus is run in the village hall and we offer drinks and an opportunity to chat and play games. Each event will has a short ‘epilogue’ type talk to engage visitors with the Christian faith. ##  FIEC We have recently become members of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches. The benefits of this is that we have access to other Gospel centred churches and the organization provides advisory services on matters such as employment law. ## _Financial Review_ We have seen a slight dip in giving this year but this is not surprising given the cost of living crisis. We continue our mission giving at our planned level however and we continue to financially support our partner church in Serbia. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WAIES HOPÈ COMMUNrrY CHURCH 8IDDENDEN Recei ts and pa ments accounts CC16a For the perlod To 01h)412022 31n312023 Section A Receipts and payments un￿$triCted funds to th8 r￿arn&t Endowment fund• T¢rtal fund$ tywr to th• ￿￿￿81t£ to the no•rpBt £ to the no0rnstÉ to tho rwrest £ Al Racel co1￿CtionS £2,623.53 er- als £15,280.8 TO￿ recelpis S7,052 A3 Pa m•nts Rentsl I Insuraft¢ Teachln Matsrial Stationa l Books ¢0# Gu•st S Mlsslon Functlons Sund Item8- Consullants Accountsn uardin nd-Ern lo rr & EQUIPMENT 648 295 98S 720 231 29.563 5.205 ment & Travel Sub totsl A4 Ass•t •nd Investment see tsb N•1 0frncdpW(p•yn￿tsj A6 Transf•rs fund¥ A6 C88h funds la•t y••r end C￿￿ fvnds thls ye8rend CCXX R1 gcuunls ISSI 2CV10r2023 SLiction B Statement of assets and Iiabtlities at Ihe end of the period Un¥6&UIGtad lund¥ to £ R6st¥lGt8d lunds EndowmÈnt fvnd• to E to nmrmt £ B1 C••h fund• 8ANK AcC￿NT BALAKE Totslcuh fund¥ l•Jff•• 4nO Ko)ufitl•ll UnM•trl¢t•d Il••*r￿ fund• endoMn•nt fund• fund* to rwrn•t e to nMrn•t£ Oetrny Fund io *thl¢h C••¢ lop00￿> Curnnl v•ly• Fund to *thlch ••M¢ Won Unmlrrled Cwrnnt v*lu• Co•1 loptloMII 8.203 IT 8 EQUIPMENT Fund to ¥thlch Amount du• Wh•n du• 85 L￿bIll¢bIl S¥n•d ty ¢)n• or trul1￿ h•N of 91 Irust•es SvJn•tu Pr*rt N8m• D•1• of •pprov•l ¢¢XX R2 accx)unt• ISSI 20110r2023 ## **Report of the Independent Examiner(s) to the Trustees of Hope Community Church – Biddenden** ## **On the accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2023** ## **Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner** The Church’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The church’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 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 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and - to state whether particular 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 church 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. ## **Independent examiner's statement** In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act or - the accounts do not accord with the accounting records. - the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. - I 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. Signed by or on behalf of the Examiner Date 7[th] October 2023 Name Roger Ashley Hughes Relevant Professional Qualifying body ICPA Address Wayside, Aldington, Ashford Kent TN25 7DT