– – Hope Community Church Biddenden Trustees Annual Report
Aims & Purposes
Hope Community Church (HCC) is a new church in Biddenden, Kent that started in January of 2020. Our aim is to be another source of the Gospel, not just for Biddenden, but 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.
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 and of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. The church also has close ties with the Ministry Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
Objectves & Actvites
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:
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Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus
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Provision of pastoral care for people in the congregation
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Outreach work
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Partnerships with churches abroad
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, a Summer Celebration meal 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 also have a monthly prayer meeting which follows the Sunday morning service and, a bimonthly coffee morning called “Coffee Plus” 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.
We also have a “Fellowship Fund” which aims to assist members of the congregation who find themselves in a difficult financial position. This has been particularly relevant in the recent cost of living crisis.
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 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 is involved in leading and speaking at a summer camp in the Lake District (Christian Adventure Holidays). It is 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 are from families of very limited resources. 25 leaders volunteer their time to allow the young people to attend. The young people take part in activities such as sailing, canoeing, hill walking and climbing followed by an evening meeting with songs, interaction and a bible-based talk.
- Petrovaradin Evangelical Church
Hope Church has a partnership with Petrovaradin Evangelical Church (PEC) in Serbia. This is a small church plant with a similar theological outlook to Hope Church. Our partnership with PEC involves a commitment to regular prayer, seeking to grow relationships between PEC members and Hope members, and helping Hope Church to expand our involvement in global mission. We also give financial support to PEC which is channeled through the UK charity Grace Baptist Mission (GBM)
Village Fete
This summer the church was able to run a stall at the village primary school fete. This was an especially significant as we were able to have a “dummy” plane as an exhibit from Ministry Aviation Fellowship (MAF) for people to look at. We offered crafts, a bran tub and crazy golf. 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 Autumn we have begun a new Our bi-monthly coffee morning for older people has been particularly successful. 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 has a short ‘epilogue’ type talk to engage visitors with the Christian faith.
- MacMillan Coffee Morning and Quiz Night
This year has seen us hold our second MacMillan Coffee Morning and our first MacMillan Quiz Night. Both events were extremely successful with a total amount donated to MacMillan of just over £1000. These are further examples of how we are trying hard to engage with the residents of Biddenden and the surrounding areas. Once again, a short “epilogue” type talk was given at both events to engage visitors with the Christian faith.
Financial Review
To be provided by Adam
Hope Community Church
Statement of income and expenditure for the year ended 31st March 2024 and Bank Reconciliation
| By income and donations received Collections Direct collections Other - Appeals incl Fellowship fund HMRC - Gift Aid |
4,916.56 33,627.00 3,256.00 10,541.30 52,340.86 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Expenditure IT & Equipment Rental / Insurances HCC Kidz -Teaching Material Stationary / Books Guest Speakers Mission / Fellowship Fund Safeguarding Stipend-Employment, Travel, Disbursements Salary HMRC / NI Pension Books Conference Travel / Hotels Expenses Outreach Team-Functions Biddenden Fete Anniversary event Coffee Plus One off events Publicity - Design & Printing Consumables - Sunday catering Sundry items - Consultants / Other Excess of Expenditure over income Bank Reconciliation Opening balance 01-04-2023 Less excess of income over expenditure Balance as at 31-03-2024 Represented by Balance at bank 31st March 2024 |
3647.50 3960.05 507.03 120.07 130.00 6432.01 41.70 22381.07 7639.57 5287.26 438.28 885.80 343.00 110.00 2462.50 210.00 2865.01 1735.39 514.85 1406.12 35395.44 8776.35 26619.09 26619.09 |
14,838.36 36974.98 9,303.87 |
14,838.36 36974.98 9,303.87 |
61,117.21 8,776.35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,303.87 | ||||
Hope Community Church
Statement of income and expenditure for the year ended 31st March 2024 and Bank Reconciliation
Roger A Hughes ICPA Wayside Aldington Ashford Kent TN25 7DT