## Heritage Sermons Charity Number: 1195136 Company Number: CE025621 ## ’ - Trustees Annual Report of Activity 2023 ## Introduction Since its foundation in July 2021 the structure and constitution of Heritage Sermons has been unchanged with the same five trustees operating throughout. The charity’s objective and purpose is the advancement of the Christian faith for the benefit of the public by the preservation and dissemination of sermons by deceased ministers, which were either preached in chapels which have historically been associated with the _Gospel Standard Magazine_ or which were preached by ministers who were members of such churches. The sections below describe the digitising and publishing of new material and the level of downloads from the website in 2023, providing the evidence that the Charity’s objectives are being advanced. Queries have been received about the motivations of the trustees in choosing which sermons to publish or not. Consequently, additional information has been added to the website to give clarity on how decisions are made to accept or reject material. Steps are being taken to seek approval from living ministers that are members of churches affiliated to the _Gospel Standard Magazine_ for their sermons to be published following their decease. The Trustees record their thanks to Almighty God for maintaining this venture since its inception to the end of 2023. ## Digitising and Publishing During 2023 205 new sermons were published on the HeritageSermons.org website, less than half the number published in 2022. This is partly because assistance received in 2022 for digitising was not repeated in 2023. 2223 sermons have now been published. 15 previously published sermons had their quality improved. Approximately 250 digitised sermons were waiting to be published at the end of the year. At least another 3000 sermons on tape are in our possession waiting to be digitised, amounting to about ten years of effort using current resources. There has been no advertising for new material or for help with digitising during the year. We are grateful to Muriel Hanks who has catalogued substantial quantities of tapes and is starting to assist with digitisation. Sermons were published for the first time for the following Ministers: R J Bradstock, Jabez Buss, P Dawson and E S Hickmott making a total of 126 ministers represented. For the following ministers, their cohort of sermons was increased substantially: Seth Mercer by 35, Philip Pont by 28, Raymond Woodhams by 24 and Clement Wood by 33. Sermons preached at the following chapels were available for the first time: Bexley, Chippenham, Hindley and Leatherhead, making a total of 82 different chapels represented by the end of the year. All newly published sermons have a quality descriptor and most have a brief summary of the subject matter as the title. ## Downloads At 5774, there were 4% fewer downloads in 2023 than in 2022. The graph below shows the number of downloads per month since the website went live in March 2020. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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The sermons of Herbert Dawson continue to be downloaded the most with over 8,000 out of a total of over 30,000 downloads since the website was initiated in 2020. Further steps have been undertaken for a revamp of the website, with a view to removing some frustrating limitations present in that currently used, e.g. not being able to identify the most recently published sermons. There has been no marketing activity during the year. ## Financial Review There has been no income during the year and expenditure of just £121 on external hard drives to reduce the risk of losing the digitised archive. In July funds were moved from HSBC to a Lloyds Bank Treasurers current account which attracts no routine charges. The closing balance was £4691. The trustees believe they can humbly record that: “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Prepared by Malcolm Lee on behalf of the Trustees 18[th] January 2024. Approved unanimously at a Trustee meeting 26[th] March 2024. Herita e Sermons Charity numi ber: 1195136 Company number: CE025621 Balance Sheet for 1/1/2023 to 31/12/2023 Income Opening balance: HSBC Income Expendlture HSBC Bank charges to 191712023 2 external hard drives One Drive cost Jan-jun 2023 to M Lee Closing balance.. Llo ds Bank Total 4.859.40 0.00 35.00 121,06 11.94 4,691.40 4,859.40 Total 4,859.40 Total funds at year end 4,691,40 Prepared by: Malcolm Lee 18-Jan-24 Prepared by: Stephen Moore 22-Mar-24