Grace Community Church Loftus Report and Accounts Year ended 31 October 2024
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LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Grace Community Church Loftus
Deepdale Road
Loftus
Saltburn-By-The-Sea
TS13 4RS
GOVERNING DOCUMENT CIO - registered 12 November 2021
CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1196546
TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR Robin Singleton
MANAGING THE CHARITY Robert Partlett
James Duff (until 7 March 2024)
Jack Barber (from 7 March 2024)
Thomas Singleton (from 7 March 2024)
BANKERS Barclays Bank plc
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Allan Chandler
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INDEX
Page 1 Legal and Administrative Details Pages 2-5 Trustees' Report Page 6 Independent Examiner's Report Page 7 Receipts and Payments Account Page 8 Statement of Assets & Liabilities
Grace Community Church Loftus
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 October 2024. The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 12[th] November 2021 so this is the third annual report and the third set of annual accounts. The period covered is 1 November 2023 - 31 October 2024.
Objects of the charity
The charity, which is a church, is governed by a constitution and church handbook. The church is constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). The purposes of the Church are:
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1) The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Loftus, Saltburn by the Sea and the surrounding neighbourhood; and
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2) 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.
In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements
To further the above objects and vision, the charity's main activities and achievements were as follows:
Sunday Services
We continue to meet weekly on Sunday mornings for corporate public worship, using the hall. The service includes praise, prayer and preaching/teaching. Regular attendance has risen to about 45 including children. After the service refreshments are served. Most people stay to enjoy this time of fellowship and also stay for a hot community meal that is provided every Sunday.
Mental Health Support Group
The Mental Health Support Group was established during the Covid-19 lockdown to provide support for those who were isolated and/or facing mental health problems. This group continues to meet and is open to anyone in the community. They do not need to be Christians and the format is very informal but it does include Bible study and prayer.
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Church Night
Most Thursday evenings we have a church family night. We meet at 6pm to enjoy a hot meal together and then between 7.00pm and 8.15pm we usually study the bible together and pray. The bible study is for all ages and usually includes some discussion - working in small groups. We close by praying together. Occasionally we have visiting speakers - for example Al Simms from People International visited on 6 June 2024 and Dave Hossack, Scripture Reader with SASRA visited on 5[th] September 2024. We also occasionally dedicate the whole time on a Thursday evening to pray together - for example for the work of Open Doors amongst persecuted Christians.
Cafe - Grace Brew House
In September 2024 Grace Brew House completed it’s second full year of operation. A team of committed volunteers work alongside the Cafe Manager, producing and serving good quality food and drink at affordable prices. The café provides a warm space for local people and a venue for social interaction. The main purpose of the café, however, is to provide a gateway for the community into the church and a gateway for the church into the community. It is part of the ministry of the church and we long and pray that through this outreach many will hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The funding for the Café Manager’s post will be exhausted at the end of 2024. The church leaders are considering if and how the café can continue into 2025.
Evangelism
The evangelistic strategy of the church is one of encouraging church members to witness to the people that they meet in their everyday lives. We do hold occasional evangelistic events, like the Christmas Carol Service, but the main focus is of being an ‘everyday church’. The church also has an internet presence via its own website and YouTube Channel. The weekly sermons are also posted to the church Facebook Page. A monthly article has been placed in the community newspaper ‘Talk of the Town’. During the year some Door to Door evangelism also took place, with several encouraging responses.
World Mission
The church supported and received updates from Open Doors, SASRA and WorldShare. Open Doors supports persecuted Christians across the globe, SASRA seeks to reach serving soldiers and air force personnel with the Gospel, and WorldShare supports the global work of indigenous Christians as they preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After a visit by Al Simms in June 2024 the church replaced their support for WorldShare with People International. People International work in Central Asia.
Grace Pregnancy Support
The aim of this work is to save the lives of babies by encouraging and supporting parents to choose life - rather than abortion. We also offer support to women who have had abortions. We work and pray to see the spiritual salvation of the parents. The ethos is to ‘speak the truth in love’. An FIEC grant paid for a small room in the church to be refurbished and dedicated to this task. A training session was run by CBR UK and Hope Pregancy and a website and social media presence has been established. Leaflets have been distributed to local medical centres, shops and cafes.
10 Year Anniversary
The church celebrated it’s 10 year Anniversary with an Open Day on Saturday 6[th] April 2024. The Café was open at half-price and there were displays of historical and current interest. Lots of local people visited and some Christians from other areas also attended in support.
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Membership and Baptisms
6 people were baptised as believers during the year and the year closed with a church membership of 26.
Affiliations
Grace Community Church Loftus is now a full member of:
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FIEC - The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches across England, Scotland and Wales.
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Medhurst Ministries - Supporting, planting and revitalising churches in deprived communities of England and Wales. The pastor attended a retreat during the year and several folk from the church attended the Medhurst Weekender in Summer 2024. A group of Medhurst pastors meet locally for regular encouragement and prayer.
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HeartCry Missionary Society - Having been introduced to HeartCry through Medhurst Ministries the pastor is funded full-time by HeartCry for a period of 4 years. Church And Family Life Network - During 2024 we joined this network which encourages ageintegration in churches and supports both church and family life.
Staff/Appointments
The Pastor serves the church in a full-time capacity (office holder). The role of the Cafe Manager is now funded by designated funds which will run until the end of December 2024. The leaders are looking into the possibility of adding to the pastoral staff, possibly with the future plan to plant a new church in one of the local towns or villages that currently has no evangelical church.
Financial review
At the end of the financial year the charity held £71,345.01 of which £10,134.96 is designated and £61,210.05 is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.
Reserves policy
The trustees do not currently have a reserves policy. The Trustees make judgments as necessary, balancing on the one hand the desire to have several months budgeted expenditure in reserves and on the other hand not wanting to sit on money that could be used for charitable purposes. On the whole the trustees will err on the side of caution so that the charity could continue to operate should income (including grant funding) and / or expenditure vary adversely. At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £61,210.05
Governance
Trustees meet together regularly to monitor activities of the charity. They present the key results of such meetings at quarterly members’ meetings. The trustees are responsible for ensuring the charitable purposes of the CIO are carried out in accordance with the church constitution and handbook
The trustees of the charity are all the persons appointed to the offices of Pastor, Elder or Deacon. In accordance with the charity constitution and handbook, trustees are appointed by a vote of the church membership. All trustees are members of the charity. There must always be at least three charity trustees. Presently there are four.
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Responsibilities of trustees
Charity law requires Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year. We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Robin Singleton
Date: 04/02/2025
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Independent examinerfs report to the trustees of Grace Community Church Loftus I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Grace Community Church Loftus for the year ended 31 October 2024 which are attached to this report. Responsibilities and basls of report As the chartty trustees of the Tnjst you arè rèsponsible for the preparatlon of thè a¢counts in accordance with the requlrements of the Charitiès Act 20111.the ACVI. I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carrled out under sectlon 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examlnatlon I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145lSllbl of the Act. An examlnation includes a review of the accountlng records kept by the charfity and a ¢omparlson of the accounts presented with those records. It also Includes consideratlon of any unusual items or disclosures In the account5 and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provlde all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. Independent examlnerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material mattefs have come to my attentlon in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. l. Accountlng records were not kept Èn respect of the Trust as required by sertion 130 of the Att,. or 2. The atcounts do not accord with the records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters In connection with the examination to whlch attention should be drawn in this report In order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Narne Allan Chandler Addre55 2 Arlington Street, Loftus, Saltburn, TS13 4LA Date 13 February 2025 Page 6
Grace Communlty Church Loftus Financial Activities 1•t Novfymbfyr 2023 tg 31st Ortobar 2024 Dgted Funds TfAal Tidol Cafè tr PayrLFII oufp 2024 2•2J om¢ olr. ca$hbtyA oir•rkng- dlrnct to bjnk 7.760 $0 7.760.50 6.325 95 1W.00 100.00 36.510 28 36.610I8 25.125 93 41497.04 42,497.04 42.497.04 35A14.20 8.228 $4 8226.54 5.878 02 and 30.mo 00 30.000.00 12S,094.38 21. 00 42h97.Q4 42.$97.04 82N97.32 95A92.10 ExpBndttu Chw¢h C4t¢rlw SupplY4• Church AnnerSary Expun• COpyrht L5ne• Ga$AndEl¢tC 4,853.37 4.853 37 3.e75.00 663.39 97.00 9300 7,892.04 s.3 00 7.692.04 10.477.30 ril BulldlThy ar R•p4lr• 8.B63.DO 1089 50 261.12 B.5M 69 1,950 1.767 39 &Trlnlry-Co1é 261.12 897 158 158.50 776 81 9,$19.68 9.549.88 6.008.7 Pastual Girts 223.32 PAY11 PMehln#Fe Sotrar, knta9• 4nd StBIIoMry PrtyLrf¢ op•n PrL bulldlng wLYknT Subl, F•tt &COnl•¢• Tr&lnhw- Prfylrf* Wjigr 98168 05 59,16&09 59.188.05 S2.508 91 470.( 47000 540.00 1.th 61 1.33B.fj1 1230 38 SB.35 113eO 1.aO.38 SB.35 1,230.38 58.3S 2.142 82 2.142.82 1.019 96 753 46 753.46 863 67 TothiExp0NJ 261.12 59,16805 1,288.73 eii.717JQ 18.120AI 38A74.6• 44,lJ22.63 99.192.59 25JOI.77 89.112J8 6.379.72 261 12 Page 7
Grace Community Church Loftus Statement of Assets 1st November 2023 to 31 st October 2024 Opening Balance Closing Balance Cash Funds Bank Current Account- Church 45,147.55 51,125.76 20,000.00 219.25 71,345.01 Kingdom Bank Cash Account 295.69 45,443.24 Of which General Funds 17,187.42 24,491.63 2,065.16 1,699.03 45,443.24 61,210.05 7,820.62 876.43 Designated - Payroll Designated Pro Life Designated - Café IT 1,437.91 71,345.01 Page 8