2024-03-31-accounts

INGAWAY CHURCH BASILDON

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

and

UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS

for the period ending 31 March 2024

Registered charity name: Ingaway Evangelical Church

Registered charity number: 1199066

BACKGROUND

The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 24 May 2022. This is the second Annual Report of the Trustees.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The object of the Church charity is to advance the Christian faith as set out in the Constitution dated 10 January 2022.

The Trustees acknowledge the requirement to demonstrate clearly that the charity’s purposes or aims are for the public benefit. This report sets out how the charity has achieved this. The Trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit before deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

Public benefit was primarily delivered through worship services, prayer, pastoral care, Bible study, a Coffee Club and partnership working.

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The Trustees are extremely grateful to those who have freely and willingly given their time, energy and expertise to a range of work and activities in support of the Church’s objective.

The Trustees wish to acknowledge the outstanding contribution made to the life of the church by fellow Trustee, David McLean, who died on 16 March 2024. David’s contribution was made over many years since he first joined the church in 1974. He subsequently became an Elder and, in 1992, a Trustee of the church property. When the church became a registered charity in 2022, he continued his service as a charity Trustee. David made a positive impact on countless individuals that came into contact with him through his work at the church, and in his professional and personal life. His depth of knowledge concerning the Holy Bible, the wisdom he shared humbly and lovingly, and the strength of faith he exhibited have all worked to encourage and inspire those he met. David was a great advocate for Christian missions at home and across the world, to which he unstintingly gave his support through time, expertise and money. He was a stalwart of dependable and committed service to the church he loved, and he will be greatly missed.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship Services

Worship was one of the main activities for the Church in delivering a benefit to the public, and this took place every Sunday at 10.30am. It was prayer and Biblebased. The Elders developed teaching programmes on a range of Bible-based topics which acted as a focus for the choice of Bible readings, sermons and prayer throughout the year. Worship services were led in the main by Elders and, from time-to-time, by guest speakers. This arrangement provided a wide range of experience and knowledge for worshippers to draw on. All services took place in the church building.

Having commenced in January 2023, worship services on the first Sunday of each month continued to contain more hymns and songs and a shorter sermon. This arrangement was adjusted in December 2023, when these services moved to the third Sunday of each month to allow for the introduction and inclusion of a specific focus for children during services on the first Sunday in the month. The aim of the adjustment was to broaden the appeal of our worship services to as wide a range of people as possible.

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We usually included Communion in our worship twice each month, on the second and last Sundays, although sometimes this varied, for example to accommodate a visiting speaker.

Special events during the reporting period included an annual summer ‘Brunch’ service which was well attended by people who did not ordinarily come to church, a Harvest Festival and Supper in mid-October 2023, and a New Year Party in early 2024 where people were invited to bring and share food with one another.

By comparison with the previous year, attendances at Sunday worship increased from an average of around 14 adults to 16. In addition, there was a small increase in the average number of children attending, although these numbers remain low.

Bible Study

Bible study took place weekly on Thursday evenings and usually focused on the main Bible reading from the previous Sunday’s worship service. Having previously taken place in the church building, these meetings were held online from April 2023 to encourage more people to take part.

Coffee Club

The Church hosts a Coffee Club on Friday mornings. The Coffee Club is managed and led by the two Deacons. A number of those who came to the Coffee Club were not regular worshippers, so it formed an important part of the Church’s outreach.

Meetings

The Trustees met on five occasions during the year, one of which was specifically for the purpose of conducting a financial review.

At these meetings, risk management was a standing agenda item. New policies on Risk, Incident Management, Complaints, Bullying and Financial Reserves were discussed, agreed and implemented.

Arrangements which commenced during the previous reporting year to transfer the property (church building) to the newly established CIO remained outstanding, largely due to a backlog of work at the Land Registry. The transfer is

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intended to help streamline the charity’s governance arrangements. A firm of Solicitors continued to oversee the necessary work on behalf of the Trustees.

To encourage the attendance of a wider demographic at worship services, a storage room was repurposed for use by children under the supervision of adults. The room has a window through which activities in the church can be viewed, and sound from worship services is fed to the room through speakers. The arrangement proved successful, with feedback indicating that it met the needs of users.

Two Church Business Meetings were held during the year. To encourage as many as possible to attend, meetings were held immediately following worship services. These meetings were led by the Trustees for the purpose of providing information to anyone with an interest in the life of the Church. Some of the information provided included an overview of the Church’s financial position, an update on governance arrangements, news about worship services and events, and plans for maintenance and improvement of the church building.

Mission and Vision

Work had started on developing a Mission and Vision Statement for the Church in 2019, but progress was interrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The work was re-invigorated at the start of the reporting period with broad engagement from members of the congregation. Consequently, a Mission and Vision Statement was agreed during April 2023. The outcome of the work is being used to support our objective to advance the Christian faith for the public benefit.

Partnership Working

Ingaway Church supports the work of Churches Together in Basildon (CTB). A Trustee regularly attended CTB meetings and reported back to fellow Trustees on developments. From time-to-time, the church building was used to host CTB meetings and prayer breakfasts.

The charity benefited from three long-term lettings of the church building. Good relations were maintained with all three hirers. The lettings were to another Christian Church with a matching doctrine, a local Guide pack and a parent and toddler group.

The Christian Church met on Sunday afternoons. Its worship services were conducted in the languages of Malayalam and English. The Trustees record their

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thanks for the cooperative relationship that has been established and are pleased to note the encouraging growth of that Church.

The local Guide pack met on Thursday evenings during school terms and provided activities for children in the age group 10 to 14.

The parent and toddler group met on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings during school terms and was led by an Ofsted-registered child minder.

Communications

A website and Facebook page were maintained so as to provide the public with a broad range of information about the Church and the services it provides.

Leaflets were delivered to some 2,000 homes in the local area during December 2023 to provide information about Christmas services and general activities at the church.

Regular email communication was provided to those who requested it or who had consented to receive it. This included information about upcoming worship services, summaries of sermons and prayer requests.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

Ingaway Evangelical Church (informally, Ingaway Church) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) governed by Constitution (foundation model) dated 10 January 2022. The Charity was first registered on 24 May 2022.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The existing Trustees recruit and appoint any new or additional Trustees in accordance with the provisions set out the Constitution dated 10 January 2022.

Organisational Structure

The Trustees are responsible for managing the Church charity and its finances. The Trustees meet at least four times each year to review all aspects of the Church’s purpose and operation. Risks, including financial risks, are reviewed as part of this process. Insurable risks are subject to the Church’s insurance policy. Risks relating to contracts are reviewed before contractual agreements are

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entered into in order to mitigate against any adverse impact on the Church’s operation or fulfilment of its purpose.

‘Church Business Meetings’ are held from time-to-time at the discretion of the Trustees for the purpose of providing information to any member of the public with an interest in the life of the Church. Typically, the Trustees may present a range of reports, including details relating to the accounts.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity name: Ingaway Evangelical Church Informal name: Ingaway Church

Registered charity number:

1199066

Principal address: 55-61 Ingaway Basildon Essex SS16 5QP

Trustees: Graham Fry Elder and Chair Tracy Turner Elder Irene Ferguson Deacon Susan Fry Deacon and Secretary

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The principal sources of funding during the year were from open collections at worship services, regular planned giving through the Gift Aid Scheme and income from lettings of the church building. Receipts decreased slightly by comparison with the financial statement for 2022-23, but payments decreased slightly too. Some significant aspects of expenditure concerned the use of electricity, maintenance of the church building and the expenses of visiting speakers. Total income was just under £15,000 and there was a surplus of income over expenditure in excess of £2,600.

As a new charity, we developed and implemented new policies and procedures, including financial policies, towards improving our governance arrangements.

There was no requirement for the accounts to audited.

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DECLARATIONS

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: Signature: Graham Fry Full name: GRAHAM ROBERT FRY Position: TRUSTEE Date: 14 January 2025

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statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet 2023124 - Ingaway Church 2023r14 2022r23 Recei Collections and Grfi Aid Open fr11￿ct￿5 £ 1.703.82 £ 5.230.44 £ 2.044.11 £ &978J7 £ 1,590.98 £ 6,432_57 £ 1,612.09 £ 9,635.64 Grft AKI Tax Retwn Sub_total tknath)ns IDh3rtal & Brunch) Church Hire Maintenance Har￿est &JpFer Reserve Acc¢JJnt Irrtetest Fund Raigng I￿1Z N￿h1) Sub.Total £ 265.oj £ 5.215.C(J £ 2,733.61 £ 5,336. £ 120.00 10.00 86.28 301.05 £ 205.(KJ £ 1986.05 £ 8,286.79 Total £ 14964.42 £17,922.43 Running Costs Water Rates Insu￿nCe 76.84 £ 1.623.72 £ 286367 £ 456423 72.30 £ 1,449.74 £ 1432.43 £ 2,954.47 Sub_Total t)rmatk)n to C.T.B - Standiry (￿der D￿lIK)n to C.T.B. . Prqect 58.7 Bas. Res￿r¢e, Ukraine & EatyLMke Maintenance C(wJhi Li￿r￿e Fl(Mers & Seat C(ThnxJnion Cw)s £ 1.2(M).(Ki £ 405.tK) £ 1,200.IYJ £ 1,282.25 £ 2,574.96 £ 176.00 15.00 59.96 65.00 £ 490.93 80.40 £ 1,135.00 £ 100.66 50.00 £ 2.362.98 £ 188.IXJ 32.49 66.IKJ e￿ir￿j 684.55 Refreshn￿ts 123.26 Visiti"rKJ Ministers £ 1.450.(KJ Websrte Promd 121.05 (*urches T(￿her in Bagkkn 50.IKJ AdMin￿tratOn 64.79 Zoom subscnpb.on 143.88 Green Wasts Bin sJLBcriptr￿ kn B.D.C. £ 50.(KJ Miscellaneous 178.97 "grtal Pk91K) Pwchase 525.DJ Sub-Total £ 7,732.93 £ 3,569.75 £10,799.91 Total £11297.16 £13,7￿38

Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet 2023124 - Ingaway Church Total Receipts {202Y24) £ 1&964.42 Total Payments12023r241 £ 12.297.16 Sw)lus120231241 £ 2,66726 (Receipts. Pa￿￿ents) Total Receipts12022123) £17,922.43 Totsl PalM￿n￿l2022￿3I £13.f54.38 Surplus1I1221231 £ 4,168.05 (Recapts. Payments) Balances rTent Accwnl on 311Y23 £ 100. Reserve Account 3113123 £18.536.97 Pety Cash on 311Y23 £ 481.77 Total .118.74 Accwnt on 2313r24 £ 11JJ. Reserve Accrmjnt 2313r24 £21.602.39 Pety Cash on 23r3124 83.61 Totsl £21.786.IK) 2022123 Surplus £ 2.66726 Miscellaneous Purchase of Mus Wirdess Microp P*Jlock Hand Key CArtbng Purchase of a Fr￿e Total 15.(Kl 69.99 9.99 15. £ 60. 178.9T