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2025-03-31-accounts

Centre Church Droitwich

Report and Accounts Period ended 31 March 2025

1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk

CENTRE CHURCH DROITWICH

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Centre Church Droitwich c/o 10, Oakland Avenue DROITWICH WR9 7DD GOVERNING DOCUMENT Constitution dated 22 May 2022 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1199135 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR Benjamin Putt MANAGING THE CHARITY Stephen Marshall Nathan Free (appointed 17 January 2025) Ian Waters (appointed 17 January 2025) Ovidiu Vaipan(appointed 17 January 2025) Peter Barham (resigned 16 May 2025) BANK The Co-operative Bank - Business PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Archie McDowall BA CA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

INDEX

Page 1 Legal & Administrative Details Pages 2-6 Trustees' Report Page 7 Independent Examiner's Report Page 8 Receipts and Payments Account Page 9 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 10 Notes to the Accounts

Page 1

Report of the Managing Trustees for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

The Managing Trustees present their report along with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2025. The financial statements have been prepared based on the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity’s Trust Deed.

1 LEGAL and ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

1.1 Church Address Centre Church Droitwich c/o 10, Oakland Avenue DROITWICH WR9 7DD

1.2 Governing Documents Church Constitution adopted by the members of Centre Church, Droitwich on 22[nd] May 2022 and approved by the Charity Commission on 30[th] May 2022. The church is registered as a CIO-Association, (Number 1199135) and is affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, FIEC. (Registered Charity 1132700)

1.3 Charity Trustees Benjamin Putt, Pastor (Salaried) Peter Barham (Non-salaried) (resigned 16 May 2025) Nathan Free (Non-salaried) – appointed January 2025 Stephen Marshall (Non-salaried) Ovidiu Vaipan (Non-salaried) – appointed January 2025 Ian Waters (Non-salaried) – appointed January 2025

1.4 Independent Examiner Archie McDowall BA CA Stewardship 1, Lamb’s Passage London EC1Y 8AB

1.5 Principal Banker The Co-operative Bank – Business PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT

Page 2

2 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT

2.1 Trustees and organisational structure

The Government of the Church is vested in a Body of Elders who are the Charity Trustees of the charity. There are currently five Elders, one of whom is a paid Pastor. Elders are nominated for appointment or re-appointment by the other Elders and 67% of Church Members must vote in favour for the individual to be appointed.

Elders, except the paid Elder serve for a term of three years and may then be re-appointed. The Charity Trustees who held office during the financial year are shown in 1.3 above. In January 2025 three new Charity Trustees were appointed at a Church Members Meeting and given an introduction to the work and responsibilities of the Trustees.

Elders will generally oversee a particular area of church life, working with appointed Team Leaders. The active involvement of all members in the life of the church is encouraged by holding bimonthly members meetings. There were 6 new members at the end of March 2025 making a total of 45.

2.2 Remuneration of Charity Trustees

Extract from Church Constitution, paragraph 6 entitled ‘Scope and powers permitting trustees’ or connected persons’ benefits’. Dependent on stated provisos:

“A charity trustee or connected person may receive compensation (including the provision of accommodation) for acting as an employee of the Church under a contract of employment”.

In addition, all Charity Trustees are entitled to be reimbursed from the property of the Church or may pay out of such property reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her when acting on behalf of the Church.

2.3 Responsibilities of Charity Trustees

Under the Charities Act 2011, the Charity Trustees are required to prepare a statement of accounts for each accounting year which gives a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the church.

They are required to:

1. Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

2. Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

3. State whether the applicable accounting standards have been followed;

4. Prepare the financial statements on an ongoing basis.

Charity Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Church and they must ensure that such accounts and records comply with the Charities Act 2011.

They also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to detect fraud or other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurances that:

1. The church is operating efficiently and effectively;

2. Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition;

3. Proper records are kept and that financial information used within the church and for publication is reliable;

4. The church complies with relevant laws and regulations.

Page 3

2.4 Risk Management

All activities undertaken by the Church are subject to a review as part of the risk management. Risk Assessments are reviewed and agreed annually by the Charity Trustees at a meeting of the Elders.

3 OBJECTIVES and ACTIVITIES

Mission statement:

“As a Church we are committed to following Jesus, loving one another, and seeing lives changed in Droitwich”.

Value statements:

Activities and Achievements

Centre Church Droitwich was a church planted with the support of Woodgreen Evangelical Church Worcester and had its first service using the premises of Droitwich Baptist Church in September 2021. It became independent in May 2022 when it was registered as a CIOASSOCIATION with the Charity Commission therefore this report is a testimony to God’s grace towards us in our third year.

The teaching and preaching of unchanging Biblical truths is foundational to being disciples of Jesus at Centre Church. We believe in the inspiration and authority of all Scripture which means that relevant exposition and explanation of Biblical truths is a key aspect of all our activities across all ages.

We seek to worship God in our Sunday services in a contemporary way and preaching from the Bible is an indispensable part of our corporate worship. Our pastor has provided a majority of the preaching at Sunday services with their themes derived from sequential exposition of books of the Bible. We believe that relevant and faithful preaching is essential not only for building up Christian disciples into mature believers, but also to point unbelievers to Jesus Christ.

We encourage children of all ages to be actively involved in our Sunday services and during the Bible talk for adults, children in reception and school year one will have their own session learning from the same Bible passage as the adults.

Page 4

Older children and young people have their own activity on Monday evenings which includes discussion of the Bible talk the previous day.

We recognise that Jesus prayed. And unless God blesses all we do as a church, our labour will be in vain, so we show our reliance on him through times of prayer. Our bi-monthly Members Meeting includes prayer for agenda items and after the second Sunday in a month we meet together for lunch followed by a time of prayer.

We have continued our main objective to establish a ‘church family’ that provides mutual support and encouragement as we live in today’s world. To this extent our aspirational Membership Covenant, which individuals agree to when becoming members, speaks of intentionally creating deep and meaningful relationships with each other putting others needs ahead of our own.

Mid-week, inter-generational ‘Side-by-Side’ groups for church members are our focus in meeting this objective. Group leaders are tasked with creating their own way of developing those relationships throughout the week.

As an expression of our love and care for our salaried Pastor he was able to take a sabbatical over the summer to refresh himself and his ministry and spend time reflecting on how the work of the church could develop in the future.

At the same time as caring for one another locally we will continue to encourage and support mission partners in other parts of the UK and the wider world. A significant part of our annual budget is directed at regular financial support for partners in Spain, Italy and the West Midlands

Centre Church was not planted to just be a place for Christians to enjoy mutual support as we seek to follow Jesus. The church was planted in order to share the timeless good news of Jesus within the community. We have therefore kept the ‘church programme’ to a minimum and members have spent time building meaningful friendships with people in Droitwich community groups including voluntary work in the local Food Bank and the provision of coffee and chat as people arrive.

We have been encouraged by a growing number of people from the community joining us on a Sunday morning and asking us to explain the reasons for what we believe.

In planning the activities, the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

4 FINANCIAL REVIEW

We end the year with cash reserves of £46,923.05. Our reserves policy states we need two months of budgeted expenditure available in our bank accounts, equivalent to £16,617.50 for 25/26. We more than meet the requirements of our reserves policy currently.

Income of £102,484 was received in the last financial year. This is 25% or £20,789 more than budgeted (£81,695) mainly due to a legacy of £12,338 and HMRC delays in gift aid in 23/24 which meant an additional payment was received in 24/25.

Page 5

Overall in 24/25 we spent £77,451, if we add the budgeted reserve contribution of £4,209 to this which is allocated to the Future Ministry Designated Fund, then allocated expenditure is £81,660 and we underspent against the £88,392 budget by £6,732. This was due to small underspends (10% or less) across many areas of our budget and expenditure for the Forge biblical training programme moving significantly to 25/26, even though income received for the programme was in 24/25.

Looking ahead, we anticipate investing in a new area of ministry locally and using some of the reserves we have generated through the recent legacy and generous giving of members to fund this. Our budget for 25/26 is £99,705 including £12,500 towards the new ministry. We anticipate income including gift aid of £91,287. We would need to use reserves of £8,418 to fully fund this year’s budget. This has been discussed and agreed with members in the March Members meeting.

5 INVESTMENT POLICY

The Managing Trustees have power to invest in such assets as they see fit for the furtherance of the aims and objectives that are agreed by the Trustees and supported by the Church Membership.

6 RESERVES POLICY

The Managing Trustees have an agreed Reserves Policy whereby a contingency is held of at least two months’ expenditure. This year we have continued to use our funds to establish long term partnerships with other Christian ministries outside of our local community and to designate reserves towards a future ministry area which we are hoping to start in 25/26. Our cash reserves are still in excess of the targeted level.

7 GRANT MAKING POLICY

In the past financial year grants have been made to mission partners and we anticipate a similar level of circa £10,500 being made available this year. These grants are made following recommendations of our supporting mission team and agreed by trustees as set out in our Financial Management Policy.

8 FUTURE PLANS

Centre Church is still learning about the people in our community and how best to serve them. Following the salaried Pastor’s sabbatical, the Charity Trustees met to prayerfully and strategically look forward to where God is leading us in the years ahead,

Following last year’s plan to establish a new budget line for ‘Future Ministry’ opportunities, members have given support to examining the ways we may serve the Westlands estate of approximately 4000 people which has significantly higher levels of social deprivation.

Approved by the Managing Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Steve Marshall

Steve Marshall (Dec 7, 2025 21:40:02 GMT)

Stephen Marshall, Trustee

Date Dec 7, 2025

Page 6

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF

CENTRE CHURCH DROITWICH

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Centre Church Droitwich ('the charity') for the period ended 31 March 2025 on pages 8 to 10 following.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

  1. the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.

I have no concerns and 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.

Archie McDowall

Archie McDowall (Dec 11, 2025 10:22:47 GMT)

Archie McDowall BA, CA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

Date: Dec 11, 2025

Page 7

CENTRE CHURCH DROITWICH

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Income receipts
Donations
Gift aid receipts
Legacies
Income from courses and events
Bank Interest
Total receipts
Payments
2
3
Total payments
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Cash funds as at last year end
Cash funds at this year end
A
Net of receipts / (payments) before
Grants
paid
in
relation
to
charitable
activities undertaken by others
Payments
in
relation
to
charitable
activities undertaken directly		 General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£
£
73,235
-
14,317
-
12,339
-
2,535
-
-
58
102,426
58
65,749
-
11,702
-
77,451
-
24,975
58
(12,339)
12,339
12,636
12,397
17,806
4,085
30,442
16,481

Unrestricted		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2025
£
73,235
14,317
12,339
2,535
58
102,484
65,749
11,702
77,451
25,033
-
25,033
21,890
46,923		 2024
£
71,306
8,134
-
-
-
79,440
62,878
17,586
80,464
(1,024)
-
(1,024)
22,914
21,890

The notes on pages 10 form part of these accounts.

Page 8

CENTRE CHURCH DROITWICH

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted Funds| |General|Designated|Restricted| |funds|funds|funds|2025|2024| |Notes|£|£|£|£|£| |A|Cash funds| |Cash at bank with immediate access|30,442|16,481|-|46,923|21,890| |30,442|16,481|-|46,923|21,890| |B|Other monetary assets| |Gift aid due to charity|2,809|-|-|2,809|7,106| |2,809|-|-|2,809|7,106| |C|Liabilities| |Falling due within one year| |Taxes due|2,235|-|-|2,235|2,731| |Fee for Independent Examination|690|-|-|690|520| |2,925|-|-|2,925|3,251|

----- End of picture text -----

D Guarantees and secured debts

The charity has not given any guarantees and has not provided its assets as security for any liabilities.

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

----- Start of picture text -----
||| |---|---| |Steve Marshall| |_____Stephen Marshall, Trustee|Steve Marshall (Dec 7, 2025 21:40:02 GMT)| |Date:_____|Dec 7, 2025|

----- End of picture text -----

The notes on page 10 form part of these accounts.

Page 9

CENTRE CHURCH DROITWICH

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1 Accounting policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.

2
Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly
Employment costs (see note 4)
Ministry expenses
Outreach activities
Small equipment
Rent
Insurance
Independent examination
Office costs
Conferences and Training
Event Expenditure
Other costs
3
Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others
Grants for:
Woodgreen Evangelical Church, Worcester
Mission
FIEC
Mission
Other Mission Partners
Mission
Other small grants to organisations
Mission
Grants to individuals
Mission		 Unrestricted Fu
General
funds
£
47,678
4,460
809
2,088
6,500
375
624
2,093
752
371
-
65,749
-
1,300
10,402
-
-
11,702		 nds
Designated
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total
2025
£
47,678
4,460
809
2,088
6,500

375

624

2,093

752
371
-
65,749
-
1,300

10,402
-
-
11,702		 Total
2024
£
45,275
3,407
330
2,883
6,110

375
480
1,244

2,156

-
618
62,878
6,250

1,300

3,686
350
6,000
17,586

4 Transactions with related parties

Benjamin Putt served as pastor and was paid £45,007 (2024:£42,707) for serving in that capacity, not for serving as a trustee; these payments are permitted by the charity's governing document.

The church also contributed £2,671( 2024:£2,568) to a personal pension plan for Benjamin Putt.

5 Movement of funds

General funds
Designated funds
Future Ministry
Total funds		 Opening
balance
£
17,806
4,085
4,085
21,890		 Receipts
£
102,426
58
58
102,484		 Payments
£
(77,451)
-
-
(77,451)		 Transfers
£
(12,339)
12,339
12,339
-		 Closing
balance
£
30,442

16,481
16,481
46,923

Page 10