Registered Charity no. 1202231
Harrogate Vineyard Church
Trustees Annual Report and Accounts
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Wyatt & Co
Chartered Accountants 125 Main Street, Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF
Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Contents Page
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Legal and Administrative Information | 1 |
| Trustees' Annual Report | 2 |
| Independent Examiners Report | 7 |
| Statement of Receipts and Payments | 8 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 9 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 10 |
Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Legal and Administrative Information
Reference
The Charity is called Harrogate Vineyard Church. The Church is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and was registered as a CIO on the of 7th March 2023.
Registered Charity Number
Registered Charity Number 1202231 Registered Office 25 Leyland Road Harrogate HG1 4RT Website www.harrogatevineyard.org.uk Trustees at 30th April 2024 Ian Revie Chair Bethany Townson Charles England Nicholas Gee Judith Campbell Stepped down 10th December 2024 Primary Bankers Co-op Bank 1 Balloon Street Manchester M4 4BE Independent Examiner Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA Wyatt & Co Chartered Accountants 125 Main Street Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30[th] April 2025
Trustees Annual Report
Objectives and Activities
Harrogate Vineyard Church was “planted” out of Leeds Vineyard in January 2012 and was established as an independent CIO in March 2023, to advance the Christian religion in accordance with its constitution.
The objects of the CIO are:
To advance the Christian religion for the public benefit in accordance with the Statement of Faith in the Schedule hereto attached in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world through:
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The organisation and provision of Christian worship;
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The provision of such facilities and services as are appropriate for the Church, to enable it to fulfil its mission to the members of the Church, visitors to the Church and the local community and the wider community;
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The provision of facilities for Christian training and service;
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The support and provision of Christian evangelism and outreach;
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The provision of assistance to the wider Christian church in its ministries.
Public Benefit Statement
In considering the activities, the Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
The organisation's purposes primarily benefit the community in Harrogate, through showing love to the area in practical and generous ways which brings them together. Those who attend the church, the poor and lonely, and anyone who wishes to receive support, will be given the opportunity to know God through worship and prayer, which will, in turn, transform lives through decreasing loneliness, creating community, increasing peoples' connectedness and creating opportunities to explore and grow their faith and spirituality
Vision Statement
God has called us to establish a vibrant, creative, biblically-based and growing church in Harrogate. A church where all are invited to discover Jesus and what it means to follow Him. An outward-looking community which will, in a creative and contemporary way, in the power of the Holy Spirit, worship God and communicate the good news of Jesus with compassion and generosity. We aim to make and equip disciples, raise up leaders, plant new churches and be a blessing to the wider church.
Our desire is to see lives changed through the power and presence of God; to see broken lives restored; to see those without hope given a reason for joy; to pray for and be actively involved in God’s justice for the poor. We believe God has something powerfully life-changing and relevant to say to all people. Our desire is to grow a church where people are welcome at any part of their journey; whether they are seekers, followers or just hanging out.
Our invitation is “Come as you are”.
Achievements and Performance in the year
Our goals for 2024/2025 were attained as follows:
Growing in faith and sharing that with others:
We encouraged and gave further opportunities for members of the congregation to grow in their own faith by creating space for people to share their testimonies and to encourage more people to write the weekly Monday Reflection pieces for the church. These activities helped to live out our ‘everyone gets to play’ vision and also helped people to feel more connected and inspired to participate more actively in church life.
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30[th] April 2025
Trustees Annual Report
We also increased the preaching team by one third thus allowing Nik & Maggie Gee to have more time for other church responsibilities.
Within our smallgroups, we identified potential new leaders and gave them development opportunities, and provided several short course resources to enable regular attendees to grow deeper in their faith
Outreach
We created a number of practical events for people in the community to get engaged with. We used the natural process of sourdough bread making and were able to intertwine the gospel within this – we reached over 125 people in this way, with several people showing further interest in wanting to know more about Jesus. This was facilitated by volunteers from within the church.
We created a ‘Send Them A Meal’ team to provide care & pastoral connection both inside & outside church community.
We also continued with our Annual Easter events. We partnered with several other Harrogate churches to provide worship and Hot Cross Buns to the people of Harrogate during the Good Friday Outdoor Service. The day after this we blessed the community of Harrogate by handing out over 300 Easter Eggs and sharing a little of God’s love on Easter Saturday.
We repeated our annual Doughnut giveaway event on The Stray. We gave out over 500 doughnuts on Bonfire Night to members of the public, sharing with them the love of Jesus; many remembering that we had been there in previous years.
October saw the launch of CAP Money courses. We trained 3 Money Coaches and delivered a number of money management sessions. We built some really good relationships with external providers such as Social Prescribers, local community hubs, food banks, and various other community groups. We also forged strong links with a local supported living home for older people and were able to support residents there with managing their finances.
Community
This year we took part in a new event called Harrogate Kindness Festival. We were able to join with over 50 other charities to come together to give support and advice for the local community. This was attended by over 200 visitors.
We also maintained our open events for non-churched people. This included our yearly ‘Burns Night Celebration Meal’ and a new chocolate making evening. During the month of August we also concentrated on taking our church into the community by holding a series of Sunday Summer outdoor activities.
We invested and supported one of Yorkshire’s largest specialist charities (Harrogate IDAS) who give assistance to people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. We were able to receive donations from church members to provide ‘moving on’ boxes for the residents for when they find suitable accommodation, this included practical items such as towels, irons, crockery etc. We were also able to provide the residents and their children with Christmas gifts and Mothers’ Day gifts.
Youth
This year we invested heavily in encouraging our youth to find and grow in their own faith and for them to have opportunities to grow in their relationships with each other.
We now have 8 young people who are regularly part of Harrogate Vineyard Worship band. They play a wide range of instruments such as guitar, drums, saxophone, keyboard, bass guitar and vocals and totally enhance worship time for the church.
We took a number of youth to Nottingham for the ‘Dreaming The Impossible’ Youth Conference, and also ‘Cause to Live For’ youth conference.
Socially and more locally, we held monthly Pizza and board game evenings for the youth, and we took part in a joint churches Youth Worship Campfire night. Every month our leaders and youth also
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30[th] April 2025
Trustees Annual Report
take part in joint churches' Youth Worship nights, where a number of our young people lead the worship
Baptism
We ran baptism classes for prospective baptismal candidates and held a baptism service for 5 candidates.
Leadership Roles & Training
We created a new leadership role internally, by appointing Sheree Morris as Pastoral Assistant who will now be working two days a week in this role and will also continue in her admin/finance role.
We facilitated several home group leaders to attend a Leadership Conference in Nottingham and also a two day training event in York.
Financial Review
The activities of the charity for the year ending 30th April 2025 resulted in an income of £ 68,210 and expenditure of £68,763 this led to a small deficit of £553 for the year.
At the year end the unrestricted funds held by the church were £25,328.
Reserve Policy
Harrogate Vineyard church holds a reserves policy that is reviewed annually. Alongside which, the level of reserves held by the church is monitored and managed regularly.
The current reserves policy states that the church aims to maintain a level of reserves that is sufficient to cover 3 months of operating expenses (£17,380. The level of reserves is defined as unrestricted funds that are available to be used for any purpose of Harrogate Vineyard Church. The reserves held at the end of the year ending 30th April 2025 were £25,328. The Trustees recognise that this is above the minimum level of reserves set out in the policy but, as the church is growing in numbers and income, the surplus is within reasonable parameters to accommodate increasing operating expenses. The Trustees will continue to monitor the reserve to ensure that funds are used appropriately
Volunteers
The church makes significant use of volunteers to run its activities. This includes… children’s Sunday groups (Vineyard Kids), Youth group, small groups, setup, refreshments, worship, Reach Out events.
The church also relies on the financial donations of volunteers and other churches/trusts to further its aims.
Plans for the Future
Our main objectives for 2025/26 are:
Growth in Faith
To seek to provide new opportunities for individual church members to grow further in their spiritual journey. This year we will look to provide regular Men’s & Women’s breakfasts a day retreat for members of the church, and an 8 week small group prayer course.
We will also hold regular Discovering Vineyard events, to share our story, increase awareness of our vision & values, and encourage new members to grow deeper in faith & connection and find a place to serve & get involved.
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30[th] April 2025
Trustees Annual Report
Outreach & Community
To continue with our current outreach activities including:
Investing in & developing our community support workshops (CAP Money Coaching & Breadmaking)
Assisting in growing the scale & impact of the Harrogate Kindness Festival (now relocated to St Aidan’s School), and duplicate this connection with the annual Starbeck Festival
Connecting with many people across the town & district through free giveaways (Bonfire Night, Easter, etc)
Joining with other churches in Easter & Pentecost community services
To continue to build and establish strong relationships within the church, through regular social events.
To concentrate on building further and stronger relationships with other community providers to provide assistance & investment in terms of time, money and people resources to the community.
To be intentional about providing reach-out events & gatherings to provide places where we can invite friends & neighbours to create connection with church regulars, building community & friendship.
Youth
To continue to encourage youth within church, and the wider community, to access internal and external fun activities and also activities which support spiritual growth for our young people.
This includes the monthly boardgames & pizza night, the townwide monthly youth worship night, and the new monthly youth smallgroup planned to start in the Autumn
Leadership training
To focus on ensuring volunteers, leaders and youth are trained and encouraged in all ministry areas by attending appropriate wider Vineyard Conferences – including the Vineyard Leaders’ Gathering, Cause To Live For, the Regional Worship Gathering & the Signs & Wonders Conference, and also by providing local church training and online training.
To actively engage in analysing and identifying the strengths and skills of the leadership team so that we can optimise and build on each person’s capacity and self-awareness so that each person can reach their full potential. This will be facilitated by internal workshops and the Regional Leaning In Leading Out conference.
Governance and Management
Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee will be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
Staff Team (and oversight):
Senior Pastor – Nik Gee (Pastoral, Discipleship, Preaching & Worship)
Senior Pastor – Maggie Gee (Preaching & Teaching, Volunteer training)
Pastoral Assistant & Administrator – Sheree Morris (Outreach, Admin & Finance)
Designated Safeguarding Lead – Beth Townson (Safeguarding Children & vulnerable adults)
Kids Ministry – Beth Townson (Vineyard Kids Overseer)
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30[th] April 2025
Trustees Annual Report
Trustees’ Responsibilities
Harrogate Vineyard Church's financial statements have been prepared on a cash basis, when receipts and payments take place through the bank account.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Trustees Ian Revie Name of Trustee: Signed on behalf of the Trustees:
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07/10/2025
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Date of Approval:
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Independent Examiners Report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Harrogate Vineyard Church ('the charity') for the year ended 30th April 2025.
Responsibilities and Basis of Report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity's financial statements 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 Act.
Independent Examiner's Statement
I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.
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:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
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the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA Independent Examiner 125 Main Street Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF
Date: 08/10/2025
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Statement of Receipts and Payments
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total |
Total Funds | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | Funds 2025 | 2024 | ||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Receipts | |||||
| Donations and legacies | 2 | 65,886 | 2,324 | 68,210 | 86,472 |
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| Total Receipts | 65,886 | 2,324 | 68,210 | 86,472 | |
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| Payments | |||||
| Payments on charitable activities | 3 | 65,667 | 3,096 | 68,763 | 60,304 |
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| Total Payments | 65,667 | 3,096 | 68,763 | 60,304 | |
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| Net Receipts / (Payments) | 219 | (772) | (553) | 26,168 | |
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| Net Movement in Funds (Cash) | |||||
| Total funds (cash) brought forward | 25,109 | 1,059 | 26,168 | - | |
| Transfers | - | - | - | - | |
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| Total Funds (Cash) Carried Forward | 8 | 25,328 | 287 | 25,615 | 26,168 |
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| Represented by | |||||
| General (unrestricted) | 25,328 | - | 25,328 | 25,109 | |
| Restricted funds | - | 287 | 287 | 1,059 | |
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| Total Funds Carried Forward | 25,328 | 287 | 25,615 | 26,168 | |
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
As the accounts are prepared on a cash basis there is no formal Balance Sheet or Statement of Financial Position. Instead, a statement of assets and liabilities is outlined giving an indication of the charity's assets at the year end.
The fixed asset value stated below is based on the church's insurance cover during the year.
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Fixed Assets | ||
| Tangible fixed assets | 13,208 | 13,208 |
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| 13,208 | 13,208 | |
| Current Assets | ||
| Cash at bank and petty cash | 25,615 | 26,168 |
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| 25,615 | 26,168 |
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
Basis of Preparation
The financial statements have been prepared on a cash basis when receipts and payments take place through the bank account or petty cash.
Assessment of Going Concern
Preparation of the accounts is on a going concern basis. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which the trustees are free to use for any purpose in furtherance of the charitable objects. Unrestricted funds include designated funds where the trustees, at their discretion, have set aside resources for a specific purpose.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor or the term of specific appeal, often known as a ‘special offering’ in the church.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
Incoming Resources
All incoming resources are recognised once the charity has entitlement to the resources and the money has been paid.
Resources Expended
Expenditure is recognised on a cash basis when payments have been made through the bank account or by petty cash.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
| **2 ** | Analysis of Receipts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | ||
| Funds | Funds | 2025 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Donations and Legacies | ||||
| Donations and offerings | 51,229 | 2,094 | 53,323 | |
| Gift aid | 14,096 | 230 | 14,326 | |
| Donation from planting church | - | - | - | |
| Other Income | ||||
| Other income | 561 | - | 561 | |
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| Total Receipts | 65,886 | 2,324 | 68,210 | |
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| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | ||
| Funds | Funds | 2024 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Donations and Legacies | ||||
| Donations and offerings | 40,486 | 4,958 | 45,444 | |
| Gift aid | 9,101 | - | 9,101 | |
| Donation from planting church | 30,665 | - | 30,665 | |
| Other Income | ||||
| Other income | 1,262 | - | 1,262 | |
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| Total Receipts | 81,514 | 4,958 | 86,472 | |
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
3 Payments on Charitable Activities
| Payments on Charitable Activities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | |
| Funds | Funds | 2025 | |
| Charitable Activities | £ | £ | £ |
| Administration | 3,962 | - | 3,962 |
| Discipleship | 541 | - | 541 |
| Giving | 3,188 | 3,096 | 6,284 |
| Meeting costs | 13,758 | - | 13,758 |
| Outreach | 5,232 | - | 5,232 |
| Staff salaries and costs | 37,133 | - | 37,133 |
| Training | 1,853 | - | 1,853 |
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| 65,667 | 3,096 | 68,763 | |
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| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2024 | |
| Charitable Activities | £ | £ | £ |
| Administration | 4,841 | - | 4,841 |
| Discipleship | 505 | - | 505 |
| Giving | 3,080 | 3,899 | 6,979 |
| Meeting costs | 11,457 | - | 11,457 |
| Outreach | 3,935 | - | 3,935 |
| Staff salaries | 30,250 | - | 30,250 |
| Staff costs | 704 | - | 704 |
| Training | 1,633 | - | 1,633 |
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| 56,405 | 3,899 | 60,304 | |
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4 Volunteers
The church benefits greatly from the voluntary contributions of time and money from its regular attendees. Please refer to the trustees' report for further details about volunteer contributions to the organisation.
5 Independent Examination Fees
Fees payable to the independent examiner for 2025 2024 £ £ Independent examination and preparation of the financial 936 900 statements
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
6 Staff Costs
The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | ||
| Wages and salaries | 34,762 | 29,427 |
| Social security costs | - | - |
| Employer contributions to pension plans | 930 | 823 |
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| 34,762 | 29,427 | |
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7 Trustee Remuneration and Expenses
During the year ended 30th April 2025 Nicholas Gee received remuneration of gross pay of £22,310 (2024: £20,212) and pension contributions of £669 (2024: £606). This was received for Nicholas' role as Senior Pastor and was not for his role as a Trustee.
During the year ended 30th April 2025, two trustees incurred out-of-pocket expenses totalling £2,350 (2024: £4,991). All expenditure were incurred for the day-to-day running of the church activities.
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
8 Analysis of Charitable Funds
| 30 April | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st May 2024 | Receipts | Payments | Transfers | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted Funds | |||||
| General | - | 65,886 | (65,667) | 25,109 | 25,328 |
| Designated Funds | |||||
| Reserves | 25,109 | - | - | (25,109) | - |
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| Total Unrestricted | 25,109 | 65,886 | (65,667) | - | 25,328 |
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| Restricted Funds | |||||
| IDAS | 1,059 | 2,324 | (3,096) | - | 287 |
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| Total Restricted | 1,059 | 2,324 | (3,096) | - | 287 |
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| Total | 26,168 | 68,210 | (68,763) | - | 25,615 |
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| 7th March | 30 April | ||||
| 2023 | Receipts | Payments | Transfers | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted Funds | |||||
| General | - | 50,849 | (56,405) | 5,556 | - |
| Designated Funds | |||||
| Reserves | - | 30,665 | - | (5,556) | 25,109 |
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| Total Unrestricted | - | 81,514 | (56,405) | - | 25,109 |
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| Restricted Funds | |||||
| IDAS | - | 4,958 | (3,899) | - | 1,059 |
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| Total Restricted | - | 4,958 | (3,899) | - | 1,059 |
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| Total | - | 86,472 | (60,304) | - | 26,168 |
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Fund Descriptions
Restricted Funds
IDAS
Fund held for items related to IDAS women's refuge in Harrogate.
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Harrogate Vineyard Church
Year Ended 30th April 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
9 Related Party Transactions
Netmakers (Registered Charity no.1163939, previously called Harrogate Hub) has a trustee in common, Nicholas Gee. During the year ended 30th April 2025, Harrogate Hub received a £960 (2024: £800) gift from Harrogate Vineyard.
Maggie Gee, a close relative of trustee Nicholas Gee received remuneration as an employee of Harrogate Vineyard. Maggie Gee received gross pay of £7,397 (2024: £7,633) and pension contributions of £222 (2024: £216).
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