## **OASIS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP** ## **ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** **APRIL 2022 TO MARCH 2023** STATEMENT OF FAITH ## **WE BELIEVE IN:** **The unity of the Godhead and the divine co-equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the Sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption.** **The true and proper Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; His Virgin birth, His real and perfect manhood; the authority of His teaching and the infallibility of all His utterances; His work of atonement for sinners of mankind by His vicarious sufferings, His death, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension into heaven; His present priestly intercession for His people and His second coming.** **The full inspiration of the Holy Scriptures; their authority and sufficiency as not only containing but being themselves the Word of God; the reliability of the New Testament in its testimony to the character and authorship of the Old Testament; and the need for the teaching of the Holy Spirit to a true and spiritual understanding of the whole.** **The reality of original sin in consequence of the fall and the necessity for regeneration.** **The jusification of the sinner solely by faith, through the atoning merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.** **The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion and sanctification; also in ministry in worship and in the exercising of spiritual gifts through the body of believers.** ## **OASIS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 288387** Date registered: 9[th] January 1984 Governing Document: Trust Deed dated 14[th] November 1983 Objects: 1. The advancement of Christianity 2. The relief of persons who are in conditions of need, hardship, or distress, or who are aged or sick. 3. The provision of Christian teaching and education Registered Address: 230 High Road Benfleet Essex SS7 5LD Telephone Number: 01268 565233 Bankers: National Westminster Bank Plc P.O. Box No. 438 124 London Road Benfleet Essex SS7 5RT Independent Examiner: Independent Examiners Ltd Unit 2, The Broadbridge Business Centre, Delling Lane, Bosham, PO18 8NF Connected Companies: Oasis Community Services Ltd (Dormant company) Web Site Address: www.oasisbenfleet.org.uk ## **OASIS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP** **PASTORAL TEAM:** Stephen Larkin (Men’s Ministry) David Scogings (Hospitality) Barbara Baldwin (Ladies ministry & team leader) Mandy Rhodes (Ladies ministry) Paul Roberton (senior citizens) **TRUSTEES:** Stephen Larkin David Scogings (Chairman & acting secretary) Barbara Baldwin Mandy Rhodes (appointed 22[nd] Feb 2023 ) Paul Roberton (Treasurer - appointed as a trustee 31[st] Oct 2022) **SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES SUNDAY WORSHIP** 10:30AM **PRAYER MEETING** - **Tuesday except 1[st] Tuesday each month** 10:30AM **PRAYER MEETING - Friday** 7:30PM **MENS FELLOWSHIP** - 2[ND] Monday each month 7.30PM **LADIES FELLOWSHIP** - 2nd Monday each month 2:30PM **SENIOR CITIZENS** WEEKLY VISITS TO LOCAL RESIDENTIAL HOMES **COFFEE MORNING** (first Tuesday each month – prayer 10am) 10:30 AM – 12 NOON **OUTREACH INTO THE COMMUNITY** (venues and dates as announced) **Training and teaching in basic Christianity, discipleship and evangelism takes place as announced throughout the year.** Oasis Christian Fellowship is committed to work together for unity of the church in Castle Point ## **Pastoral Team’s Report** During this year our pastor Ron Webb officially announced his retirement and stepped down from his duties at the end of November 22. In his place a pastoral team led by Barbara Baldwin has been set up to share ministry responsibilities and oversee a transition period, after which a lead elder and elders will be appointed to lead the church. The pastoral team recognize the vital part Ron Webb and his ‘late wife’ Jan Webb played in establishing Oasis in the 1980’s and leading the church over the years. We would like to pay tribute to their work and the many lives that have been transformed and blessed through their ministry. We now move on as a church into unchartered waters as we step out into the plans God has for Oasis in the coming days. We believe that an emphasis on ‘Team Ministry’ will be vital for the days ahead and will be encouraging all members of Oasis to recognize God’s calling and gifting in their lives. Each member of Oasis will have a vital part to play as we move forward seeking to connect with our local community and other congregations in the area. The message of the Gospel will be central in all that we seek to accomplish as we continue to lift up the name of ‘Jesus’ in our community. We believe that it is important to connect with the wider church and have therefore started to invite guest speakers for our ‘Sunday Service’ on a regular basis. This has proved to be a great blessing and encouragement for us. We also seek to meet with other churches and join with them as we serve God together in our community. Our ‘care homes’ ministry continues and this is being extended to include coffee mornings at Oasis. A Carers Café will also be commencing in May this year. Our men’s ministry and ladies ministry continue with monthly times of fellowship and teaching. We see prayer as vital to all of the work in Oasis and will looking at ways to encourage greater involvement in our times of prayer. We are very much at the beginning of this new venture for Oasis as we continue to adjust to our change of circumstances and would like to thank everyone for their commitment and faithfulness as we all step up to the challenge. Please continue to pray as we press on into the vision God has set before us. The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel comes to mind as we look forward to the day’s ahead, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit’ says the Lord of hosts.(Zechariah 4 v 6). Barbara Baldwin and the Pastoral Team ## **Oasis Christian Fellowship, Benfleet. Trustees Report Year Ending March 2023** ## **Our commitment** The trustees recognise their legal responsibility to ensure that the charity’s obligations and requirements are fulfilled and that the activities of the charity satisfy its charitable status. The trustees meet regularly (usually bi-monthly) to discuss and make decisions involving the governance of the charity. We also hold consultative meetings with others should there be need of external advice. No governance decisions are made at these meetings. We submit reports to the Charity Commission to demonstrate that we have fulfilled these requirements and responsibilities. ## **Recent changes within the fellowship** The pastor Ron Webb has now retired from being leader of the fellowship, therefore the trustees, David Scogings, Barbara Baldwin and Steve Larkin agreed to appoint Paul Roberton as a trustee and have also since appointed Amanda Rhodes as a trustee. The trustees also set up a pastoral team to lead the fellowship in its ongoing work in the community. ## **Public Benefit** The trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. - The charity of the Oasis Christian Fellowship's core activities are reported separately in these ‘Report and Accounts’. - Our Sunday church services, and weekly prayer meetings are open to the public and advertised accordingly. - The charity of the Oasis Christian Fellowship has continued to regularly reach out into the community sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and offering support through prayer and encouragement at local community events. This work continues to develop and change. - Our ministry to the elderly particularly in care homes in the local community continues to be significant and is much valued by the residents and the home’s carers. Many lives have been enhanced and transformed by this work. Ov•rvl•w A5 tNstees we have continued to rne81 on 8 bi-monthty basis where possible to dlscuss only the practical needs of the felkJvship. Signfflcant items induded.. l Our d￿nIabLe glving and other finanTh81 commilrnents 2 Maintenance needs of the buik1ing, ground8, and the Minibu8 3. Regular ond ongoing risk a3se85menl Covering 911 aspects of the charity. il We are (omfflitted to our obl￿gationS as a member of thirty-cfjtreight, fonnally known as, Churches Child Protection Advisory Swvice. Our Safeguarding pollcy document was reviewed during the y&ar, as required. Thts QJV￿S children and vulnwable aduts and is available to see on request. ill Our ffinandal p0s￿On is reported monthly to thg tru$t89$ Leaders by our tr8asur6r Paul Roberton. iiil (￿r policy C￿ Personal Data FXOt8ction ha5 betsn updated to ieft8Ct the new E.U. Law which came into eff￿t in May 2018. We now keep records of penmlssion given. or not glven, by each person ofwhom we hcld data. The trustees are responsible for keeping records of this pemii85ion status, also of what personal data L8 held by the Oasis Church. We as trustees continue to seek God for. guldance and wlsdom, and lo pray f provision fin8nrially. spiritually and practic81ty for th8 tasks, the p88tordl team bdlevès. the fellowship should engage upon. The tsust88s arè responsit46 fcff kee￿ng proper accounting reruds, whlth disdosa with roasonabk accuracy al any timg the finanaal position of the tnjst. They afe also sponsible for safeguarding the a55•ts of the trust and hence for taking reasonabl8 steps for the preventlon and dètoction of fraud and other irwularitie5. Signed.. (rrustso- Chaim)anl Dated.. /0.0.6 ..2026 ## Men’s meeting As men we meet every second Monday of the month at 7.30pm in the Church. (We occasionally move to the third Monday when need arises). The meeting starts with refreshments and a chat. We then move on to prayer and a short time of worship. Someone will lead the meeting with some thoughts from scripture, which often leads to a lively discussion; This is followed by a time of prayer often praying about things we have discussed. We close the evening with prayer and also arrange who will share in the next meeting. I would like to thank all the men for their participation and encouragement. All men are welcome to join us. Thanks Steve Ladies Meeting The ladies now meet every second Monday in the month at 2.30pm as this was considered a more suitable time for most of the ladies. We have had a very enjoyable time, studying together from different books of the bible and sharing a wide range of views and feelings. We continue to be blessed by Sue supplying cakes or biscuits for which we are so grateful. We hope to continue sharing God’s word with each other and praying together as led every month throughout the coming year. ## Barbara Baldwin ## **Senior Citizens Report April 2023** We were committed to visit four Care Homes in the community until the Covid 19 outbreak. These homes were Elizabeth House (both wings on an alternate basis), Goldenley, Hopes Green and Stafford Hall. Although the homes were closed to outside visitors during this time we endeavored to keep in regular contact and continue to pray for their needs. We were also able to provide a live church service on Mondays, directly into Goldenly, using Zoom technology. The service was viewed through a television in their main lounge and provided an opportunity for some live interaction with staff and residents. All restrictions have gradually eased during the year and we have commenced regular visits to Goldenly. A great time of fellowship has been experienced with many of the residents. We hope to extend this ministry to other homes in the days to come. This depends on the number of people we have available for this work. Over the years many of the elderly have come to a ‘saving faith’ shortly before they have gone home to be with the Lord. There is a great need for this ministry because of the aging population, and we will continue to serve God in this, sometimes challenging, but always rewarding way. The words that Jesus said continue to be particularly apt ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’. ## **FINANCE REPORT FOR THE YEAR APRIL 2022 TO MARCH 2023** The accounts are produced on a cash basis and are reviewed regularly by the trustees. There was a significant decrease in the amount of income during the year due mainly to a decrease in membership. This has, however, been more than compensated by a reduction in our monthly commitments due to our ‘Pastor’s retirement. We continue to have a weekly offering for outreach purposes which also contributes to the costs of running the minibus. The outreach fund had a negative balance at the end of the financial year which was covered by a transfer of £265.57 from general funds. Our regular monthly giving is now as follows: Eurovision (David Hathaway) £120 New Life in Christ £50 Christian Concern £20 Sporshow (India) £50 A retirement gift of £1,500 was given to our pastor, Ron Webb, who retired at the end of November 2022. Due to his length of service since 1983 the trustees also agreed to give a monthly gift of £242.00 from 1[st] January 2023 until 31[st] December 2023. This commitment will be reviewed at the end of the year. A weekly offering is taken for ‘Release International’. This year we were able to give a total of £800 (see ‘note 7’ of the accounts for a record of all our gifts made during the year). We ensure that our giving (including gifts to guest speakers) is maintained to at least the level of a tithe (10% of our total income). In addition to our monthly giving we transfer £50 per month into our tithe fund. At the end of the year the balance was £480. 36.76% of the donations received during the year were made under the governments ‘gift aid’ scheme. We always seek to encourage tax payers to ‘gift aid’ their donations where possible. No payments or other material transactions took place between the organisation and a trustee or any person connected with them during this financial period. ## **Statement of Receipts and Payments** |||**Apr-22**|**Apr-21**| |---|---|---|---| |**INCOME**|**notes**|**Mar-23**|**Mar-22**| |**Voluntary Receipts (unrestricted funds)**|||| |General|13|23232.21|27866.49| |Tithe|13|3480.00|3110.00| |Building|13|0.00|0.00| |**Voluntary Receipts (restricted**|**funds)**||| |Mission|13|657.30|1037.00| |Outreach|13|815.69|583.29| |Special Funds|13|500.00|1000.00| |**Charitable Activities (General**|**fund)**||| |Mother and Todler Group|13|0.00|0.00| |**TOTAL**|1|**28685.20**|**33596.78**| |**OUTGOINGS**|||| |**Costs of Charitable Activities**|||| |General Expense|||| |Comm||197.39|196.66| |Prof Fees|3|549.30|492.69| |R & M|4|3745.10|1927.02| |L & H|5|744.00|2481.69| |Literature||0.00|0.00| |Stationery|6|52.78|61.40| |Water||188.57|232.24| |Motor Exp|10|1394.72|1313.93| |Insurance|8|1632.61|1505.04| |Bank Chgs||0.00|0.00| |Sundry||284.66|81.45| |||**8789.13**|**8292.12**| |**Other Costs of Charitable Activities**|||| |Gifts|7|6356.00|5630.00| |Outreach||0.00|0.00| |Pastoral|9|11835.00|18455.00| |Governance|11|480.00|450.00| |Depreciation|12|578.18|560.48| |**TOTAL**||**28038.31**|**33387.60**| |**SURPLUS/DEFICIT**||**646.89**|**209.18**| |Funds Brought Forward||97275.64|97066.46| |**Funds Carried Forward**||**97922.53**|**97275.64**| ## **SOURCE AND APPLICATION OF FUNDS April 22 to March 23** |||**Apr-22**|**Apr-21**| |---|---|---|---| |||**Mar-23**|**Mar-22**| |**SOURCE**|||| |Surplus||646.89|209.18| |Depreciation|12|578.18|560.48| |**TOTAL**||**1225.07**|**769.66**| |**APPLICATION**|||| |Fixed Assets|12||| |Premises||0.00|0.00| |Equipment||163.00|1043.00| |Furniture & Fittings||0.00|0.00| |Vehicles||0.00|0.00| |Increase/Decrease Funds|13||| |General||827.98|1904.82| |Building||0.00|-1280.97| |Tithe||150.00|-520.00| |Mission||-142.70|37.00| |Outreach||-273.21|-414.19| |Special Funds||500.00|0.00| |**TOTAL**||**1225.07**|**769.66**| ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities 31/03/2023** |**ASSETS**|notes|||| |---|---|---|---|---| ||||**31/03/2023**|**31/03/2022**| |**Fixed Assets**||||| |Premises||12|145472.68|145472.68| |Furniture & Fittings||12|139.99|186.65| |Equipment||12|854.27|1222.80| |Vehicles||12|0.00|0.00| |**Current Assets**||||| |Accounts Receivable|||0.00|0.00| |Cash at Bank||2|13455.54|12393.47| |**Total Assets**|||**159922.48**|**159275.60**| |**REPRESENTED BY FUNDS**|notes|||| ||||**31/03/2023**|**31/03/2022**| |General Fund||13|5748.53|4920.55| |Building Fund||13|5980.54|5980.54| |Mission||13|111.40|254.10| |Outreach Fund||13|0.00|273.21| |Tithe||13|450.00|300.00| |Special Funds||13|1165.07|665.07| |Accumulated Funds|||84466.94|84882.13| |Revaluation Reserve|||62000.00|62000.00| |**Current Liabilities:**||||| |Accounts Payable|||0.00|0.00| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|||**159922.48**|**159275.60**| ## **NOTES TO ACCOUNTS** **APRIL 2022 TO MARCH 2023** **1** . Income: Non Gift Aid Donations 16,080.92 Gift Aid Donations 9,346.22 Tax Recoveries 3,258.06 **28,685.20 2** . Cash at Bank: All funds are consolidated into one bank account. **3** . Professional Fees: Thirtyoneeight 145.00 CCLI Copyright 369.30 Company House 13.00 Findachurch 22.00 **549.30 4** . Repair & Maintenance: Skip Hire 220.00 Tree Removal 1,530.00 Reliable Fire Maint (inc 2 fir Ext) 782.62 Church Cleaning 1,040.00 Urinals 75.00 Sundry 37.48 Window Cleaning 60.00 **3.745.10 5** . Light & Heat: Electricity 744.00 Gas* nil **744.00 *The gas account is in credit due to adjustments made to correct an error in Vat being charged to Oasis. 6.** Stationery: Ink cartridges **52.78 7** . Gifts: Release International 800.00 New Life in Christ 950.00 Sporshow 600.00 CCFN 240.00 Eurovision, David Hathaway 1,440.00 Ron Webb Retirement Gifts 2,226.00 Guest Speakers 100.00 **6,356.00 8** . Insurance: Annual premium to Ansvar Insurance Company. **9** . Pastoral Fees: Support for the Pastoral Work **10** . Motor Expense: Running Costs/maintenance of minibus and insurance **11.** Governance: Payment to Independent Examiners Ltd for Independent examination NOYESTO ACCOUNTS COhTPD JI. FLYcd AGS¢ts.' iAnd ATh1 Veklc] To C￿t 3113122 AddnKin5 tK5s Dws&ls Jinnj 83.472.68 1262.43 8J2QOO 110,057.28 163.iN) 163.L¥J • till BJh7L68 I￿26*17 a261.43 III22U.18 D•re¢latt•D 31nn2 Pknscorrettt L J46,40& N¢t 3113122 145,472.68 1.222.80 186.65 146J82,13 *Strimmtr£163.00 13. BuDdtni'" MIHl•w**** o￿tr￿Ch Ctn¢TxI Tltht. 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