2023-12-31-accounts

The Evangelical Church, Capernwray Trustees' Annual Report to The Charity Commission Year Ended 31 December 2023

The Charity

The charity's full name is The Evangelical Church, Capernwray. It is governed by the Declaration of Trust dated 1st March 1982 and is an unincorporated association.

The charity registration number is 513080.

Trustees

The Trustees acting during the year are as follows: Mr W.H. Huddleston Mr W.K. Harrison Mr J.E. Shaw Mr A.W. Earl Mr M.J. Scott Mr C. P. Ward

The principal contact for the Charity is

M. J. Scott (trust secretary) 91, Main Road Nether Kellet Carnforth Lancashire LA6 1EF

Relevant Organisations/Persons

Bankers

Barclays Bank 38, Market St Lancaster LA1 1HR

A/c No. 60363618 (Trustees Account) A/c No. 60363626 (Chapel Account) A/c No. 33279081 (Building Fund)

Independent Examiner

M R Cornall Esq. 102 Heath Road Ashton in Makerfield Wigan Lancashire WN4 9HH

The Objects of The Evangelical Church, Capernwray

To spread the gospel in Great Britain and elsewhere and in particular in the County of Lancashire in accordance with the statement of faith.

To advance the Christian religion in any way the trustees deem fit including the relief of the needy, provided that this aspect of the work of the charity is reasonable in proportion to the other work To engage in evangelism.

To publish, sell or give away Bibles, testaments, tracts, Christian books, magazines, literature & cassettes.

Policies Adopted to further Objects

To provide services and meetings on Sundays and weekdays, open to all, where Christian values are taught to all ages.

To provide training for new Christians and for people enquiring.

To encourage church members to develop friendships with non-Christian friends through individual and collective activities.

To open the church building for a range of activities and other meetings for regular attenders, and for them to welcome visitors and invite neighbours and contacts of all ages from within their local community. To provide money and support to individuals and other charities involved in mission at home and abroad. To provide a book library and on-line recordings of services.

There have been no changes in the policies since the Trust was formed.

Trustees

When the Trust was formed in 1982, 12 Trustees were appointed. Since then, four have died, seven have resigned and four new trustees have been appointed. There are currently six Trustees in office with one currently proposed.

Organisation of the Charity

The Elders and Pastor, along with the Deacons (appointed annually) run the church on a daily basis as a team. Decisions are made by consensus. The Elders liaise between the church and the charity and provide support for the Pastor, Deacons, members and visitors. The Trustees oversee the organisation of the church and meet on an annual basis or as required.

Individual leaders have specific responsibilities for areas of the charity's work within the church. Decisions relating to the running of these groups are referred to the Elders and Pastor. Individual leaders meet together within their own group and with the Elders and Pastor as required. The Elders and Pastor can also be a group leader. The various groups are reported under Activities of the Charity

Activities, Developments and Achievements of the Charity.

The charity is committed to achieving its objects through a variety of routes including…

• Staff members: Mr. Luke Parkinson (Pastor), Miss Victoria Harrison (Youth & Children’s worker) and most recently, Mr. Dylan Coe (Trainee Church Worker). All are employed on a part-time basis and continue to have a positive effect on the ministry and leading of the fellowship.

• Sunday morning services are open to all and are where the church family meets together. They are held in local village halls where the extra space helps accommodate the increasing numbers.

• Sunday evening services also attract encouraging numbers of all ages, and are held in the chapel.

• All services are led by either the Pastor, Elders or invited speakers and are open to all. Alternate Sunday evening services focus on prayer and praise and are usually less formal.

• Sunday school numbers continue to increase and also benefit from the extra facilities available in the village halls. The extra space is also appreciated for Family Services and regular Fellowship Lunches.

• Regular church meetings include: Home Groups, Prayer Meetings, Bible Studies, Kiddy Capers (for Mums and Toddlers), a fortnightly home-based young people’s group, titled ‘Rooted’ and the Senior Fellowship.

• Special services are held on Christmas Day and Good Friday and also special weekends to celebrate anniversaries and harvest festival.

• The ‘Holiday at Home Weekend’, based in and around a local village hall, offers an informal opportunity for all age groups to get together and separately, for a time of fun and fellowship, informal teaching, indoor and outdoor activities and much food!

• Organised special events, particularly for children are held during Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays. Advertised locally, these events, which included an Easter Trail around local fields and gardens and a Summer Holiday Club, continue to attract children from the surrounding area.

• A Day of Prayer is held every May Day, when the church is open for prayers for the different aspects of the fellowship & other local, national and international needs & concerns.

• The church WhatsApp group is a valuable means of keeping the fellowship informed of future events and is also as a useful tool for sharing prayer issues.

• A monthly church magazine continues to be available as a paper copy for those attending services and also on-line. Outlook is very readable with interesting and topical articles as well as details of activities for the month ahead. Special issues are printed at Easter, Harvest and Christmas with the latter handed out when carol singing.

• The church donates money and gives support to selected individuals and charities involved in various mission opportunities, including work among children in local schools, young people and under-privileged. The church also responds to urgent needs for relief at home and abroad.

• The church supports the Christmas Shoebox Appeal organised by Blythswood Care, a Christian charity, with a mission to transform lives through education, community action and gospel activities. Shoeboxes are distributed to needy children overseas and particularly in Eastern Europe.

• The church continues to sponsor 2 Kenyan children through Sportsreach, a Christian charity that uses sport as a means of reaching children with the message of God’s love in the UK & abroad.

• Other church organised activities include: Harvest Supper, BBQs, holiday clubs, quiz nights, netball, ceilidhs, bowling, fellowship walks, carol services and various other adult & youth events which are all open to all with some held in local village halls.

• Coffee Mornings are arranged to coincide with special events and attract local residents, passing visitors and holidaymakers from local caravan sites, as well as members of the other local churches as well as our own. They also offer a useful opportunity to introduce visitors to the life of the church, it’s history and programme of meetings held.

• The local Food Bank receives a special gift as part of the church’s harvest celebrations.

• Extra space required to accommodate increasing numbers for Sunday morning worship continues to be a challenge. An option to build on the church car park and adjoining land is being considered.

• A church website and Facebook page are well established and have regular views from interested people worldwide. Recordings of church services are also made available.

• There is continuing improvement to the church inside and out with added emphasis on compliance requirements in respect of Health and Safety standards and Fire Risk Assessment. Updating of other church policies is also an ongoing process.

Risk Management

The major risks to the charity, as identified by the Trustees, have been considered and appropriate action taken to mitigate those risks.

General Data Protection Regulation

A compliance strategy has been implemented in order to comply with legal requirements.

Child Protection Policy

The Church has a Safeguarding Policy, which applies to all staff and volunteers working with children. CRB checks are regularly undertaken and only suitably qualified people are appointed.

Dependence on unpaid helpers

The charity is dependent on the members of the church for the organisation and running of many activities under the leadership of the Elders and Pastor. Other than the part-time Pastor, Youth & Children’s Worker and Trainee Church Worker, no group leaders receive any remuneration from the church.

Financial Position of the Charity

• The Evangelical Church, Capernwray is wholly reliant on donations from its congregation.

• The majority of income is from weekly freewill offerings and includes focused giving for specific causes. Other income resulting from the activities of the charity are part of the church's outreach and are not intended to be fund raising.

• Grants are applied in support of approved individuals and selected charitable organisations

• Other funds are used for the maintenance of the building, part-time staff salaries and expenses, the running of the individual groups and costs related to Sunday services, Sunday School and outreach.

• A separate Building Fund account has been set up to facilitate giving for the building project.

• The charity has sufficient assets to meet its current liabilities.

• The future expected expenditure is matched to future expected income to ensure sufficient funds are available in the coming year.

• The charity maintains a specified free reserve to cover any unexpected or urgent expenditure.

Relationships with other charities and organisations

The charity maintains its support of various organisations and individuals who are fulfilling and furthering the objects of the charity. During the current financial year, £12,464 was given to such causes

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in order to give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year.

In preparing those financial statements, the trustees will:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis

The trustees are responsible for and committed to keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. 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.

A copy of the accounts for year ending 31st December 2023 accompanies this report

Signed by M J Scott Trust Secretary

EVANGELICAL CHURCH CAPERNWRAY

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

		2023		2022
	Unrestricted	Restricted		£
	Funds	Funds	TotalFunds
	£	£	£
IncomingResources
IncomingResourcesfrom
Generated Funds:
VoluntaryIncome
GiftAid Subscriptions OffertoryBox Other Donations	31,770 16,565 1,459	9,460 23,085 -	41,230 39,650 1,459	31,019 13,009 612
Income Tax Refunds
GiftAid	7,523	300	7,823	5,979
	57,317	32,845	90,162	50,619
IncomingResourcesfrom
CharitableActivities:
Carol Singing	299	-	299	257
	299	-	299	257
Total Receipts	57,616	32,845	90,461	50,876
ResourcesExpended
CharitableActivities:
Donations toMissions	12,464	-	12,464	10,972
Magazine, Printing, IT etc RepairsandMaintenance HeatandLight Insurance Other HonorariaandDonations WagesandSalaries	1,692 372 3,977 1,605 2,790 17,753	- - - - - 3,714	1,692 372 3,977 1,605 2,790 21,467	L119 454 2,823 1,467 1,660 18,541
StaffPensions (Defined
Contributions) YouthWork	554 981	- -	554 981	577 2,088
Professional Fees VenueHire	499 3,318	. -	499 3,318	767 2,514
Capitalexpenditure	-	-	.	7,072
SundryCosts	2,465	1,312	3,777	2,007
TotalPayments	48,470	5,026	53,496	52,061
NetSurplus	9,146	27,819	36,965	(1,185)
Cash andBankBalances asat
1 January2023	40,408	1,735	42,143	43,328
31December2023	49,554	29,554	79,108	42,143

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EVANGELICAL CHURCH CAPERNWRAY

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

I report on the accounts of the Evangelical Church Capernwray for the year ended 31 December 2023, which are set out on pages 3 to 4.

Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• ® examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, e to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

• ® to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiners’ statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiners’ statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• ® accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act or

• e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I 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.

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Signed: f/\ aM Date: 8 February 2024
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Name: M R Comall Esq

Relevant professional qualifications or body: F.C.C.A (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)

Address: 102 Heath Road

Ashton-in-Makerfield Wigan WN4 9HH

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