Charity name and address: Hillside Community Church Doury Road, Ballymena, BT43 6SA Charity Commission Registration Number: NIC 101903 Annual Report for 2022-2023 Strurture and management Hillside Community Church was registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 28th April 2015 as required by the Charities Act (Northern Ireland)2008. The charitvs Trust Deed was executed on 21st December 2014. The four current Trustees are S Bonar, M Jones, Stephen Reid and Philip Veal. They meet at least twice per year, as required by the governing document. The day to day running of the church involves both the spiritual care of its members and practical issues of organisation. These are devolved to a leadership group consisting of S Bonar, M Jones, Kris Kin& S Reid, P Stevenson, P Veal, which meets monthly throughout the year. This group normally avails itself of regular leadership training through a biannual LEAD forum, organised for the benefit of leaders of similar churches. Due to the charitrfs income level, the accounts are prepared on a 'receipts and payments, basis and are subject to independent examination, as required under Section 64{3) of the Charities Act {Northern Ireland)2008. As part of the annual reporting, the trustees have complied with their duty to have regard to the Charity Commission's statutory guidance on Public Benefit Requirements. The legal framework for these two aspects of the report is found in The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations {Northern Ireland) 2015. None of the trustees claimed or received any remuneration or expenses for their services as trustees during the year. Risk to the charity The trustees are grateful to the members of the church for their generous giving to the work of the Lord. It is this income which enables the church to achieve its charitable purposes. In financial terms, the main risk to the charity would be a reduction in the voluntary donations from its members. Should such a decrease occur, the trustees would seek opportunities to reduce costs in order to maintain the financial viability of the church. Purposes The charitable purposes of the church are fourfold- l. To advance the gospel of Jesus Christ amongst the general public. in accordance with Biblical principles and practice, in Northern Ireland, the UK and abroad in a manner consistent with our Statement of Faith 2. To prevent or relieve poverty among those in hardship in Northern Ireland, the UK and abroad
- To relieve those in need by reason of adverse circumstances in Northern Ireland, the UK and abroad
- To advance education by supporting existing schools and by providing out of school educational opportunities in Northern Ireland, the UK and abroad. Activities During the past year, the church has organised a range of activities intended to advance the gospel. These events are open to the public and include weekly services for praise, communion and Bible teaching; a creche and Bibletime for young children and Bible Class for teenagers. We enjoy excellent music as part of our weekly worship and pay tribute to the talent and commitment of both our musicians and audio-visual teams. These service formats achieved our first charitable purpose, by enabling those who attended. to live out their faith through worship and prayer, learning about the gospel and how to put it into practice and developing their Bible knowledge and trust in Jesus Christ. The teenagers also meet monthly- called Basement -in reference to its location in the church building. Basement provides a safe environment for teenagers to relax together and explore the implications of the Christian faith for their lives. Teenagers who are not mernbers of the church are also welcome. Our teenagers had the opportunity to participate in summer Bible camps, music camps and GLO teams. The public benefits of these activities are spiritual and qualitative; nevertheless, we are encouraged by continued 8ood attendance, generous giving and positive feedback from those engaging. Many members of the church are involved in voluntary personal service to one another and to our community; this included volunteering at Ballymena North Foodbank, operating from Ballyloughan Presbyterian Church. Some church members have trained as Neighbourhood Chaplains and visit lonely or disabled folk in their homes and run monthly lunch in Dunclug Community Centre. This has been greatly appreciated by those benefitting. We have continued our links with nearby Dunclug Primary School by offering volunteers to help in assemblies and running a holiday Bible club in the school for their pupils. We have also continued to share financially in a range of missionary works and outreaches in N Ireland and abroad. These gifts amounted to over 70% of our total expenditure. For all these missionary causes, we have received oral and/or written reports about the effect of our giving in sufficient detail to satisfy us that there has been considerable public benefit under each of our four charitable purposes. Two examples of these projects are- l) Christian Missions Charitable Trust. Chennai. India (running schools, an orphanage/hostel, soup kitchens and health clinics to aid the poorest people in Indian society). 2) Coaching for Christ. Ballymena {using 5POrt to spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ among young people).
The trustees believe that no harm has come from any of these activities. The only private benefit to the trustees arises from religious events, in that the trustees may benefit personally, but only in the same way as any member of the public could do. This benefit IS therefore incidental and necessary to achieve our purpose of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ among the general public. Statement of Trustees, responsibilities In respect of the Annual Report and Accounts The Annual Report must contain certain administrative information about the charity, as set out in the accounting and reporting regulations. It also contains information about the charity's work and how our money had been spent during the past year. The Trustees are responsible for preparing receipts and payments" accounts, consisting of a summary of all monies received and paid via the bank and in cash by the charity during the financial year, along with a statement of balances. The Trustees conflrm that they have complied with the above requirements. By order of the Trustees S A Bonar {Chair ) Date signed