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2024-08-31-annual-report

Antrim Coast Vineyard Church (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) DIRECTORS' ANNUAL REPORT

for the financial year ended 31 August 2024

The directors present their Directors' Annual Report, combining the Directors' Report and Trustees' Report, and the unaudited financial statements for the financial year ended 31 August 2024.

The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The Directors' Report contains the information required to be provided in the Directors' Annual Report under the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) guidelines. The directors of the charity are also charity trustees for the purpose of charity law and under the charity's constitution are known as members of the board of trustees.

In this report the directors of Antrim Coast Vineyard Church present a summary of its purpose, governance, activities, achievements and finances for the financial year 31 August 2024.

The charity is a registered charity and hence the report and results are presented in a form which complies with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, although not obliged to comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland FRS 102, the organisation has implemented its recommendations where relevant in these financial statements.

Mission, Objectives and Strategy

Objectives

The objectives of Antrim Coast Vineyard Church are to seek and advance the Kingdom of God in Larne Town, Antrim Coast, and the surrounding area by furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ, building up the faith of Christian believers, sharing in the training of Christian workers, promoting Christian education and bring relief to the poor, the needy and the sick.

During the year, the church has fulfilled these objectives as set out below.

Strategy

Connected Charities

During this period, we supported the work of four charities listed below by way of Financial or Giving support. The following represent our commitment and support to Charities at a Local, National, and international level.

  1. Larne Food Bank (Trussell Trust) (Local) Below is a brief outline of their mission: -

  2. To end hunger and Poverty in the UK

  3. Bringing communities together to end hunger and poverty in the UK by providing compassionate, practical help

  4. with dignity whilst challenging injustice.

  5. YMCA Larne (Local)

Below is a brief outline of their mission:-

Our YMCA vision is a world where every person lives in harmony with self, with society and with creation. Our YMCA mission is to empower young people and communities worldwide to build a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive world, where every person can thrive in body, mind and spirit.

  1. Stand by Me (International) Below is a brief outline of their Vision: -

Through our children’s homes, schools, and care centres, we aim to meet the individual needs of children who are orphaned, abandoned, abused and victims of war or disease or are living in extreme poverty. We aim to make lasting improvements to children’s lives, caring for them as Jesus would, by restoring their dignity and giving them a sense of self-worth. We want every child entrusted to us to feel loved and to reach their full potential.

4. Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland (“VCUKI”) (National)

VCUKI exists to connect churches that hold common values and practices. It gives spiritual oversight to the senor pastors of Vineyard Churches and facilitates church planting such as Antrim Coast Vineyard. Vineyard use the name” Vineyard” by agreement.

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Antrim Coast Vineyard Church (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) DIRECTORS' ANNUAL REPORT

for the financial year ended 31 August 2024

Governing Document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Antrim Coast Vineyard Church is a registered charity, charity number NI654056 duly constituted by means of its Memorandum and Articles of Association and operating as a church.

The Church is also registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Charity number 107849.

Organisational Structure

Antrim Coast Vineyard Church is a company limited by guarantee (company number NI654056) in which the company directors also form the board of Trustees. The liability of each Trustee in the event of a winding up is limited to £1. The Church is associated to Vineyard Churches UK. The association provides pastoral care for the Senior Pastors and family and an external reference concerning church affairs and doctrine.

The day to day running of the church is by the Senior Pastors, Andrew Howard, and Andrea Howard, alongside a leadership team.

Induction and training of new trustees

New Trustees are appointed when appropriate. Suitable candidates, who are generally selected from within the membership of Antrim Coast Vineyard, are considered on basis of their skills, experience, and sympathy with the aims of the church. New Trustees have the opportunity of reviewing appropriate documents, including the accounts, as part of the induction process.

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance

Performance against objectives.

The level of performance against objectives is, in the main, a reflection of the activity of the Church members of Antrim Coast Vineyard Church who volunteer their time, energy and money freely because of faith. The leadership and organisation of this activity is the primary responsibility of the senior pastors and a leadership team in support of the senior pastors.

Furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Advancing the Kingdom of God.

Antrim Coast Vineyard Church aims to advance the Kingdom of God throughout the town of Larne, Antrim coast and surrounding areas, across the whole country and the island of Ireland. Our Church has actively worked in our local communities to be a blessing in practical and relational ways.

The Church welcomes those of all or no faiths and from every background and community who wish to visit during our Church gatherings.

Sunday gatherings were held at Unit 1D, Ledcom Industrial Estate, 100 Bank Road, Larne BT40 3AW until 30th June 2024.

To promote community engagement and bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Advance the Kingdom of God we have run the following numerous events in addition to regular Sunday gatherings.

2023

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Antrim Coast Vineyard Church (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) DIRECTORS' ANNUAL REPORT

for the financial year ended 31 August 2024

2024

An overview of our community activities and special events can be found on https://antrimcoastvineyard.org https://www.facebook.com/antrimcoastvineyard https://www.instagram.com/antrimcoastvineyard

Building up the Faith of Christian Believers, Training, and education. Attendance at Church gatherings and life groups remained steady throughout this period.

Relieving the Poor, those in need and the sick.

Antrim Coast Vineyard Church actively seeks ways to bless and practically serve our community, especially the poor, those in need, young and old, including those who are outside our church community. Examples of this are as follows:-

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Antrim Coast Vineyard Church (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) DIRECTORS' ANNUAL REPORT

for the financial year ended 31 August 2024

Sparrow Centre (Antrim Coast Vineyard)

In 23/24 the Church has continued to provide Refresh, a hygiene store where the community can visit to avail of free personal care and hygiene items at Unit 2, LEDCOM industrial estate Larne.

Refresh our hygiene store in The Sparrow Centre is stocked with a wide selection of basic toiletries and laundry products. We believe everyone within our local community has the right to feel clean, and with an emphasis on dignity, Refresh also provides other items (such as haircare, skincare, and makeup products). Refresh is stocked by local donations, from community, friends, and supporters – people who are passionate about working together to provide accessible spaces of dignity and hope.

Affording dignity means our service is on a non-referral basis, though referrals from community partners are welcome. Individuals & families are invited to pick up essential items they need, free of charge, no referral necessary. In 2023 we created a Visitor Agreement which included up to two monthly visits per household with a maximum of 20 items per visit. We work with Larne Foodbank, Home Start, Baby Bank, Sure Start, Larne Community Fridge, In-kind Direct and other organisations. Currently we open twice per week, staffed by a team of volunteers from our Church community.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Community Engagement and Support

Sparrow Centre (Antrim Coast Vineyard)

As above, the Church has identified a need for providing free personal care and hygiene items to the local community and opened additional premises in October 2022 for the purpose of providing these services.

Foodbank

In partnership, Antrim Coast Vineyard Church have supported the Larne Food Bank (Trussell Trust) by providing financial donations and essential foodstuffs and other necessary items. We have been informally approached by the Foodbank as of August 2024 to consider partnership for their Christmas Hamper Appeal. A meeting is to be arranged in the autumn time TBC.

Larne Community Cluster Group

Antrim Coast Vineyard through The Sparrow Centre has joined The Larne Community Cluster Group. This is MEA Council’s Community Development initiative, which promotes collaboration across community groups to deliver benefits, not only for the participating groups, but also for the wider community. The overarching aim of Council’s strategic approach to community development is that The MEA Council area is recognised as a place where the community and partner organisations work together cohesively and effectively to improve the quality of life of residents.

Through The partnership collaboration of the group, The Sparrow Centre is working together with others to improve the quality of life for the local Larne and Antrim Coast area.

Summary

It should be noted the above is not a complete list of activities. However, they demonstrate Antrim Coast Vineyard Church is continuing to fulfil its obligations and achieve its objectives.

Financial Review

The results for the financial year are set out on page 12 and additional notes are provided showing income and expenditure in greater detail.

Employment

The Charity currently employs Senior Pastor Andrea Howard on a part time basis, 10 hours per week.

Investment Policy

The constitution of Antrim Coast Vineyard Church authorises the Trustees to make and hold investments using its funds. Cash balances are currently held with the HSBC Bank.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees who served in this period have undertaken the work of the charity, identified the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that all appropriate policies are in place to mitigate these risks.

Antrim Coast Vineyard maintains reserves in order to cover fluctuations in income and expenditure, and to allow for any major unexpected expenditure, or to mitigate any decline in the overall financial environment.

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Antrim Coast Vineyard Church

(A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) DIRECTORS' ANNUAL REPORT

for the financial year ended 31 August 2024

New Building

With the increasing need for further Church space and capacity, the Trustee’s and supporting volunteers identified a larger suitable space at the YMCA building, Pound Street Larne.

The wider Church family were also invited to visit the new space, and the feedback received was positive.

Subsequently, it was agreed that the new building met the needs of the Church, and the YMCA was approved as being the new location for Antrim Coast Vineyard Church gatherings, effective from 1st September 2024. From a financial point of view, the rental costs of the new building will also provide a significant financial savings to the Church.

Community Grant

During March 2024, the National Lottery Community fund donated £20,000 to Antrim Coast Vineyard Church in support of the running costs of the Compassion Refresh project at the Sparrow Centre, Unit 2, LEDCOM Industrial estate, Larne.

These funds are restricted to the said project and are valid for a period of 2 years.

CARRYING ON OUR WORK

The Senior Pastors, volunteer team of Antrim Coast Vineyard Church will continue to build on the work that is already happening in the church in order to follow God, to form an authentic community of believers and fulfil the Kingdom ministries left to us. We desire to intentionally see lives transformed by Jesus starting with our own. We will continue to grow our outreach projects, working with the poor in Larne, Antrim coast and surrounding areas, both practically and relationally and we will continue to serve our community as a whole.

We will continue to support our connected charities locally, nationally, and internationally by way of ongoing financial and giving support.

We will continue to operate as a “Come as You Are” church and always seek to make room for another.

Financial Results

At the end of the financial year the charity has assets of £75,483 (2023 - £59,468) and liabilities of £0.00 (2023 - £0.00). The net assets of the charity have increased by £16,015.

Directors

The directors who served throughout the financial year, except as noted, were as follows:

Mark Robert Brown Paul Richard Daniels Jonathan Michael McCabe Andrea Howard (Resigned 30 June 2024)

In accordance with the Constitution, the directors retire by rotation and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.

Compliance with Sector-Wide Legislation and Standards

The charity engages pro-actively with legislation, standards and codes which are developed for the sector. Antrim Coast Vineyard Church subscribes to and is compliant with the following:

Risk Management

The systems of internal control are designated to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

Approved by the Board of Directors on 4 April 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

________Mark Robert Brown Trustee

________Jonathan Michael McCabe Trustee

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