ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
The trustees present their Trustees' Annual Report, combining the Directors' Report and Trustees' Report, and the unaudited financial statements for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025.
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 Trustees’ Report contains the information required to be provided in the Trustees’ Annual Report under the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) guidelines. The trustees of the company are also charity trustees for the purpose of charity law and under the company's constitution are known as members of the board of trustees.
In this report the trustees of ECF Trust present a summary of its purpose, governance, activities, achievements and finances for the financial period 31 August 2025.
The company 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
Mission Statement
As a local church, it is our desire to outwork the mission and life of Jesus to those around us. Our vision statement is ‘to help rewrite the story of Craigavon, Ireland and the nations with the good news of the Kingdom of God.” At Emmanuel, we seek to be a community which is there to support one another but also be equipped to serve the people in our local area to demonstrate God's love in word and action.
An example of our services and programmes are:
e As a community of faith, we gather for coffee, connection, worship, and teaching on Sundays.
e Kids and youth environments on Sunday mornings,
e Midweek Life groups for various age groups, demographics etc. including an ‘in-house’ lifegroup which is an access point for new people to church. Lifegroups offer study, training and support in the Christian life and service.
e We facilitate a weekly drop-in community space each Friday morning and a Drop-in Creative space once a month on a Friday evening. These spaces are key community building environments for our church and the local community, addressing loneliness and isolation, exploring creativity and creating loads of opportunities for friendship, fun and laughter.
e Provision of a food pantry twice per week and other compassionate support for people in need.
e Acting as a distribution centre for Craigavon Area Food Bank.
e Courses to help explore the English language and how this helps express a multicultural, welcoming church environment.
Building Project
We have been operating in our new building for 18 months and have developed many of the spaces to maximise ministry. We are paying back our building loan at a total of £5k per month, with tithes and offerings more than adequately covering these costs. The building continues to be developed internally to meet the needs of our congregation and local community.
During the year, we established a ‘building management team’ who meet three times a year to help ensure all health and safety requirements, policies and procedures are adhered to. We continue to have a lot of interest from various agencies about using the building. To date we have been able to facilitate room hire and community space provision for Links Counselling, Vital Connexions, Coalition of Christian Voices Against Poverty, Armagh Banbridge Craigavon Council, NI Housing Executive, Craigavon Area Compassion Project / Craigavon Area Food Bank, Lisburn City Choir, Portadown Chamber of Commerce, Foster and Adoption support group, REACH Mentoring, Craigavon Youth For Christ, The Bible Society and Trussell.
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ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
Governance
Our Board of Directors have met regularly, undertaking a full programme of board strategic and governance activity throughout the year. All company directors have confirmed their willingness and eligibility to act as a Director, and have declared that they do not have any conflict of interest in doing so. Conflicts of Interest during board meetings are managed as per our agreed policy. There are no related parties or significant interest to be noted. Apart from one Lead Pastor, Directors are unpaid and are not remunerated for their trusteeship.
New Directors are recruited as per the Memorandum and Articles of Association. A review of the Articles of Association occurred during the year which amended the charitable objects to better describe the charitable work of ECF Trust and to improve the governance arrangements of the Company. During the year, the Board of Directors conducted a due diligence review regarding merging with Emmanuel Lurgan (The Emmanuel Church Lurgan Trust). This decision was made after careful consideration by both boards of trustees, ensuring alignment of our governance arrangements to better reflect the one vision, mission and operations of the churches as we work closely together across the City of Craigavon to fulfil our vision. We believe this will allow the Board to function more effectively, ensuring the governance of both churches is fully aligned and to have consistent methods in place for managing finances, employing staff, overseeing health & safety and all the other key operational aspects in both of our churches. The Board approved the merger, with effect from 31st August 2025, transferring all assets, undertakings, operations and liabilities to The Emmanuel Church Lurgan Trust on this date. The financial year was also changed to align with this merger and to bring consistency with our operational planning and budgets. Moving forward, our trustee merged board will include representatives from both churches, ensuring continuity, local input and shared expertise. It is envisaged that The ECF Trust will be dissolved in 2026.
Summary of Activities
Church Community
In Emmanuel Portadown, we have a regular weekly attendance of approximately 240 people. We have seen a number of salvations over the past year and it has been beautiful to have a “home” in which people can find family. We continue to meet for one morning service on a Sunday morning, and it is such an encouragement to see so many new people become welcomed and integrated into the church family. Our foyer facilitates a great family ‘feel’ as we are able to connect with one another over tea/coffee after our Sunday gatherings.
We also use this space to develop other community and compassion activities during the week as we develop more connections in the town and further afield. Our Caretaker continues to help facilitate practical developments and implement the necessary health and safety standards within our building which have been progressing well.
In-person gatherings
We are continuing to see the benefit of our teaching that was delivered throughout our ‘One Thing’ and ‘Places of Encounter series. It has been an encouragement to see so many slots in our prayer room continue to be occupied in response to these teaching series’.
As our church family grows, we have become adaptable in how we use the various spaces within the building. There has been a steady increase in attendance, with new people coming along regularly. We have begun the process of developing a sensory room, however this will require additional funding to develop the space fully. We also continue to look for appropriate funding to develop a space set aside for a training kitchen. The various gatherings each week have been life-giving to our congregation and enabled us to provide additional support to more vulnerable people. We were delighted to be able to host nine baptisms and lots of dedication services for the many babies born into our church family over the year.
Our faithful volunteers remain key to how our Sunday services and weekly ministries operate. It takes 160 people serving on rota to make Sundays happen in their current format. And we are grateful for their commitment and heart as they do so.
We have been able to host two Newcomer's Cafe environments and one Newcomer's breakfast which has helped create a more intimate environment to get to know those who are new to the body. Following this we had 15 people attend our ‘Believing and Belonging’ course which provides an opportunity to share our key Vision and Values.
Courses
We have seen an increase in the number of those attending our English classes every week, with over 20 people in attendance. This programme allows us to support the increasing number of people coming to Portadown from other nations. It is our honour and privilege to welcome them and support their journey of adjusting to our language and culture. This environment is facilitated by 14 volunteers and 1 staff member who foster a real sense of community for people from all over the world. In addition, the church provides one-to-one support for many people from the migrant community in terms of employment, housing and access to various resources. This is carried out in partnership with various local statutory agencies and charities.
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ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
Lifegroups
Our Life groups continue to meet every other week, with about 110 people meeting together across the town in 17 groups. This is a key element of our church for building community and connection amongst a growing congregation. Our Wednesday evening drop in Lifegroup proves to be a great access point for new people who are interested in exploring Lifegroup.
Prayer
Gathered Prayer took on a slightly different form this year, by changing venues to the Glass space in Lurgan and The Hub in Portadown. It continues to run every other week alternating between these venues with a new starting time of 7.30pm.
A dedicated group of 6-10 people meet every Friday night in the church car park to pray around the town. These have proved to be great times of fellowship as well as prayer.
We have been able to facilitate our ‘Prayer Room’ being open to access slots 24/7. It is our dream to see this continue to grow and an appetite for the presence of the Lord to increase.
Prayer ministry is offered after each Sunday morning service with training taking place for all volunteers on the teams. These teams also help facilitate prayer in spaces like Nua and the Tobar conference.
We have also seen weekly prayer points established that are communicated across various social media and communications platforms, including our Friday email, all with the aim to create a more sustained, informed and specific culture of prayer.
It has been both a joy and an encouragement to see our part time prayer coordinator lead this area so passionately and diligently and to feel the spiritual temperature increase across both churches.
It has also been an encouragement to see coordination of our Prophetic Ministry across Emmanuel Lurgan and Emmanuel Portadown. Training and support happen monthly, whilst also creating an avenue for collective prayer.
Pastoral Care
Our part time Pastoral Care Coordinator oversees pastoral support for the members of our church body who require specific support in their lives. We continue to support a wide range of individuals and families from those who have just had babies to those recently bereaved and a complex range of needs.
Kids &Tots
On average we have around 9 pre-school children and 25 Primary School kids on a Sunday. Our additional needs team continues to evolve, offering support for anywhere between two and four children on any given Sunday. We have made an initial start on furnishing the sensory room which for now gives those children that require it, a safe space to encounter Jesus during our Sunday morning sessions. Looking to next year, we see the development of our additional needs provision as being a key priority for the church.
We have 9 volunteers for Kingdom Tots, approximately 27 volunteers for kingdom kids, including 4 team leaders and 8 volunteers for our Additional Needs team - Kingdom Sparks. What has also been really beautiful is that we were teaching the same topics as Emmanuel Lurgan which is strengthening connections across the city.
Sunday mornings have different areas set up and kids can rotate through with a group of kids their own age. The programme includes Bible teaching, games, memory verses, worship and prayer.
Youth
Our youth ministry continues to expand. We now average 35-40 youth each week. We currently have 9 volunteer leaders facilitating this on a three weekly cycle. Whilst our youth programs are supported by a dedicated team of volunteer leaders, we are hopeful that a youth worker can be employed soon. We have begun to furnish our youth room thanks to an anonymous donation, however it does require more funds to purchase more teen friendly resources. Safeguarding is overseen by a volunteer leader with expertise in this area, with regular training carried out for volunteers in all of our environments throughout the year.
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ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
Young Adults
A group of our 18-35 young adults meet every 2 months through breakfasts, BBQs and pizza evenings to build connections and support.
Local Mission / Compassion
Connect Café
This environment provides a safe and free cafe-style environment where people can experience a warm welcome and a listening ear, they can get tea and snacks but also support, care and signposting to other support mechanisms. This environment averaged around 40-50 weekly visitors over the year facilitated by 12 volunteers . Over the winter months we have provided a soup lunch on a regular basis to supplement the service we provide. We now have an advisor from ABC Community Advice in our environment every other week to provide initial signposting and setup of advice consultations for people needing various aspects of support.
Food Pantry, Foodbank & Compassion services
With increasing demand on our Freedom Foods Pantry both our Thursday evening and Friday morning sessions continue to be a busy hive of activity connecting people with practical support and community. Freedom Foods Pantry is part of the Your Local Pantry UK wide network of Social Supermarkets. Our social supermarket is connected into the strategic plan for the ABC Council area, working with the ABC Community Food Hub and four other projects covering the whole council area.
This area of support continues to be key to help lift the financial burden from those in the local community as well as provide practical financial management support. There is a wonderful team of 24 volunteers who help facilitate the running ofthis ministry led diligently and ably by our Pantry coordinator. Those from the community who come to Pantry report how well they are loved which speaks volumes as to the level of care taken by our team. Hope Café continues to operate once a month on a Friday evening, creating space for connection through craft, games and music, all over a cup of tea and coffee.
Emmanuel Portadown hasa strategic partnership with Craigavon Area Food Bank and we act as a distribution centre for this vital community service. Working alongside the food bank, we continue to provide food bank referrals for those in need, ensuring that vital support is given in a timely manner. Additionally, signposting is provided to other support mechanisms to provide a wrap-around service.
Local Mission Partners
As our posture is to connect, support and work together across our communities we partner practically, prayerfully, and financially with the following local organisations: -
e 24/7 Prayer Ireland
| e | 24/7 Prayer Ireland |
|---|---|
| e | Aspire NI |
| e | REACH |
| e | LINKS Counselling |
| e | Shalom Life |
| e | Youth for Christ |
| e | Shalom Life |
| e | Craigavon Area Compassion Project / Food Bank |
| e | D &C Bailie - Ballina |
| e | Home for Good |
| e | CARACraigavon |
Global Mission
We may not be able to go all over the world regularly, but we believe it is our mandate to connect and support global mission. We partner practically, prayerfully, and financially with the following global organisations: - + 247 Prayer International
+P & J Swaffield (WEC International) + Elam Ministries
-
Open Doors
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We continue to financially and prayerfully support W & S Robinson and their family who are living as missionaries in Madrid, Spain. They are part of the WEC team there and are still in the language learning phase, while also developing connections to the local community and supporting local churches and ministries. A small team, led by two 7
Docusign Envelope ID: 0036A6D0-28CB-42B9-BA2A-9CCCE41CFC3C
ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT
for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
of our Elders, spend time with them online with a prayer group, helping to support and encourage them.
Financial Review
The results for the financial period are set out on pages 11 and 12 and in the accompanying notes to the financial statements. Financial Results At the end of the financial period the company has assets of £0.00 (2024 - £1,465,970) and liabilities of £0.00 (2024 £296,675). The net assets of the company have decreased by £(1,169,295).
Trustees
The trustees who served throughout the financial period, except as noted, were as follows:
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|David|Wylie|
|Warwick|McCullough|
|Jonathan Andrew|Beggs|
|Alan|Emerson|
|Alain|Emerson|
|Keith|McCollum|
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In accordance with the Constitution, the trustees retire by rotation and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.
The secretary who served during the financial period was:
Joanne Briggs
Compliance with Sector-Wide Legislation and Standards The company engages pro-actively with legislation, standards and codes which are developed for the sector. ECF Trust subscribes to and is compliant with the following: - The Companies Act 2006 - The Charities SORP (FRS 102)
Public Benefit
In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the period the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s statutory guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped achieve the charity purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
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|Approved|by|the|Board|of Trustees|on|2|December|2025|and|signed|on|its|behalf|by:|
|||Signed by:|Signed by:|
|Al|AlainESHe EmersonPSO|RP|AO.|||WarwickVOR|[MECMBligh]|Me|sullowgle|
|Trustee|Trustee|
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Docusign Envelope ID: 0036A6D0-28CB-42B9-BA2A-9CCCE41CFC3C
ECF Trust (A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES
for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025
General responsibilities
The trustees, who are also directors of ECF Trust for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the trustees as the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial period. Under that law the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law) including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" Section 1A (Small Entities). Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the surplus or deficit of the company for that period.
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In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework, identify those standards, and note the effect and the reasons for any material departure from those standards; and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in operation.
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The trustees confirm that they have complied with the above requirements in preparing the financial statements.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Trustees’ declaration on unaudited financial statements
In relation to the financial statements comprising the Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account), the Balance Sheet and the related notes:
The trustees approve these financial statements and confirm that they are responsible for them, including selecting the appropriate accounting policies, applying them consistently and making, on a reasonable and prudent basis, the judgements underlying them. They have been prepared on the going concern basis on the grounds that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees confirm that they have made available to Daly Park & Company Ltd, Chartered Accountants, all the company's accounting records and provided all the information, books and documents necessary for the compilation of the financial statements.
The trustees confirm that to the best of their knowledge and belief, the accounting records reflect all the transactions of the company for the financial period to cessation on 31 August 2025.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 2 December 2025 and signed on its behalf by: Alai[ lain.SignedFSO by: GnersnLP E5405... WarnwiGRceliisigh[WarwickSigned by: McCall Trustee Trustee
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