2025-06-30-annual-report - City to City Belfast Ltd

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BELFAST EE =) CITY to CITY

City to City Belfast Ltd Company limited by guarantee Unaudited financial statements 30 April 2025

Company registration number: NI714600 Charity Commission NI number: 110139

City to City Belfast Ltd Company limited by guarantee

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 30 April 2025

The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 April 2025 ~~.~~ The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statements of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity ~~.~~

Objectives

City To City Belfast Ltd is established for charitable purposes only, specifically the advancement of Religion (specifically the Christian Faith), the advancement of education, the advancement of community development, and the improvement of the holistic life of communities in the North of Ireland ~~.~~

The charity achieves these purposes through initiatives including (but not limited to):
(i) raising awareness and understanding of Evangelical Christian beliefs and practices;
(ii) recruiting, training, resourcing and support of Christian leaders particularly in church planting;
(iii) training, resourcing and facilitating church planting across the North of Ireland and wider afield with the formation of new churches and associated initiatives;
(iv) training, resourcing and support of church leaders and churches to initiate and operate Mercy and Justice programmes;
(v) advancing community transformation by formation of city ecosystems connecting local communities and churches in areas served by the Trust and wider afield;
(vi) through Faith and Work training, resourcing and support for individuals and churches to advance work, citizenship, the arts and culture ~~.~~
(vii) the provision of seed funding and resources to support the above initiatives ~~.~~

Public Benefit Statement

Advancement of Religion

City To City Belfast (hereafter “CTC Belfast’) promotes the training of church planters from different denominations ~~.~~ These planters are trained to teach from the Word of God, the Bible, at worship services at churches they plant, with services open to all members of the public ~~.~~ The organisation also promotes the training of church members and members of the public, helping them to understand the Christian faith more deeply, and how the Gospel is transformative of every aspect of life ~~.~~ CTC Belfast encourages them to respond to teaching received through prayer, worship and Christian service. By training churches and people to be outlooking, the organisation also enables such to interact with the public at large with winsomeness and so increases understanding of the Christian faith publicly. Part of a wider movement City to City Europe, CTC Belfast will produce and promote religious content including books, training, videos, conferences and other information not only for those trained through its schemes but made widely available for the general public ~~.~~

The direct benefits which flow from this purpose are: an improved sense of wellbeing for those attending CTC Belfast training, the planted churches and for all who access publicly available training as they enjoy fellowship with others and receive teaching, and the promotion of Christian values for the benefit of individuals, churches and communities ~~.~~

The indirect benefits which flow from this purpose include the moral improvement in society as a whole, which religion is considered to encourage ~~.~~

The benefits listed above will be evidenced through churches planted, people trained, and through informal feedback from those who make use of CTC Belfast’s resources.

There are no obvious private benefits to individuals and any such would be incidental.

There is no harm flowing from this purpose ~~.~~

City to City Belfast Ltd Company limited by guarantee

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 30 April 2025

Advancement of Education

CTC Belfast promotes teaching and training about Evangelical Christian beliefs to church planters and their CTC Belfast associated churches, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. CTC Belfast also provides training around church planting, and Christian participation in the areas of work, citizenship, the arts and culture. It trains in Christian responses to mercy and justice engagement. It also specialises and train in a Christian understanding and response to urbanisation and the growth of cities ~~.~~

The direct benefits which flow from this purpose are spiritual, moral and intellectual development, through teaching of the Bible, of trainees and members of CTC Belfast affiliated Churches and the public, the development of individual skills and capabilities as they are involved in teaching, ministry at public worship services, involved in associated ministries and in their wider civic life ~~.~~ Society will indirectly benefit as recipients of ministry and mission from those trained having greater knowledge and skills and regard for civic life.

The benefits listed above will be evidenced through numbers enrolled in training, feedback forms during courses and through informal feedback from those who make use of CTC Belfast’s resources ~~.~~ A possible private benefit is that trainers themselves will be resourced and receive skills that might benefit in future employment opportunities ~~.~~ This may occur through travel to parts of Europe to be involved in the training schemes of the wider European movement ~~.~~ This however is necessary for the purposes and incidental.

There is no harm flowing from this purpose ~~.~~

Advancement of Community Development

CTC Belfast seeks to reach out into the local communities in which its associated churches are based ~~.~~ They will be viewed as open to all sectors of the community for help, counsel, and aid ~~.~~ CTC Belfast trains both planters and others to engage in Faith and Work initiatives ~~.~~ This training enhances their involvement in local projects in the areas of work, citizenship, the arts and culture. It also trains pastors, church members and members of the public in understanding the dynamic of cities and encourages the development of Christian ecosystems within them. CTC Belfast trains both planters and others to engage in Mercy & Justice initiatives ~~.~~ This training enhances their involvement in local projects around poverty and inclusion ~~.~~

The direct benefits which flow from this purpose are: the encouragement of those who live in the locality of affiliated churches as they participate in activities organised by the churches, and the provision of practical assistance such as food and clothing to those who may be in need ~~.~~ New initiatives with the goal of community and urban transformation will be stimulated ~~.~~ The organisation’s direct beneficiaries will be public individuals, churches, para ~~-~~ church organisations and charities within the North of Ireland who wish to benefit from the church ~~-p~~ lanting resources and experience that CTC Belfast offers.

Communities and society in general will also benefit indirectly from the work of CTC Belfast as new churches are planted and existing churches strengthened and their resultant influences on the communities they serve ~~.~~

They will be further benefited by ‘Faith & Work’ and ‘Mercy & Justice’ initiatives commenced ~~.~~

The benefits listed above will be evidenced through churches planted, projects commenced and through informal feedback from those who make use of CTC Belfast’s resources.

There are no obvious private benefits to individuals and any such would be incidental.

There is no harm flowing from this purpose ~~.~~

City to City Belfast Ltd Company limited by guarantee

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 30 April 2025

Achievements and performance

City To City Belfast was formed on 23 April 2024 by four founding Directors as a local network of a wider movement co ~~-~~ founded by the late Timothy J ~~.~~ Keller known as Redeemer City To City and its European affiliate City To City Europe (CTCE) ~~.~~ Joining in collaboration with our sister CTCE network, Dublin Collective, we are the two networks currently involved in championing CTCE linked church planting in Ireland ~~.~~

The name City To City Belfast reflects our wider movement’s focus on the importance of cities. As go cities, so goes a nation and our belief is that the best way to transform those cities is through praying for Gospel Movements within them. Church planting lies at the heart of this; as Tim stated “I believe that there is no more powerful way to reacha city with the gospel than to plant new churches in it ~~.~~ ” As the provincial ‘capital’ of Northern Ireland and beyond even into further of the North of Ireland, our name reflects this conviction ~~.~~ That said our vision is not restricted to the city of Belfast nor Northern Ireland. We see the need to extend beyond this and our vision statement reflects this: City to City Belfast exists, under God, to see population areas in the North of Ireland flourish through Gospel movements and ecosystems, by collaboratively training, planting and renewing churches.

The Board of Directors were formed from our training team; the four of us had been trained to deliver certified training under license from Redeemer City To City ~~.~~ After going through the initial procedures required to form the charity, our attention turned to this training. We continued to build relationships with church leaders interested in church planting. It was discerned that we were a preparation distance yet off Incubator (City To City’s premium church planting course) but we decided the London Project's new Center Church Unpacked course might prove fruitful. After advertising, 10 leaders and spouses from the Greater Belfast Area signed up and training was under way in St ~~.~~ Paul’s and St ~~.~~ Barnabas’s Church of Ireland by the end of the financial period.

We also note in this report with great sadness, that our esteemed chairman, Martin McNeely had to pull back from training because of a serious illness ~~.~~ We were blessed when he was able to join us as an observer (and at times participant) in Center Church Unpacked. Sadly by the time of submission of this report, Martin died on 224 November 2025. We will pay tribute to him in the 2026 annual report ~~.~~

We thank God for this period of development, the blessings of discussions and fellowship, and the provision financially to start the charity as a going concern ~~.~~

City to City Belfast Ltd Company limited by quarantee

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 30 April 2025

Financial review

As this was the first year of setting up the charity, income and expenditure was low with a modest net surplus for the year of £164. Details of income and expenditure are set up in the notes to the accounts.

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the charity in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted account practice.

As the total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Section 64(3) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabilities.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. 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.

The Annual Report was approved by the Trustees on 01 April 2026 and signed on its behalf by:

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Lowe E..
Rev. Dr. Leeay
Trustee
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