The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Church's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".
The Church's objects are:
To propagate the message of the Christian faith as expressed in the Bible in accord with the Great Commission of Christ (Mark 16:15-18).
To arrange, organize, conduct retreats, meetings, conventions, conferences, Gospel concerts and otherwise for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord Jesus and sharing in Christian fellowship.
To engage in Evangelism and Christian education by various means, such as public meetings, films, radio, television, printed page, compact discs, digital, electronic and other means of communication.
To establish self-governing local Churches, according to the New Testament pattern, subject to pre-endorsement of the Apostolic Oversight.
To provide Christian education for all and to encourage training for active ministry at home and abroad.
To provide practical Christian assistance to those in need by way of food, clothing and shelter, rehabilitation accommodation, homes for the aged and constructive counsel and anything else that the Board of Directors see as being in harmony with its responsibilities.
To support missionary enterprise in other lands with a view to establishing indigenous local Churches, subject to pre-endorsement of the Apostolic Oversight.
To encourage and maintain an attitude of Christian fellowship toward all believers in Christ irrespective of doctrine or denominational differences.
To honour all civil governing authorities according to the scriptures.
To employ people either voluntarily or for compensation to carry out the objects and purposes of the charity.
To use the income and property of the charity wheresoever derived solely to promote its objects.
There has been no change in these during the period.
Activities undertaken in order to achieve our objectives are as follows:
Weekly Sunday services with a relational focus on connection and building community.
Fortnightly home groups called ‘Connect Groups’, which helps people to be part of a smaller community group within our church, so people can make friends and have a local support network.
Monthly meetings including prayer meetings, to provide spiritual support and prayer.
Volunteer team training nights called ‘Carrier Nights’ and department training nights, to equip people in new skills and empowering them to serve and to bring the reality of God to their world.
We are continually looking to reach out to more people and share with them the message of Jesus Christ and helping to connect people who are feeling isolated and lonely.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Church should undertake.
In 2023, Kingdomcity United Kingdom Ltd experienced significant changes, with new leadership, new locations and new growth.
Our London campus underwent a leadership change as our previous pastor, John Pearse, ended his time in London and relocated his family to Australia. Our new London campus pastor, Jesse Jayaseela, relocated to London in early May and took over leadership of the church. Despite the leadership change the church has continued to grow strong spiritually, culturally and financially.
Alongside London, we saw the official launching of a campus in Bristol - with a regular Sunday service beginning from Easter 2023. Overseen by Travis & Samantha Kitchen, the Bristol location has grown from a small group of 20 to a regular gathering of 60-70 each weekend. The Bristol location continues to grow stronger, building teams, and establishing connects across the area.
As a whole, the church continues to grow bigger and stronger, and reach our local community. Some key highlights include:
Establishment of a new campus in Bristol with 4 connect groups and 5 new connect groups in London.
Distribution of ~120 Christmas hampers across London & Bristol
Establishment of a core group (Connected & Carriers) of 80 people in Bristol
Establishment of a core leadership team in London that oversee key areas in the church
Addition of 40 new carriers in London & 21 new carriers in Bristol.
Total income for the year amounted to £465,967 (2022: £458,761) with expenditure of £392,284 (2022: £340,373) leading to an overall surplus on the General fund for the year of £73,683 (2022: £118,388).
All income was unrestricted. Unrestricted funds carried forward amounted to £372,801 (2022: £299,118)
The unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three to six month’s expenditure. The Trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Church’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. Reserves at the balance sheet date were £335,062 which is above the desired level.
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Church is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The Church is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 2 October 2018, registration no. 11599219 and is registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales, registration no. 1184125.
The Church is overseen by the Trustees with day to day running delegated to the Lead Pastor. The charity is one of the local Churches accepted by the Apostolic Oversight of Kingdomcity Global Limited. As such the Apostolic Oversight retain the ultimate spiritual authority over all matters within local Churches.
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Prospective trustees are recommended for appointment by the local Lead Pastor. All trustees must meet specific character requirements to be appointed to the office of trustee, best evidenced by the Lead Pastor’s observations of the proposed trustee’s conduct within and outside of Church life.
Once the trustees have considered the recommendation, the trustee will proceed to nominate the proposed trustee for appointment, to the Senior Leader. Should the Senior Leader approve of the appointment in principle, the Senior Leader will nominate the trustee for appointment to the board. The trustees will collectively discuss the appointment and table the same for the next board meeting, at which the appointment will be recorded by ordinary resolution.
The Church is overseen by Kingdomcity Global Limited. The Directors of Kingdomcity Global Limited, also known as Apostolic Oversight, provide spiritual guidance, dispute resolution, etc. to the local Church. The Board is led by a Senior Leader who is also Chair. At a local level, Kingdomcity Global Limited is represented by having 2-3 Directors on each local Church Board, including the Senior Leader.
The Governance of Kingdomcity United Kingdom comprises of:
1. Board of Trustees
This comprises between at least 3 board members
Board members are not employed by the local Church
Board members are responsible for confirming audit report (correctly reflecting financial statements) and for approving the Church budget
The Senior Leader is Chair of local Church board
2. Spiritual Oversight
This is undertaken by 3-5 Church members who are not employed by the local Church
This group is also involved with major decisions
3. Executive Team
These are a group of 1-5 members, who are employed by the local Church
Collectively 1-3 above are referred to as the Eldership (members) of the local Church, who meet collectively for the AGM and as needed at other times.
Only executive team members can be paid a salary. Members are nominated by the Senior Leader and their appointment/dismissal confirmed by the board.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Kingdomcity United Kingdom Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Church and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Church will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Church 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 Church and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Kingdomcity United Kingdom Limited (the Church) for the year ended 31 December 2023.
As the Trustees of the Church (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Church are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Church’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the Church’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Church as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
Kingdomcity United Kingdom Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1BF. The Church's correspondence address is 532 Fulham Road Place, London, SW6 5PY.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The Church is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The Church has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Church. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Church has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Church has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Property, plant and equipment are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following basis:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the Church reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The Church only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Church is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the Church’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Greenhouse fees
Special event income
Miracle Offering Lunch income
Insurance payout
Church running expenses
Postage, printing and stationary
Travel, subsistence and accommodation
Small equipment and repairs
Licences and subscriptions
IT maintenance and general
Auditorium hire
Pastor's manse costs
Sunday service costs
Creative programmes
Guest ministry
One trustee had expenses reimbursed during the year for travel and subsistence totaling £439 (2022: nil).
No other Trustee (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Church during the year.
The Trustees (and connected persons) donated an aggregate sum of £47,308 (2022: £129,751) to the Church during the period.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The Church operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Church in an independently administered fund.
The charge to statement of financial activities in respect of defined contribution schemes was £1,450 (2022: £1,262).
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Kingdomcity UK Limited, through its affiliation with Kingdomcity Global Limited (having common Trustees and oversight of Kingdomcity UK Limited), supports the activities of the Kingdomcity church movement globally, for example, to support the establishment of new churches and to support missional causes. Support, payable by way of a Due to Kingdomcity Global Limited, amounted to £84,840 (2022: £119,913), in the year and at the balance sheet date the total amount pledged to Kingdomcity Global and other Kingdomcity entities was £69,232 (2022: £97,848).