The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).
The charity's objects are to advance the Christian faith in accordance with their statement of beliefs, to hold public services and to fulfil such other purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of England and Wales and are connected with the charitable work of the charity.
The policies adopted in furtherance of these objectives are to:
hold weekly public services at St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire and there has been no change in these during the period.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
The charity ran weekly public meetings for worship every Sunday morning during the period covered by this report. There was also a public service held on Christmas Day.
Church meetings were held every Sunday during this period but numbers have significantly reduced over this period. This decline in numbers has had an effect on the finances.
The Church employed and housed Rev Pat Nesbit in the role of Assistant Pastor from September 2023 until the end of August 2024 when the financial situation no longer allowed him to be employed. From December 2022 the Senior Pastor remained in post but elected to forego his salary in order to subsidise the post of Assistant Pastor, this has continued. Adam Clark continued as honorary Head of Finance, but also chose to forego his part time salary as Church Manager.
The Thursday morning prayer meeting - Powerhouse - continued as did the bi-weekly Bible study.
There were a number of activities run for church members and those outside the church including:
Alpha Course open to all
Home groups for adult church members
Worship and Prayer evenings - 21 February, 20 March, 1 May, 12 June, 23 October
Women’s Badminton – Monday evenings
Ladies breakfasts and craft evenings
AGM was held on 3 November
A Newcomers evening was held on 17 January
Hosted a concert by Harpa Dei visiting from Germany – 16 July
Hosted a CAP money course in January and February
Chorleywood Christmas Festival – 6 December
New website was commissioned and launched
Men’s evenings
Various social events and outreach events open to all
Members volunteered for the Detonate Kids Holiday Club
Church members also support Restorative Justice courses at HMP The Mount in Bovingdon and provide mentoring for students at St Clement Danes School.
During the year, the charity's income from all sources amounted to £60,710 of which £3,902 were for Restricted Funds. A total of £82,681 was expended during the year, of which £17,600 was from Designated Funds. A total of £7,220 was held at the end of the year as Designated Funds, to be given as grants to Local Projects, the Global Poor and the Suffering Church.
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six months expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has not been maintained throughout the period. The trustees still believe that this is a suitable reserves policy, and want to bring the reserve level back within the required range. At the accounting date free reserves were £11,157 (2023: 26,833).
The charity was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 24th June 2010 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It is registered as a charity.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the period were:
The Trustees met three times in the year – 25 February, 9 June and 27 October.
J Roberts was one of the first trustees to serve and was one of the persons named in the statement delivered pursuant to section 12(1) of the Companies Act 2006. Future trustees shall be appointed as provided in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. All trustees were issued with a copy of The Essential Trustee published by the Charities Commission. At the first meeting of the trustees the roles and responsibilities were clearly set out.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.
The Board of Trustees manages the affairs of the charity and meets three times a year. The Leadership Team undertake the day to day operation of the charity under guidance provided by the board of trustees. In addition to this the Leadership Team is responsible for the:
appointment and removal of pastors and other full-time or part-time employees of the Charity appointed to exercise pastoral or other ministry responsibility within the church ;
Membership of any congregation of the Charity;
All questions of doctrine;
All questions relating to the preaching of the gospel and;
Appointment and removal of Leaders
The Charity looks to St Mary’s Bryanston Square, London for spiritual oversight, advice and friendship.
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 4 to 12.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Connect Church Chorleywood for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011, the 2011 Act, and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
examine the financial statements under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Connect Church Chorleywood is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 91 Whitelands Avenue, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, WD3 5RQ.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity 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 charity. 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 accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity 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 accounts.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity 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 recognised on the accruals basis. Grants and donations paid are accounted for when paid. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.
Tangible fixed assets 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 bases:
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.
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 Charity 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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Other costs
Other costs include fees in respect of the independent examination of £1,800 (2023: £1,800).
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year, other than J Roberts and A Clark. J Roberts received a salary of £0 (2023: £0) for his position as senior pastor together with pension contributions of £5,159 (2023: £3,152). J Roberts was also provided with £ 4,941 for house running costs. A Clark received a salary of £0 (2023: £3,848 ) for his position as Church Manager with pension contributions of £1,034 (2023: £491).
In addition, within the year J Roberts and A Clarke donated £252 and £81 respectively to restricted funds.
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 charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds as follows:
The Hardship Fund represents monies collected for specific individuals facing financial hardship.
The CAP/Every Life Fund represents monies collected as gifts for two charities supported by the church members over the Christmas period.
30% of all gifts/tithe income is allocated for giving, as follows:
Local Projects designated fund to gift as financial support to other charities, organisations and individuals having the same or similar objects as the Charity that operate locally to the Charity.
Global Projects designated fund to gift as financial support to other charities, organisations and individuals having the same or similar objects as the Charity that operate globally.
Suffering Church designated fund to gift as financial support to other charities, organisations and individuals having the same or similar objects as the Charity that operate in areas where the Christian Church particularly suffer oppression or persecution.
Each designated fund above receives 10% of every net donation received, Gift Aid is not included as part of this calculation.
Other than those disclosed in note 4, related party transactions during the year were £0 (2023: £0) .