Status
Coventry Vineyard is a registered charity, charity number 1150752, duly constituted by a Trust Deed and operating as a church.
Coventry Vineyard was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (company no 08341599) on 27th December 2012 and was registered with the Charity Commission under reference 1150752.
Charity Transfer
On 1st April 2013, the net assets and activities of Coventry Vineyard, charity number 1094167, an unincorporated entity, were transferred to the company, the company being dormant until that date.
Organisational Structure
The day to day running of the church is delegated to the employed pastoral and administrative staff led by the Senior Pastors, Nick and Vicki Sutton. Nick Sutton is also a trustee.
Appointment of Trustees
New trustees are made by the recommendation of the Senior Pastor and ratified by existing Trustees who appoint by a resolution of the Trustees passed at a meeting of the Trustees. Trustees serve for a three year term. Trustees will be recruited with reference to their commitment to the Church, the specific needs of the charitable company and the working dynamics of the Trustee team.
Professional Advisors
The Trustees will from time to time appoint external advisors to advise the Church with regard to specific areas.
Current appointments are:
• Finance - Stewardship Services
• HR Advisor - Catherine Bartlem
• Live Stream/ Tech Consultancy Training and Support - Worship and Tech Consultants
Relationship with Vineyard Churches UK
Coventry Vineyard is a member of Vineyard Churches UK (VCUKI), a charity functioning as a resource for similar churches. In particular, they provide significant resources, training and pastoral oversight. Membership also allows Mr Nick Sutton to be a licensed accredited pastor who has a right to use the trademarked "Vineyard" name.
The association provides pastoral care for the senior Pastors and family, and an external reference concerning church affairs and doctrine.
Coventry Vineyard grants 5% of its annual income to Vineyard Churches UK.
Leadership Structure
Coventry Vineyard has four areas of leadership which overlap under the overall direction of the Senior Pastors. Each area has distinct responsibilities in order to take adequate care of each church member and continue ongoing outward ministry to benefit the community.
The leadership structure and responsibilities are as follows:
1) Trustees
The full responsibilities of the trustees/Directors are set out, in respect to accounting and financial information, in the Coventry Vineyard Trust Deed.
Further Responsibilities include:
• To advise the Senior Pastors on staffing, salaries and employment issues.
• To manage the legal responsibilities of the charity and ensure full compliance with legislation.
2) Leadership Group
In December 2017 our previous Leadership Team was changed to a leadership group, for the purpose of discerning vision and direction, with a Staff Team to oversee the day to day management of the organisation and a Pastoral Team made up of our Cluster Leaders (those who oversee Life Groups) to oversee and coordinate pastoral matters within Coventry Vineyard. Cluster Leaders were renamed Neighbourhood Leaders in September 2018, to oversee a renewed outward focus into the various communities and neighbourhoods across Coventry and beyond.
3) Life Group Leaders
• To provide "one to one" pastoral care for church members
• To help teach and train church members in a life of following Jesus (i.e. the Christian Faith)
• Each Life Group leader is overseen by a Cluster Leader whose role is to provide pastoral support and coaching for the life group leaders.
4) Coordinators
To manage the ministry areas of the Church:
• Vineyard Kids (Children's Ministry)
• Youth Ministry
• Students
• Sunday Morning Gathering
• Worship
• Compassion
• Mission
The vision of Coventry Vineyard is to become one church of 'disciple-making' disciples in multiple locations across Coventry and beyond.
The objectives of Coventry Vineyard come under three categories:
1. Encouraging people to worship God in their everyday lives
2. Equipping people to live life as followers of Jesus
3. Expressing the love and compassion of God to those in need in practical ways
The Charitable Objectives of Coventry Vineyard are:
A. The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Vineyard Churches UK statement of faith, values, priorities, practices and leadership standards appearing in the schedule hereto in Coventry and in such other parts of the United Kingdom as the trustees may from time to time think fit.
B. The relief of the poor and needy, the sick and elderly in Coventry and in such other parts of the United Kingdom or the World as the trustees may from time to time think fit.
C. The furtherance of religious or secular public education.
D. Such other charitable objectives and for the benefit of such other charitable institutions as the trustees in their absolute discretion see fit.
The activities of Coventry Vineyard can be summarised as follows:
a. Providing worship for those who attend the church on a weekly basis.
b. Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through teaching and demonstrating the love, mercy and grace of God.
c. Undertaking regular 'community projects', the aim of which is to provide help and assistance to those in need, to encourage people to be more aware of God and to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ in a practical and tangible way.
The trustees believe that Coventry Vineyard complies with the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.
Public Benefit
In planning the charity's activities the Trustees have given consideration to the guidance provided by the Charity Commission on 'public benefit' issued in December 1998.
Sunday Venue
The weekly Sunday Morning Gathering was live-streamed to YouTube followed by a Zoom call to connect with one another due to the ongoing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From September 2021 we started meeting in-person again at a new venue: Foleshill Community Centre (757 Foleshill Road, Coventry, CV6 5HS) - the place from which we also run our GrowKids ministry.
Our move to the neighbourhood of Foleshill has enabled us to develop our commitment to being a more multicultural church. The Sunday Morning Gathering remains a key and important element of in-person gathering and corporate worship.
Office Premises
Coventry Vineyard office is located at Studio 3, FarGo Studios, 54 Grafton Street, CVl 2HW . We used these premises as a recording/live-streaming studio to provide worship and teaching online from April to August 2021.
Employment
Coventry Vineyard employs one Pastor (full-time), one Pastor (part-time), a Children and Families Pastor (part-time), and an Office Manager (part-time). The staff team also included a Youth Pastor (part-time) until January 2022, where they stepped down to pursue a new full-time role.
Worship
Encouraging worship, both corporate sung worship and worship in everyday lives, continues to be a priority at Coventry Vineyard. As we went back to meeting in person from September 2021, the worship team, comprising valuable and worship-centred musicians, have transitioned back into in-person worship and have adapted very well to the new venue and new equipment. We are passionate about worshipping God and allowing space for His Spirit to move during times of sung worship. The content and direction of the worship, including the introduction of new songs that speak to the national and international move of God, encourages a one-body approach to worship.
Church Community
The infrastructure of our church community revolves around our Life Groups in which we “do life together and bring the life of the Kingdom to our neighbours”. They are for developing authentic relationships both with one another and with the communities in which we live, and where we equip one another to live life as followers of Jesus and encourage one another in spiritual formation. Our vision is to show our generation how to follow Jesus and bring kingdom transformation to the world around us. Our current strategic focus is to be: One church of 'disciple-making' disciples in multiple locations across Coventry and beyond.
Journey Groups (smaller groups of 3 to 5 people) continue to occur throughout church. These are designed for those who have made the decision to find out more about Jesus and the Bible and go deeper in their spiritual growth: forming habits that help them to become more like Jesus and share Him with others.
Vineyard Kids
Between April and July 2021 we included a 10 minute Kids Slot each week as part of our livestreamed Sunday Morning Gathering. This was led by 2 of the kids team for 3 Sundays a month, introducing the story, activities and craft in the activity pack that we delivered to the kids. We also shared creative prayer ideas and games to engage kids and families.
In September 2021 our in-person Sunday Morning Kids programme for 2-11 year olds restarted at Foleshill Community Centre. This programme seeks to encourage children:
in their spiritual and emotional development
to have fun in a safe environment
to develop their social skills with children of different ages; and
to feel a valued part of a larger community.
We have 3 different age groups:
Bright Sparks is for 2-4 year olds (Preschool)
Live Wires (Key stage 1: 4-7 year olds); and
The Grid (Key stage 2: 7-11 year olds).
The Bright Sparks have a play based session and a bible story is told in an interactive way using a story sack. The Live Wires and The Grid ages are together in one big group (although we do split into smaller groups for some activities). The Live Wires/The Grid session is a mixture of games, activities, discussion and prayer.
Babies and toddlers do not have their own group but they have dedicated space in the main hall with their parents/carer where there are toys they can play with.
When we restarted meeting, we reassessed how much time the kids spent with the rest of the church family. We chose to have more time as a whole church community and build upon all the intergenerational relationships that started to form during our Zoom gatherings. The kids now stay in with the adults for the first part of the worship each week, followed by a kids slot (primarily aimed at kids and families) introducing the topic they will be looking at in their kids groups. For our all-age Christmas gathering we had an interactive 'Messy Nativity' where adults and children went round stations where they could explore different parts of the Nativity story in a variety of learning styles.
We have also tried to make our children's groups more accessible for children with additional needs. We have introduced visual timetables and a sensory toy box. We continue to use one-page profiles to get the parents involved in developing a strategy to help their child settle and engage in their kids groups. The kids team have all been encouraged to complete additional needs training provided by Urban Saints.
In March 2022 we started a kids Life Group (Fuse) for 8-11 year olds. This group met on alternate weeks during March, where we shared news, played games, looked at bible passages in a ‘Journey Group style’ and prayed for each other.
GrowKids
GrowKids recycles nearly-new clothes, toys and equipment to help families in need with Children under 11. This is regardless of income, background or faith; no referral is needed (except for items such as nappies, formula and baby food), and all items are free. GrowKids is based at Foleshill Community Centre on Fridays between 10:30am - 12:00pm (for families to collect items) and 12:30 - 2:30pm (for donations to be made).
GrowKids has continued to grow this year - we now have a team of 24 volunteers (4 of whom are from families that previously accessed GrowKids’ help). Between April 2021 to March 2022 we helped over 145 families, donating over 3150 items to new families (some large equipment, but primarily clothing items). We have also given over 3100 items to families returning for other items and/or the next stage of clothes.
In November 2021, we launched a Stay & Play toddler group alongside our collections slot. We now have a few families that come on a regular basis who are not there to collect items, but simply choose to come and connect with each other and the team.
Our vision is to build strong relationships and community with isolated and struggling families. We work from the social supermarket’s premises which allows us to support many families in this very deprived area. We’re supporting children in their earliest years, hopeful that this will improve their chances of reaching their potential in the future. We seek to empower families and help them realise their potential by encouraging them to volunteer on our team and become part of the solution. We gratefully receive donations from our families when they outgrow items, helping them feel they are contributing and helping others too. Our team includes a job coach who is able to help motivated people achieve objectives and find a suitable job.
One beneficiary wrote: “you are able to ask for support without being judged or discriminated against, and I think this is the best quality of GrowKids”. One of our Stay & Play mums said “the staff are fantastic and always make everyone feel welcome".
In the summer of 2021, we were approached by the team at Foleshill Community Centre to help run a HAF Holiday Club (Holiday, Activity and Food), which is funded by the council for families with limited finances. The GrowKids team ran four days of sessions for this, which included some basic healthy eating, hydration, first aid and hygiene teaching. We also ran gymnastics and games sessions.
We were invited again to support their Christmas HAF Holiday Club, running a day’s worth of Christmas activities including gymnastics sessions, drama workshops, and lots of games and crafts. It was followed by a meal where all the families and team sat around the table together, eating and getting to know each other. Helping run these HAF sessions has enabled us to build relationships with families and understand the community we are serving much better.
Our relationship with the Feeding Coventry team at Foleshill Community Centre has continued to grow and we look forward to seeing where this partnership will take us in the future.
Youth
In summer 2021 a number of our youth and team attended Dreaming the Impossible (DTI), Vineyard’s national youth camp. Our Youth Life Group continued to meet until the end of January 2022. With the loss of some key members of the youth team, and with our youth pastor stepping down to pursue a new role, we have since been in the process of reorganising the delivery of our youth ministry.
Volunteers
We continue to train and release new volunteer leaders. Coventry Vineyard is indebted to the volunteers that make ‘ministry’ happen, and enable us to meet our charitable objectives. Our volunteers give a substantial amount of time and energy and are committed to the vision of Coventry Vineyard, and to see lives changed by the person of Christ and power of His Kingdom. Over this period, we recognised the extra effort our volunteers made in serving and made the effort to thank them through online events, cards and a thank you party for volunteers (when it was safe to do so).
CAP money
Coventry Vineyard support Christians Against Poverty (CAP) money courses to help those in the community who are struggling with debt or want to be able to use the funds they have more effectively. Many of these are 1 to 1 support courses. Because of lockdown restrictions, the activities of CAP Money were severely restricted in 2020-21, but demand has steadily increased in 2021- 2022.
CAP Debt Centre
The CAP Debt Centre was officially launched in May 2015. This is run by Ian Burton, former Trustee and Finance Manager. The Debt Centre exists to help people who are in “chronic” debt move towards a position of being debt free. During 2020-21 their work was limited because of lockdown and they saw only 40% of the previous year's demand, however demand has steadily increased in 2021-22 and is now back to pre-lockdown levels.
Hope: Coventry
We continue to support HOPE:Coventry (Registered Charity Number: 1155912) which exists to grow a connected church in Coventry that demonstrates the love of Jesus for the benefit of the city. It does this by supporting initiatives that connect the churches together and projects that meet the needs of the vulnerable. As part of this we also support Christians Against Poverty (CAP), which equips people to get out of debt and be empowered to address some of the most common causes of poverty: debt, unemployment, addiction, low income and difficulty budgeting.
Community Projects
During this financial year we have been serving those around us in a Covid-secure manner, whilst recognising that the needs have become even greater around us. People have been reaching out to their neighbours, developing relationships started through the previous year. Activities like ‘Cookies and Carols’, giving away gifts and cakes, and ‘Window Wanderland' are just a few examples of how we have been building community and supporting those around us.
Coventry Vineyard Neighbourhoods have been prayer walking, doing Messy Nativity, pizza parties, bacon sandwiches, Neighbourhood gatherings in the Halo Centre and clearing and painting a counselling centre.
Overseas Missions and Donations
Coventry Vineyard raised and donated funds for the relief of the poor and needy in Coventry and around the world, as well as using funds for community projects. In particular, we have supported:
The Dalitso Trust (Charity Number: 1090274) in Malawi. The Dalitso Trust exists to teach and equip rural Malawians so that they are empowered to lift themselves and each other out of poverty. Through personal relationships that inspire faith the Trust seeks to build capacity in such areas as holistic health, parenting skills, under 6 educational play and church leadership. The Dalitso Trust trains and empowers local people in rural villages, integrating leadership training with disease prevention and community-based development.
Coventry Vineyard has developed links during this season with a project in Mali and is in the process of developing the Vineyard Mali Partnership, made up of those in Vineyard Churches from the USA, UK and Côte d’Ivoire who are committed to serving our Malian brothers and sisters as they make disciples, plant churches and create sustainable businesses.
Nick Sutton currently serves as Missions Coordinator for Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland and is released by Coventry Vineyard to fulfil the purposes of this role.
COVID-19 Response
Throughout the heightened Covid-19 Pandemic we have sought to stay connected as a church community and provide support whilst people have been in lockdown and become more isolated. We have sought to protect the most vulnerable in our community and move all our gatherings online where possible. As restrictions were lifted and vaccinations became available, we started to look at meeting again in person. As we did this it became apparent that we needed to look at a new venue to meet in, so found Foleshill Community Centre (where we already had connections via GrowKids and several church members volunteering t here).
In September 2021 we started meeting again on Sunday mornings, using face masks, hand gel on entry and a full Covid risk assessment. No communion, drinks or food were served until restrictions lifted further.
The charitable company made a surplus in the year of £9,916 (2021: deficit of £3,468).
Total income increased by 2.9% on the previous year. Total expenditure decreased by 7.2% compared to 2021. This was primarily a result of a reduction in staff costs, due to the resignation of the Youth Pastor in the year and some staff members moving to part time roles. Savings were made in storage and transport cost as a result of the Sunday Gathering moving to Fo l e s hill Community Centre, where on-site storage for Church equipment is provided. 10.3 % of our income was given away in charitable donations.
Summary
It should be noted that the above is not an exhaustive list of activities. However, they demonstrate that Coventry Vineyard is continuing to fulfil its obligations and achieve its objectives.
Those who are members of Coventry Vineyard have grown in their faith and belief, and demonstrated this by their actions of serving the rest of the church community and giving financially to those in need. New people have become active members and participants in the community of Coventry Vineyard.
Reserves Policy
The reserves policy is the total of: six months salaries for all staff, six months hire costs for Foleshill Community Centre, rental for Studio 3 (office) to the end of the tenancy, plus phone contracts and auditor costs for one year. Unrestricted reserves totalled £ 99,666 on 31st March 2022, which is £ 50,744 over our reserves policy.
Risk Management
Coventry Vineyard has a Child Protection Policy (https://www.coventryvineyard.org/kids.html) that regulates all persons working with youth and children. We also run Safeguarding Training three times a year which is compulsory for all involved in kids and youth work.
A risk assessment has been carried out for the Sunday Morning Gathering, including children's work.
The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:-
a. An annual budget approved by Trustees
b. Regular consideration by the Trustees of financial reports
c. Delegation of authority and segregation of duties
d. Identification and management of risks
The Trustees aim to review, on a regular basis, the main risks that the church faces. They believe that maintaining free reserves at a level stated on page 8, combined with appropriate reviews of the controls over key financial systems provide sufficient resources, in the event of unexpected adverse conditions.
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:
Spencer Gardner Dickins Limited were appointed as auditor to the company and a resolution proposing that they be re-appointed will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' r eport was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Coventry Vineyard (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2022.
As the trustees of the charity (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 charity 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 charity’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.
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 charity 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.
Coventry Vineyard is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Studio 3, 54 Grafton Street, Coventry, CV1 2HW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling , which is the functional currency of the charity . Monetary a mounts 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 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 financial statements.
Unrestricted funds include general and designated funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which
meets these criteria is identified to the fund.
All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the
income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid is recognised at the time of the donation.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been included under expense categories that aggregate all costs for allocation to activities.
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 .
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year . Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
The main form of financial risk faced by the charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub sectors.
At each reporting end date, the charity 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 charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity 's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future p aymen ts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity ’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Grants received
Charitable Expenditure
Charitable Expenditure
Sunday mornings
Worship & PA
Kids
Youth
Neighbourhood initiatives
Hospitality
Senior Pastor development
Donations
Office costs
Administration
Motor expenses
Moving costs
Legal & professional costs
During the year ended 31 March 2022 the charity paid £35,656 in remuneration to its trustees as disclosed by the charity's trust deed. No conflicts of interest were identified in relation to the payment of remuneration to trustees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year.