As the end of our financial year has passed we have good news to report! We want to thank you for your generous and sacrificial giving that has enabled so much within our church and beyond it.
Last year, we witnessed the baptisms of over 20 people across our three locations and welcomed an average of 350 attendees each week. More than 50 of our youth attended the Newday festival, and we gathered over 200 people at the Commission Festival over the August Bank holiday weekend.
We’re also excited to welcome Tom Wilson as a trainee pastor at the Bradley Stoke site, alongside Christian Cunningham at Fishponds. Thanks to the support of over 200 individuals and couples, more than £450,000 was given towards the vision of City Church in the past year.
Year in Review
For the financial year from September 2023 to August 2024, City Church received £561,000 in total income, which included £450,000 in regular giving, £93,000 in Gift Aid, and £18,000 from other income sources. Despite budgeting for £542,000 in expenses, we ended the year with a surplus, having spent £529,000.
Overall income and spending from September 2023 to August 2024
WHAT HAVE WE SPENT THIS YEAR?
We spent £529,000 in the last financial year, which is 2.5% less than we budgeted.
Below we have a breakdown of our expenditure through the year, with some commentary on how the monies were spent:
Staff Team: £302,000 (57% of total expenditure) on salaries, training and resources to support our staff team.
Sunday Meetings: £92,000 (17%): this covered venues, supplies & equipment to facilitate our Sunday services with a significant portion going towards venue hire.
Children, Youth, Students & Families: £23,000: Our Sunday children’s & youth ministry, as well as activities such as the youth weekend and Newday festival.
Giving Away: £27,000 (5%) in total to the Commission family of churches. We also gave to our partners in Bristol and beyond (Home for Good, Bristol City Fund, Kintsugi Hope, Encounter Camp, the Reconciled Church & Bridges for Communities). As part of our resourcing vision we saved 5% of our income towards future church plants, and spent money supporting churches beyond Bristol.
Mission & Discipleship: £12,000: This covered costs related to our outreach efforts, including Alpha courses, various community initiatives as well as pastoral care, leadership development, Encounter & the Little Elms toddler group.
Office, Insurance & Governance: 10% of spending is on administrative & governance costs. This includes our office space, equipment for our staff team, and accountability and governance such as having our finances examined, and an HR consultancy to help with our HR requirements.
A breakdown of spending from September 2023 to August 2024
LOOKING AHEAD
We are in a good reserves position, so our staff team & trustees were able to set a budget expecting to receive 10% less than we will spend. We started the year by being exactly on budget in September, so we’re really grateful for your ongoing generosity!
PLAY YOUR PART
If you are new to City Church and would call this your church family, but aren't yet giving, please consider how you could play a part.
We encourage everyone who calls City Church their home to give as part of following Jesus. This isn't so much about the amount that you give but about your heart for God, and a desire for other people to come to know him.
You can find out how to give at citychurch.org.uk/give or by coming to the Welcome Desk on a Sunday morning.
If you have any questions about finance, or giving, please get in touch with our finance team:
Sarah Todd sarah.todd@citychurch.org.uk
John Cooper john.cooper@citychurch.org.uk
You are also welcome to speak with any of our trustees if you have any questions or concerns relating to City Church’s finances.
City Church Bristol is a registered charity, encompassing the three sites of City Church (Bradley Stoke, Cotham and Fishponds). Our financial year runs in line with the academic year; from the beginning of September to the end of August. Please note that this report is based on our unaudited accounts. A full audited report will be available in 2025 when submitted to the Charity Commission.