Download - Annual Review 2014
A message from our Senior Pastor:
SIMON BENHAM
In October 2014 I completed seven years of being senior pastor of Kerith. I’m not normally big on thinking back over the
past, or stopping to celebrate anniversaries or milestones (you might want to com-
miserate with my wife Catrina over that one!), but for some reason this anniver-sary has caused me to spend much more time than I would normally reflecting on what has gone on over those seven years.First to say that it’s been a huge privilege to be involved in leading Kerith, such an active, vibrant, God filled, growing community of people, and to continue to build on the foundation laid by Ben Davies and all those who built with him.
In the last seven years we’ve seen God do some remarkable things. The growth we’ve experienced in terms of Sunday numbers, more meetings in Bracknell and the launch of our new site in Sand-hurst. The increasing impact we’re hav-ing in the local community through our growing range of social justice ministries, recognised through winning the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The grow-
ing number of nations we’re involved with, and the increasing number of peo-ple and ministries we’re linking with around the world. All very exciting.
But I also reflected on things which wer-en’t so great. Many things which with the benefit of hindsight I wish we’d done differently. Allowing the busyness of ministry to rob me of time with God and with my family. Losing focus on some of the things I felt God called me to focus on when I started leading the church.
But as I look forward it’s with excitement as to what the future holds. We want to continue to grow, with plans for new sites in 2016 and beyond, plans for more meetings on our existing sites and plans to impact our own nation and the nations to a deeper level. We want to grow wider as we impact more people over a wider area, both locally and internationally.
But if I have one prayer for the next 7 years it’s that with our growing width comes an increasing depth. More depth
in our individual relationships with God. More depth in our relationships with one another, our vulnerability, our encouragement of one another, our courage in resolving conflict, our willingness to forgive, our honesty and our love for those in our church community. And more depth in our passion for those who don’t yet know Christ, that we would be known like Jesus as friends of sinners, that those far from God would see the love of God in us both in our words and actions.
I’ll finish with something Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus. This is my prayer for you in 2015.
Simon.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established
in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know
this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
(Ephesians 3:16-21 NIVUK)
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SUNDAYS
COURSES
AVERAGE WEEKLY ATTENDANCE
2011(927)
2012(947)
2013(995)
2014(1003)
Largest Sunday
121922nd June
Baptisms and Canon Andrew White
374.5h total learning time!Alpha Course
Invest Parenting Children Course Parenting Teenagers Course
Freedom in Christ
Discovery Workshop CAP Release GroupCAP Money Course
Bereavement Course Baptism Preparation Course
CREATIVE ARTS
60Different worship
songs sung
66People in ourworship teams
120Hours of sermonpodcasts edited
9Sermon series
themed and designed
26Thank you cards
given to star creatives
68People in theCreative HUB
PRODUCTIONEVENTSMothers day,Easter and...
Willow Creek 2014
LIFE150-200Weekly attendance
2500Young people attended over 5 years
Albania and EstoniaNations reached by Life this year
13 local youth ministriesLaunched Next Level
Average number of children on Sundays160 at Bracknell21 at Sandhurst19 children at Bracknell and 8 children atSandhurst said their ABC prayer (said yes to following Jesus).Kerith kids leaders ran conferences in Lithuania and Albania.
KERITH KIDS
H20We started our H2O kids club in October and have had an average of 50 children attending.
Easter Egg HuntOver 100 children and families attended the Kerith Kids Easter Egg Hunt at Oakwood in April.
Baptisms5 children were baptised in 2014.
KERITH ACADEMY3 from the UK
1 from Zambia
1 from Poland
Five graduates from three countries:
507 hours of teaching
2730 hours of serving the church
55 packets of biscuits eaten
78 pots of coffee made
50,000 words written for assignments
CONFERENCES420 attendees and volunteers
377 attendees and volunteers
496 attendees
KERITH.CO.UKOur online presence
48%Traffic from
mobile devices
TOP COUNTRIES VIEWINGUnited Kingdom
USA
Brazil
Lithuania
945Facebook likes
576Twitter followers
173Daily Devotionalsubscribers
400Blog subscribers
MICHAELROSS-WATSON Simon Benham’s Blog
Total:51,625 views
SOCIAL JUSTICE
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
102 65
40 7914 25
£9308
15 9£60,00099
31399kg
Clients attended theCAP Job Club
New CAP debt clients
People attended the Fostering and Adoption
information event
Families supportedthrough Konnections
Lone parent familiesjoined One+
Adults with a learning disability provided with
accessible church
Raised throughfundraising
Volunteers trained to mentor ex-offenders
Sunday morningprison visitsTakings at K4
People helped throughSocial Justice Outreach
Food given out by Foodbank
FINANCESTotal Income
£1,271,584£1,113,700 budgeted
Total Expenditure
£1,257,656£1,113,664 budgeted
EMPLOYMENT COSTS 47%
OPS & SITE SERVICES 26%
RESERVE PROVISION 7%
MISSION/MINISTRY/COMMUNITY FUNDS
7%
CHILDREN & FAMILIES 5%
SOCIAL JUSTICE 4%
MINISTRIES & PASTORAL CARE 2%
CREATIVE ARTS 2%
£36,846
£185,428
£36,250
£140,148
1ST JAN 31ST DEC
2014 UNRESTRICTED MONEY IN BANK & CASH RESERVES
MONEY IN BANK
RESERVES
MIB TARGET £100K
RESERVES TARGET £250K
EMPLOYMENT COSTS 47%
OPS & SITE SERVICES 26%
RESERVE PROVISION 7%
MISSION/MINISTRY/COMMUNITY FUNDS
7%
CHILDREN & FAMILIES 5%
SOCIAL JUSTICE 4%
MINISTRIES & PASTORAL CARE 2%
CREATIVE ARTS 2%
£36,846
£185,428
£36,250
£140,148
1ST JAN 31ST DEC
2014 UNRESTRICTED MONEY IN BANK & CASH RESERVES
MONEY IN BANK
RESERVES
MIB TARGET £100K
RESERVES TARGET £250K
Pastoral Support in Estonia, Albania & Macedonia 4,500£ Estonian, Polish & Lithuanian Churches 6,000£ Albanian Youth Camp 3,000£ WCA (Willow Creek Association) 3,000£ CAP Bradford 8,500£ Social Justice Outreach 12,000£ Acts 2 Community (many individuals) 17,000£ Transferred to Tearfund for the Serenje Dormitory 209,000£
Total 263,000£
Gifts to: