The Figures Your Church Needs for Its Annual Meeting

Start with your own rules

What your annual meeting must receive is set by your governing document or your denomination. Check it before you start, as it often sets deadlines too.

• Church of England: the APCM receives the electoral roll report, the annual report, the financial statements and the fabric report. The accounts must be on show for at least 7 days before the meeting.
• Methodist churches: membership figures are counted as at 1 November for the annual returns.
• United Reformed Church: the Annual Church Return asks for membership at 31 December, plus attendance and other figures.
• Baptist churches: the Church Update return asks for membership and attendance numbers.
• Church of Scotland: rolls and accounts are checked by the presbytery each year before the accounts go to OSCR.

The accounts

Your trustees are responsible for the annual accounts. A church that isn’t a charitable company can prepare simpler receipts and payments accounts if its income is up to £500,000. Our guide to the new charity accounts thresholds explains when an independent examination is needed.

Registered charities in England and Wales with income over £10,000 also file an annual return within 10 months of their year end.

Giving and Gift Aid

• total giving, split by fund, with restricted funds shown separately
• how people gave, such as standing orders, envelopes and the plate
• Gift Aid received, and the Small Donations Scheme top-up
• the number of regular givers

People and attendance

• members at the start and end of the year, with how many joined, moved away or died
• usual attendance at services, plus figures for festivals such as Easter and Christmas
• groups and how many people are in them
• how many people volunteered on rotas

Make the numbers easy to follow

Put this year next to last year, so changes stand out. A one-page summary at the front helps everyone, with the detail behind it for those who want it.

Keep personal giving private

Share totals, not names. Who gives what is personal information, and in a church it also shows people’s faith. Only the people who need it, such as the treasurer, should see individual giving.