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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£98.3K
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Spending
£60.4K
- Charity no. 103621
- Date registered. 28/11/2017
Public benefits
Forestside Christian Centre provides a space, both physical and spiritual, for people to worship and develop spiritually. We support individuals to enhance their morality and to take our ethos and principles out into wider society for its betterment. These benefits are demonstrated by the attendance of, on average, 60 people at worship twice a
day on Sunday, including a children’s church (both morning & evening), 20 home and hospital visitations a month, 20 teenagers in our youth club, Youth Worship on Friday nights, Saturday night Children’s Club with 25 participants, senior citizen’s lunch, once a month, with 30 attendees. All members of the Church have free access to a body of elders and teachers to support them with issues and problems and to channel feedback about their experiences as members of the congregation. The charities beneficiaries are mostly from the Greater Belfast area and specifically the Belvoir area. Membership of the church is open to all and the church is part of a network of interdependent churches that mutually support each other and the pastoral development of all of their members. The church provides weddings, dedications, burials and the teaching of Christian Education. We hold a convention every two months to promote broader fellowship. There are no private benefits that are not incidental and necessary to the purposes of the charity (The Pastor receives a modest salary, the use of a car and a mobile phone). These are all necessary for the effective functioning of the Church and for the realisation of the charity’s purposes.
What your organisation does
The Christian Centre runs worship on Sundays at 11am, Sunday evenings at 6.30pm, Wednesday evenings at 8pm and a Youth Worship on Friday nights. The Centre also delivers a series of activities that support a number of targeted groups to engage and participate. Activities include senior citizens lunches, youth programmes and activities for
children. The Child Protection Officer at Forestside Church Belfast, on Sunday, 22 Sept, 2024, spent about 30-40 minutes with all the Kids Church leaders, bus driver, and the helpers (teenagers) going through the heart of our Safeguarding / Child Protection Policy and procedures. We covered a synopsis of our legal obligations; code of behaviour; the definitions of abuse; the rights of all children; good practice in handling any concern, disclosure, or allegation; as well as where to receive appropriate counsel and advice for the aforementioned - all according to our official policy. This was followed up with everyone via email providing a pdf of our full policy, and for those who preferred, supplied a hard copy. All volunteers were encouraged to review the policy in context of our discussion and write a personal statement about how their role with children encompasses the recognition of child rights in terms of personal, social and spiritual development (as outlined on page 12). We aim to have a full safeguarding training refresher event in the new year.
The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of religion
Who the charity helps
- Children (5-13 year olds)
- General public
- Men
- Mental health
- Older people
- Parents
- Women
- Youth (14-25 year olds)
How the charity works
- Counselling/support
- Cross-border/cross-community
- Cultural
- Education/training
- General charitable purposes
- Religious activities
- Volunteer development
- Welfare/benevolent
- Youth development