COVENTRYJESUSCENTREworship • friendship • help for all

ImpactImpact2015 Report

Looking back through 12 months of hard work,

friendships and many positive outcomes

Impact

Our Mission: Expressing the love of Jesus daily in worship, friendship and help for every kind of person.

How Did We Do?

All Souls Primary School

Christ the King Catholic Junior School

Christian Life Ministries

Cliff ord Bridge Community Association

Co-op Retail, Eastern Green

Coventry Gospel Hall Trust

Coventry North Inner Wheel

Green Lane Town’s Women’s Guild

Hillfi elds Christian Fellowship

Keresley United Reformed Church

Meredith Road Baptist Church

New Horizons Church

Norman Hay plc

Quinton Park Baptist Church

Radio Plus

Sainsbury, Canley

Sainsbury, Courthouse Green

Subway, The Burgess

Suma

Socks & Chocs

St James Church, Styvechale

St John the Baptist Church, Fleet Street

St John’s Church, Knights Meadow, Kenilworth

St Mary Magdalen Church

Stoke United Reformed Church

The Factory Master, Nuneaton

The Silver Spoon Company, Peterborough

Walsgrave Baptist Church

Wyken United Reformed Church

Thank You’s

As our mission states, we want to express God’s love for people in what

we do – at times it can feel like there are so many people in need that it could be easy to lose vision. But at such times we quickly fi nd ourselves reminded of the support given to us by our volunteers and the people of Coventry; like the time when, due to a mix up of our Foodbank order, we had hardly any food to make up parcels and a number of people already waiting. 5 minutes later a gentleman came in with a large donation of food!

We may not always know the diff erence we do make, but we are encouraged by

hearing about people like Susan* who came in during a Foodbank session having fled from Domestic Violence and had not eaten for 2 days; whilst she was being helped, a worker from Coventry Haven came in and the team were able to put the two together and the lady from Haven was able to off er Susan a place to stay.

A donation, a positive comment, seeing a visitor progress or a new volunteer start often comes just at the time when we need some encouragement. We are ever so thankful to each and every person who has supported us this year; we couldn’t do it without you.

This is where our money came from…The Jesus Centre cost around £190K to run in 2014. 46% of our income came from our own Jesus Fellowship Church members. Local people and businesses donated £17,000, for which generous support we are very grateful. £6.5k of statutory funding from Supporting People funded the Bond Scheme for 3 months with a further £13k as a contract from the Salvation Army for floating support for the remaining 9 months. We also had £13,000 from Charitable Trust Funds. We raised money from letting our premises to other groups and other income generating activities.

This is what we spent it on…We spent the majority of our money on fulfi lling our charitable aims. Money spent publicising our work brings a fi nancial return as well as raising awareness of the needs of the people we serve. There is a small cost of administration and overheads in letting our building to other groups, but this is far outweighed by the income generated as well as the benefi t to them.

What people came to…On the right is a view of the types of services people came to in 2014. Over 2000 diff erent individuals used the Jesus Centre this year.

OutcomesWe recorded over 1300 positive outcomes for people in 2014. Basic needs outcomes show the diff erence people feel when they are getting the basics they need for life. Building capacity moves them on, either in getting work, accommodation, addressing addictions etc, or by learning new skills. Faith outcomes show people responding to the love of Jesus. People’s social involvement improves as they make friends and know they are accepted. Volunteers gain a lot from their experiences at the Jesus Centre.

JF Church Members

Lettings and Sales

Trust Funds

Public Donations

Contract Funding

Governance

Charitable Activities

LettingsFundraising/ Promotion

Christian Faith

Building Capacity

Volunteers

Basic Needs

Social Skills

Bri

dge

Dro

p-I

n

So

cial

G

rou

ps

Su

up

ort

&

Ad

vice

Foo

d

Ban

k

Lear

ning

1000

800

600

400

200

0

Bri S

oG

r

uu

uuuS

uSSSSSSSS

pA

dAAA Fo B

a

eaeLeeLLLLrn2000200200

000

Nu

mb

er o

f diff

eren

t p

eop

le

Donate

Opening HoursMonday

10.00am – 3.00pm

Tuesday

9.00am – 4.00pm

Wednesday

9.00am – 4.00pm

Thursday

9.00am – 4.00pm

Friday

9.00am – 4.00pm6.45pm – 9.30pm

Sunday

9.00am – 10.30am

Contact UsCoventry Jesus Centre7 Lamb StreetCoventryWest MidlandsCV1 4AE

02476 550033

Info@coventryjesuscentre.org.uk

jesuscentre.org.uk/coventry

facebook.com/coventryjesuscentre

@covjesuscentre

Want to donate online today?! Don’t forget to giftaid it!

Log on to: www.jesuscentre.org.uk/donate-to-coventry-jesus-centre

Give by text

Text JACT00 £10 to ‘70070’ to donate £10 by text. No extra charges. Whole number of pounds 1-10.

Want to set-up a standing Order?

Our Account is: Coventry Jesus Centre, CAF Bank Ltd,

Acc. No. 00010104, Sort code 40-52-40

Donate by cheque

Send a cheque made payable to Coventry Jesus Centre

There are Jesus Centres in Northampton (0845 1668202), London (0845 8333005) and Sheffi eld (01142521155). National Jesus Centre information is available from www.jesuscentre.org.uk. Jesus Centres are set up and run by the Jesus Army Charitable Trust. JACT is a registered

charity (no. 1091912) and a Faithworks Affi liate. JACT is an initiative of the Jesus Fellowship Church which is a member of the Evangelical Allience.

Aim 1 | Meeting NeedTo give material help and personal support

Bridge Drop-InVisitors to the Bridge Drop-

In come from a wide range

of ethnicities, religions,

ages and types of people.

In 2014 only 55% of our 900 diff erent visitors were White British. Many experience some form of homelessness and others fi nd the welcoming environment better than their isolated flats or bed-sits.

2014 saw 56% of our visitors homeless in one form or another. Our volunteers try to make the Drop-In as warm and friendly as possible, giving people opportunity to

socialise and gain trust.Alongside the basic needs

of food, clothing, shower facilities, use of phone and cheap laundry, friendships can make a real diff erence to people’s lives. Feedback we get from visitors says how valuable the service is to them with 470 recorded outcomes in the year.

As always, 2014 saw sadness as well, with 2 of our regular visitors dying. We keep a book of remembrance for these so they are not forgotten.

Aim 2 | Building CapacityTo help people make real progress in their lives

Your LearningYour Learning at

Coventry Jesus Centre

runs free ESOL (English

for Speakers of Other

Languages) classes,

mainly for asylum seekers

and Eastern European

migrants. Classes are of

mixed ability and made

up of small groups run by

a volunteer or teacher.

Classes are very practical, involve role play and plenty of opportunities to practise conversational skills and include learning words needed for work as a cleaner, shop assistant,

packer or kitchen assistant (jobs sometimes available locally). We also run a weekly course about UK culture which includes trips out to places of local interest.

We also run an ESOL-based Bible group which has grown consistently over the last year. Several of the students have been baptised.

Because we have several consistent volunteers, we are well-equipped to support our students on a personal level.

Aim 3 | Promoting ChristianityTo advance the Christian faith, facilitate Jesus Fellowship Events and provide spiritual services

Mid-week ChurchWe re-launched Midweek

Church early in 2014 and have

had a steady stream of folks

there every week.

We start with Worship and then pray together for any needs or requests that people have. There’s a lot of interaction and the bible study often stimulates some good discussions. We’ve looked at 1 Peter, Romans 6 and

Mark 8. We fi nish by sharing a pizza together!

We have a great mix of people on diff erent stages of their journey, some just discovering Christianity and some who have been on the road a long time. Everyone that comes values our time together, the prayer, teaching, worship and friendship.

Aim 4 | Developing Social SkillsTo foster friendships and provide recreational and community facilities

Your SpaceYour Space, which happens

between 2.00pm and 4.00pm

on a Wednesday and Friday in

the Gateway Hall, provides an

opportunity for all kinds of people

to socialise and relax.

During a typical session there will be a small group who come simply to play table tennis. Often these are people who have heard by word of mouth and may not use any of the other Jesus Centre services. Pool and board games happen in another

part of the hall (there is usually a chess game going on). Drinks and snacks are provided.

Tony generally leads the session and his relaxed yet fi rm approach helps to create a friendly atmosphere. Other staff and volunteers are on hand to give one to one support where needed or simply to listen.

Your Space provides a good introduction for those who want to volunteer but do not feel that they can manage anything too front - line.

Aim 5a | Being an effective CharityDeveloping Volunteers

VolunteeringSean is 27 years old and is a regular

volunteer here at the centre. Whilst

he does have learning diffi culties

– this doesn’t stop him helping

out as much as he can and he is an

important part of the team!

“Working at the Jesus Centre had helped me a lot. Nearly 3 years ago I started helping out at the Jesus Centre. I help Bev in the Café by cleaning the tables and I help to set up the games for ‘Your Space’ on a Wednesday

afternoon. I also clean generally and to try to help people as much as I can.

I like my job a lot because it makes me happy. There is a good atmosphere in the building. Working at the centre has made me more helpful and less bad tempered. I look forward to mid-week church because I like to sing and praise God. The Jesus Centre has made me a better person. I learnt lots of new things and met lots of kind people.’

Aim 5b | Being an effective CharityTo work constructively with other agencies

FoodbankFoodbanks have seen a dramatic

increase in demand and on Tuesday

afternoons there are many people

at the Jesus Centre collecting

emergency food.

A warm welcome, a drink and a chat helps people feel at ease as their food is packed. Conversations can lead to more help from the Jesus Centre, contact with other agencies and opportunities for prayer. Three days of emergency food means individuals and families do not go hungry.

We meet people from local hostels and bed and breakfast

accommodation, people who are homeless and others who are facing a crisis and fi nd our city centre location convenient.

Malcolm lead this distribution point, supported by other volunteers and Carrie-Ann who administers the vouchers. This is one of twenty points open in churches at diff erent times across the city. Churches, schools, businesses and voluntary groups collect the food we are privileged to distribute and everything is coordinated by Coventry Foodbank, one of the largest in the country.

“What I like about the Jesus Centre is you always get a smile. There are free facilities and you get help when you’re trying to sort out your life. Best of all I feel that I’m not being judged. The atmosphere and staff are great.”Bridge Visitor

“I enjoy being able to come to worship and connect to God within a small group. I have felt release from my fears and shyness” Marie

“The Job Centre has commented how much my English has improved. I’m talking better outside the classes. I feel much more confi dent. I really like the ESOL class. I often spend an hour in the morning reading over my class work.”Ashiq

‘I really enjoyed being able to genuinely help people. It was a really diff erent experience. I liked the fact we got to interface with so many diff erent individuals and personalities too’Volunteer from Bablake School 6th Form

“I think the Jesus Centre is a little oasis of goodness and kindness refl ecting Jesus life to a very sick world. God bless you all”A regular visitor to Your Art