Accounts Summary 2005/06
What difference does our ministry make?
The year 2005 was a special one for Open Doors, it being 50 years since our founder, Brother Andrew, made his first journey to encourage persecuted Christians behind the Iron Curtain and found his and our calling to 'strengthen what remains' (Revelation 3:2).
Throughout the year we encouraged you to 'remember, reflect and respond' to the ongoing needs of our persecuted family around the world and we are so grateful for your prayerful and generous response.
It has been exciting to look back and see how God has used your prayers and gifts to make a real difference to the lives of our brothers and sisters.
Our latest Annual Report and Accounts are now available*. The report is full of financial detail and will satisfy the keenest of accountants; but for those who just want to know the highlights, here is a flavour of what we were able to do together.
At the end of 2005 our total income was £4,866,194 – an increase of 26 per cent on 2004. This meant that during the year we were able to give £3,034,816 (which represents 62.4 per cent of total income) to projects resourcing and supporting the Persecuted Church.
A further £1,358,872 (27.9 per cent of total income) was allocated to mobilising churches within the UK and Ireland to support our persecuted brothers and sisters through prayer, presence and donations.
Distributing Bibles and literature continues to be the core focus of our ministry. Your gifts enabled our teams to provide almost 5.4 million Bibles, study guides, children's materials and Christian resources worldwide during 2005
Our work among young people and students grew by 93 per cent last year. SHOCKWAVE – a global prayer event – now involves youth in 19 countries.
Literacy and vocational skills classes help persecuted Christians to provide for themselves and their families. In 2005, Open Doors helped 111,584 individuals, 2,678 families, 131 churches, and 22 schools. These skills are particularly important in areas where oppression often takes the form of discrimination in employment and education
Thanks
to your support, Open Doors teams continue to train local pastors, evangelists
and Sunday School teachers, and during 2005 more than 107,000 Christian
leaders attended courses.
A participant at a training seminar in a Muslim country said: "I came to the seminar thinking I would learn how to survive in persecution, but I also learned the importance of being ready to give my life for the sake of others.
"Second, I came fearing and hating my enemies, but I learned that victory lies in making friends with my enemies."
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*These figures are not the statutory accounts but are extracted from the audited financial statements which received an unqualified audit report dated 24 March 2006. Copies of the accounts approved by the Trustees on 24 March 2006 and submitted to the Charity Commission are available on request from Open Doors. To request a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts please phone 01993 885400.