Rhema church london biography of martin phelps
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Although it may strike most reasonable people that, with a track record like the Phelpses, there may many other, more deserving causes for their donations.
The Charity Commission advises that members of the public should only donate to registered charities “so that they can feel reassured that their donations go to their intended charitable cause”.
More details on this and the recommended steps to avoid charity scams can be found by clicking here.
And they say that if anyone is aware that someone is falsely claiming to raise funds for a charity, they should contact the police’s Action Fraud service.
Inside Croydon contacted Martin Phelps to ask him about his resurrected church.
There was no evidence to show that authorization had been obtained to spend charitable funds on these trips.
Mr Phelps has now been disqualified from being a trustee and/or holding any office or employment with senior management functions for all charities generally.
As a trustee, such people are under a legal duty to ensure the organization’s funds are used only in furtherance of their charity’s purposes and are legally responsible and accountable for their proper use.
Which seems to be an interesting point to make by someone banned for 10 years from being a trustee of a charity.
Phelps repeats the same “free of charge” point in the very next paragraph before stating that, “Satan has been desperate to hinder me but God’s grace is sufficient and nothing can stop me!”
One former member of Phelps’s congregation told Inside Croydon, “That’s very probably the first and only time that the Charity Commission has been compared to Satan.”
Another source, who has been monitoring the activities of some of the more cult-like evangelical churches in south London, told Inside Croydon, “Religion itself isn’t regulated, but it is charitable.
There are no regulations against soliciting for money though.
After interviewing a trustee, the inquiry found that the £225,000 were charitable funds and as a result of being transferred out of the charity’s bank account, the funds had been placed at risk. The investigation found charity donations spent on gym memberships, vets’ bills, cosmetic surgery and other personal expenses, including more than £95,000 on overseas trips.
Charity Commission officials conducting their inquiries reported being subject to “considerable harassment, intimidation and threats”.
Early in the inquiry it was discovered that in one year alone, of £290,000 spent on the church credit card, only £57,000 was used on church-related activities.
These expenses did not appear to serve any charitable purpose or benefit to the charity’s beneficiaries.
The Interim Managers worked at length to settle the charity’s accounts and I am pleased they were able to recover over £136,000 which could be put to good use at charities with similar purposes.
The IMs determined the most appropriate course of action was to wind down the charity, satisfy the charity’s creditors and to pass on any surplus funds to a charity with similar objects.
The trips, to locations including Italy, Greece and Austria, were led by former pastor, Martin Phelps.
The inquiry also uncovered that day-to-day living expenses such as food, domestic purchases, medical bills, vets’ bills, and gym memberships, all of which appeared to be of a personal nature, were claimed and paid out by the charity in the absence of any expense policy or clear financial controls.
The regulator also used its powers to make an Order under section 76(3)(c)(i) of the Charities Act 2011 to sell three properties owned by the charity as part of efforts to settle the charity’s accounts.
Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Commission, said:
Trustees must use their charity’s funds to further the charity’s purposes and ensure there are robust financial controls in place to stop the abuse of these funds.
From our investigation it was clear that trustees at Rhema Church London had failed to meet this obligation, leading to significant misuse of funds by a former senior employee.
The charity also failed to submit accounts to the Commission on time for five consecutive years.
Due to the serious nature of the concerns, the Commission made use of many of its regulatory powers over the course of the investigation. It was confirmed to the inquiry by a trustee of the charity that no security for the £225,000 had not been sought or obtained.
The charity organized several overseas trips led by Mr Phelps, to Italy, Austria, France, and Greece in the years prior to the opening of the inquiry.
But our faith in human nature was clearly misplaced, because he has not replied.
He probably still thinks he is answerable only to God.
Read more: Church leaders spent £95,000 charity cash on foreign holidays
Read more: Unholy row as church leaders run up massive tax debts
Read more:Cult Church of Bling wound-up over ‘suspicious’ operations
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In addition, it was found that the charity had no expense policy in place, which was inappropriate given the volume, amounts and nature of expenses that were being incurred and processed. Just as with the previous version of the company, the accounts show two employees.
Oceans London Ltd has only ever had three directors – Adam Ian Frost, Nicholas William David Travis and Michael Robert Edward Privett (who has since resigned).
Bookmark the permalink. They have continued to hold services and maintain a web presence. But Oceans was becoming a good deal more opaque about their affairs. The inquiry report can be viewed here.
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London church investigated after charity commission finds gross misspending
Matthias Browning
A London church has been investigated by the Charity Commission after it was found to have spent tens of thousands of dollars on expenses such as gym memberships and vet bills.
Rhema Church London was the subject of an intense investigation by the charities watchdog, which began back in 2015 and has seen the church closed.
The inquiry undertook a books and records inspection at the charity’s premises 20 and reviewed the charity’s written internal financial control policy relating to cash collections.
Commercial companies do not fall within its remit unless claiming to be a charity.”
Oceans actually specifies on its website that it is not a charity. “Come and experience the corporate presence of God this Sunday at Oceans. There was no evidence that Mr Phelps sought or received appropriate authorization from trustees to spend charitable funds on these trips.
When the Charity Commission arranged a meeting to discuss the issues with the church leaders, the Phelpses opted to go to dinner at The Shard instead.
HMRC also wanted to know what had happened to £370,000 of unpaid tax bills.
Aerodrome chapel: Within weeks of being kicked out of Rhema for ‘gross misconduct’, Martin Phelps was preaching to a packed congregation in a Purley Way hotel
In December 2017, Martin Phelps was dismissed from the Rhema Church for “gross misconduct”.
But by February 2018, Phelps was leading services for large congregations at another Croydon venue, the Aerodrome Hotel, off the Purley Way, for a new church, which he called Oceans London.
“No man’s an island and we’re not meant to worship alone,” says Oceans’ blurb on social media.