Living Hope Church’s income has fallen - but its directors’ pay has gone up.

Latest financial accounts for the charitable company for the year ending August 31, 2018, show Living Hope’s total income fell from £920,324 in 2017 to £905,371 last year.

This included £849,071 in donations from church members and other individuals, down from £870,243 the previous year.

In previous years, the financial statements have referred to the principal source of income being from ’tithes and offerings’ from the congregation, the majority of which comes by way of standing order directly to the company’s bank accounts.

But this year, accounts simply describe the principal source of income as consisting of ’donations from the church congregation’.

Total expenditure fell from £960,008 in 2017 to £953,608 but the deficit rose from £39,684 to £48,237 over the same period.

In the accounts, Living Hope hails a significant landmark with the launch of a sixth congregation and a seventh one after the year-end. It now has congregations in Port St Mary, Peel, Ramsey, Castletown and St John’s - and two in Douglas.

During the year, it also hosted an international conference at the Villa Marina’s Royal Hall which attracted more than 600 participants.

Ticket sales from events totalled £49,742 (up from £38,775 in 2017).

Average weekly attendance at Sunday service is down slightly from 553 in 2017 to 546 last year.

During 2018, Living Hope provided financial support to third party missions totalling £98,635, up from £85,304 the previous year.

The charitable company employes eight full-time pastors and assistance pastors, four of whom served on the board during the year.

Total directors’ remuneration rose from £197,660 in 2017 to £207,834 in 2018.

Highest paid was chief executive and lead pastor Jonathan Stanfield (pictured) who received £63,924 (up from £60,748 in 2017).

Remuneration rates for directors and staff are set by a committee consisting of ’suitably qualified and experience church staff’ who are ’completely independent of the directors’, the accounts note.

Mr Stanfield received a housing loan of £160,000, renewed in 2016, to help to buy a manse in Douglas, Holly Lodge. The balance is listed at £93,983 in the accounts following a £71,412 write-down in 2016-17 and adjusted for deemed annual interest at 3%.

Mr Stanfield and Living Hope chairman and pastor Chris Staples are also directors of South Africa-registered not-for-profit company Four12, to which the church made voluntary gifts amounting to £53,653 during the year, of which £15,853 was unpaid.

Neither Mr Stanfield nor Mr Staples receives any payment or have any financial interest in Four12.

Employment costs rose to £497,634 in 2018, the accounts show, up from £458,032 the previous year.

During the year, a relative of one of the pastors was employed as a youth pastor and received a salary of £15,292.

The company does not operate any pension scheme for its employees but does contribute to a personal pension scheme for the pastors with total contributions in the year amounting to £20,785.

Donations to church funds from the directors was £29,610 during the financial year, up from £28,302.