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2022-12-31-accounts

Annual Report & 2022 Financial Statement 1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ............................................................................................... 2 Annual Report 2022 .......................................................................................... 3 Charitable Objective ............................................................................................... 3 A Message from our Church Secretary, Shirley Westall............................. 4 A Message from our Moderator, Martyn Cook ............................................ 5 Organisational Structure ................................................................................. 7 Charity Trustees ........................................................................................................ 9 Our Leadership Team ........................................................................................... 10 Church Life ......................................................................................................... 11 Pastoral Care ............................................................................................................ 11 Children and Young People ............................................................................... 12 Media ......................................................................................................................... 15 Band of Brothers .................................................................................................... 16 Flourish ...................................................................................................................... 16 Administration ........................................................................................................ 17 Community ........................................................................................................ 19 Stepping Stones ..................................................................................................... 19 Mission Support ..................................................................................................... 22 Lettings ...................................................................................................................... 25 Finance Report ................................................................................................. 27 Balance Sheet ............................................................................................ 30 Independent Examiner’s Report ....................................................................... 31 Statement of Financial Activities ...................................................................... 32 Stepping Stones & Boxes of Hope Summary Accounts .......................... 33 Notes to the Accounts ......................................................................................... 34

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Annual Report 2022

The Charity Trustees[1] present their Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2022. The Charity, called Gorse Hill Baptist Church[2] , has been registered in the Central Register of Charities since 29[th] December 2008.

The Charity registration number is 1127294.

Charitable Objective

The Charity is governed by a Constitution which states that the purpose of the Church is the advancement of Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination. The Charity may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.

Public benefit

The Trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. The Trustees consider that they have acted

in the public benefit.

The Church occupies premises which are held by The West of England Baptist Trust Company (West) Ltd, on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above objective.

Gorse Hill Baptist Church is so much more than the building we operate from. It is a group of followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose motto is ‘Knowing God to make Him known.’ Our aim is to live in the hope He gives us and share that hope to the community around us.

1 ‘ Trustee’ mainly refers to the Minister/Treasurer/Secretary and Deacons, i.e. those who are involved in the day to day operation of the Church. Where this is the case, the term used in this report will be ‘Deacons’ or ‘Diaconate’.

2 Referred to in this Report as ‘the Church’

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A Message from our Church Secretary, Shirley Westall

2022 has been a year of changes, challenges and opportunities at GHBC. Alongside the society we live in, we have needed to absorb the ongoing effects of Covid and the increasing pressures of the cost of living crisis; we have said goodbye to Steve Robinson, our minister of 11 years, and his wife, Christine; we have welcomed new people into our fellowship and we have continued to rise to the challenge of offering hope to the community around us, who are faced with increasing poverty, fear and hopelessness.

It is our faith gives us a firm foundation and hope with which to face an uncertain world, full of threat, darkness, loss and poverty. "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62:5-6

Steve’s final service with us took place on July 10[th] and was a joyful celebration of lives lived in the service of Jesus Christ. The occasion brought together many people who have known, studied, and worked with Steve and Christine over the years and gave us a full church building.

Steve and Christine retired in July and the service was attended by family and friends from afar

Steve and Christine were heavily involved in all aspects of our fellowship and their departure has left many gaps. Naturally we miss them, not just for what they did, but for who they are and their friendship. However, the church must not

depend on one leader for survival. Our purpose remains the same – to serve God and share the Christian faith. Each of us has a part to play and it has been encouraging to see many people rising to the challenge of taking part in what we do, from preaching to cooking, to delivering Bags of Hope to advising people on how to manage money and escape from debt and of course making sure people are looked after pastorally. We continue to be a church which looks outwards to our community. Nowadays it is unusual to find the church building silent and empty. Instead there is the joyful noise of regular Sunday worship, the pushing of trolleys of groceries for distribution to those in need, the welcoming of people to share a meal, and the bustle in the queues of people coming in to take part in the Stepping Stones project. We believe we are using our buildings for the glory of God.

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Luke 6:30.

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The Trustees have appointed Martyn Cook as moderator during our time of ministerial vacancy, to help guide us through the process of searching and selecting a new minister. The members and broader fellowship have been involved in producing our Church Profile and minister specification and we look forward to working with the new leader God has chosen for us, when that time arrives.

Of course we have not been immune to changes resulting from Covid and the economy. Our income is reduced for various reasons: people don’t carry cash in the same way as they used to; the cost of living crisis affects everyone and so what was once able to be given now needs to be spent on basics such as food and heating. Because of this the Trustees and church members have had to make some difficult decisions. We know that, if God wants this fellowship to carry out work, He will enable us to do this.

"That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.’ 1 Timothy 4:10.

The following pages illustrate how we have used the resources God has blessed us with and give a flavour of how we continue to live out our faith.

A Message from our Moderator, Martyn Cook

It was a great privilege to be invited to be Moderator again during the current pastoral vacancy, to assist the trustees and the church fellowship in the process of appointing a new minister.

There have been some unexpected issues, which both the trustees and the fellowship have had to work through and that have been resolved with prayer, cooperation and understanding.

During this time it is necessary for the fellowship to support the trustees and leaders of the various activities by praying for:

We said goodbye to our Minister Steve (c) and welcomed Martyn (r) as moderator

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Also, as a church we thank God for His continued faithfulness and pray that we will be faithful to Him.

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Organisational Structure

In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint Charity Trustees, which include the Minister, Church Secretary and Treasurer, who are collectively known as the Diaconate. They are responsible for the day-to-day management and oversight of the Church’s operations, together with the financial and legal aspects of the Charity. All Charity Trustees are aware of the specific guidance issued by the Baptist Union and the Charity Commission and have confirmed that they will act in accordance with such information and directives.

The Trustees have appointed Martyn Cook as moderator during our time of ministerial vacancy, to help guide us through the process of searching and selecting a new minister. The members and broader fellowship have been involved in producing our Church Profile and minister specification.

With the exception of the Minister, all Deacons are elected for an initial period of up to three years, after which they are eligible for re-election for two further terms of three years. They are then required to step down for at least one year, before being eligible for reappointment.

Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the constitution through a personal profession of faith in Christ and are people:

The Church has a policy of open membership where, at the discretion of the Members’ Meeting, a person may be accepted into full membership following public profession of their faith. The list is constantly being reviewed to reflect members who have left but not resigned. At Christmas 2022, the number of members stood at 128.

Just as we need the structure of the tents used in our Fun Day, so we also need a structure for our church

The Church continues to review its organisational in our Fun Day, so we also need a structure for structures, processes and activities to deliver its our church objectives. We meet together on a regular basis, as elected leaders and as a gathering of committed members, to seek guidance and direction from God through prayer.

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Matters for consideration by the Members Meeting may be tabled by the Deacons or by members. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made at Members Meetings by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible.

All members are encouraged to take an appropriate part in the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furthering of the Charitable Objectives. This is explained to all prospective members in a personal interview.

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Charity Trustees

Minister

The Reverend Steve Robinson (appointed March 2011, commenced Ministry July 2011, retired 10 July 2022)

Secretary

Shirley Westall (appointed 2021)

Treasurer

Ian Burbidge (re-appointed May 2021)

Deacons

Elizabeth Mildenhall (re-appointed March 2019) Gary Prictor (re-appointed March 2019) Julie Harris (re-appointed March 2023) Vicki Payn (re-appointed March 2023) Adam Sibley (appointed September 2020, Stood down March 2023) Rebecca Tromans (re-appointed March 2023) Matthew Wright (appointed May 2021)

Finance Team

Ian Burbidge - Treasurer Ian Burbidge - Payroll & Accounts Julie Harris - Gift Aid, Income and Banking Peter Morris - Assets and Inventory Beverley Bolt - Internal Audit (appointed March 2022) Brian Mildenhall - Utilities Manager

Property Trustees

The West of England Baptist Trust Company (West) Ltd Little Stoke Baptist Church Kingsway Bristol BS34 6JW

Banker

Lloyds TSB Bank PLC Swindon Branch 5 High Street Swindon SN1 3EN

Independent Examiner

James Gare Monahans Chartered Accountants Hermes House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon, SN2 2GA

Solicitor

Wood Awdry and Ford 3 St Mary Street Chippenham SN15 3JL

Registered Address: Gorse Hill Baptist Church, Cricklade Road, Gorse Hill, Swindon SN2 1AA

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Our Leadership Team

The members re-elected two deacons in 2022, giving a team of seven deacons, secretary and treasurer. During the year the minister left due to planned retirement.

The deacons meet monthly, except August, to receive reports, act within agreed and delegated guidelines and make recommendations to the membership. This year the meetings have all been held in person in the building, as prior to the pandemic. In November the team met together for an “Away Day”.

The different teams and events within the church have been divided up and each has a member of the leadership team responsible for it.

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Church Life

Pastoral Care

Our mission statement (see right) is displayed on the wall in church as a reminder to everyone. This sums up all that pastoral care in this church stands for. It is love in action, caring and supporting each other, which is what we strive to do.

The Pastoral Care Team met regularly over the last year to

discuss pastoral issues and ensure we care for both regular and new attendees. To ensure this, we have divided the fellowship into care groups, each with a Care Leader. Care group lists are regularly looked at and revised.

During the meetings we discuss people we have not been seen at church for a while. A recently produced ‘missed you card’ is sent out and we aim to follow it up with a phone call, to ask if they need any support or help.

We have concentrated on welcoming visitors and new people attending the church, encouraging those who have

attended a few times to engage with us more. We encourage them to fill in one of our welcome cards and introduce them to a Care Leader. We believe it is important for new people to feel welcome, to have the opportunity to become part of a group, if they choose to do so, and to know who their Care Leader is.

Since our minister, Steve, retired, we now organise taking Communion to people living in care homes or who are housebound. This has been welcomed and is a good way to show people they are still important and cared for by the fellowship.

People leading regular church activities are invited to the start of pastoral care meetings, to give an update on their group and on any pastoral needs that have arisen, so we can support them,

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and we regularly update the Diaconate about any problems, prayer needs, issues, and any needs for further support for members of the fellowship.

We have continued to expand the pre-service church breakfasts, in order to give people more time to get to know each other. These have become a regular feature in the church calendar, with more of the fellowship attending, creating a ‘buzzy’ and welcoming atmosphere on those Sunday mornings.

Children and Young People

After two years being disrupted by Covid, and high infection numbers at the start of 2022, there has seen a more determined return to normality and in-person events over the course of the year.

Jacob Barron has continued his work with us over the last year, as our Children, Youth and Family Worker . In addition to his work, Jake has been attending Bristol Baptist College, where he is studying for the Level 4 Children and Youth Ministries' qualification.

Our Regular Groups

2022 has allowed for the “new normal” to settle in. Our regular groups have been increasing in popularity, giving the leaders a larger number of people with which to explore new and exciting themes. The Sunday groups have moved and settled into different rooms, and we are implementing improvements, as suggested by leaders.

The Friday groups have had a boost in popularity. Pram Club , which is now back to ‘prepandemic’ numbers, continues to run brilliantly, with credit to the wonderful team – more information is to be found below. Sadly some of the leaders of CFC have had to step down, due to new priorities and this has had a knock-on effect in the children able to attend. CFC would love to have some fresh faces, to allow this group to continue. Ignite has had the opposite situation: a keen new team has arisen, providing fresh ideas and a fresh start for the year to come. We have so many regular attendees, we are now able to speak more deeply about the themes we present.

At the start of the year a team was put together to create Sunday Plus, with the idea of adding something to each Sunday to complement the morning service. Examples of this included worship evenings, Pizza in the Park, Pastoral Breakfast and a youth service entitled Blaze. These were trialled for a few months, from which we learnt the type of events the GHBC community

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want and we discontinued events with low attendance. Pastoral Breakfast and the Hour of Prayer on a Saturday haves been continued and seasonal worship sessions have been reinstated.

Seasonal Events

Our Seasonal Events have evolved from the pandemic restrictions to freer, more adventurous events. Easter began this transition, converting our Seasonal Giveaways into Festive Cafés . Easter also marked the start of our various groups beginning to interweave. Our Egg Hunt Map proved popular and gave a great opportunity for people from different groups to interact.

Our Jubilee Celebration in the Rec may have been rained off, but our outstanding team

persevered and, within 24hrs, had the plan rewritten to fit in the church building. A day that could have been spoiled by wet weather turned out to be gloriously busy, and a great way to work with our other local churches.

Our youth activity Swindon Forge sadly didn’t quite go to plan, and had to be cancelled due to unforeseen logistical problems. However, our second season of EcoHeroes was very well received by both children and parents. EcoHeroes: Festivals and Fun took a slightly different angle from last year, by exploring

some of the best bits about life and God’s Creation, and the way that we celebrate them across the world and in the Bible. We were also able to provide lunch, which helped parents out by giving them one less meal to think about.

GHBC’s Community Fun Day

barbecue, games, crafts and sports, engine, inflatable football pitch, variety of visiting charities. All of best it could be, and we enjoyed who attended. We are grateful to spend the best part of the year detail, including the setup and take an enjoyable event for everyone.

included our regular inflatables, but with the addition of a fire wellbeing café, Sumo suits and a this made the 2022 Fun Day the celebrating with 900+ people the planning committee, who planning the events in minute down, ensuring the day is such

The 2022 Light Parties were

enthusiastically attended. The

theme was Pirates and the children and leaders alike enjoyed dressing up to play the parts. Primary School children enjoyed hot dogs and chips, crafts and games and the over-the-top decorations. Their party was followed by one for the teenagers, who were treated to a purposewritten Murder Mystery Game.

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Christmas had a packed programme. The year’s last ReCreate gave us time to make decorations for the church building, and it was well attended by lots of familiar faces. The Christmas Café mimicked the idea started at Easter and was able to run more effectively, with ad we wvY¥ , ail the now flexible Sanctuary space.

We trialled new or changed events and evaluated how they went. The family version of our schools presentation, Christmas Unwrapped , the online Parents’ Quiz and in-person Family Quiz were not well attended, however moving the Christingle Service to the 24[th] December was very well received. All our Christmas services proved very popular this year.

All generations have enjoyed food and friendship at events held in the church and outside

Pram Club is our toddler group, which is run weekly during school term-time. It is open to anybody with preschool children and this year we have welcomed up to 25 children per session. The morning starts with open play and a craft, within which we try to share something about the Christian faith, followed by a song time, snack time and bike time. The aim of the sessions is to get alongside those that attend, to support them in any way needed, to share the love of Jesus with them and to invite them to other activities that the church runs.

Moving Forward

2023 looks to be as exciting as 2022. We are rebranding our groups and re-evaluating where they take place, with a view to making them relevant to the needs of the community. We will be building on links made with groups such as SYFC and food.gives.

Schools work

We enjoy a positive relationship with our local schools and continue to support them in providing RE. A group of members from the church, plus a member from Florence Street Mission Hall, carry out assemblies once a term (6 annually) in six Swindon Ney primary schools and a village school to the south of Swindon. Each assembly contains a Bible story, a song, a period of meditation and Smiling faces of local children investigating the Bible story of an explanation / application of the story. This year we focussed on Christmas for themselves. characters from the Old Testament. The scripts have been written Photo used by permission by the team and are acted out, as this is found to keep the children engaged. In many schools the assembly is repeated and adjusted to suit Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Assemblies are carried out in accordance with guidelines set by SACRE (Standing

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Advisory Committee for Religious Education in Swindon) and link into the National Curriculum for RE. Some 2,200 pupils are present at these assembly sessions each term. At one school we have been voted as the best assembly of the year.

We were able to welcome 5 schools into our building to take part in the Investigating Easter and Christmas Unwrapped presentations. At Easter we had 255+ in person and 30 online, due to a last minute Covid outbreak. At Christmas it was encouraging to once again be able to provide the full in-person experience for up to 330 children and adults, who engaged whole-heartedly. We received positive feedback from staff such as ‘We always enjoy visiting and the children get to learn about Christianity in an interactive way.’ ‘Thank you so much for welcoming us back again. The session is always informative and there are plenty of activities to engage the children.’… ‘A lovely morning as usual.’… ‘I thought the Christmas story was fantastic and fitted well with the retrieval question work in our reading lessons at school.’… ‘Amazing there was differentiated reading, so all children could access.’, ‘ …you bring the true meaning of Christmas to life.’

In the summer, Jacob from GHBC and Janet from Florence Street Mission Hall gave out approximately 170 Scripture Union ‘It’s Your Move’ booklets to the Year 6s of 3 local primary schools, presenting them as part of events to prepare the children for their move to secondary school.

Media

This year we have continued with our hybrid services due to demand. As more and more people have returned to church the AV team has been squeezed into the back rows. This is restricting for them, though for encouraging reasons! We still have a significant number of people who watch our services online either exclusively, if they have yet to physically return, or when they are unable to attend the church building.

We are grateful for those who to volunteer to run the AV setup and especially to the new volunteers. Coordinating the cameras, sound, song words, presentations and the occasional video is a much trickier task than you might imagine, let alone streaming it to Facebook and it requires a number of people working together as a team.

For those who can't make it to church, or who may miss the live Facebook feed, video recordings and audio recordings are available on the church website and on YouTube, with sermons uploaded as podcasts on Apple Music and Amazon Music.

The GHBC Weekly Newsletter and GHBC prayer emails have continued to be crucial in keeping everyone up to date, providing us with channels for important information.

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As well as hybrid church services, we have continued to conduct hybrid members meetings, allowing people to attend virtually if they aren't comfortable mixing, have childcare commitments or are away at the time. This has been a great success, allowing audience participation and interaction from within the church or at home.

Our youth worker Jacob has continued to use TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to connect with the youth of the church, which is proving successful. We are looking at how to improve our communications in the light of new technologies, for example this year we have also set up a church Twitter account to try to reach more people outside of the church’s normal sphere of communications.

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers returned this year, having been paused during Covid. There have been a number of well attended events, including a skittles evening playing against our arch-rivals Rodbourne Baptist church

and being able to bless the ladies of the church with a fellowship breakfast event. We hope to have many of our men join us for ‘The Gathering’ in June for some great fellowship over a fantastic weekend.

It has been encouraging to see this important area of men’s fellowship start up again and we pray it will

continue to facilitate more contact with men outside of the church, as well as increase the bond between the men within the congregation itself. We will be looking to really move things forward next year with lots of different events to build a real network of men supporting one another throughout the fellowship.

Flourish

Flourish, a ministry for the women of the fellowship, has yet to restart, and we hope that this will be relaunched during 2023.

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Administration

Church Facilities

The following works were carried out in 2022:

Inspection/servicing of key facilities items were carried out to: boilers, thermostatic mixing valves, fire alarm system, emergency lighting, and kitchen appliances, electrical equipment and fire extinguishers. Rodent inspections are regularly carried out, to help maintain a high standard of hygiene and the kitchen grease trap was cleaned.

Decorating works: External front and back timber doors were repainted; decoration works to the Cricklade Hall and the main sanctuary were touched up; new flooring to cleaner’s cupboard was laid.

New Works completed:

Health, Safety & Environmental Health

2022 has seen the emergence of the UK and wider world from Coronavirus lockdowns and other restrictive measures. The church faced the challenge of trying to ensure people’s safety on our premises and in our work, which has involved ministering to the vast array of needs which have arisen within our community over the last 2 years. We have tried to meet these needs in a practical, pastoral and spiritual manner.

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This year we established a dedicated Health, Safety & Environmental Health team, which began to grow in size through 2022, with more members of the church getting involved in ensuring the safety of those within the life of the church.

As we move forward into 2023, we look forward to further increasing participation in this important function from all within the Church, allowing us to better place the safety and wellbeing of people at the centre of all that we do. This reflects Christ’s command to have care for one another, and at the same time reassuring the public, volunteers, local government and other charity partners that we are a responsible organisation with which to partner and deliver real results to those Christ has called us to serve.

Safeguarding report

There have been no major issues requiring reports to other agencies. DBS are continuing to be approved or updated as required. The Safeguarding Policy was under review in 2022, with the aim of being adopted by the Trustees in February and voted on by the members at the March AGM.

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Community

Stepping Stones

The Stepping Stones project has continued to develop and grow since we started it in a very small way in June 2020. The aim of the project is to meet our customers’ holistic needs - physical, psychological and spiritual - in a variety of ways, by the services that we offer. Matthew 25 verses 35-40 explain perfectly what we are trying to achieve:

“’For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Our Boxes of Hope project continues to expand. We now take referrals from professionals from many agencies across the town, both statutory and non-statutory, ensuring that the families who actually need the food receive it. We are recognized as a food provider for the Borough of

Swindon and work closely in partnership with many other services. To date we have delivered 6,732 food parcels, feeding 9,351 adults and 13,217 children. We have a fantastic group of volunteer drivers, who deliver the food parcels and aim to build relationships with the families that they deliver to. We have seen families come to many other events that we run as a church, as a result of them receiving support with food parcels from us.

Our overarching theme for the food parcels is Hope , as it says in Psalm 33 verse 22: ‘Let your unfailing love surround us Lord, as our hope is in you alone.‘

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The Community Fridge has really taken off. We open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11am-2pm. All the food that we have available is waste food which would have been thrown away by supermarkets. On average we have 130 visitors to the fridge each day. Since we opened in June 2021 we have had over 20,000 visitors and have prevented over 52,000 tonnes of waste food from going to landfill. The fridge is a fantastic way of getting many people into the church building and we are able to meet a need for them by providing good quality food for free. We are really starting to get to know many of the customers, building good relationships with them. In December one of our customers asked to go in to church, then asked one of the volunteers to pray with him - just one of the many small ways that we are seeing God work through us.

We are seeing many more of our customers pop into our drop-in café on a regular basis, as they get to know and trust us. It is open Monday from 11am-2pm and Thursday from 11am2.30pm. This winter the café is also a ‘Warm Space’, to enable people to come and spend time with us. We offer a hot drink and a cake for 50p, and people can stay as long as they want to. We have lots of agencies that attend the café on a regular basis to help support people with immediate needs; the

agencies include, among others, Healthwatch, The Citizens Advice Bureau, Thames Water, The Live Well team. They can offer support to people and signpost them to other

agencies, as appropriate. We have a pre-loved clothes table, where our customers can take clothes for free, and a prayer table with lots of Christian booklets and posters, plus the opportunity to make prayer requests or have someone to pray with them.

In the last 12 months we have added some adult education classes for our customers to attend. We have been successful in running CAP Money Management sessions and have now had several people attend these classes. More recently we have started an iCaf , where our customers are able to come and learn English as a second language and put it into practice in an informal café-style class. We have just completed our first successful course which was well attended, and we hope to run these again in 2023. We have recently started a computer course for beginners which we called ‘Getting Connected’ ; this is run by Swindon Borough Council’s Adult Learning Team and has proved popular.

Looking ahead, we are hoping to start running some cookery classes with slow cookers and look to distribute healthy start vitamins as well as continuing to develop all that we are doing.

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We have a fantastic team of volunteers that work really hard in making the Stepping Stones project a real success. Recently we have been on Points West, filmed by Fuelcast to showcase what Baptist churches around the country are doing to help the people in their local communities and been interviewed by Wiltshire Community Foundation for an article in Wiltshire Life Magazine. In many small ways every day we are showing God’s love in action to all the people that we meet and are seeing many rewards. As a team we are all excited by the way that God is using us and working through us. We can’t wait to see what He has in store for us next.

ReCreate

It was great to be able to welcome families back to ReCreate again this year. In particular, the Christmas on was well-attended by lots of familiar faces. It gave us the opportunity to make decorations for the church building, which were widely appreciated.

Lunch Club

After Steve and Christine retired in July, Lunch Club took a break over the summer and reopened refreshed in the autumn, with some new volunteers joining the team. It meets on Tuesday each week in term-time, from 12.30-2pm, to provide a 2-course meal, generally to the over 50s, who need to book in advance. As well as providing a hot meal to people who might

not cook for themselves on a regular basis, it is also a place which addresses one of the great ills of our society: loneliness. To quote one team member ‘It is good to serve the community of Gorse Hill and give them a purpose to meet up and make new friends.’

The meal delivery service, which supported many during Covid, has now ceased and we are delighted to have people regularly coming into our building to share food and friendship.

Re-launched Outreaches in 2022

Friends & Fun re-started as planned in 2022, meeting on 2[nd] or 3[rd] Monday afternoon of the month. Originally intended to be a way of maintaining contact with members of Luncheon Club,

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before Covid, it numbered 40-45 attendees. During the pandemic, a newsletter was sent out monthly, each with a theme (love, flowers, special days, the Queen, Easter, autumn, Remembrance Day, Coronavirus, holidays and now Christmas Light). There has always been a Christian message. For many this was a lifeline, demonstrated by numerous letters and phone calls from people who were richly blessed.

The current numbers are now around 20-25 people, as many originals have become infirm, moved into care homes or have sadly passed away. However, new members have started to join, either by personal invitation, or because they come to the Community Fridge. The group is keen to encourage church members to join and support.

The Table Tennis group started during the year, meeting every Monday from 11am-1pm. The group numbers between 4-10 weekly and attendance depends on commitments, as many are grandparents or have aging parents. Originally an offshoot of the Badminton Club, many of those involved used to help prepare vegetables for the Tuesday Luncheon Club. It is a social group, who support each other through tough life issues, such as losing loved ones. Members enjoy supporting other church outreaches such as the Fridge and Friends and Fun. Money donated goes to Mary’s Meals, a charity which helps feed children around the world.

Mission Support

Despite the very challenging times, we have maintained our mission support, sharing our gifts

and resources with those in need. The amount allocated from general income was £16,000, plus a carried forward amount of £2,576 from previous years.

The people of Ghusel live in an isolated and challenging location, and want to work to improve their lives. Photo(s): © Clive Thomas for BMS World Mission

In addition, a number of appeals throughout the year raised further funds: notably for Leprosy Mission (£1,911); for those suffering in Ukraine (£2,425); for Operation Agri (£963); for Spurgeons (£1,378); and our Christmas Appeal for the Baptist World Mission (£4,602).

Many individuals from the church support a wide range of causes directly and such support is not recorded in our accounts.

Elsewhere in this report you will read of many other examples of our outreach. Collectively, this represents our calling to share the gifts we have been given by God with those both near and far.

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The Mission Committee’s budget of £16,000 was allocated to the following Christian causes: Webnet/Home Mission (£4,500); Baptist World Mission (£3,500); Swindon Youth for Christ (£2,000); Leprosy Mission (£1,600); Tear Fund (£1,600); Centre Mokili (£800); Educación Plus (£500); Angel’s Orphanage (£500); Night Shelter (£500); Emergency Appeals (£500).

Webnet/Home Mission provides a wide range of support to Baptist Churches across the UK. This includes support to retired ministers and technical advice to churches, such as legal advice, HR and property services. New churches can also receive support and many community projects take place because of the financial support given by Webnet.

The Baptist World Mission (BMS) tackles the

injustice and suffering of the deeply disadvantaged in desperate places around the world. They work to see the flourishing of people with the fewest opportunities, who are the furthest behind and most excluded. During the year Ruth Whiter from BMS visited us to lead a service.

Paul and Sarah, front left, with people they are working with

We have a close link to Baptist missionaries Paul & Sarah Brown, praying for them and

welcoming them to our church when they are in the UK. Paul & Sarah work directly with those in Thailand whose lives have been difficult and challenging giving hope for a better future.

Swindon Youth for Christ is now a resource centre offering support to youth workers across Swindon. They work in partnership with local churches and communities, bringing hope to thousands of young people in Swindon each year.

Leprosy Mission i s a global organisation leading the fight against leprosy. Following Jesus Christ, they seek to bring about transformation, breaking the chains of leprosy and empowering people to attain healing, dignity and life in all its fullness. Leprosy Mission is focused on goals of zero Leprosy transmission, zero Leprosy disability and zero Leprosy discrimination. Their work includes diagnosing and treatment, reconstruction, plus caring for disabled people, fighting stigma and advocating for change, and pioneering research. During the year Chris Stratta from Leprosy Mission visited us to lead a service.

Tear Fund is a charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. They tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters and the challenges posed by global warming, and challenging injustice. They believe an end to extreme poverty is possible. During the year David Morrell from Tear Fund visited us to lead a service.

23

Centre Mokili is a medical centre in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has its roots in the Baptist faith and our connection with them spans many years. The Liu * people of the DRC have suffered years of extreme poverty and violence. Centre Mokili provides much needed health care, including a maternity unit. Our support is used to buy essential \ r ¥ medicines, normally every other month, through a scheme first established by international governments to ensure safe medicines are supplied.

Educación Plus works in the shanty towns in San José, Costa Rica. Our connection with them

goes back many years. Their focus is supporting young people gain access to education and an alternative to street life and drifting into one of the many gangs that persist and drug addiction. The cost of education is often too much for many very poor families - uniforms, books, pens, pencils all have to be paid for. Educación Plus helps with these costs. They also run “summer camps” and regular youth meetings, where young people can develop healthy attitudes and resilience. During the year Keith

Holder from Ed Plus visited us to lead a service.

Angel’s Orphanage is a special family in Nepal. Initially 22 children were brought together and, for the past 13 years, have been supported by a small local UK charity. The children are a mix of true orphans, given up children and rescued from the streets. They are now thriving young people on the verge of independent adult life. There are currently five girls at home, three are in the second year of nursing study and two are studying at college. Of the eight

boys at home, four are studying at school or college, two are in the early stages of work-related training, one is trying to fund his way through further education, and one is recovering from back surgery. Those who have left are working independently and many have reconnected with their village families.

Swindon Night Shelter offers a safe, warm and secure place to spend the night for anyone over the age of 18 who has nowhere else to sleep. Everyone is accepted and treated with dignity. In a world of homelessness, addiction, fear, rejection and marginalisation, the Night Shelter aims to

24

come alongside the needy to show that somebody does care. They aim to minister to the spiritual needs as w ell as the emotional and physical needs of the homeless and vulnerable by being a visible testimony of Jesus Christ. They work closely with churches and individual Christians in Swindon and surrounding area.

During the year we supported three Emergency Appeals via Tear Fund. A total of £2,400 was given to the appeals in response to the Afghanistan earthquake, the Mozambique hunger, and the Pakistan floods. Our budget for such appeals was £500, so £1,900 was drawn from the £3,676 carried over from earlier years.

This year our Christmas Appeal a total of £4,602 was to help the Baptist World Mission working to transform the village of Ghusel in Nepal. Over a three year period, they will help to transform this village, by working alongside the villagers and listening to their dreams and wishes.

Our appeal focused on four key areas: improving the villagers’ goat husbandry skills, leading to sustainable family income; improving the villagers’ water and public hygiene knowledge, leading to healthier lives; training the school teachers, leading to better education for the children; and training volunteer community midwives, leading to safer mother and baby care.

For a summary of all of our giving to charities we support please see note 8 to the accounts

Lettings

Hires have been broadly the same over past year:

25

26

Finance Report

In accordance with the Charity Constitution, an annual budget is compiled for both income and expenditure and approved by members in January, along with a plan for the following four years to enable effective financial planning.

The Church raises the funds that it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation. The annual income that had started to recover has dropped this year by £10,447, this is in part linked to the current cost of living crisis and the impact this is having on people’s ability to give. This has been offset to a certain degree by the increase in lettings income of £7,367. This situation has been highlighted to members as part of the AGM and budget setting process.

Our principal expenditure continues to be related to employing a full time minister and a full time youth worker.

Material areas of expenditure during the year include local ministry of £4,880 and running expenses which account for £49,801. This increase over the last year is due, in part, to the much higher energy costs.

The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by donating to national and international organisations and charities with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the Church’s own charitable purpose. The Church budgets for this activity principally through its Missionary Committee and Missionary Fund. The Committee continues to work closely with a number of supported organisations, which are listed in the notes to the accounts, and communicates the activities of these organisations to the fellowship.

The Church is heavily dependent on its membership working as volunteers in all aspects of its activities, many of which run with little or no impact on the Church’s expenditure, but contribute substantially to the achievement of its objectives. There were no significant ‘gifts in kind’, although some members cover minor costs personally.

The Boxes of Hope project has received funding of £33,514, including grant funding of £29,860, of which £29,160 came from Swindon Borough Council to provide food parcels. As noted above, this is in addition to numerous gifts of food and other supplies from the congregation and local supermarkets. There were approximately 250 hours of volunteer time every week, buying, packing and delivering the bags to the local community. In addition, the delivery and collection drivers gift around 300 miles per week. The project spent £21,034 in year on the provision of food and supplies to the residents of Swindon.

27

The Stepping Stones project has also received grant funding of £10,490 in year. The project employed 3 part-time staff (1 FTE) during the year to help deliver various aspects of this work. Grants received in support of these projects cannot be used to support the general running cost of the church; these are still met from the general funds of the church.

Both projects are in receipt of additional funding in 2023 to enable these activities to continue and assist Swindon residents recover from the effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

The Church maintains levels of reserves to meet its immediate needs, in particular stipends/salaries for the employees and the running costs of the premises. Sums are accumulated to facilitate specific projects and future strategic development, as agreed by members.

The Church is supported by a steady stream of income from the congregation

The Deacons have noted the General Fund balance of £112,882 and have assessed this against the level of potential commitments from 2022 to 2026. They have concluded that there is a need to carefully monitor these reserves, given the current uncertainty around future income

In addition, the Deacons have undertaken a significant review of church activities and, with the assistance of two former treasurers, have set a 5-year budget that will keep the Church in the black. This has meant that there have been significant cuts to some of the activities that have been historically undertaken. The funding is reviewed at the monthly deacons meetings and all spend requires the approval of the treasurer before being incurred. The members and wider congregation are updated regularly about the church’s finances.

Given the current uncertainty, the Deacons have set the minimum level of reserves to equate to 6 months of unavoidable spend, this is approximately £50,000 (reduced as a currently we are searching for a new minister). Certain items of discretionary spend have been delayed to the end of 2023, which will ensure that they are still affordable, based on how the church finances have recovered. This policy is reviewed annually by the Diaconate. The Church agreed its annual budget at its January members meeting and noted that it is likely that the church reserves will be close to the minimum set if giving does not increase and expenditure continues at its current level. That meeting also agreed to set aside £38,000 of funds to address specific capital requirements, these include works to update the manse, replace aging AV & IT equipment and to replace the electronic piano.

28

The Deacons have assessed the major risks facing the Church, and are satisfied that there are policies and insurance in place to mitigate these risks. These policies include internal financial controls with advance approval thresholds set at Treasurer and Diaconate levels; items costing in excess of £750 require members’ approval.

The financial results for the year, together with a summary of the accounting policies adopted are set out in the accompanying Financial Statement.

29

Balance Sheet

GORSE HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

BALANCE SHEET (as at 31[st] December 2022)

Notes 2022 2022 2021
£ £ £
Tangible Fixed Assets 12 1,850,000 1,850,000 1,850,000
Current Assets
Receivables 13 8,142 8,838
Bank and cash 14 241,236 255,405
249,378 264,243
Current Liabilities
Payables amounts falling due within one
year		 15 (14,218) (17,171)
Net Current Assets 235,160 247,072
Payables amounts falling due after one year 16 - - (15,154)
Net Assets 2,085,160 2,081,918
Charitable Funds Charitable Funds
Unrestricted 17 1,962,882 1,990,680
Restricted 18 82,878 87,562
Designated 19 39,400 3,676
2,085,160 2,081,918

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these accounts

These accounts were approved by the Trustees on 9[th] March 2023

and signed on their behalf by
_____
Mr I Burbidge ACCA MAAT Mrs S Westall
Treasurer Secretary

30

Independent Examiner’s Report

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO GORSE HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2022

I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31st December 2022, which comprises the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and notes to the financial statements.

Respective Responsibilities of the Committee and Examiner

The committee is responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that the audit requirement of Section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act) does not apply and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts (under Section 145 of the 2011 Act), to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under Section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act) and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner's Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

Signed:

Date: 14[th] March 2023 Name: James Gare

Address: Monahans, Hermes House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon, SN2 2GA

Qualifications: Chartered Accountant

31

Statement of Financial Activities

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

Note Unrestricted
General
Fund
Asset
Fund		 Unrestricted
General
Fund
Asset
Fund		 Designated
Mission
Capital		 Designated
Mission
Capital		 Fellow-
ship		 Restricted
Other
charities
Projects		 Restricted
Other
charities
Projects		 Restricted
Other
charities
Projects		 Depts. Dec-22
Total		 Dec-21
Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Income and endowments from:
Donations and
legacies		 2 109,231 571 13,294 44,043 4,331 171,470 213,447
Investments 3 900 900 113
Other trading
activities		 4 9,406 9,406 2,039
Total 119,537 571 13,294 44,043 4,331 181,776 215,599
Expenditure on
Charitable
activities		 5 94,931 18,277 927 13,331 48,671 2,396 178,533 156,169
Total 7 94,931 18,277 927 13,331 48,671 2,396 178,533 156,169
Net Income/
(expenditure) 24,606 (18,277) (356) (38) (4,629) 1,935 3,243 59,431
Transfers
between funds (52,402) 16,000 38,000 (1,598)
Net incoming
resources
before
revaluations (27,796) (2,277) 38,000 (356) (38) (4,629) 337 3,243 59,431
and investment
asset disposals
Net movement
in Funds		 (27,796) (2,277) 38,000 (356) (38) (4,629) 337 3,243 59,431
Total Funds
brought 140,679 1,850,000 3,676 5,909 81,050 603 2,081,918 2,022,487
forward
Total Funds
carried 112,883 1,850,000 1,400 38,000 5,553 (38) 76,422 940 2,085,160 2,081,918
forward

32

Stepping Stones & Boxes of Hope Summary Accounts

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

Boxes of Hope
Income
Grants
Gifts
Tax Refunds
Expenditure
Groceries
Bags
Equipment
Boxes of hope - Literature
Boxes of hope - Stationery
Surplus / (Deficit) for year
Funds B/fwd.
Funds C/fwd.
Stepping Stones
Income
Grants
Gifts
Expenditure
Office Costs
Community Fridge
Equipment
Staff Costs
Money Management
Community outreach
Teaching Materials
Surplus / (Deficit) for year
Funds B/fwd.
Funds C/fwd.		 2022
29,860
3,092
600
33,552
19,282
1,280
48
425
21,035
12,517
36,943
49,460
2022
9,570
921
10,491
124
978
30
24,962
1,250
293
27,637
(17,146)
44,107
26,961		 2021
32,600
4,610
575
37,785
12,814
878
195
224
191
14,301
23,484
13,460
36,943
2021
42,200
437
42,637
862
64
565
4,074
3,500
2,465
11,530
31,107
13,000
44,107

33

Notes to the Accounts

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) Basis of preparation

The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102), and the Charities Act 2011 and applicable regulations.

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value except for assets included at revalued amounts.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair' view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a 'true and fair view'. This departure has involved following the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

The trust constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest pound.

There are no significant areas of judgements or key sources of estimation uncertainty.

b) Going Concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Legal status of the charity

The charity is an unincorporated trust constituted by a trust deed.

The address of the registered office and the nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are given in the trustees’ report.’

d) Income recognition

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, there is sufficient certainty or receipt and so it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Donations are accounted for gross when received. Tax refunded under Gift Aid is accounted for on an accruals basis

The charges for the use of church premises are included in the accounts in the year in which they are receivable Investment Income is included in the accounts in the year in which it is receivable

All of the management is carried out without charge, by volunteers. This intangible cost is not included in the Statement of Financial Activities since there is no measurable cost to the volunteers for their service

34

e) Expenditure recognition

"Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses, including support costs and governance costs, are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings in the statement of financial activities. "

The Church does not make formal appeals for funds, and expenditure on fundraising and publicity costs is therefore not material

The Church makes grants to other organisations whose charitable objects complement its work. They are accounted for in the year in which they are paid

f) Receivables

Receivables are stated at cost less impairment losses for bad and doubtful debts.

g) Bank and cash

Bank and cash comprise cash at bank and on hand, and demand deposits with other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

h) Payables

Payables are stated at cost.

i) Fixed Assets

The church and manse premises are included in the balance sheet at market value determined by the trustee’s opinion based on insurance value and other available information.

Furniture and equipment in the church premises are capitalised if over £1,000 and depreciated as detailed in note j.

j) Depreciation

Depreciation of other fixed assets is calculated to write off the cost on a straight-line basis over their expected useful life, at the following rates:

Furniture and fittings 10% Full year depreciation charged in year of acquisition; no depreciation charged in year of disposal

Computers and equipment 33.3%

k) Investment Assets

The Church has no quoted investments

l) Fund Accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Members and Trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes. The establishment of a restricted fund must be agreed by members.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in notes 17 and 18 in notes to the accounts.

35

2 Donations and legacies

2 Donations and legacies
Offerings
Tax refunds
Church
departments
Income for Other
charities
Other
Totals		 Unrestricted
Restricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General
Fund
Fellowship
Other
charities
Projects
Departments
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
86,429
571
87,000
95,394
16,496
2,263
600
19,359
19,959
4,331
4,331
4,411
11,031
11,031
6,973
6,306
43,443
49,749
86,712
109,231
571
13,294
44,043
4,331
171,470
213,447

Government grants of £29,160 were received from Swindon Borough Council for the Boxes of Hope project. There were no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies attached to these grants. The charity has not directly benefited from any other forms of government assistance

3 Investments

Bank interest
Totals		 Unrestricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General Fund
£
£
£
900 900 113
900
900
113

4 Other Trading Activities

Use of premises
Totals		 Unrestricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General Fund
£
£
£
9,406
9,406
2,039
9,406
9,406
2,039

36

5 Charitable activities costs

Ministers
Other
Ministry
Mission
Establishment
Church
departments
Governance
Costs (note 6)
Totals		 Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General
Fund
Missionary
Fellowship
Other
charities
Projects
Depts.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
32,861
32,861
58,468
3,953
927
48,671
53,551
30,408
7,058
18,277
13,331
38,666
32,989
49,801
49,801
30,519
2,396
2,396
2,382
1,258
1,258
1,404
94,931
18,277
927
13,331
48,671
2,396
178,533
156,169

6 Governance Costs

6 Governance Costs
Independent examination
Totals		 Unrestricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General Fund
£
£
£
1,258 1,258 1,404
1,258
1,258
1,404

7 Total resources expended

Minister
Other Ministry
Mission
Establishment
Church departments
Governance Costs
Totals		 Charitable
activities
Grants paid
(Mission)
Restricted
projects
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
£
£
£
32,861
32,861 58,468
4,880
48,671 53,551 30,408
38,666
38,666 32,988
49,801
49,801 30,519
2,396
2,396 2,382
1,258
1,258 1,404
91,196
38,666
48,671
178,533
156,169

37

8 Grants paid (Mission)

Outreach / youth work
Subscriptions
BMS World Mission
Education Plus
Friends of Angel's Orphanage
Friends of Centre Mokili
Leprosy Mission
Mary's Meals
Mellon Mission
Operation Agri
SASRA
Spurgeons
Swindon Night Shelter
Swindon Youth For Christ
Tear Fund
Toilet Twining
WEBA Home Mission
Totals		 Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
General Fund
Missionary
Other charities
£
£
£
£
£
6,278
6,278
1,411
780
780
825
3,500
5,492
8,992
5,926
500
1,247
1,747
4,215
500
500
500
800
800
1,600
4,000
375
4,375
3,573
1,090
1,247
1,247
2,701
963
963
1,144
377
377
-
1,379
1,379
2,357
500
500
-
2,000
2,000
2,500
2,441
2,441
1,146
1,600
1,600
1,000
4,500
188
4,688
3,000
7,058
18,277
13,331
38,666
32,988

9 Staff costs and Trustees expenses and Trustees remuneration

General Fund Staff
Salaries
Social Security costs (NI ER's)
Pension costs (Pens ER's)
Minister in Training Leaseback
Other costs
Totals
Restricted Projects Staff - Stepping Stones
Salaries
Social Security costs (NI ER's)
Pension costs (Pens ER's)
Totals		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
39,229
48,671
3,204
1,133
(14,943)
5,121
1,732
0
3,638
3,542
32,861
58,468
31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
23,367
3,896
44
0
1,550
178
24,962
4,074

Average number of employees during the year was 5, 2021 was 2.5, 3 of these are the staff for the Stepping Stones Project.

Employer pension contributions are included for all Members of staff except for the Minister who left the pension scheme during the year.

38

No employee received emoluments in excess of £60,000 during the year 2022 nor for 2021

Mrs J Harris is a trustee and was employed by the charity to deliver the Stepping Stones Project receiving gross salary £5,946 (2021: £991) and employers pension contributions of £322 (2021: £42l). Minister, Revd S Robinson, is also a trustee. He received remuneration of gross salary £16,388 (2021: £28,631) and employers pension contributions of £Nil (2021: £6,997). There was no other trustee remuneration for the year.

The church pays pension contributions for its Employees to the Baptist Ministers Pension Trust Limited, which is a final salary defined benefit scheme, which is not contracted out of the State second pension. The scheme is a multi-employer scheme and it is not possible to identify the assets and liabilities of the scheme which are attributable to the church. Therefore, as there is insufficient information, the scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution scheme.

39

10 Comparative Statement of financial Activities

Income and
endowments
from:
Donations and
legacies
Investments
Other trading
activities
Total
Expenditure on
Charitable
activities
Total
Net Income/
(expenditure)
Transfers between
funds
Net incoming
resources before
revaluations and
investment asset
disposals
Net movement
in Funds
Total Funds
brought forward
Total Funds
carried forward		 Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
General
Fund
Missionary
Fellowship
Other
charities
Projects
Depts.
Asset Fund
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
118,681
9,934
80,422
4,411
213,447
113
113
2,039
2,039
120,833
9,934
80,422
4,411
215,599
96,299
14,000
903 16,752
25,831
2,382
156,169
96,299
14,000
903
16,752
25,831
2,382
156,169
24,533
(14,00)
(903)
(6,818)
54,591
2,028
59,431
(14,210)
16,000
(1,790)
10,234
2,000
(903)
(6,818)
54,951
238
59,431
10,234
2,000
(903)
(6,818)
54,951
238
59,431
130,355
1,676
6,812 6,818
26,460
365
1,850,000
2,022,487
140,697
3,676
5,909
81,050
603
1,850,000 2,081,918

40

11 Tangible Fixed Assets

Cost
01 January 2022
31 December 2022
Depreciation
01 January 2022
31 December 2022
Net Book Value
31 December 2021
31 December 2022		 Church
premises
Manse
Computers
&
equipment
Total
£
£
£
£
1,500,000
350,000
16,632
1,866,632
1,500,000
350,000
16,632
1,866,632
(16,632)
(16,632)
(16,632)
(16,632)
1,500,000
350,000
1,850,000
1,500,000
350,000
1,850,000

All of the fixed assets are used for direct charitable purposes

The church premises and the manse and revalued to the estimated market value at 31 December 2020 as determined by the trustees.

The trustees do not believe that the carrying amount will not differ materially from the fair value of the asset at the end of the reporting period.

12 Receivables

2
Receivables
Accrued income
Prepayments and other
receivables
Totals		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
5,035
5,844
3,107
2,994
8,142
8,838

13 Bank and cash balances

Lloyds TSB Bank plc
Baptist Union Corporation Ltd
Departments
Totals		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
197,122
212,287
43,174
42,515
940
603
241,236
255,405

41

14 Payables : amounts falling due within one year

Other creditors
Accruals
Totals		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
-
4,146
14,218
13,025
14,218
17,171

15 Payables : amounts falling due after more than one year

Other creditors
Totals		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
-
15,154
-
15,154

16 Unrestricted Funds

General Fund
Asset Fund
Totals		 01/01/2022
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2022
£
£
£
£
£
140,679
119,537
(94,931)
(52,402)
112,883
1,850,000
0
0
1,850,000
1,990,679
119,537
(94,931)
(52,402)
1,962,883

The balance of this fund includes elements which are represented by fixed and current assets

General Fund
Asset Fund
Totals		 01/01/2021
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2021
£
£
£
£
£
130,355
120,833
(96,299)
(14,210)
140,679
1,850,000
0
0
0
1,850,000
1,980,355
120,833
(96,299)
(14,210)
1,990,679

17 Restricted Funds

Fellowship Fund
Other charities
Boxes of Hope
Stepping Stones
Church departments
Totals		 01/01/2022
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2022
£
£
£
£
£
5,909
571
(927)
5,553
13,294
(13,331)
(38)
36,943
33,552
(21,035)
49,460
44,107
10,491
(27,637)
26,961
603
4,331
(2,396)
(1,598)
940
87,562
62,238
(65,325)
(1,598)
82,878

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Transfers - a transfer of £1,597.85 was made from the restricted fund to the general fund to recognise the departments' contribution of their surplus towards the church's running costs.

Fellowship Fund
Other charities
Boxes of Hope
Stepping Stones
Church departments
Totals		 01/01/2021
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2021
£
£
£
£
£
6,812
0
(903)
5,909
6,818
9,934
(16,752)
-
13,460
37,785
(14,301)
36,943
13,000
42,637
(11,530)
44,107
365
4,411
(2,382)
(1,790)
603
40,455
94,767
(45,869)
(1,790)
87,562

Fellowship Fund

This fund is available at the discretion of the Minister and Care Coordinators to provide financial assistance to those in specific need

Restricted Grant This represents Community Grant Funding which the donor has restricted for the purchase of lunch club crockery and the creation of the gorse hill community garden

Other charities This represents gifts which the donor has restricted to other parties in furtherance of the charity's objectives

Boxes of Hope This represents funds raised as a result of the pandemic to provide food parcels to the residents of Swindon

Stepping Stones This represents funds raised to help Swindonians recover from the dual impact of the closure of Honda and the pandemic.

Church departments This represents funds related to clubs and groups run by the Church; Luncheon Club, Badminton and Pram Club

18 Designated Funds

Missionary Fund
Capital Fund
Totals		 01/01/2022
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2022
£
£
£
£
3,676
(18,277)
16,000
1,400
38,000
38,000
3,676
(18,277)
54,000
39,400

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Missionary Fund
Totals		 01/01/2021
Resources
expended
Transfers
31/12/2021
£
£
£
£
1,676
(14,000)
16,000
3,676
1,676
(14,000)
16,000
3,676

Missionary Fund

Funds are transferred from the General Fund in order to facilitate annually agreed support in the furtherance of the church's charitable objectives

Capital fund

Funds are transferred from the General Fund in order to deliver one off capital projects as formalised during the annual budget setting process and confirmed at the January members meeting.

19 Analysis of net assets

31-Dec-22
General Fund
Missionary Fund
Capital Fund
Fellowship Fund
Other charities
Church departments
Restricted Projects
Totals
31-Dec-21
General Fund
Missionary Fund
Fellowship Fund
Other charities
Church departments
Restricted Projects
Totals		 Fixed Assets
Current
Assets
Total
£
£
£
1,850,000
112,883
1,962,883
1,400
1,400
38,000
38,000
5,553
5,553
(38)
(38)
940
940
76,422
76,422
1,850,000
235,160
2,085,160
Fixed Assets
Current
Assets
Total
£
£
£
1,850,000
140,679
1,990,679
3,676
3,676
5,909
5,909
-
-
603
603
81,050
81,050
1,850,000
231,918
2,081,918

20 Pensions

The Church is an employer participating in a pension scheme known as the Baptist Pension Scheme (“the Scheme”), which is administered by the Pension Trustee (Baptist Pension Trust

44

Limited). The Scheme is a separate legal entity and the assets of the Scheme are held separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers.

For any month, each participating employer in the Scheme pays contributions as set out in the Schedule of Contributions in force at that time.

The Scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and means that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable towards benefits and expenses accrued in that year, plus any impact of deficiency contributions (see below).

The Minister(s) [and some members of the church staff] is / are eligible to join the Scheme. From January 2012, pension provision is being made through the Defined Contribution (DC) Plan within the Scheme. In general, members pay 8% of their Pensionable Income and employers pay 6% of members’ Pensionable Income into individual pension accounts, which are operated and managed on behalf of the Pension Trustee by Legal and General Life Assurance Society Limited. In addition, the employer pays a further 4% of Pensionable Income to cover Death in Service Benefits, administration costs, and an associated insurance policy which provides income protection for Scheme members in the event that they are unable to work due to long-term incapacity. This income protection policy has been insured by the Baptist Union of Great Britain with Aviva plc. [Members of the Basic Section pay reduced contributions of 5% of Pensionable Income, and their employers also pay a total of 5%.] The further 4% contribution rate is reduced to 3% for Employer contributions made to the Segregated DC Arrangement.

Benefits in respect of service prior to 1 January 2012 are provided through the Defined Benefit (DB) Plan within the Scheme. The main benefits for pre-2012 service were a defined benefit pension of one eightieth of Final Minimum Pensionable Income for each year of Pensionable Service, together with additional pension in respect of premiums paid on Pensionable Income in excess of Minimum Pensionable Income. The Scheme, previously known as the Baptist Ministers’ Pension Fund, started in 1925, but was closed to future accrual of defined benefits on 31 December 2011.

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Actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2019

A formal valuation of the Defined Benefit (DB) Plan was performed at 31 December 2019 by a professionally qualified Actuary using the Projected Unit Method. The market value of the DB Plan assets at the valuation date was £298 million.

The valuation of the DB Plan revealed a deficit of assets compared with the value of liabilities of £18 million (equivalent to a past service funding level of 94%). The Church and the other employers supporting the DB Plan are collectively responsible for funding this deficit.

The key assumptions underlying the valuation were as follows:

Type of financial assumption % pa
RPI price inflation assumption 3.20
CPI price inflation assumption 2.70
Minimum Pensionable Income increases (RPI) 3.20
Assumed investment returns
- Pre-retirement 2.95
- Post retirement 1.70
Deferred pension increases
- Pre April 2009 3.20
- Post April 2009 2.50
Pension increases
- Main Scheme pension 2.70

The next actuarial valuation of the DB Plan within the Scheme is due to take place not later than as at 31 December 2022.

Recovery Plan

In addition to the contributions to the DC Plan set out above, where a valuation of the DB Plan reveals a deficit the Trustee and the Council agree to a rate of deficiency contributions from churches and other employers involved in the DB Plan. Following the 2019 valuation a

46

Recovery Plan was signed in September 2020 under which deficiency contributions are payable until June 2026. These contributions were broadly based on each employer's membership at 31 December 2014 and increase annually in line with increases to Minimum Pensionable Income as defined in the Rules.

On 30th June 2022 the Baptist Pension Scheme signed an agreement with the insurance company Just Group (“Just”) to secure DB Plan members’ pension benefits. Just are now providing financial backing for all pensions provided through the Scheme’s DB Plan and following this transaction, the Scheme no longer has a shortfall. An updated Recovery plan was then signed in August 2022 under which recovery contributions from each participating employer in the DB Plan reduced to £1 per month from August 2022.

**Accounting date(year ending): ** 31/12/2022
31/12/2021		 31/12/2022
31/12/2021
£
£
Balance sheet liabilityatyear start 19,299 23,521
Minus deficiencycontributionspaid (2,449) (4,130)
Interest cost(recognised in SoFA) 362 294
Remaining change to balance sheet
liability*(recognised in SoFA)		 (17,212) (386)
Balance sheet liability at year end 0
19,299

This liability represents the present value of the deficit contributions agreed as at the accounting date and has been valued using the following assumptions set by reference to the duration of the deficit recovery payments:

Accounting date 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 31/12/2020
Discount rate 5.7% 2.0% 0.4%
Future increases to
Minimum Pensionable
Income		 0.0% 4.1% 3.0%

The Church has been advised that the cost for the church to buyout their Pension Scheme liabilities at 31 December 2022 was Nil (31 December 2021: £226,000).

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21 Related parties

The custodian Trustee of the church is The West of England Baptist Trust Company (West) Limited. The church is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the West of England Baptist Association. The church does not receive any grant funding from either party.

The church made a donation to the Baptist Union Home Mission Scheme as set out in note 8

The church made a donation to the Baptist Missionary Society World Mission (charity no 233782) as set out in note 8 The church paid a subscription to the Baptist Union of Great Britain amounting to £674.50 which is included in note 8

Total donations of £7,280 were received from trustees. These donations were all given without conditions. Trustees also donate via church plate collections. These amounts are not recorded separately

The spouse of trustee G Prictor was employed by the charity to deliver the Stepping Stones Project receiving gross salary £11,531 (2021: £1,416) and employers pension contributions of £593 (2021: £77)

The spouse of trustee I Burbidge was employed by the charity to deliver the Stepping Stones Project receiving gross salary £5,935 (2021: £991) and employers pension contributions of £634 (2021: £59).

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Gorse Hill Baptist Church Cricklade Road Gorse Hill Swindon SN2 1AA

01793 534193 ghbc.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 1127294

50