Trustees’ Annual Report 2024-25
Beckminster Methodist Church
Birches Barn Road, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton WV3 7BQ Charity number 1128871
Structure and management
Beckminster Methodist Church is part of the Wolverhampton Circuit of the Methodist Church in the UK. It is established through a trust deed under the Methodist Church Act 1976 and follows the disciplines of the UK Methodist Church. The church’s governing body is the Church Council, the members of which are the trustees of the charity. Members of the Church Council must be members of the Methodist Church in the UK. Members comprise individuals who have been appointed by the Church Council to hold designated voluntary positions within Beckminster, individuals appointed by the Annual Church Meeting of members of Beckminster and individuals appointed by the Wolverhampton Circuit. The property used by the church is held by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes as custodian trustees.
With effect from 1 September 2025, Beckminster has been renamed Crossways Methodist Church and has been joined by three other churches from within the Wolverhampton Methodist Circuit, to become a single church operating across four sites.
The trustees during the period from 1 September 2024 up to the date of completion of this report were:
Rev Paul Nzacahayo (Chair) Mrs Christine Pedley Mr Peter Prescott Rev Glennys Bamford Mr Phil Shuttleworth Mrs Tricia Prescott Mrs Sue Lorimer Mrs Donna Watson Mr Roy Evans Mr Tim Lorimer Mrs Carol Topham Mrs Pam Wilkes Mr John Ashwood Mr George Tonks Mrs Janette Clough Mrs Wendy Ashwood Mr Brian Timmis Miss Stephanie Wilkes Mrs Wendy Bate Rev M Heim Mr Gabriel Gidi Rev J Cox-Darling Mr A Burns
Activities, objectives, achievements and performance
The principal objective of the church is the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance The church provides a public benefit through providing public acts of Christian worship, which are open to anyone who wishes to attend and through making its facilities available to members of the community. Activities throughout the week provide Christian fellowship for the members and supporters of the church. The church also provides meeting space for a range of secular groups within the local community. The premises are generally in use throughout most of the week.
The members of the church maintain Christian witness in the local area and work with other charities, religious groups and other organisations across the local community. During 202425 we have supported various Methodist mission and relief charities, Christian Aid, Action for Children, The Children’s Society, Good Shepherd Services, Action for Bethlehem Children with Disabilities and the Ukrainian community in Wolverhampton.
The church premises were used for a variety of activities during 2024-25. We have also continued to provide Christian fellowship on-line.
In July 2025 we celebrated the centenary of the laying of the foundation stone for our current building and we will complete 100 years of Christian fellowship on our current site in May 2026. Various events are being held to celebrate this centenary.
Financial review
The running costs and maintenance of the church are funded by contributions from members and other supporters, together with charges made to external groups for use of the premises.
During the year, the receipts of the church were £124,656, which was less than in the previous year. Two legacies amounting to a total of £20,627 were received during the year. Reserves at the financial year end (31 August 2025) stood at £105,298 unrestricted and £9,067 restricted; the unrestricted reserves were in line with the church’s policy of retaining these reserves at least equal to 6 months of revenue expenditure. The church does not have any outstanding loans or other debts. Members of the church raise money for a range of other charities and some of the funds collected are held within the church accounts until paid out to the relevant charities. The church also holds funds for Churches Together in Graisley and Penn Fields, an informal group of local churches of different denominations. A total of £1,901 was received into the church’s accounts for other organisations during the year and £112 was held at 31 August 2025.
Financial forecasts for the church have been prepared for the period to 31 August 2026 and these demonstrate that the church will remain able to meet its liabilities as they fall due. Consequently, the Trustees consider it is appropriate to use the going concern basis to prepare the church’s accounts.
As part of our centenary celebrations we are raising additional funds to ensure the continuation of our Christian fellowship. £4,311 was received for this Centenary appeal during 2024-25 with further amounts being received in 2025-26.
April 2026
CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS
Beckminster FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2025
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Church
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Wolverhampton Circuit Circuit no. 28/01
Registered Charity - Charity Registration number 1128871
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If not a registered charity His Majesty's Revenue and
Customs Gift Aid number
(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terms of evidence of charitable status and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status. Methodist charities in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242)
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Minister:
Rev P Nzacahayo
Church Stewards:
Mr J Ashwood
Mr P Shuttleworth
Mrs C Topham
Treasurer:
Mr G Tonks
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ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
Church
Beckminster
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Unrestricted Restricted Totals this Totals last
SECTION A Funds Funds year year
£ £ £ £
a1 RECEIPTS Note
a2 Offerings and Tax recovered 68,095 4,311 72,406 74,499
Bank and CFB interest and
a3 Investment income 4,287 334 4,621 4,156
a4 Lettings 18,594 18,594 18,050
a5 Other receipts 29,035 29,035 36,132
a6 TOTAL RECEIPTS 120,011 4,645 124,656 (a7) 132,837
SECTION B
b1 PAYMENTS
b2 Circuit Assessment or Share 48,000 48,000 59,100
b3 Donations 2,000 2,000 2,345
b4 Repairs and Maintenance 27,689 2,008 29,697 12,481
Utilities (Insurances, water
b5 charges, heating & lighting) 20,088 20,088 10,553
b6
b7 Other payments 30,215 2,733 32,948 29,133
b8 TOTAL PAYMENTS 127,992 4,741 132,733 (b9) 113,612
SECTION C
NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS
c1 FOR THE YEAR (a6-b8) (7,981) (96) (8,077) 19,225
Total funds brought forward from
last year
c2 109,067 13,375 122,442 (c6) 103,217
c3 Sub total (c1+c2) 101,086 13,279 114,365 122,442
c4 Transfers and adjustments 4,212 (4,212) (c7)
c5 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR (c3+c4) 105,298 9,067 114,365 (c8) 122,442 (c6)
SECTION D
FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS
d (these amounts are not to be included in total receipts/payments figures above) £ £
d1 Balance brought forward from last year 499 636
d2 Offerings/Gifts - received for external organisations 1,901 2,760
d3 Offerings/Gifts - passed to external organisations 2,288 2,897
d4 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1+d2-d3) 112 499
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Beckminster
Church
SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL
SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church Council/Church Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross income and expenditure totals of the Church. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers between the District and connected District Organisations.
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INTERNAL Net Receipts/ Opening
ORGANISATIONS Receipts Payments Payments Adjustments balances Closing balances
e1 Take a Break 1,147 1,147
e2 Benevolent Fund 137 45 92 127 219
e3
e4
e5
e6
e7
Sub total of Internal
e8 Organisations funds 1,284 1,192 92 127 (e11) 219 (e12)
Church accounts (totals
brought forward from page
e9 2 - totals column) 124,656 (a7) 132,733 (b9) (8,077) (c7) 122,442 (c6) 114,365 (c8)
TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD
e10 BY CHURCH 125,940 133,925 (7,985) 122,569 (x) 114,584 (y)
Continue on a separate sheet TOTAL
if necessary and bring the TOTAL RECEIPTS
PAYMENTS
totals forward
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SECTION F
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
| f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 g1 g2 g3 g4 g5 |
CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2025 SECTION G OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES Other Assets Central Finance Board Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes Other funds Other Liabilities Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing balance total from above) (e12) Investments (include Endowments) Bank Deposit Account Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance value) SUB TOTAL - Church accounts Loan(s) - show amount outstanding at year end TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH Cash in hand Bank Current Account |
OPENING BALANCES 249 226 54,197 18,284 49,486 122,442 (c6) 127 (e11) 122,569 (x) At 1 September 2024 264 4,159,791 841,619 |
CLOSING BALANCES 22 355 18,118 27,886 67,984 114,365 (c8) 219 (e12) 114,584 (y) At 31 August 2025 264 4,531,842 916,896 |
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f4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Board f5 Include only Funds held at Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes g1 Include any other investments (not the cash element of TMCP trusts accounts this is included in line f5
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Name of Church ……Beckminster………………………… No………..
Declarations and Scrutiny
I confirm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2025 have been prepared from the records of the Church and that they include all funds under the control of the Church trustees.
Signature of treasurer ………George Tonks……………………… Date……13/12/25…..
Name and address of treasurer ………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………. Post Code………………
Presentation to the Church trustees
I confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 were presented to the meeting of the Church trustees held on 10/2/2026
Signature of the Chair of the meeting ………P Nzacahayo……………………………
Name of the Chair of the meeting …………………………………………… Date ……16/2/2026…
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the
……Beckminster…………..Church
Charity Number …1128871..
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the …Beckminster………. Church for the year ended 31 August 2025 set out on pages … to …. As the Church’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Church’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
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Name of Church ……Beckminster………………………… No………..
Independent Examiner’s Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below*) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
I have/have not* obtained independent verification of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date.
Signature of independent examiner …………John Holt………………….
Name of independent examiner ……………………………………………………………………….
Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner ………………………………………
Name of firm (where appropriate) ………………………………………………………………………
Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….. Post Code ………………
Date ………8/1/26…………………
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BECKMINSTER METHODIST CHURCH (Registered Charity no: 1128871)
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2025
Form of Accounts
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Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the charity during the financial year and in this context include cash on deposit which can be readily withdrawn to pay for debts as they become due. Cash receipts from the sale of fixed assets and cash payments to acquire fixed assets are treated separately from other receipts and payments as they do not represent resources moving into or out of the charity.
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.Charity law requires that trustees are able to account separately for each unrestricted, endowment and restricted fund that they manage. General funds can be used for any of the church`s charitable purposes. Methodist Standing Orders provide that all bequests are treated as endowment (capital) funds and give discretion to trustees to accumulate or spend income and to spend capital on a wide range of objectives in accordance with specified procedures. Restricted funds are those held for a specific purpose indicated by the donor or funds held on behalf of a specified internal organisation. Unrestricted funds are all other funds, comprising the general fund and any legacies on which the donor has not placed any restriction. Designated funds are unrestricted funds which the trustees have designated as being held for a particular purpose.
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The presentation of various items has been reviewed during the year and a number of changes have been made:
The general funds of Luncheon Club, Messy Church and Toddlers, which were transferred to the church following the closures of those groups have been reassessed as designated rather than restricted funds: similarly funds received from Take A Break have been reclassified as designated rather than restricted funds. A transfer of £4,212 is shown in line C4 in respect of these reclassifications.
Funds received from church members for the Methodist World Mission, JMA and Mission in Britain Funds and passed on to those funds are now treated as money received and passed on to external organisations and reported in Section D rather than treated as internal organisations in Section E. Comparative figures shown in these accounts have been adjusted to reflect this change.
Legacies received and sundry donations, for example those received at weddings or funerals, are now included within "other receipts" instead of in "offerings and tax recovered". Comparative figures shown in these accounts have been adjusted to reflect this change.
BECKMINSTER METHODIST CHURCH (Registered Charity no: 1128871)
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2025
Notes to Section A
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A2 Tax recovered on freewill offerings and other donations amounted to £13,325 (2024 £15,406, of which £679 related to the gift day to raise funds for replacement of lights in the church) and £339 related to appeals in support of other charities (2024 £321); the balance related to the General Fund.
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A3 Restricted interest was on the restricted legacy. A5 Other receipts include:
| ceipts include: | ||
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| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Wedding & Funeral Fees | £4,050 | £7,625 |
| Church Groups and Activities | £975 | £1,433 |
| Legacies | £20,627 | £17,250 |
Notes to Section B
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B3 Donations are to connexional funds and charities
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B5 Insurance premium was £4,733.
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B7 Other significant payments were: remuneration £26,493 (of which £960 paid from Luncheon Club funds and £2,000 from unrestricted legacy funds) and general ministry costs at Beckminster (e.g.Beck Matters magazine, posters, copyright licence, photocopying, outreach work) £2,942.
Notes to Section C
- C4/ Restricted Funds at the end of the year were restricted legacy (£7,307), Gift 5 Day (£873), Centenary appeal (£668) and District grant for children's work
At 31 August 2025, the amounts included within unrestricted funds for Designated Funds were Luncheon Club (£435), Toddlers (£1,568), Messy Church (£281) and Take-a-Break (£1,416).
Notes to Section D
- D Amounts include funds received (£91) and paid out (£401) in respect of Churches Together in Graiseley and Penn Fields. A balance of £99 was held for CTiGPF at 31 August 2025 (2024 £409)
Notes to Section G
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G1 company) to support Fair trade farmers. These shares are now valued at £264.
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G3/ Values for assets are insurance values. Other assets includes £698,343 in
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4 respect of the organ
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the
……Beckminster…………..Church
Charity Number …1128871..
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the …Beckminster………. Church for the year ended 31 August 2025 set out on pages … to …. As the Church’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Church’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below*) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
I have/have not* obtained independent verification of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date.
Signature of independent examiner …………John Holt………………….
Name of independent examiner ………John Holt………………………………………….
Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner ………………………………………
Name of firm (where appropriate) ………………………………………………………………………
Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….. Post Code ………………
Date ………8/1/26…………………
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