2023-12-31-accounts

Barrow Baptist. church Church Report Review of 2023

Contents:

1.	Charity Information	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 2
2.	2023 Synopsis	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 3
3.	Minister’s Report of 2023	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 3
	Rev. Neil Jones
4.	Mission Support	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 6
5.	Fabric of the Building	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 7
6.	Finance	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	p. 7

1. Charity Information

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period from 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

Charity name: Barrow upon Soar Baptist Church

Charity registration number: 1129860

Address: Barrow Baptist Church, Beveridge Street, Barrow Upon Soar, LE12 8PL Property Trustees: The East Midland Baptist Trust Company, Baptist House, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8RT Bankers: HSBC, Market Place, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3EJ Independent Examiner: Mr S. McDonald ACA Charity Trustees: Rev Neil Jones (Chair) Reuben Sneller (Secretary) Davina Smith (Treasurer to November 2023) Susan Graham to June 2023 Linda Wall Sharon Bradwell Matthew Gudger Ed Dring (Treasurer) from November 2023 Dominic Boston from November 2023 David Knott from November 2023

Structure and management:

Barrow Baptist Church is an unincorporated association and is governed by its Constitution.

Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the Constitution which requires them to be or to have been publicly baptised on the profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or following other modes of baptism to renew their public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Members’ Meetings currently take place in alternate months; the Members’ Meeting has responsibility for the overall policy of the church.

The elected Trustees (listed above) are responsible for the overall governance of the church, and the financial and legal aspects of the charity. Trustees are elected by the Church Meeting; details of the process for election of Trustees are described in the Constitution. The Trustees meet every month in order to assist in the smooth running of the charity.

The minister of the church, Rev Neil Jones, is responsible for the day to day running of the church, supported by the Trustees, also known as the Church Leadership Team (CLT), who are also responsible for the spiritual direction of the charity. There is also a small staff team of church worker and administrator.

Activities and objectives:

The advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination to include the advancement of education, community service and such other general charitable purposes in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world as the Church shall determine.

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Achievements and performance, including report on public benefit:

In order to achieve the principal objective which is set out above, the Church provides a variety of activities both to its membership and to the community generally and as such is described as a community church. The aim is to show the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed and to bring people into a closer relationship with Him as living Lord.

This report details the activities of Barrow Baptist Church during 2023 in fulfilment of its objectives; central to this is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship and times of prayer and also includes conducting Christian wedding services, funerals as well as running groups to support children and their parents / carers as well as seniors.

2. 2023 Synopsis

----- Start of picture text -----
New Members 4
Baptisms 0
Deaths 0
Resignations 0
----- End of picture text -----

3. Minister’s Report of 2023

The year text for 2023 was:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

2023 was another busy year in the life of Barrow Baptist Church.

Our core groups and ministries continued and were added to by a new group, ‘The Harbour’.

The Harbour exists as a place for people who are feeling ‘all at sea’, to come and ‘offload, replenish, take stock and refresh’. It is aimed at anyone who would like a chat, a warm drink, a warm space, or some shelter. The aim is to help support mental health of those who may need gentle support and many of the leaders and helpers have received suicide prevention training. Alongside The Harbour our weekly food bank operates. Working with the Soar Valley Community Food Project we aim to support those who are in need with the basics. Each week we give out about 7 food parcels, which support about 20 people in the village.

At the beginning of 2023 we had two Warm Spaces slots. These were designed to help with those who needed to save some money on heating their homes. They were not well attended, so closed and did not re-open at the end of the year.

The other regular groups that continued were:

Little Buds and Baby Buds which are our toddler and baby groups respectively. These are very well attended groups where we see many parents, grandparents and other carers with the little ones in

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their care. At Little Buds the morning ends with a Bible story and singing time. Baby Buds is more aimed at being a support group, especially for first-time mums.

Tuesday morning prayers run most weeks and are a time of praying for any needs that arise, as well as prayer for other churches in the Soar Valley Gospel Partnership, people in the church, situations in our world and general prayer for the church. Each prayer meeting begins with praise and worship.

Restored is a mid-week service, predominantly targeted at seniors. Traditional hymns are sung, alongside some more contemporary songs, and there is a talk each week, usually on a theme to do with faith. The service ends with tea and cake.

The Connect Café on a Monday and Tuesday lunchtime has reduced to being just a Tuesday. It is a place for connection and great value food. The café opens with a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Open to all.

Thrive is our monthly group for people with dementia and their carers. At Thrive, we have refreshments, a Bible story, prayer and games. The group is about 8 people with varying degrees of dementia.

Sports and Crafts is our Friday morning group, mainly targeted at seniors, to come and engage in various crafts such as knitting, needlework and crochet, alongside sports including pool, table tennis and dominoes. There is a simple café open throughout and each week there is a pause in proceedings for a ‘thought for the day’ which is based on an element of faith.

Firepit Fridays are a monthly gathering for men to sit around a fire pit and have a chat. Topics covered include faith, parenthood, and mental and physical health. No topic is off-limits for the group who seek to support each other in manhood.

Who Let The Dads Out is a monthly group for dads, grandads and other male role models to bring children up to 8 years old to a Saturday morning of play, crafts and food. The craft is faith-based and we aim to have conversations with the men who attend about their roles as dads and encourage attendance at Messy Church.

Messy Church is a monthly service for families and people of all ages to do some crafts and games, which is followed by a fun and interactive service and ends in a sit-down meal all together.

Growth Groups are weekly gatherings, usually in people’s houses, of about 6 – 12 people to delve more deeply into the Bible, pray and support one another. Materials for the groups are usually produced in-house and follow the Sunday morning teaching series.

Sunday morning services continue to be well attended and are the highlight of the gathered Christian community. We sing songs and hymns of praise, have prayers and offer prayer ministry, share testimony of God’s goodness, listen to a Bible-based sermon, and each month we share communion together. The services are streamed on YouTube and reach a number of people. During the service we have Sunday School and Sunday Morning Youth group. These groups give ageappropriate Bible teaching.

Sunday Evening Youth continued throughout 2023, though as some of the older ones had to leave the group (because of their age) it has proved harder to get a core of young people to attend. The group has games and activities and includes a Bible study, again held at an age-appropriate level.

Evening Praise is a monthly service which has a loose structure and is one where we seek God to lead us moment-by-moment. The time includes an extended period of sung worship, and we have time for sharing of testimony, prophetic words and prayer for anyone who asks for it. These services are not streamed online to allow greater freedom.

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Alternate months we gather for a Church Member’s Meeting . These meetings begin and end with praise and prayer and are a time for sharing what is happening in the church and for seeking God’s guidance as a church body.

Each month there is also a Churches Together in Barrow (CTiB) prayer meeting where we gather to demonstrate unity between the Christian denominations and support one another. CTiB also arranges joint services and prayer gatherings for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, World Day of Prayer, Lent Lunches (Fridays during Lent), Good Friday service and lunch, Remembrance Sunday and an Advent / Christmas service or event (the event in 2023 was a walking Nativity). There was an additional service put on by CTiB which was held in a local park.

Approximately alternate weeks Neil Jones, the minister, goes into the local CofE primary school to deliver assembly. He has built up a good rapport with staff and pupils alike.

In 2023 various events were held or attended by people from Barrow Baptist Church, these included:

We held a 24-hour prayer event in 2023 which was well attended. Materials were produced as an aid to prayer. We would like to hold similar events going forward and encourage even greater levels of participation.

Holy week devotions took place each day during Holy Week and were well attended. Each devotion consisted of sung worship, prayer and a reflection on the events that unfolded during the last week of Christ’s life leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.

A group of men from the church attended the CVM Gathering event, which involved camping, fellowship, fun and times of sung worship, Bible teaching, encouragement to men and other activities. There was also a Men’s one-day Conference which a number of men from the church attended at a nearby church.

Throughout the year ladies from the church attended Refresh which is a regular day of sung worship, Bible teaching and encouragement, exclusively for women.

Summer camp which was a weekend-long camp at a nearby Scout campsite. There were many activities for all ages and on the Sunday morning the regular church service was held at the campsite. A large number of people attended the camp and many more attended the service and lunch that followed. The camp is a time for deepening relationships and for enjoying fellowship.

The church also hosted a number of Senior’s events which included fish and chip suppers and an afternoon of entertainment given by a ‘vintage entertainer singer’, who sang a number of hit songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. At each senior’s event a Christian message is shared.

During the school summer holidays the church normally pauses its regular activities, however, through the summer of 2023 we held cafes , on alternate weeks, when there would be either: Little Buds and Baby Buds; Restored; and Sports and Crafts. These were aimed at the usual target audience for that timeslot and were well attended and appreciated.

Through 2023 we held various Christianity Explored courses, both online and face-to-face. These were carried out on a 2:1 basis for those who wanted it.

In 2023 we had mental health training (including suicide prevention) , delivered by a specialist from Leicestershire County Council (this enabled us to be named Leicestershire’s first ‘Mental Health Friendly’ organisation) and an anti-fraud event held by the local police.

Christmas is always a busy time for us at Barrow Baptist Church, and 2023 was no exception. This year we: delivered a Christmas card to every home in Barrow, had a stall at the local Christmas market and opened the church for free refreshments and had a fire pit for toasting marshmallows, hosted a ‘Christmas Minus One’ service for those who have been bereaved at some point and wish to remember their loved ones at Christmas; a seniors’ Christmas event; Sing Christmas event at the

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local Conservative Club, a well-attended Carol Service with choir, an all-age, interactive Nativity service, and Christmas Day service.

Other notable things during 2023 were:

A long-standing Elder (leader) within the church stepped down from their role; this included from catering and hosting the two weekly cafes (see above).

The formation of a new leadership structure called the Church Leadership Team and the calling of new leaders.

The introduction of a church app for formation of rotas and the sharing of information.

During 2023 we had a variety of preaching series, which included:

The year text (Philippians 4:6-7 – see above) Prayer The Sermon on the Mount Selected Psalms Suffering

Intertwined Church

The Gift (focussed on the gifts of the Magi and what they reveal to us about Jesus)

4. Mission Support

We continued to support a variety of other mission groups and projects who are meeting needs and sharing the gospel in our area and around the world. In 2023 we gave 15% of our total income to mission groups.

Local

We contribute to ‘Home Mission’ which supports churches, projects and staff within the East Midlands Baptist Association and across the country. We have been involved in mission in Barrow upon Soar, including through our ‘High Street Link’.

Global

We support the work of the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS), and are linked with Alan & Megan Barker and their work in Nepal. We also support three mission organisations on a rolling three-year basis. MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) was our new mission partner and we continued with our support for CBM (Christian Blind Mission). The year concluded our support for Africa Inland Mission and we chose Mission India to be our new partner for 2024.

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5. Fabric of the Building

In 2023, the main work undertaken was the repointing to the rear of the school room part of the building, along with many other smaller maintenance tasks.

A Quinquennial Inspection is planned for early in 2024, this is a detailed inspection of the building, from which a report will be produced. This will indicate where maintenance will be required in both the short and longer term.

6. Finance

The Trustees are responsible for managing the church’s finances. A financial summary for 2023 is on the following page.

The Church continues to raise the funds which it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation.

The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by making grants to national and international Christian organisations and societies with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the church’s own charitable purpose.

The Church is heavily dependent on its membership working as volunteers in all aspects of the church’s activities, many of which run with little or no impact on the church’s expenditure, but nevertheless contribute substantially to the achievement of the church’s objectives.

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

The Trustees have reviewed the Reserves Policy, and are satisfied that they have sufficient reserves at the Balance Sheet date, together with ongoing income anticipated, to enable the church to function effectively in the coming year.

The Trustees have made an assessment of the major risks facing the church, and are satisfied that there are policies in place to minimise these risks.

Reserves policy

The reserves policy is to maintain a balance of unrestricted funds which equates to 3 months staff costs and mortgage payments plus one month’s running costs, to cover emergency situations which may arise.

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Barrow Baptist Church

Statement of Financial Activity For the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

Opening monetary balance(bank accounts & cash)	2023 75,161.47 £
Area of Ministry Regular Giving (standingorder &gift aid) Irregulargivingincl. legacies Room Hire General Church Church buildingcosts Minister & Staff Costs Church Groups Catering Church camp Practical Support & foodbank Missiongiving Manse Depreciation Total Net gain / loss
	2023
	Income 107,071.85 £ 2 16,818.85 £ 2 10,979.50 £ 8,640.13 £ 3 4 2.52 £ 5 10,278.46 £ 6 7,248.80 £ 7 1,562.50 £ 259.00 £ 8 3,920.00 £ 9 0.10 £ 166,781.71 £

We have recategorised some areas of income and expenditure to better reflect our activities. This has resulted in last year’s comparatives being restated also. You will note however that the totals for income and expenditure and hence net gain are the same as reported in last year’s financial statements.

Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2023

Fixed Assets

Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets		2023			2022
Equipment	£	7,647.38		£	8,012.93
Tech & Computer Equipment	£	5,918.39		£	6,836.21
Total fixed assets	£	13,565.77	12	£	14,849.14
Current Assets
Monetary balance
Current Account	£	40,751.92		£	48,774.16
Baptists Together Deposit Account	£	26,307.29		£	25,231.85
Cash in Hand	£	1,139.09		£	1,155.46
Total monetary assets	£	68,198.30		£	75,161.47
Accrued income	£	321.00		£	799.00
Total current assets	£	68,519.30		£	75,960.47
Accrued expenses / liabilities	£	600.58	13	£	7,107.61
Net Assets	£	81,484.49		£	83,702.00
Capital and Reserves
Current year earnings	-£	2,217.51		£	3,658.69
Retained Earnings	£	83,702.00		£	80,043.31
Total Capital and Reserves	£	81,484.49	14	£	83,702.00

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Notes to the Accounts 1. Basls of accounts ThÈse acC￿nts have been wepa￿don anatcruals basisand in linÈwthS130ChatibesAtt2011. 2. Ar•a of Mlnl8try.' Glvlng 2023 2022 Ewdur• 87.58&58 19.48 14.16&51 1,524AO 7&70 17.4tTr74 14.916 12&( Ttrffjivp9VI 2411 Totsi 3. Ar•¥ of Mlnl$try'. ¢hur¢h- gen•ral Attount 2023 2022 dttur• Inc¢l EwdMur• Prtthro F l￿￿pD￿d(W￿&cMD 7x35 knirt 1J)7.51 1ASI56 S37.1S M¥kalr¢&Crfflmw4c 17040 2￿70 SLtsCri￿Cn￿lm￿Mb8rl￿P1UCQ￿￿ 1141 2.XP)22 2.810 3,23Y51 4,1(WT 2,lQS 1,QFW 4(WAI 1221.11 3,￿.54 TM•I 4. Ar•a Of Mlmltry'. Church lyulldlny ¢￿ts 2023 2022 A¢C¢1￿￿t ETp￿dttur Ewdnyrs 117XI I,5￿0? Totsi 5. Ar•a olMlnl8try'. Wnlstsr & Staff 2023 2022 ).Éth88 28.03&g8 152 IC P*thkl 31.701. 28.370 Totsi 6. Ar•a olMlnl8try.' Chur¢h Groups 2023 2022 Intor ￿.￿￿1 441.40 2.1& 1.￿4. 4M13 WLTDO 4. 252 70. 27&61 41561 10. Swts&Crd &5.10 3A49. I7￿￿%

1,11tyfj) MthÈWork 31& 23&1 141 1.7J4.74 Tr 4X&19 7. Ar•a olMlnl8try.' CatsrltWA 2023 2022 Z5%. 2,N&¥J 4,￿1 6,46231 7,￿1.15 2AL.16 T￿ 8. Ar•a of Ml$$lon IAWon HLYnèMIssiL 2023 2022 dttur stMi&iirnySW18MSI 7B55 1Y5 1Y5 CB 1A45- Z13Q£É L(￿MISSiO) 3,21V4 Tol g. Ar•a ofMlnlty.. Man¥• Ac￿unt 2023 2022 dhur• Ewdhur• egts GiRfv4dClrim 3,￿.{ 3,￿. 4921.70 111) 1A31.49 T￿ 419U5 Mlsilon Glvlng 2023.. 4.111k41 £ 9 753.24 £ 157,028.47 1.570.28 £ 3.140.57 £ 7,851.42 2% 5% 15% £ 23.554.27 10. Assqts held In TrI￿t B￿r{W￿￿￿.lE1z￿Q, $w￿r￿%￿lwAs￿IoM io

1. Man80 Loan ¢WwdU1￿wSs£2$,84fy24 (l£15,&*&)￿3lll
2. Tanglblo Assets Ba￿rKe broughtfoThvard Add￿Onal kems 2023 2022 £ 14b49.14 £ 1.634. £ I3,￿7& 3,724.L4 LeS$dep￿￿1knTh& dlsposals Tol 2.918.26 £ £ 11M77 E 2,240.68
3. Llabllltlo8 l ￿¢r￿•￿ oxwn808 AgenCyc￿￿¢bI Owed105upplie MIsslong￿lTh8 &C￿￿￿Onst0bÈ pald Tv141 2023 2022 1￿.14 £ 445.14 £ 6,￿1 7.1QT.01
4. Res•rveB IS. P•nlon Costs L￿￿￿￿.Th$•y￿￿IISrthr￿t08&8'b￿-ITr￿1l￿Y llfdl(Avsa￿ml1￿￿￿￿￿W1￿ju￿tIn￿19th￿c¢y4￿￿mOSt Ithjthwkntss¢￿é,$DBFI￿ oclaratlon Slyd t￿11 oft￿ TnMt•• of B•rrcw BBptl•t Clxr¢h.' Signalurg.. Date.. li

Report of the Independent Examlner to the Trustees of Barrow Baptist Church On the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 Respectl¥e responslbllFtles of Trustees and Examlner The Church's Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The church's trustees conslder that an audit is not required for thls year under section 144 of the Charlties Att 2011 Iihe Charitles Artl and that an independent examination is needed. It is my respon5ibilityto.. e¥amine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities ACL to fo￿loW the procedures laid down in the general Direttions 8iven by the Chartycornmission (under section 14515llbl of the Charltles Art, and • to state whether partlcular matters have corne to my attenlon. Basls of Independent examIne￿5 ststement My examlnation was Carried out in accordance with general Dlrections gwen bythe Charity Commission. An examination ncludes a review of the 4ccountin8 record5 kept by the church and a cornpari50n of the account5 presented with those records. It a150 includes consideration of any unusual iterns or disc105ures in the accounts, and seeking explanations frorn the trustee5 concernlng any suth matters. The procedures undertsken do not provide all the evldence that would be required in audit, and consequently no opinlon Is 8lven as to whetherthe accounts present a'true and falrf vlew and the ￿port Is limited to those matters set out In the statement below. Independent examlntrf$ Matement In connection with my examination, no material mattels have corne to my attention which 8ive5 me cause to believe that In, any material respect.. a¢¢ountin8 re¢ord5 were not kept in accordan￿ with settion 130 of the Charities Art or the a¢count5 do not accord wlth the accounting records the accounts do not Comply with the appllcable requirements concernin8 the form and content of accounts set out In the Charities (Accounts and Reportsl Re8ulatlons 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts 8ive a 'true and fair view which Is not a matter considered as part of an indepentlent examination. lif accounts prepared on ac¢ruals Iiasis I I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to whlch attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 'Delete the words In the brackets If they do not 3pplv Slgned by the Exèmlner.. Date 13 2*L Name Sf vfvllT Aelevant Professlonal Quallflcatlonlsl gr body Ilf anvl ACA 12

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date

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Barrow Baptist Church, Beveridge Street, Barrow Upon Soar, LE12 8PL 01509 416603 | www.barrowbaptist.org.uk

Registered Charity Number: 1129860

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