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2021-12-31-accounts

Rochester Baptist Church Charit no. 1130518 y

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

8-10 Crow Lane, Rochester Kent ME1 1RF www.rochesterbaptist.co.uk/

Rochester Baptist Church Trustees’ Annual Report 2021

Legal and administrative details

Registered charity name: Rochester Baptist Church Charity registration number: 1130518 Address for correspondence: 8-10 Crow Lane, Rochester, Kent ME1 1RF Governing documents: Constitution and Rules, both adopted 4 June 2009 Status: Rochester Baptist Church is a Charitable Unincorporated Association, and a member of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches Website: www.rochesterbaptist.co.uk/ Pastor: Luciano Pelosi Bankers: Barclays Bank; Kingdom Bank ( per Barclays) Independent examiner: Sarah Crispin ACA, Stewardship, 1 Lamb’s Passage, London EC1Y 8AB

Trustees

The Managing Trustees are the elders and deacons:

Elders: Mr Luciano Pelosi †# (from 19/09/22) Mr Neil King ‡ (to 17/09/21) Mr Darren Greening †‡ (from 23/07/21) Mr James Scott ‡ (to 30/06/21) Deacons: Mr Peter Hydes ‡ (from 30/04/21 to 25/03/22) Mr Russell Poynter ‡ (to 28/04/22) Mr Navin Jacob ‡ (from 30/04/21 to 30/09/21) Mrs Lydia Sutch ‡ (to 28/04/22) Mr Malcolm Peake †‡ (from 30/04/21) Mrs Amanda Weallans ‡ (to 22/04/21) Mrs Judith Pennington †‡ (from 30/04/21) Mr David Weatherley †‡ (from 30/04/21)

† = trustee on the date this report was approved ‡ = trustee in the financial year 2021 # = ex officio trustee (Pastor)

Corporate trustee: None

Holding Trustee: Our Moat House premises and Manse are held on trust by our Holding Trustee, the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches). However, as more churches become CIOs, the Fellowship Property Trust is ceasing to act as a holding trustee, so we are looking either to move our holding trusteeship to Church Growth Trust, or to move to ownership as a CIO (Rochester Baptist Church).

Declaration

This Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 18 October 2022.

by D Greening

Name & office held — Darren Greening, Elder

Index

page 2 Legal and administrative details page 11 Receipts and Payments account page 3 Context of this report (incl COVID-19) page 12 Statement of Assets and Liabilities page 3 Trustees’ report page 14 Notes to the Accounts page 10 Financial review page 17 Independent Examiner’s Report

2

Context of this report

As a charity registered with the Charity Commission (CC) and with an income between £25,000 and £500,000, the trustees of Rochester Baptist Church (RBC) have a legal requirement to provide to the CC each year an Annual Return, including this Trustees’ Annual Report (TAR). The TAR must include:

  1. legal and administrative details of our charity, its trustees and advisers;

  2. structure, governance and management information;

  3. a public benefit statement, reporting on how our charity achieved its stated aims in the financial year in question (1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021) and how this was of public benefit (in line with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit);

  4. a financial review containing: a. policy on reserves; b. details of any funds materially in deficit;

  5. other required information about our organisation, comprising our declarations in relation to

  6. finance and assets (financial controls, income from outside UK, spending outside England and Wales,

  7. fundraising, Gift Aid, government funding, funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others, trading subsidiaries, land and buildings, grant-making activities, linked charities),

  8. people (volunteers, trustee payments, highest paid employee, employees paid £60,000 or more), • other

  9. compliance (DBS, GDPR, regulators, policies).

Context – COVID-19: Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we continued to tailor our activities and the way we operated in line with government guidance; this meant that in 2021, we were able to maintain or resume many of our activities. The trustees continued to monitor income and expenditure with a view to taking measures, if necessary, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the charity’s free reserves (see Finances in the context of COVID19 for further details).

Structure, governance and management

Rochester Baptist Church was registered as a charity on 13 July 2009, following the adoption on 4 June 2009 of its updated constitution and rules. It is governed by a team of church officers (elders and deacons), who are the managing trustees and who meet regularly throughout the year. Elders (including pastors) and deacons are appointed by the church members; details of how these appointments are made are set out in the Constitution and Rules.

Elders are responsible for the spiritual and pastoral oversight of the church; they are elected at a special church meeting for a 5-year term, after which they may offer themselves for re-election (a pastor’s term of office is defined in his Contract of Appointment). Deacons are responsible for the day-to-day practical management of church life. They are elected at a special church meeting for a 4-year term, after which they may offer themselves for re-election for a further term. The secretary to the church officers and treasurer are deacons. From 2022, the treasurer is part of a wider finance team; and other activities of the church are also managed or overseen by individuals or teams, who are accountable to and supported by the elders and deacons.

In 2021, our Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 21 July. In view of COVID-19 guidelines, the AGM was in a “blended” format, with approximately 60% attending in person, and 40% on Zoom.

Pastor and Moderator roles: Following the resignation of our pastor in summer 2020, who left to take up a post elsewhere, church members voted in 2020 firstly to appoint a Moderator, and secondly to authorise a small group (4 church officers, 4 other church members, and our Moderator) to lead the search for a new Pastor. During the first part of 2021, we were unable to appoint a new Pastor. However, the search group reconvened in September 2021, and our new Pastor took up his post a year later, in September 2022.

Stated aims

Our stated aims are:

These aims are achieved by providing services to children, young people, and the general public / mankind.

CC guidance on public benefit: By their nature, our aims involve outreach to the general public, so that our activities (outlined below) naturally fall within the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, in particular the guidance relating to the advancement of the Christian faith.

Overview of activities in 2021

Below is an overview of our activities in 2021:

Each area is explained in more detail below.

Providing regular worship open to all

Regular worship: Throughout 2021, we held regular services on Sundays, generally at 10.30am every Sunday morning, and at 6pm on some Sunday evenings. Depending on the national and local guidance in place at any given time, our services were held either in person at our Moat House premises; online (via Zoom); or in a “blended” format combining both in-person and online options.

Services are open to church members and to the general public, with meeting times advertised directly (on our website, in our weekly webmails, and via staff in the Moat House Christian Books and Coffee Shop), and indirectly (via contact details available on our website and on an information board outside the church building). We also held many of our Sunday evening meetings downstairs, enabling us to be more visible to passers-by. Including children, non-members and a number of visitors, generally our Sunday services in 2021 were attended by a congregation of 100-120 people in the morning (including estimated “attendance” at morning meetings on Zoom), and 30-40 in the evening. As in previous years, in 2021 we held special and one-off services, including Christmas, Easter, and other special services including two baptisms, a service to welcome new people into membership, and Church in the Park.

Younger children and babies: In normal circumstances, we seek to make it easier for families with children to attend our Sunday morning meetings, by providing: • children's church for those up to school year 6 • a crèche for younger children • and nappy-changing and breastfeeding facilities that are easily accessible within the church premises.

For much of 2021, COVID-19 restrictions meant that we were unable to offer separate sessions for children (after the resumption of in-person meetings, families were encouraged to attend, with children staying with their parents during the meeting). In September 2021, we were able to resume:

• children's church for those aged 4–11 • a crèche for under 4s (this took place at the back of the coffee shop, with a team of 3 adult leaders and 5 teenage helpers catering for an average of 2 children per week, with toys and books to keep them entertained).

Christmas: On Sunday 19 December, our Carols by Candlelight service, themed “Joy to the World”, was held on Zoom. On Christmas Day, we celebrated the birth of our Saviour, again in a service on Zoom.

Easter: Our Easter events in 2021 comprised a Good Friday communion service; and a service on Easter Sunday morning, with the theme “Christ is risen – so what?”.

Other special services, guest speakers, etc.: On Sunday 5 September, it was our very real joy to celebrate new life in Christ as we held a baptismal service for two young people, who spoke memorably about their lives and their journey of faith, and explained why they had chosen to be baptised. In July, we had said a formal goodbye to one of our elders who left to take up a role as full-time pastor in Wales; and in October, we were able to welcome three people into church membership, recognising the importance of mutual commitment within a local church family.

Teaching Christianity through sermons, small groups and courses

Sermons: Teaching is a major part of our Sunday meetings and features: • sermon series (in 2021, we completed our series in Matthew’s gospel, started a series in the book of Joshua, and had a mini-series on the Suffering Servant) • one-off topics (including the Trinity, and Exodus) • and visiting speakers, including a number of speakers from local churches.

Children’s church: For much of 2021, COVID-19 restrictions meant that we were unable to offer separate Sunday morning sessions for children. in September, however, we were pleased to be able to resume children's church for those aged 4–11. A team of 6 adult leaders and 5 teenage helpers ran the sessions for an average of 4 children per week, with Bible learning, games, craft and a snack.

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Small groups: Throughout 2021, we continued to meet together regularly during the week, either in person (when COVID-19 guidelines permitted) or via Zoom:

Conferences: In 2021, church members had the opportunity to attend a number of conferences, either in person or virtually. These included: • two Kent Gospel Partnership training days (in March), focusing on children’s ministry and youth ministry respectively • a Word One to One webinar on Zoom (April) • and a Kent Gospel Partnership webinar, on “everyday evangelism” (June).

Courses: We ran courses focusing on the responsibilities that go with commitment to a local church.

Providing youth groups with a Christian ethos

We continued to provide age-specific clubs for young people, either in person or virtually, in line with national and regional COVID-19 guidelines. Group leaders aimed to offer a programme giving the young people opportunities to make new friends, develop existing friendships, relax, have fun, and explore issues concerning their community, society and faith.

Connect4: Our Connect4 youth group kicked off 2021 in the same way it ended 2020 – Friday evenings on Zoom! Despite the growing dislike for all Zoom-based activities, our young people, aged 11 to 14, continued to show commitment to their youth group throughout the year. The average group size dropped slightly to 6 as several of the young people moved on to our older group in September, but we welcomed a few new faces, some of whom we knew within our church family and some from outside of the church. The highlights of the year include leading one of the Sunday morning services, competing in our local Medway Mile run, and getting back to in-person youth group evenings from the end of April.

Breakaway : Our Breakaway group comprised up to 8 teenagers who met fortnightly during term time, on Friday evenings or Sunday afternoons, either in person (from June 2021) or in virtual meetings on Zoom. Group members met to chat informally, to study, and to discuss a number of relevant topics. In the first half of the year, the group had studies through Genesis, before switching to exploration of a number of topics, suggested by group members, related to the Christian faith. In May the group led a section of the Sunday morning meeting for the whole church.

Promoting the whole mission of the church through activities for senior citizens, parents/carers & toddlers, and other specific groups

CAP Job Club: Our CAP Job Club held “Community time” for clients, to promote well-being and encourage one another – these sessions were initially online, and then in person once COVID-19 restrictions had lifted. Current and new clients were also able to contact the CAP Job Club Manager individually, for online support and coaching with enquiries regarding their job search.

CAMEO: Come And Meet Each Other (CAMEO) is aimed at people of more mature years, and usually meets fortnightly (10-11.45am) in our Moat House premises. Following a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, CAMEO restarted in September 2021, switching its meeting venue to the Moat House Coffee Shop. Once again, in 2021 CAMEO members co-ordinated the 82 shoe boxes that comprised our church’s contribution to the Blythswood Shoe Box appeal. In December. we had a buffet-style Christmas lunch. CAMEO numbers are slightly less than in previous years, but it is hoped they will increase in 2022.

Little Stars: Our parent and carer toddler group continued to “meet” on Zoom at the beginning of 2021, with team preparation enabling us to meet physically by April. Although government guidelines required us to significantly limit the number of families, to 8 per session, we were able to counter this by providing extra sessions, with one specifically targeting under 1s and their carers. Much fun was had. and it became a fortnightly highlight for many.

In April, the team gathered online for training, led by an experienced organiser who provided valuable advice on getting alongside the adults in our sessions. As term came to an end, we once again delivered leavers gifts, sent birthday cards, and provided craft.

By September, we were able to return to normal. Mindful of potential concerns, we initially restricted numbers but demand quickly prompted a re-think; so for the remainder of 2021, we met upstairs in the main hall, where space allowed for numbers of 85 enjoying a variety of rotating activities to encourage early years development and

5

interaction. Each session ends with a story, singing, notices, and celebrations around a termly theme eg. weather, miracles of Jesus, etc.

Our one-off activities in 2021 included a beach day, a Teddy Bears Picnic, a ‘welly walk’ where some 15 families explored local woodland, and two Christmas parties, allowing more families to come and celebrate the birth of Jesus and the hope that gives us.

Church in the Park: On Sunday 8 August, we once again decamped one of our Sunday morning meetings to Rochester Esplanade for “Church in the Park”, allowing us to have fun while also making ourselves visible and more accessible to those who might not venture into a church building. Alongside football, rounders, a tug of war, treasure hunt, temporary tattoos and ice creams, there was also a sketch from our very own Humbug Theatre Co.

Dickens Festival: Rochester Baptist Church participates in Rochester’s annual winter Dickens Festival, held in the city centre. Our close proximity to the High Street enables us to have a profile within the festival, which provides a great way for the church family to honour God by working together as a fellowship, interact with the public, and share our faith in a practical way. We were again included in Medway’s official Dickens Festival programme, and once again the friendly atmosphere of our coffee shop and side hall premises made our refreshments a popular choice, including with wheelchair users and parents with buggies, for whom our relatively spacious seating areas offer a practical option.

During 2021, our activities at the winter Dickens Festival included:

As in previous years, all profits from our activities associated with the pop-up stalls, both Saturday and Sunday, were given to the Blythswood Care charity.

Other regular activities: In 2021, we opted not to resume a small number of our regular activities, in many cases as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 guidelines. These included: • summer Holiday Bible Club • Christianity Explored / Life Explored courses • autumn party • Tealightful. We plan to review these activities, in line with our stated aims, with a view to deciding which of these to restart, either in the previous or modified format.

Supporting marriage

We continued to support marriage through on-going pastoral care on an informal basis.

Pastoral work including visiting the sick and bereaved

Pastoral work continued to be an on-going and important aspect of our work, particularly in the context of COVID19, with its added pressures and, for some, increased sense of isolation. Pastoral support was carried out by the leadership team, by individual church members, and through groups such as Home Groups, daytime study groups, CAMEO, and Little Stars, with the aim of providing support to church members, neighbours, friends, relatives, and other contacts. We also continued to give pastoral support to a number of people with whom our initial contact was through our CAP Job Club, or the Moat House Christian Books and Coffee Shop (both new and regular customers).

Other services and activities

Community Worker: From January to July 2021, our Community Worker continued her involvement in various activities for those in our local community, both on our church premises and beyond, with her role concluding in July 2021. For part of this time, flexible furlough arrangements allowed her to continue many aspects of her role, including running our CAP Job Club; managing our Moat House coffee shop - supporting staff during closures and managing the shop when it reopened; and maintaining links outside our church premises, including fielding queries from the general public, contact with local businesses, and continuing the important link with our local school, for whom she prepared and recorded regular assemblies each term for the pupils to watch in class.

Quiz night: In October 2021, we once again hosted a quiz night, which also included a brief talk about the church. With the theme of “coffee”, the quiz was attended by approximately 60 people, around half of whom do not normally attend a church.

The Moat House and hall hire: Our Moat House premises are available for hire to community-based groups throughout the week for a range of activities. In 2021, with COVID-19 restrictions continuing to have some impact on our hall hire, we hired out our premises on 82 occasions, 73 of which were to regular hirers. Our hall hire customers included other charities (3 times) and one-off hirers (6 times, including 2 schools visiting Rochester).

6

New customers in 2021 included a second choir, and two new exercise classes. Our premises were also used as a polling station on one occasion.

Christian bookshop / coffee shop: Located on the church premises just off the High Street, the Moat House Christian Books and Coffee Shop is a hub for our local community, including church attendees and those who do not normally attend church, as well as those who are lonely, socially isolated or seeking support and advice.

We have a significant number of regulars, from mothers with young children to older people, and those who just want a safe place to come. We have some local groups who meet informally over lunch each week, and those who pop in for a drink or light lunch, and to speak with our staff about our Christian faith. For those wanting to know more about Jesus, there is also a range of relevant information leaflets and other Christian literature.

The coffee shop offers refreshments such as hot and cold drinks, home-baked cakes, and freshly prepared light lunches. Alongside this, we offer a selection of gifts, Christian literature and other resources including: • Bibles for all ages and in several versions • gifts and crafts • a large selection of greetings cards • biographies and autobiographies of respected Christian men and women, past and present • resources tackling topics such as grief, debt, illness, work, family life, sex, marriage, singleness, etc. • books for teenagers and children.

In line with COVID-19 guidelines, the shop was closed from January to March 2021. From April the shop was open 3 days a week (Mon to Wed) for books/gifts and takeaway drinks, but not food – again in line with government guidelines. From mid-May to the end of August, the coffee shop reopened 3 days a week (Mon to Wed), which we were able to extend to 4 days a week (Mon to Thu) from September to December 2021. It has been great to welcome back regular customers and new customers.

In September, some local community groups started using our space for regular coffee mornings. One of these is a group of local mums who meet every Wednesday morning to make new friends and share experiences of raising children. We hosted a successful Macmillan Coffee morning for the local community in September and a quiz night in October. On 3 evenings in November, we were also able to provide refreshments to a local high street group who were filming a Christmas advert to encourage people to come to Rochester. As in previous years, we also opened for the local Dickens festival, providing refreshments and a safe place to relax for those visiting the local area.

Supporting mission and other Christian charities in the UK and overseas

RBC views mission as a priority. We have links with a number of mission organisations, as well as with Christian charities involved in community projects with a Christian basis. In 2021 we gave a total of £27,633 to mission, a substantial proportion of which was allocated by our Mission Focus Group, which guides the church on a number of aspects of mission. A further £568.85, including money given in 2020-21 by our BLT youngsters, will be rolled over to be spent in 2022.

UK:

We gave financial support to:

In addition to the above, in 2021 we maintained links with:

7

Overseas:

Four organisations are the primary focus of our financial support for overseas mission:

In addition, in 2021 we gave financial support to the following:

We also maintained links with the following:

Young people:

Our young people are encouraged to develop the habit of giving to and supporting others. Money given in 2021 will be rolled over to 2022, when it will be given to a mission organisation chosen by our young people.

Other required information about our organisation

Compliance and regulators:

8

Finance and assets — money in:

Finance and assets — money out:

9

Financial review / assets

See also the separate section above, Other required information about our organisation, for other financerelated information, including Land and buildings, Grant-making, Gift Aid, etc.

Finances in the context of COVID-19: The trustees have continued to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our finances overall. While our income has seen a decrease owing to a number of factors (changes to some activities in line with COVID-19 guidelines, including reduced hall hire income; and a lower church membership than in 2019, resulting in lower giving + Gift Aid figures); and while some expenditure has increased (utilities, and expenditure on our 3 buildings); nevertheless other areas of expenditure have seen a significant reduction, notably ministry costs (pending the appointment of a new pastor) and outreach (with several activities reduced or suspended in line with COVID-19 guidelines). The net effect has been a healthy level of receipts over payments in 2021; and a healthy balance carried forward to 2022. As a result, no measures have been required to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our free reserves, which remain unaffected.

Income and expenditure: The vast majority of our income for 2021 (£135,577) comprised donations from members and friends of the church and related Gift Aid, with some further income generated from hiring out our premises (when COVID guidelines allowed) to groups and individuals within the local community. The church also derives income from 2 properties purchased to provide accommodation, where relevant, for church employees/trainees. In 2021, this rental income amounted to £7,200.

Our expenditure for the year was £109,671. Some expenditure in 2021 was higher than usual, but in other areas expenditure was significantly lower than usual (see “Finances in the context of COVID-19”).

Reserves: Adding the balance brought forward from 2020 (£113,869) and including the 2021 excess of income over expenditure (£25,905), at the end of 2021 we had total reserves of £139,774. Deducting the £25,500 in the Designated Church Reserves Fund*, and the amounts in other designated funds, the amount available for use by the church was therefore £114,493. Some of this has been used to continue to pay a Moderator during our search for a full-time Pastor; and to make improvements to our church properties, taking advantage of periods where in-person activities were limited. In the future, we plan to use further reserves to pay the salary of our future Pastor, to revamp one of our properties, and to make changes to our coffee shop area. In all cases, the aim is to assist our work in the community, in line with our stated aims; and in line with our Reserves Policy, which we adopted in 2018.

Scrutiny and summary of accounts: The Trustees have overall responsibility for the preparation of the financial accounts, which are produced by the Treasurer. The 2021 accounts were independently examined by an accountant in 2022 (section 145 of the Charities Act). A summary of those accounts, along with the IER, is given below.

10

Rochester Baptist Church FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

These statements include differences of up to £1, owing to rounding

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £ £
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
Receipts
Receipts from donors
Regular giving 95,002 - -
95,002		 113,051
Other collections (note a) - 90 -
90		 65
Gift Aid repayment from HMRC 22,920 - -
22,920		 27,092
Grant – CJRS furlough 4,214 .- -
4,214		 -
Other voluntary receipts(note b) 692 - -
692		 551
Hall hire 2,896 - -
2,896		 2,763
Church rental properties 7,200 - -
7,200		 6,900
Receipts from church activities(note c) 1,347 638 -
1,986		 700
Investment income(note d) 46 - -
46		 119
Loan to Trustee payments - - -
-		 7,700
Pre-payment to 10ofThose via Moat House 531 - -
531		 -
134,848 728 -
135,577		 158,941
Payments:activities in furtherance of charitable objectives
Church activities
Ministry (note e) 25,088 - -
25,088		 55,050
Mission (note f) 27,633 - -
27,633		 28,434
Outreach (note g) 4,248 1,490 -
5,738		 13,509
Building utility 7,996 - -
7,996		 6,510
Building fabric 23,863 - -
23,863		 11,750
Other payments(note h) 12,876 - -
12,876		 14,238
Church rental properties 6,478 - -
6,478		 1,362
108,181 1,490 -
109,671		 130,854
Excess of receipts over payments 26,667 -762 -
25,905		 28,087
Funds brought forward at 1st January 87,826 26,043 -
113,869		 85,782
Funds carried forward at 31st December 114,493 25,281 -
139,774		 113,869

11

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES as at 31[st] December 2021

Cash funds
Bank current account
Bank savings account 1
Bank savings account 2
Represented by
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds (note i)
Restricted Funds (note j)
Assets
Rochester Baptist Church (note k)
Church equipment (note l)
45 Rochester Ave (note m)
4 Howard Ave (note n)
Gift Aid recoverable to year end
GASDs recoverable to year end
Unpaid hall hire
Money held by Rock UK (Men’s Weekend) awaiting refund
10ofThose pre-payment via the Moat House – balance
Liability
HMRC tax and NI to year end due out in Jan 2022
NEST contribution to year end due out in Jan 2022
Independent Examination for 2021 accounts due out in 2022
Payroll software Cloud fee
Bank charges
Utilities (gas, elec, water) for Dec usage (est)
Phone for Dec usage (est)
Afghan Christians
4 Howard Avenue unpaid utilities and Council Tax (est)
Outstanding payment to Moat House Coffee Shop
Hall hire deposits and pre-payments		 Total
Total
2021
2020
£
£
64,071
38,212
49,941
49,937
25,762
25,720
139,774
113,869
114,493
87,826
25,281
26,043
-
-
139,774
113,869
1,934,288
1,721,509
7,224
7,224
360,000
165,000
304,000
54,000
15,986
18,371
143
10
64
-
3,383
3,383
469
1,000
1,967,777
1,970,498
-
321
-
123
900
900
4
5
10
6
669
900
52
-
90
-
3,300
-
150
50
566
448
5,742
2,753

Except where indicated from the statement of receipts and payments or above, all the assets and liabilities are in respect of the charity’s unrestricted funds.

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TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees are required to prepare a statement of account for each accounting year. They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the church and to ensure that such accounts and records comply with the Charities Act 2011. They also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the church and to take reasonable steps to detect fraud or other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurances that:

  1. The church is operating efficiently and effectively.

  2. Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition.

  3. Financial information used within the church or for publication is reliable.

  4. The church complies with relevant laws and regulations.

APPROVAL

The accounts were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf

on 18 October 2022

by D Greening

Name & office held — Darren Greening, Elder

The notes on pages 14–16 form part of these financial statements.

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Rochester Baptist Church FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021 Notes to the Financial Statements Receipts and Payments Analysis

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis, and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes (below). The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a “true and fair” view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a “true and fair” view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.

a.
Collections other than giving
Sunday School for chosen mission
Support for Afghan Christians
b.
Other voluntary receipts
One-off donations / gifts
c.
Receipts from church activities
Dickens Festival activities
Outreach
Ministry (preaching)
d.
Investment Income
Interest on current account
Interest on savings account 1
Interest on savings account 2		 Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
65
-
90
-
90
-
-
90
-
90
65
692
-
-
692
551
692
-
-
692
551
1,347
-
-
1,347
86
-
638
-
638
395
-
-
-
-
220
1,347
638
-
1,986
700
-
-
-
-
-
4
-
-
4
44
42
-
-
42
75
46
-
-
46
119

14

e.

Rochester Baptist Church

(Notes to the Financial Statements continued)

Ministry
NI and PAYE to HMRC
Pensions
Leaseback
Expenses
Salary
Visiting speakers
Moderator
Training, conference, planning
Youth ministry
Resources		 2,132
-
-
2,132
868
-
-
868
-
-
-
-
1,175
-
-
1,175
14,326
-
-
14,326
911
-
-
911
4,057
-
-
4,057
995
-
-
995
269
-
-
269
354
-
-
354
9,676
2,731
6,787
2,046
32,862
268
623
-
55
-
25,088
-
-
25,088		 55,050

Regarding payments to Trustees, please refer to the disclosures made in Trustee Payments on p9 of this Report.

f.
Mission
Mission
Additional (ie Dickens)
g.
Outreach
CAP
Moat House
Outreach
Publicity
Dickens Festival
10ofThose pre-payment via MoatHouse		 26,888
-
-
26,888
28,434
745
-
-
745
-
27,633
-
-
27,633
28,434
425
-
-
425
986
2,405
-
-
2,405
10,083
90
1,490
-
1,580
773
945
-
-
945
667
383
-
-
383
-
-
-
-
-
1,000
4,248
1,490
-
5,738
13,509

Moat House is a company limited by guarantee (06697028) and is technically a trading subsidiary of the church.

h.
Other payments
Banking charges
Church holiday / Men’s weekend
Cleaning wages
Consumables
Hall hire refund
Legal compliance
i.
Designated Funds
Church Reserves
Little Stars money
Afghan Christians
Sunday School chosen mission
Craft club
Carried forward at 31st December		 85
-
2,982
1,788
303
7,718		 -
-
85
142
-
-
-
3,383
-
-
2,982
1,795
-
-
1,788
1,866
-
-
303
-
-
-
7,718
7,053
12,876 -
-
12,876
14,238
Fund
Total
25,500
25,500
25,500
- 630
-630
222
90
90
-
157
157
157
164
164
164
25,281
25,281
26,043

15

Rochester Baptist Church

(Notes to the Financial Statements continued)

j.
Restricted Funds
Brought forward 1st January
Carried forward at 31st December		 Fund
Total
-
-
-
-
-		 -

16

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Rochester Baptist Church

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Rochester Baptist Church (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2021 on pages 11-16 preceding.

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the charity 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 charity'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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those 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.

S Crispin

Sarah Crispin ACA Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales

For and on behalf of: Stewardship 1 Lamb’s Passage London EC1Y 8AB

26th October 2022

17