West Malling Baptist Church
2021 Report for Charity Commission
Statutory Information
Registered Address
61 Swan Street, West Malling, Kent, ME19 6LW
Charity Registration Number 1130977
Trustees
| Trustees | |
|---|---|
| Name | Date appointed |
| Rev D.Baxter (Minister) | January 2017 |
| Mr. R.Colechin | April 2019 (Stood down March 2022) |
| Mr. C.Cornwall (Treasurer) | April 2019 |
| Mr. A.Waitt | May 2018 (Resigned March 2021) |
| Miss J.Webb (Secretary) | March 2020 |
| Mrs.W.Mann | March 2020 |
| Mr J Davis | September 2021 |
Property Trustees
The Baptist Union Corporation Limited Baptist House 129 Broadway Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 8RT
Bankers
National Westminster Bank Plc 718 London Road Larkfield Aylesford Kent ME20 6AN
Independent Examiner
Precision Accountancy LLP 454 New Hythe Lane Aylesford Kent ME20 7UH
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Annual Report for 2021
The trustees present their Annual Report and financial statements for 2021.
Charitable Object
The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document which states that the principal purpose of the charity is 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.
The Church occupies premises which are held by the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd. on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above object.
Organisational Structure and Decision making processes
Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the Constitution which requires them to be or to have been publicly baptized or by profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or following other modes of baptism to renew their public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
The members Meeting normally takes place six times per year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church. In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint up to ten Trustees (including the Church Secretary and Treasurer) and collectively known as the Deacons, who together with the Minister (when in office), are responsible for the day to day running of the church's work and witness, and the financial and legal aspects of the charity. All members are encouraged to take an appropriate part in the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furtherance of the charitable objective.
Relevant matters may be submitted to the Church Meeting by the Trustees for guidance, or may be raised by members in Church Meeting for further consideration by the Trustees. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made at Church Meetings by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible.
Objectives and Activities
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. 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.
Central to the work and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship. These services take place each Sunday at 10:45am. There are also occasional services at other times which are advertised on the Church Notice Board and the website (www.wmbc.org.uk). There is a full children's programme during the morning services. The church seeks to be a friendly and welcoming community and anybody is free to attend any of these services.
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The Church runs a series of house groups for the growth of faith and discipleship in the homes of some members, and further details of these can be obtained from the Trustees on request, or at the Sunday services of worship.
The Church runs a number of groups that meet on the church premises, but may not have gathered during the period of Government Covid restrictions in 2021. These include:
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Monthly Messy Church for families (Last Saturday)
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Monthly coffee morning (second Wednesday)
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CAP Money Course
All of these have the purpose of assisting the community and demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ. From time to time the Church runs courses in parenting, marriage preparation, and courses for people interested in discovering more about Christianity. Some of these courses are run in partnership with other local churches.
The Church had an established Pre-School through 2021, which served the local community. In 2021 it has been run by trained qualified personnel and is inspected by Ofsted. The Church also runs various other events for young people, and men and women. (A fuller listing of all our activities is shown in our Annual Church Report for 2021 (which is available on request).
The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted with regard to the Disclosure and Barring Service. We have an appointed Safeguarding Trustee and policy.
The Church Trustees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and are satisfied that the activities outlined above clearly demonstrate that the Charity is providing a benefit to the public.
Achievements and Performance
The Church does not measure the success of its programmes only in numbers, including financial numbers, but also in less tangible areas like fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure, but believe that 2021 was a positive year in the life of the church despite the restrictions placed through the Government through the national Coronavirus pandemic, and that it is able to pursue its mission purposes in 2022 with confidence.
The Impact of the Covid-19 in 2020
From March 2019 the church closed for Sunday Worship following the UK Government guidance and that of The Baptist Union of Great Britain. Sunday worship moved to an on-line service. All weekly activities closed until restrictions on lockdown were lifted and the Pre-school could recommence. To be inclusive, the congregation who were unable to access the internet were invited to attend a Monday worship service when this was permissible, keeping within the Government restrictions on church gatherings.
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Eventually, as Government restrictions were lifted from July 2021, the church members meeting moved from ‘zoom’ to meeting physically. At this meeting any decisions made during “lockdown” were duly ratified by the members. Written reports from the Treasurer, Secretary and Minister were emailed or posted to all members prior to these meetings.
Other regular gatherings began reopening:
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Sunday morning worship (including activities for children and youth) reopened from July 2021
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Monthly coffee morning and Messy Church recommenced from September 2021
In May 2021 the church supported the local community of West Malling by serving as a Polling Station. It has also continued to support the local community, for example: offering lifts for appointments, giving supermarket vouchers and food parcels to those in need.
Swan St Pre-school
For many years the church has run a pre-school. In September 2021 it was becoming obvious that pupil numbers had significantly decreased, as well as local council funding, to the point that it was facing an ever increasing deficit. It was reported by the Pre-school Managers to the Trustees in September 2021.
The Trustees agreed to church funding Pre-School and underpin the deficit for the coming academic year. But, this would be on the firm proviso that a ‘rescue plan/plan of action’ be drawn up and worked through in this academic year to give the Pre-School the best chance of continuation. It was agreed that there should be an action plan to address:
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Accountability
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Preschool as part of the mission of the church
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Viability
The Trustee kept the development of the Pre-school under constant review. A Special Church Members Meeting gathered in November to allow Members to discuss the situation. However it had become increasingly apparent that by December Pre-school was unsustainable moving into 2022. It was decided by the Church Members at a Special Church members Meeting in December to begin the process of closing the Preschool at the end of July 2022.
Trustees & Membership in 2021
There are appointed Trustees for Safeguarding, Health and Safety, General Data Protection.
The Trustees also continued their monthly meetings in person or over Zoom.
Church membership dropped by three during 2021. The overall membership total at 31st December 2021 was 70.
Financial Review 2021
The Church continues to raise the funds which it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation. No wider public appeal was made for funds during the year.
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Total income fell by £15,613 in 2021. Offerings fell by £6,403 (9.6%) mainly due to changes in membership and changes in circumstances. Pre-School income decreased by more than £7,000 as numbers of children attending were lower. As mentioned above the decision to close the Pre-School at the end of the 2021/22 academic year was taken by the Church in December 2021.
Total expenditure increased by more than £3,972 mainly due to carrying out repairs and redecoration of the Church building which had been delayed from previous years due to Covid-19, the expenditure mainly being met from our reserves. Pre-School expenditure decreased by £7,162 reflecting the reduction in income.
Bank and Cash Balances decreased by £8,547 during 2021 to a total of £67,879 at 31 December 2021 which is adequate to fully continue the work of the Church in 2021 and beyond, including meeting redundancy payments arising from the closure of the Pre-School.
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 Statement.
The Trustees have established a Reserves Policy and are satisfied that there are sufficient reserves at the Balance Sheet date, together with ongoing income anticipated, to enable the Church to function effectively in the coming year.
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INDepENDEpif EXAkllNEifs REPORT Rèwt lo Iha Tru$leMeMt¢T8 of WEST P14LUNG BAPTIST CHURCH On accounts for the year end8d 31 Decmtr 2021 Charity number 1130977 Set out on pages 1to6 R8SP•¢tiv• r08pon61bIe9 of trusto98 The ¢ritY8 tNst8•s ara mspolb1O forthg ywration oftho actounts. and Miner The ¢aritys tNstees cortsid8r thgt an audlt 4$ not requlred for this year nd¥r se10n 144121 of the Charities A(# 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an inde[ eXaMition15 rd9, ft 18 my r¢Fon•lbiltty to.. 8mlAe ihe accounts urKler Becthn 145 ofthe Act,. to follow th• pmc•dui•s iabd In th• G•ngral Dlr¢¢tlon• gpi8n by th8 Ch8rty Commwn•r8 (under secon t45{5llbl of the 2011 Act),. and to slat¥ %th•th•r pgrfi¢ul•r m8ttws havo o)me to my attention. Bo818 ol Indendent ex8mlnerf8 Slotement My examlnatlon w8s caffjed out In ardanCe rfth General Dlrectlon8 g&n by thg Charfty Commls8lon. An gxamlnolbn indudo8 8 of the ao>)untlng recwds kept by th& ch¥rity and a o)mparf80n of the accounts presontgd Ihose rec$. 11 o1$0 indudgs con$lderallon of fjny unusual rt¢mJ or dI8dow in th? a¢¢ounts, 8nd kIng wlanations from th? trustees concemlng any suc matter8. The procedureB undertaken do noi PrOde all the evldence that r>uld be required In an audlt, and con88quéntty no qiinlon a8 to ¥thoth•r the 8¢xoun18 pr88enl rue and faSff and thg r8port18 limltod to thoB8 rn8tter8 Set out in the •tatsMl Indtp•nd?nl exomln•ts Jtatement In conrJion WTtrb my wmimtion no mattw h•$ o)mè to my 8ttorthn 11) thlth glv•• m• rn•aonabl• ¢au80 to b0¥¥ that In any materlal 8Frtt the requIreMls.. (•) 10 keep 8¢c¢unUng aco)rfanc• lth 8KJon 130 ofth8 2011 AGI,. and (bl to mr• aco)unts aco)rd vth the 8ccounllng record8 and to compty with tho acc4wjnts.ng roqulr•ment8 of thè 2011 Act hève not been met,. or r2} to wthk*. In my opinlon. attentbn 8hould be dravm In ord•r lo enab proper undorstaThJing of the accounts to be rgathed Slgned Nom• PRECISION ACCOUNTANCY LLP Adthets EDEN HOUSE 454 NEW HYfHE LANE LARKFIELD AYLESFORD KE IEIO 74H