## **S** hirley **B** aptist- **C** hurch _a church for the whole community_ **Annual Report & Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025** ## **Statutory information** ## **Registered address** Shirley Baptist Church Church Street Shirley Southampton SO15 5LG ## **Trustees** Mr James Adams Mrs Brenda Greenwood (Secretary) Mr Keith Hawton Mr Kevin Ings Mrs Sheila Price Mrs Anne Richards (Treasurer) Mr John Waldron Mr Simon Wroe (appointed July 2025) Mr Clint Zvavamwe ## **Property Trustees** The Baptist Union Corporation Limited Baptist House 129 Broadway Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 8RT ## **Bankers** Bank of Scotland 33 Old Broad Street London EC2N 1HW ## **Independent examiner** A G D Mills FCA 40 Thornbury Avenue Shirley Southampton SO15 5DA ## **Charity Number** 1131764 1 ## **Charitable Object** The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document which states that the principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination. The Church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world. The Church occupies premises, including a manse, which are held by the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd, on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above object. ## **Organisational Structure and Decision-Making Process** Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the Constitution, which normally requires them to be, or to have been, publicly baptised on profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or, following other modes of baptism, to renew their public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The Church operates an open membership so that people seeking membership who have not been baptised in the manner described may at the discretion of the Church Members’ Meeting be accepted for full membership based on their own public profession of faith. Ordinary Church Members’ Meetings are held at regular intervals on about four occasions in any calendar year and are an opportunity to consider and review routine matters associated with the life of the Church, including issues related to Church membership, the approval of the budget, with opportunities for considering proposals from the Charity Trustees or other Church Members for the development of the Church and the advancement of its purpose through its activities. In addition, one Special Church Members’ Meeting each year includes the Annual General Meeting for the Church Members to receive annual accounts and reports, the election or re-election of charity trustees and the appointment of the Secretary and Treasurer. Special Church Members’ Meetings may also be convened when necessary to consider the appointment or dismissal of a minister, matters relating to the purchase, sale, lease, mortgage or redevelopment of Church property, or matters considered by the Charity Trustees to be of sufficient importance to require the calling of such a meeting. Charity Trustees are chosen from among the Church Members, with the maximum number of Charity Trustees being agreed on from time to time by the Special Church Members’ Meeting. In this Church it is the Minister(s) if any, and Secretary, Treasurer and Leadership Team who together are the Charity Trustees of the Church. They 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. This is done sometimes through teams led by members of the Leadership Team. In addition to this, there are other teams heading up different aspects of the work, including Vision (Worship) and Pastoral. Together with other groups, there are approximately 50 volunteers in the life and ministry of the church. Since covid the number of volunteers has dropped as few come out of an evening. Relevant matters may be submitted to the Church Members’ Meeting by the Trustees for guidance or may be raised by Members in the Church Members’ Meeting for further consideration by the Trustees. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made at Church Members’ meetings by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus. This year the church continues to have a Pastoral Vacancy but continues to employ a part time administrator and a part time cleaner. 2 ## **Object and Activities** In fulfilling the Object, the Church engages in a range of activities either on its own or with others that vary from time to time, with activities being initiated, expanded or closed, as appropriate. Our activities include but are not restricted to: - Regular public worship, prayer, Bible study, preaching and teaching; - Baptism, as defined in the Union’s Declaration of Principle; - The Communion of the Lord’s Supper, which we normally observe monthly; - Evangelism and mission, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally; - The teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of young people; - The nurture and growth of Christian disciples; - Education and training for Christian and community service; - Giving and encouraging pastoral care; - Supporting and encouraging charitable social action in the United Kingdom and abroad; - Encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christians. The regular activities of the Church can be viewed on our website www.shirleybaptist.org ## **Achievements and Performance** ## **Theme:** As we continue to have a Pastoral Vacancy the Leadership Team wanted members’ to support each other, so the theme for 2024-2025 was ‘Serving Others’ with the text for the year coming from 1 Peter 4:10: ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ ## **Attendance and demographics** Typical attendance on Sundays has grown this year. But there are some people with compromised immune systems that need to shield and have not returned since covid. Over the year the average attendance therefore was around 130, and an average of 125 would join us online. The membership on 31 March 2025 was 137, ten more than a year ago. 6 members passed away. There were 16 new members and 5 baptisms. Children up to 11 years of age with whom we have regular contact through organised activities, was severely disrupted during covid and those clubs have yet to restart – although we continue to advertise for a Youth, Children and Families Worker. However, there are about 56 children in our Fire! (Sunday School) register. Young people in the challenging 11-18 age group increased over the year to around 28. The trend towards a more international congregation has continued again this year with steady attendance from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups – mainly from Africa and Eastern Europe (Romania) and the Church is multi-ethnic in its demographics. ## **Worship** The worship, leading and preaching ministry has been shared amongst our worship team and some visiting preachers, and since lockdown there is a growing number who join us online as well as in person on a Sunday. Worship over the year has seen excellent preaching along with special services. ## **Home, overseas and cross-cultural mission** Cross cultural connections were maintained with BMS link missionaries. We had one missionary from the church working with Operation Mobilisation in Moldova, which came to an end and she has returned home We operate a charity called ChildsPlay Romania, which provides practical support to Roma children in Romania. Visits were unable to happen this year to Ukraine, including to our partner church in Buzikva, due to the war there. The growing work in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) continues. Mission is supported through gifts of 5% of our general income to home mission and 5% to Baptist Missionary Society. 3 ## **Discipleship** In line with our commitment to whole life discipleship, our life groups aim to support and challenge participants as intentional disciples in the whole of life. This was reflected in the church’s strap line of “Everyday church for everywhere people”. Some 80 people are involved in life groups. ## **Fellowship** Fellowship has included visits to homes and shut-ins. People are also contacted in other ways, such as phone calls. Our commitment to visit the housebound, lonely and bereaved or those in hospital is still very much a focus and the flower ministry is greatly appreciated. This is “bread and butter” ministry and occupies a great deal of time and effort from all those involved. The significant ministry to older people has also been growing. Most meetings see a good number there, even with a couple asking for marriage! The group meets weekly. M & M’s is a group that has been running for several years now monthly, for women aged roughly 30 – 60. The leadership of the group has changed hands, but it still has both a fellowship and missional focus and a number of non-Christian ladies attend. ## **Children and Family’s Ministry** Our work among children up to the age of 11 years has been disrupted since our Children’s and Family Worker moved to another church. There is a general lack of volunteers in many aspects of Church work. We have been actively looking for a Children, Youth and Families Worker who can revive some of the children’s work. Parent and Toddler Group continued to attract good numbers. We have taken small steps to identify ourselves as a Christian toddler group by developing a simple mission statement which is on view and by advertising other church activities which may be of interest. We also introduced an occasional ‘pause for thought’. A F.B. group began enabling messages to be sent and for people to book their place at the meeting. Safe Spaces began this year, a group for anyone who needs to talk, who may have difficulties and need to talk them through or may need help in any way. A regular good number came, and from this the Tabitha Project began. The new project, the Tabitha Project, began this year; its aims are to help those with nothing, by giving them clothes, food or anything else that is available. From this also developed the Food Project, where each week the Co-op gives food to distribute to those in need. ## **Social action** The Church supports a social action programme, Communicare, and many of our members take part in it. Now an independent charity, Communicare coordinates volunteers from local churches who provide practical and emotional support to needy people across the City. This includes visiting housebound older people, helping mothers with babies and young children, and providing transport for hospital and other appointments. We still offer a hall for the Basics Bank to use, a much-needed food bank programme operating in Shirley, and numbers visiting for food have increased during the year. It is also a place to chat and be listened to. ## **Support Services (Administration team)** Support services ensure that SBC is safe, legal, accessible, sustainable and financially sound and has facilities which support our mission. In practice this covers all aspects of fabric, finance, safeguarding (see below), Health and Safety and any other compliance issues. There has been a significant rise in utility costs, and we are preparing ourselves for further rises in the future. 4 ## **Connections** As well as being a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Evangelical Alliance, the Church joins with Churches Together in Shirley and local Baptist churches in various activities, most notably open-air acts of worship when we are able to do this. ## **Safeguarding** The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children are appropriately vetted via the Disclosure and Barring Service. We have safeguarding policies and procedures in place for working with children and vulnerable adults, and a designated person to check safeguarding and a safeguarding trustee appointed by the Church Members. ## **Public benefit:** The Trustees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and is satisfied that the activities outlined above clearly demonstrate that the Charity is providing a benefit to the public. ## **Financial Review** The Church continues to raise the funds which it needs to carry on its activities primarily from within its own membership and congregation. Income showed a decrease on the previous year of £54,631, (excluding exceptional income from the sale of the Manse of £598,360 in 2024). Income, prior to transfers, exceeded expenditure (excluding exceptional expenditure of £459,577 for the purchase of a manse) by £78,681, of which unrestricted surplus was £62,151, this being because of not having a minister for the year. The balance sheet showed a decrease in net assets from £843,299 to £462,403 at 31/03/25 as a result of the exceptional restricted expenditure of £459,577 above. The Accumulated Fund (General Fund) increased from £141,753 to £182,468 (£40,715) and the underlying financial position of the church remains healthy. We closed the year above the top of our reserves range. The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by making grants of £13,206 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. Our Reserves Policy is that we should maintain 3 - 6 months expenditure of £10,000 per month, or approximately £30,000 - £60,000 in our Accumulated Fund. Any fall below the midpoint of £45,000 would activate a serious review of our income and expenditure. The Trustees have reviewed the Reserves Policy and are satisfied that they have more than sufficient reserves at the Balance Sheet date, together with the 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. 5 ## **Future Plans** Our plans for the 25/26 financial year include: 1. A continued search for the right person to fill our Pastoral Vacancy. 2. A continued search for the right person to be our Child, Youth and Family Worker ## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities** Charity Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the end of the financial year. In doing so, the trustees are required to: i) Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; ii) Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; iii) State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and iv) Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue its operations. ## **Signature and declaration** I declare, in my capacity as charity trustee, that: the trustees have approved the report above: and have authorised me to sign it on their behalf Brenda Greenwood, Secretary 69 Stratton Road Shirley Southampton SO15 5RA Dated: 09 January 2026 6 SHIRLEY BApnsT CHURCH STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTMTIES YEAR ENDED 31 PAARCII 2025 Notes Unre5trlctèd Deslwed Reslrfcted Total 2025 Total 2024 Incomlng rosources Donat1￿& and ￿g8¢￿eS Inwlmenl income 129.251 24373 .713 12.355 7.012 148.319 31,385 198.282 32.983 Income ffom charilable acti¥ib"es Oiher inc(me 41 2.694 2,694 5,764 598,380 Tota] income 156.318 6.713 19.367 182.398 835,389 Expanditure Eywwided X167 4183 460.944 563.294 181,338 Not Incom•ll•xpendlture) 62.151 11A70) (441,577) (380.896) 654.051 Gross transfeTS ithen furb 121A36) 21A36 Nei movemont wn Funds 40.715 {1.4701 {420.141 {380,896 654,051 Total Funds brought lorward 141,753 14,064 687A82 843,299 189.248 Totsi Funqls carrled fonyard 182.468 11594 287.341 462A03 843.299 SHIRLEY BAPTIST CHURCH BALAPICE SHEET 31 MARCH 2025 2024 Cuwl Ass&s 12.672 4S6.100 488.772 Bank and Cash 14.452 839,604 854.056 11 CU￿1 Lithlities CrthLYS '. amounts PdlfiThJ due within L￿e ye 12 10.757 Nel CurMtAss 462A03 843.299 Totd 8s8ds1*5 liabilities 843.299 cr￿1110[5 . arn￿￿ts fdling due th rn(¥E than one 13 Net Assets 462.403 843.299 Charlty Funds Rè&iicteA Ckshjnat 14 15 267A41 12,594 182.468 687.482 14.064 141,753 462,403 843,299 The note5 pages 11 to 16 fcfm part ofth￿￿c￿nts 5ign&l their behalfby Brenda GreerwiKd SHIRLEY BNPnST CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2026 AcccKfNTING FCUCIES FRS102 and the ChoriU8s Aci 2011. Shirfey BWi5t Chuth is a n¥i5*r8d thwity Thx1131764 and meets thedth1tr￿ ￿ a t*nefit entstyuntler FRS102. A88 anrj ￿a￿d￿*S ate InthI￿r￿￿K*ed a h[st￿l cost ortransackn valv8 the r81wdnt occounting b Income ￿nitiOn AJI IrK*m¥wJ TBsources Slatemertt AthItA%Thlw th•tharty is IwJ•enbO*S toth8 inc fterar)y Ferlomance beEn mei Ihe *M￿nt ￿ be rneasutEd Trffjabtyand I ts PrOba￿that the Income d Le9￿[e8 Legatyes 8r&aroJunted the ￿￿Ofnofftakn inpenthg disththi and the legwbeing ￿ce￿•y. PfOVNJgJ thatthe lewixn be pWy quanOW. Investtnent Ir￿0M InKEStmenl wKom8 Fs indu￿1 in Ihe 8t£(xJnts in th• yvw in PJ f Ewdibjre ￿n￿on AU expendAure ss xcounted ftron an accntals b8sis. Ewditurv is wntsed t￿there is a lryat w conslNcti%e to make payments lothwrl pwties, it ispK*at4e that SdUemontvA be requhed aThJ rflhtrobligal can be m88su￿1 ￿J[abJy. g Fund rnsing and pU￿tC￿e09ts The ClYu￿ not mAke appedsforfvnds. ald Ihese items & therthrn nDtrnatemL h Grants payable Th8 Church rnake5 granls kn rfierThyanisalK)ns *those c1w1￿8 0bixtsco1n￿enl ThtyarE ￿tThJnted fDr in the y￿Ill they ore patil the reapient hAs n(￿9￿ ￿lhe￿￿nt8nd paymait i% unconditxjnd. I SupFrtrt C4% ¢osts gctswfian￿ (ost Whue SUPPDrt C08t5 (xnncé be diw attllbu￿J t0p*￿tar heodtngs, Ilw beeTr dk¥2led tts the costrfrrising funds and charitth ar*ths ort a Iiass the use rfTE5wfc85. Th re¥ents dwect 8xpendibtre the gownanc&rfthe 4thw¢h. Most oflhe manayernenl is charge by ¥r4unws. This rntsngth cc6t not inthd￿ ￿ thè 51*tsmEnl d Fin￿￿ Actmth sirK4 15 Th)meaSw8b￿C¥j￿1oth8 7*rJunl8Brs 10 sHIRLEYBAPT￿T¢￿URC￿ NOTES TO THEACCOUNTS YEAR Et4DED 31 MAR¢TrI 2025 j FLtyd As5#S k Fuixl UsÈofeath¥￿￿Jna1Sd1u￿d 15 setttQin tr£thiES sratttnert irK1ependÈwath)T￿f￿￿e￿ fund Is rwtpjss￿eI0tI￿ ChLwthtocOtsw ￿J￿￿ent hrrf0rn￿kn Fknagadpfined Thksplan 15ti7 dfftitarylwkn f**JiItyftr￿eptsry ilm￿trIpart*]pakn iThadefithfixK*¥ arrwyemeni ChU[rh￿rr￿ky*X￿j￿on￿I tothCwb(￿Safan 89re•l￿10f0tth¥ thè Imqblty frxtras 25 16.T20 19F28 1.245 12 10.¢r23 7.988 144.1 21.9T2 22,(¢7 19.675 12.352 144319 191 Tolals 6.713 Use rlprÈThu5es Tol* 7.012 K567 I6￿18 31.30S 319&3 1?,8 16.818 24.373 1.197 1.197 2.G94 5.764 li Othrknmo SHIRLEY BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUIITS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Charltablo Activllh¥ 2025 2024 Ministy iS5ion Establishment Support Manse Church Olg￿l$allonS 23.389 13J 52.574 4.998 23R89 15,059 54,531 4,998 4S9.577 5.740 46.429 35.871 82,400 4.025 486 1.957 1.367 459.5 5.740 12.613 Tot81 94.167 8.183 460.944 563.294 181,338 Support Costs 2026 2W24 1.608 3.390 1.608 3.390 1.509 2.516 Govemance costs Independent Exankntion ( Total 4.998 4998 4.025 Exp•ndltsJr• Chwlable (>anl adlvttses fvThfing 23.389 1053 54.531 Supwmt Totsl 2025 Tolal 2024 Ministy Mission Eslablishment p&x)rt Costs Manse Church organ*￿1]n$ 23A89 15,059 ¥531 4,998 459,577 5.740 46.429 35.871 82.400 4,025 13206 4.998 459&77 5.740 12.613 Totsls 85.513 13206 464.575 563.294 181.338 Grnnts poy•blg Lknrestricted Dwna*d Restrirted 2025 2024 BUGB Ho￿* Iaiss BMS Wortd Moss Oth 5.908 7298 6.908 5.905 21.979 Total 13.206 13206 12 SHIRLEY BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 hlARCH 2026 2024 Sthries 38.762 Pernsfv)n rnsts Olhercost5 242 ZO.556 40838 The kfi#i5terads as ¢*ieollhÈ¢hurch tru5te85, in aKort18nL*7Afth Ihè TJu5t Deed and re¢ei¥ed remvnetstirjn ￿tnI (2Wd4.. £17.8451 aNJ tjlber b*iefts in respeu of his s￿l￿e58$ mIr¥s￿lI￿aud￿ The Schemè isa em￿￿￿￿setheme and it 15 kj ￿￿the #s%isand latK.tss oflhe schÈme are ah)*uWlolhèchurch. ThErefO￿ in Hrxxird*thTth FRS11Y2 seth)n 28. thèscheme ConhibutK>llS are for oth* memkn dslaff irtoth8 Ba&tst Per￿￿n Sc￿mÉ Money1￿￿* 10 Debbjs Aetwed In&7me Prepaymeni¥ 1212 5,919 7.321 6J66 12,$72 14,452 11 Bank and cash balanres 2024 Bank ol SQJtsnd.rAllT￿ 115N30 337A77 117.038 719.177 466.IQO 839.604 12 Crqdttots: amounts hlllng wfthhh oneyoar 2025 2024 SCbA 6.757 10.757 13 SHIRLEY BAPnST CHURCH trIOTE$ TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED31 MARCH 2025 13 Cr*ditor5: aJThounts f•lllry duo 4ftermw thznt)neye¥ 2025 2024 SCBA S*bEr 2015 be repaid ty 31 2025. 14 R•strlcted Funds 1.4.2024 Gains•¥S T￿nSI81$ 31m2025 Name rfFwd al Adon Furki Btsitding F￿)￿ Sw Fund 13241 12.280 13,241 17.004 2￿47 J.162 58,812 151.059 21.436 113 13sn Fulurè Mirthy M•se Furvj P Legay 52.247 635 7￿12 {459.57T) 21. T￿815 19A67 460.944 21,4&S Soel•l Acd¢>n Fund ra￿tt￿MonIeS reLzl¥8d Oldmlhi￿ a￿￿91￿n￿**j 1$ t5￿f￿SP 50c*I needs (6.9. C￿8¢t SeE¥it*strOFSab￿ efderty [•￿$). B￿rdIng PrLTrjECtFtmd Is Loeolorswc wojeds as IW8rS* Thiskn*J 15 ￿￿e￿lY bdNJ used for￿ Link Proleci, itqty the thrfh i¥Jil(liry to Ihet*ll$. SuppDrt Funtl ￿ usedlo suppJrt members￿kn uThJÈnÈke SFecifiG Flowe￿ Fund reweswts rrmi8s hddto memt*5(rfl1* F811(A¥sTrbpvkK¢*• n rwj. Fulure Mlnlsty Fund rew86Ents rnoniesh&llo pmvidefor *YdiliDml nÈeds. Martst Fund rewe58￿[￿ woceeds oflheold n￿sta￿￿￿1[ ￿ wedknthe PLwcha$eola n**rnTh. F0]th￿n￿ th8 wrthaseoflhenew M8n8e.fi￿ts b2 Used althtrTru￿'th$cre1ÉQn L(￿glem1 Ltabifft5 Liabilthe$ To*1 13.241 17.(X74 2.547 3.162 Bull P￿j￿IF￿ Supwt F￿j 13.241 17.004 2N7 3.162 58,8B2 151,069 21.436 Fuiw8 Mini81ry FuHI 151,CE9 21.436 P Legacy Z67 14 SHIRLEY BAPTISTCHURCH MOTES TO ThE ACCOUPITS YEAR ENDEO 31 IAARCII 2025 16 DEslgnat•d Funrf$ 1.42024 Ir#xxnMbJ Resource5 Tmnsfers 31.03.2021 Narne crfFund min￿ma￿et Fur¥1 Barnabas Fund Chur(* ownisthh 5.415 5,255 3.334 {1.9571 {4861 15.740) 2,611 6.02$ 3,050 1257 5.456 14.064 6.713 8.1831 12￿94 1$ agreed. Barnabas Fund rewesenls moiw rece￿ frorn m0nthtytdedb￿jQt6 UEed al the Mw*sdtsc¥elion. Church oryani5atlons repTesethts numetous fund8 hdd by chu￿ organi5abons andfocjjs groups. ThB58 ful￿S are held in separ*e bank ar£ounts aAdtl* orwdni5a&on's Tè)yds a[￿ex￿￿ amuaty by qtsaSfEd Juals. Cupren¢ c￿ Tci matketFund Bwnaba$ Fu￿( Churcth organ￿￿>1]S 3.518 3.518 6.026 J,050 T(daLs 12.594 12A94 16 Anatysls of n•ta55•ts Nel Long term Tolal Fund5 Deggn*d Funds UniEslricted Funds pernote 14 pernolg 15 267.341 12.594 1814168 462.403 2VA41 12.$94 182.458 462.403 7 Rew ¢haiib95 The custorfsan TfiJ5l￿ cdthechurth B4ts51 Unum CorwraK)n L¥nft*l isiknity wmbtr 249635. artd tsmntrow bythe Bapt*t UrTh)n cO￿n￿. The chwth i%8L50 a rnemberLfthe Thechurch Fws ret*i%%d a [C￿lTOM the B*t as*twiln rKrte5 12 and 13. The£hutth m•ae a tbJnah*tothe Bapb51 trhjme kts5sonsd￿ asset 8. urh premtses W8v*J6¢J insurancepurp)s8s at £5.5 15 SHIRLEY BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 18 Penstons The Church a partlopaling ofthe Wist Pension Scheme Sc￿e"l. whk* 15 a separate legal enthty adminisi8r&l by the Pension Trtsstee (Baptsl Pension Trust Limited). The assètsof the Stheme are hdd 8eparaleJy from those olthe Emplo￿ and Ihe other p*liiipaling empwrs. The ￿erne. previously as Ihe 8aplisl PensiDn F￿￿. *rtwJ in 1925. Imrt vras ck)8ed lo future accJu31 ofdefineil benefits on 31 DeC￿lber 2011. Pri￿ to this date the main t￿effi1 ptovided through thè Defined Benefit IDBI Plan was a p￿￿)n of Or￿elg￿Jeth of fv￿] minimum wstonaue incomé fareach yearofpension8ble servi(E tctyherwith addilKmal pensfon in res￿ of wemxm paid on Pensionable Incon￿ Mi exLWS of MÈnimum Pensionable I￿)Me. From January 2012. pensi￿ wovision is be4rNJ rnade Ihwh Ihe Defined CC￿￿"bu110n {DC) P￿n wilhln the Scheme. In gener81, mernt￿ pay 8Yo of their Pensionable Ir￿rne aTrJ employers pay 6% of memt*ts' Pensionable IncoTh* Inlo individu31 pension aw)unts. are operatgj and managed on bghaif oflhe Pension Tnjstse by Broadstone Cwaie Benefits Ltd. In addibon. Ihe emfv pays a lurllw4% Pen5ionaile Irwne kn cover Death ￿ S￿Vice Bweffts. adminislTati"on rA)sts. an assocAaled irtsu￿n¢e policy vthich provides imxne proleclion for SclHnp rwnbers ifthey are unabk to Wotk due to long-lemi ir￿apacity. This income polity has been tngjred by the BaplÉst Union ofGieat Brilain th Avird Limiled. MemlRis of ts Basic SBckn pay rethjced conthknts(ms of 5% of Pensionable and theirernpjoye￿ also roy a lolal of 5%. The s￿￿￿2 is considerad to be a Mulbern￿oyeT &*ernB as de5C4ibeil in Section 28 of FRS 102. B￿ause it 15 Elot wJssibl8 lo altrltrtrte the SchEme's assets and IL3biltties to speLific efflployew& Ihe is ac(y)unted for as if th8 Stherne Yere a deffi￿j eonlnknutitin sch&nE. The ￿l￿81e[S and some mwI*je￿ of ts thurth Slaff are e￿￿"blE toioin sch￿8. 16 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Shirley Baptist Church** I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 8 to16. ## **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 Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or - (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or - (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a “true and fair view” which is not a matter considered as part of the independent examination. 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. AGD Mills FCA 40 Thornbury Avenue Shirley Southampton SO15 5DA 19 January 2026 7