Annual Report for 2020 **Registered Charity Number 1131765** Address: Kirkley Park Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0LQ Trustees: P Axon (Church Secretary) M Dorling R Dorling W Graham J Read A Smith (Church Treasurer) N Smith (Minister) A Warner N Webb Bankers: CAF Bank Limited The trustees present their Annual Report and financial statements for 2020. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document. 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. The members meeting normally takes place six times per year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church, although during 2020, because of Covid restrictions the number of meetings were restricted. Those meetings which were held, were held via Zoom. In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint the Trustees, who together with the Minister, Church Secretary and Treasurer (who are also appointed by the Members), 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** 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. 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 normally take place each Sunday at 10.30 am. However, during 2020 normal services ceased in late March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Instead, an online service was made available, also recordings of the services were made for those not able to access the service online. Also, a ‘Meet and Greet’ zoom meeting was held each Sunday morning to keep members in touch with one another. During 2020 the normal activities and programmes for both children and adults have been severely curtailed. In January 2020, a Youth Specialist was appointed by the Church. Members felt the guidance and inclusion of young people in the life of the Church was of the upmost importance. Usually during the year the leaders would meet with approximately 60 young people within our various church and outreach groups, during the lockdown however we had to adapt our offering and how we remained in contact with youth. We launched a Youth Online programme which met both on a Sunday afternoon for a bible study and a midweek Zoom Youth Group which ran for 40 weeks. We increased our social media presence specifically targeting the 13+ age group, including a weekly Sunday message. We concentrated on building relationships with local schools, and we ran an online transition session for youth starting High School in September 2020. During the last year we concentrated on delivering blessings to young people in small ways including Make your own pizza kits, bible encouragements, and treats. For events such as Summer holidays, Christmas, Easter, Lent and Halloween the church sent out parcels which included treats, bible readings, encouragements and videos posted on You Tube covering these themes. These were both inclusive for Youth known to the church and also used as an outreach opportunity within the community. The Church also runs a Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade Company, contact was maintained during the year by the leaders, also receiving parcels with treats and crafts etc. During the year, parents and carers from the Parent and Toddler group were contacted at various times, with gifts and crafts sent to the children. Leaders of children’s groups also sent out parcels to the children and their parents and maintained contact with parents and carers. 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. The church has 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. ## **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 2020 was a positive if very difficult year in the life of the church, and that it will be able to pursue its mission purposes in 2021 with renewed enthusiasm, especially as the Church Building will be given a complete refurbishment to improve and update the furnishings and to accommodate Live streaming of services. During the year we were not able to perform Baptisms due to the restrictions, however we intend to hold a Baptismal Service as soon as the rules allow. During 2020 sadly three church members died during the year. At 31[st] December 2020 the membership stood at 136 which was higher than the previous year. The Alpha course was full, with a large proportion of members continuing to do a growth course and now a prayer course. Chaplaincy ran online during covid with 100s of people listening to the daily thought for the day, and chaplains continued to leave messages of hope around the town. The year finished with running an outdoor fire pit mid-winter Christmas service At our outreach Community centre, we continue to see a growth of people who just wished to be cared for. We have found that, especially over lockdown, that there is a real need for individuals and families to have place where they can come and be listened to. We continue to serve the whole community, along with its challenges, each day. Our groups were well attended, particularly our After School Club, which had a waiting list, and we are constantly revaluating different ways in which we can serve. We recently did a Social media survey and the results said that they wanted to see the premises and the café open more. ## **Financial Review** 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. The Church took advantage of the Government Furlough Scheme and Furloughed the Church Cleaner and a Whitton Life worker, all other staff remained fully employed during the year. 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 church is a participating employer within the Defined Benefit section of the Baptist Pension scheme and has been making ongoing deficit payments to cover the costs of past service of its employees within the scheme under a recovery plan. The church understands that if it had left the scheme at the year-end, it would have to have made a one-off payment estimated to be £70,400 to meet its statutory obligations to the scheme. The church has no plan to leave the scheme and expects to continue to make payments to the scheme in line with the recovery plan. LRBC Church Accounts for the Year 1st January - 31st December 2020 |2020
**Assets at the start of year**
Staffing Fund
9,549
Maintenance Fund
6,592
Mission Funds
32,672
Legacy/Capital Fund
119,004
Youth Minister Fund
50,682
**Total**
**218499**
**Income**
Suffolk County Council Grant
10,000
HMRC Refunds
6,906
Suffolk Community Foundation Grant
0
Baptist Insurance Grant
0
Weekly Offerings
29,411
Gift Aided Offerings
80,272
Income tax recovered on gift aids
21,078
Other income (Lettings etc.)
3,041
Directed Income
30,900
Interest Received
1310
**Total**
**182,918**
**Expenditure**
Property
27978
Admin
7690
Staffing
102104
Suffolk Community Foundation Grant
0
Baptist Insurance Grant
1543
Capital Fund
8211
External Mission
15380
Mission Training
5446
Internal Mission
25103
**Total**
**193455**
Total Cash Assets at start of year
218499
Plus Income
182918
Less Expenditure
193455
Cash Assets carried forward
**207,962**
**£**
**Non Monetary Assets**
Insurance Values 2020
church buildings
Pipe organ
Church contents
Manse
Minibus
Whitton Life Centre
Whitton Life Contents
**Total**
**Other Debts**
Baptist Pension Trust Limited
**Total**|**2019**
6513
11028
21892
134304
51667| |---|---| ||**225404**| ||0
0
2745
2000
33878
77753
21611
11504
25983
808| ||**176,282**
**£**| ||27607
11041
82987
2745
457
15300
17637
4874
20538| ||**183,186**
**£**| ||225404
176282
183186| ||**218,500**
**£**| ||3,789,604
0
141,192
193,202
9,000
330,659
80,862
**4,544,519**
**£**
**70,400**
**£**| |**Expenditure**
**Property**
Property upkeep
Church utilities
Insurance
Manse Maintenance
Whitton Life maintenance
Whitton Life utilities
Minibus
**Total**
**Administration**
General Admin
Computer Costs
Bank Charges
Affiliations
**Total**
**Staffing**
Salaries
Staff support
Advertising and interviews
Youth Minister Fund
Internal Mission Fund
**Total**
**Capital**
Asbestos and Heating
Sound System
Basement Refurbishment
Skylight Repairs
**Total**
**External Mission**
Smile International
Leprosy Mission
CAP
TWAM
MAF
Tearfund
LCMN
BMS Appeal
BMS Birthday Scheme
BMS
Home Mission
Open Doors
**Total**
**Mission/ Training**
D Etherington
LRBC staff/ church training
Light Project
D Pierpoint
Ministry Training E Day
Ministry Training J Dorling
**Total**
**Internal Mission**|2020
**2019**
11393
8000
4080
5016
3607
3548
3922
3237
1133
3560
4803
1416
1870
**27978**
**27607**
6789
7098
70
3053
60
60
771
830
**7690**
**11041**
87966
81357
2030
3847
0
985
12451
0.00
1200
0.00
**103647**
**86189**
0
7000
0
8300
3211
0.00
5000
0.00
**8211**
**15300**
150
520
60
40
0
25
0
900
0
900
0
150
0
30
270
220
410
452
6600
7200
7000
7200
890
0.00
**15380**
**17637**
0
1600
0
40
1599
2834
0
400
847
0.00
3000
0.00
**5446**
**4874**
**25103**
**20538**| |---|---| Totsl Expendlture £ 193.455 183.186 Report of the IndePe￿ent Examiner to the Trustees of London Road Baptist Cl￿rch On the accounts for the year eThled 314t December 2020 Respective responsibilitles of Trustees and Examiner The Church's Trust￿5 a￿ resFonsible for the preparation of ￿ ￿cc￿nts. Tr churth's trust consider that an audtt is not rWuir￿I for this year u[￿r section 144 of the tharities Act 2011 (the Charfties Art) and that an lndekwd￿t p)Aminakn 6 rEth. It Is my ￿[X)nSibIlity to: • examine the accounts urKler seCtb￿ 145 of the Charitfes Att, • b) follow the pr(tedu￿5 laKI down In the Di￿tIonS given ty the (hrty Commissk)n (under section 145(5){b) of ￿ Oorities A¢ arKI • to state whether parUcular matt*s have come to my attentIc￿. Basls of independent examinerf$ stateTrwt My examinats'on was carrbj out in acCOrthn￿ with gerffil Diretti￿S glven by the Chartty Commlssion. An examination ir￿lUdeS a rev*w of the accounting rec￿d5 kept by the church and a comparlson of the accounts presented with tFb)se rec￿ds. It also indude5 con51deration of any unusual itsms or disdosu￿s In the accounts. arKI seeking ex[￿anatJon5 from the trustees concemlng any such matters. The prC(edU￿ urvjertsken do pyovlde all the eviden￿ that would LE requi In an audit, and consequentiy rKJ cynbn is gtven as to whether the accTrJnts present a 'true and falrf vlew and the reFQrt Is limrted to those mattw5 set ststement Independent examlner's statem•rt In connection with my examlnabm, no materlal matttrs have come to my attenkn whtch glves cause to believe that in, any material resm: • accounung rerords We￿ not kept In accordarKe wlth SeCtk￿ 130 of the Charloes Att ¢y • the accounts do not accord with the accc¥Jntlng rrfords . the accounts do not comply wlth the a￿l￿at￿e rtyulrements concemlng the form arKI content of accounts set Thjt In the Charitles {Accwnts arKI RetrKts) Regulations 2CK)8 other than any r8]U1￿Ment that the accwnts give a 'true arbj fair view which Is not a matter consldered as part of an Independent examlnation. I have come across no other matters in COn￿lon wlth the examination to whlch attentkm 5houkJ l* drown In order to eTrab￿ a kYoFer U￿r5￿ndIng of the accounts to te reached. *Delete t￿ words in the brnckets ff they (b r#X a Sh3ned by or on ￿half of the Examl Date Name Relevant Prof&onal QuallfKation(s) or Lrxty (If any) h ("( A C" I Address 3U A JWJU,.