## **Hugh S. Rodway 21 Maudlin Drive Teignmouth Devon TQ14 8RZ 01626 778328** 

Email: hughr@tiscali.co.uk 

## **REPORT & FINDINGS OF EXAMINER TO THE TRUSTEES and DEACONS OF PINHOE ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH EXETER Of the Accounts for the year ending 31[st] December 2025** 

26[th] February 2026 

Firstly I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for the superb report which the Treasurer Chris Gardner and his team have produced to accompany the accounts, and which made my task that much easier when carrying out the Examination. 

## **FORMAT of ACCOUNTS** 

The Management accounts are in the form of _**Receipt and Payments**_ format, which provides an overview to the Trustees, Deacons and Church as to the Income and Expenditure in 2025. Page 1 is a summary and the notes referring to the more detailed breakdown are on Page 2. 

A SOFA (CC16) in line with Charity Commission guidelines has also been produced. 

## **GENERAL OVERVIEW.** 

In accounting terms, on the **unrestricted** funds, the Church made a small surplus of £13762, and this is largely due is that expenditure was less than budgeted which resulted in the balance on the General fund increasing from £159K to £169K 

The two main reasons for the reduced expenditure was that the post of Operations Manager/ Administrator was not filled saving £7800 and the delayed relocation of the Associate Minister 

## **RESTRICTED FUNDS** 

The number of restricted funds remains at 2, which at the end of the year had the following balances. Building Redevelopment 55942 * (see section of Building Redevelopment) Fellowship Fund 2034 **TOTAL                                57976** 

## **REGULAR INCOME** 

It is pleasing to report that the majority of giving comes via monthly standing Orders which allows a degree of stability when looking ahead at future expenditure 

The Church continues to embrace new technology re-giving methods whether it be through the Churches Website and also the Contactless Terminal Card which qualifies for GADS recovery 

## **GIFT AID** 

The Church was able to recover a significant amount of income £23K from the HMRC through the Gift Aid scheme and an additional £1K was received through GADS Small Cash donations where the maximum amount a charity can claim is £2K 

## **HIRE of PREMISES** 

Good use is made of the facilities by the community resulting in an income of £3099 although this was less than the previous year (£3843) 



## **HIRE of PREMISES** 

Good use is made of the facilities by the community resulting in an income of £3099 although this was less than the previous year (£3843) 

## **BANKING** 

Until June 2025 the Church continued to conduct its everyday banking with CAF Bank, where it had operated both a General and Gold Account. 

Unfortunately following an upgrade to the Banks Operating System many users had significant problems particularly with regard to the online access and which took a long time to resolve so a decision was taken to move to HSBC Bank and the CAF bank was finally closed in mid- December. HSBC operates a similar system to CAF whereby it requires 2 individuals to authorize a payment and at the end of the year the General Account totaled £20K with a further £95K earning interest in their Business Manager deposit account 

The remaining £111979 is held on deposit with the Baptist Union Corporation where it is split over two funds of a 7 Day and 3 Month notice, with the majority of the funds held in the latter account. 

Although interest rates have started to decrease, both these accounts give a good rate of interest which was £3861 compared with £3248 the previous year. 

## **FINANCIAL RESERVES POLICY** 

The Church has a policy which requires a minimum reserves level to cover six months of the average expenditure of fixed costs and legal responsibilities relating to paid staff such as the Minister and has been set at £65K so the current unrestricted reserves is above the requirement 

See Further Development Stage 

## **GIVING TO OTHER CAUSES** 

The Church continues to be very generous in its support for other Missions including a tithe to the Baptist denominations Home Mission Fund, and BMS World Vision in addition to some other National and local based charities. 

In 2025 the total distributed increased to £28138 (£24800) 

## **LIABILITIES** 

The only liabilities is money which was destined for other causes £2400 which had not been paid by the end of the year 

## **RECONCILIATION of ACCOUNTS** 

The Church uses the program _EXPENSE PLUS_ which is used by a number of Charities to keep the Accounts, and I can affirm that the system agrees to that shown on the bank statements 

## **PAYROLL- STAFF** 

The new Associated Minister did not start until the Spring so there were cost savings against the budget which had been set  In addition, the post of a paid Administrator/ Operations Manager remained vacant thus reducing the overall staffing costs 

As with most Churches, Pinhoe Road is entitled to the Employment NI Allowance and as the gross pay for staff did not exceed £80K the Church continued to be exempt from ER NI. 



## **PENSIONS** 

The Minister the Rev George Baker is in the Baptist Union Pension Scheme but the Church in the past has also had a scheme with the B&CE (Building & Civil Engineering)  It was discovered that the organization is now part of the Peoples Partnership and as the Associate Minister Mig Partridge already had a private pension scheme the Church has enrolled him into the latter scheme 

Unfortunately, this was not without its difficulties as despite providing a membership number, the organization could find no record so the Church had to reapply to join the scheme which cost an additional £600. 

_**It is worth mentioning that should the Church be appointing a paid office manager/ Administrator and especially if that person doesn’t already have a works pension an option is to enrol them into the Government Nest Pension**_ 

## **HOUSING ALLOWANCE** 

The Associate Ministers previous Baptist at Church Creech St Michael along with many other Baptist churches, had a ‘leaseback’ arrangement with their Pastors which was tax efficient and financially beneficial to the Minister and the church. Unfortunately, in 2025 the Baptist Union stopped supporting new leaseback schemes after representations from the HMRC 

The timing was unfortunate as existing schemes are still permitted as are agreements where the Church is a CIO *Charity Incorporated Organisation” 

## **CHURCHES, CHARITIES and INCORPORATION** 

It was hoped that by now the process of converting to CIO status will be well under way, but other events have taken priority in the life of the Church. Unfortunately, it is a fairly slow and arduous procedure that can take some months to complete without the Church seeing any benefit. However, the important one is that in the unlikely event of any litigation, the **Church Officers/Trustees are financially protected** . 

As you are aware once a the new constitution has been accepted by the Charity commission and have allocated a new number, there will be many administrative tasks to perform such as notifying banks, utilities, rental companies etc, updating Web site- in fact anywhere where the Church Charity number is currently displayed and as a new organization there will then be a need to apply to the HMRC for new numbers for PAYE, GIFT AID RECOVERY which also includes a New Government Gateway 

However, the one r **ecommendation** which I strongly advise in order to avoid any additional costs such as having to prepare 2 sets of Annual Accounts, is that the new structure does not become operative until the close of the accounting year with the new Church charity operating from the first day of the subsequent year. 

**It is worth mentioning that it is permitted under the CC rules that a paid administrator can become a Trustee in the same way that Ministerial appointments are allowed, as most CIO constitutions will invariably state something similar to the words reproduced below** . 

_The Deacon for Administration and Deacon for Finance (who may only be elected to this role after 24 months of continuous membership of the Church) shall automatically be a Charity Trustee because of their role and responsibilities_ 



FURTHER BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT (2026)
In 2025 the Church agreed to undertake further work of renovating the toilets and
an area of the roof at a projected cost of £150K and an appeal for £50K was
launched in November wilh the balance to coming out of Unrestricted Funds
At the end of 2025 some £30K plus Gift Aid of £6811 had been raised
Whilst it falls outside the remrf( of this report with £100K being used from the
General Fund it redU￿S the balance close to that of the Financial Reserves
policy
SUMMARY
The Management accounts which are attached are once again in Ihe fomi of
Receipt and Payments fomiat, which provides the overview to the Trustees,
Deacons and Church as to the Income and Expenditure in 2025 and On￿ the
figures are adopted, they will need to be filed on the Charity Commission together
with the reports as in previous years.
The Charity Commission have announced that from 2026 there will be a new SORP
2026 which will result in how some changes as to how the FRS 102 figures are
classified and full details can be found on the CC website, part of which I have
reProdu￿d below
3. Accounting stsndards, policies, Concepts and principles, including estirnates and errors Significant
More guidance has been included on the going concern basis of preparation. Other changes in this
module are made lo be consistent with FRS 102 and in response lo stakeholder feedback.
Summary of changes 4. Statement of Financial Activities Limited changes In response lo
stakeholder feedback, tables have been included to show charities how to report if using natural
classificab'ons and lo assist in the presentslion of allocation of support costs. 5. Recognib"on of
income, including legacies, grants and contract income Significant To reflect changes to FRS 102.
guidance is included on exchange transactions, in particular, the 5-slep model for Income
recognition. In response to stakeholder feedback, the module also provides guidance on when grant
income is income from an exchange transaction or when it is income from a non-exchange
Iransaclion. Other changes to the module are lo improve clarity of reporting.
FINALLY
2025 has been an extremely challenging year for many Church Treasurers and
Chris has informed me that he is standing down from the role in the Spring of 2026
I have no doubt that the Church owes him enormous appreciation of thanks for his
service in this role over the past 4 years and I pray God's blessing on yOLsr
fellowship in the coming days

CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examinetrs report on the
accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to thg trusteesl
mombers of
PINHOE ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH. EXETER
On accounts for the year
ondad
31" December 2025
Charity no
lif any)
1132000
Set out on pages
Iremtrmt*r to Indude Ihe p¥ge numbe's o, glri rinrtsdl )l.--
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts ot the above
charity (°the Trust.) for the year ended 3111212025
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the
accounts in accordance with the ￿qUirements of the Charities Act 2011
('the Act.).
Responsibilltles and
basis of report
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 14515){bl of the Ad.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have
examiner's statement come lo my attention in connection with the examination which gives me
cause to believe that in, any malenal respect..
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130
of the Charities Act., or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records., or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements
concerning the fomi and content of accounts sel OLrt in the Chaiities
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement
that the accounts give a 'true and fairf view which 1$ not a matter
considered a$ part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection
with the examination to which attention should drawn in this report in
order to enable a proper understanding of the a¢¢ounts to be reached.
Slgned:
26th February 2026
Name:
Hugh S RODWAY
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
Ilf any):
Address:
21 Maudlin Drive
Teignmouth Devon TQ14 8RZ
IER
Oct 2018

Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight material mallers of concern
(see CC32. IndeFendent examination of charity accounts.. directions and
guidance for examiners).
Give hern brlef details of
any Itèms that the
examiner wishes to
dl8cIose.
É /i-:

CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGIANO ANO WALES
PINHOE ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH
1132000
Receipts and payments accounts
For the perfod
0110112025
To
31112r2025
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funth
to th• n•8rt•t£
to th• b7•aMt £
to th• n•arn•t
A1 Recelpts
Gift aid donations
n gift awj don81it
stewardship l GAYE
On4ine giwng
Grft8id recove
Hall hire
Bank iniere5t
Olher in(X￿e
f 00817
13692
27245
5820
5207
135
19A
19,1
9n
24005
3099
3861
11422
24Q
Sub total (Gross income for
AR)
1T44fj6
A2 Asset and Invest￿nI sales.
{5ee tsbleh
Sub total
Total recelpts
172.468
38,407
3Pa
Stsffing
Mknwsupport
Cl￿r¢h Irfe. adults
Church life- youth
Buikling ubtitits & rnairtt￿v*
Building
Evangelism & outr88ch
Onts
8.293
4980
4Q
S502
3.TT9
7.B89
28.138
1.228
4.521
161485
IT
Core-sub8 ￿ audrt
fvthinistr81k>n
Sub total
167AI
A4 Asset and Investment
purchases,
see lable
Sub total

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unr$sirlcted
funds
Reytrfcte
Endowment
nth
C•tegorles
Detail
B1 Cash fvDds
HSBC￿￿
20fv95
HSBC dyJ%tImDnBym￿Eger
37205
57WY
BU CDrpa¢xxvmts
111J79
b￿k
Total c#$h luAds
119.871
57.97T
¥$))
Unrgstrfcted
lund8
Endowmont
lunds
Detalls
32 Othor monètsry assèts
F￿￿t￿￿￿ch
DÈtalls
FWdt0*l￿
Dqialls
D•t&lls
B5 ￿•bIlItI•8
+ Opqn Lk
130
Pmt Norne
¢ Gwdr
2é-01-2G
YXP2 kn)UDts ISS}

Financial Statement foi the Year ended 31st Decembgr 2025
CHARITY REGISTfuTION NO.1132CIYJ
2025
DDnafjons
Non GfftN&l8d thJnatb)ni
128Ce2
19512
34150
23185
15435
27T4
StV•NaTdSh￿ GAYE
Onllne gMr*J
Hall hlro
1108
Bank Inlerest
3248
11422
TOTAL
21087
21837
StAffiThJ
Mintsty support
Church fd•- adu
Churc* al8-youth
BulkJiThJ util￿& malntsnan
r8dav6Wient
EvarwJeH8m & outrox
10
8293
12
5814
181
13
14
3m
15
18
28138
17
1154
omintsiral
18
2740
TOYAL
167
Suwus Idefiui) fOrthe￿ar
BI￿r￿4 broughtfor￿r￿ b8nk 8Gcounts
Cartsd fw4rd
43410
184HS
78752
105693
8uikJing R*J8¥elopment
F8LI7iryhp Fund
19
20
55942
22873
167T
Tolals of R8stri(X8d Fund8
Srn78
Totsl ofGengr81 FuThJ IUnrg5ti*
TOTAL ofALL FUNDS
21
Bank and othgr cash b8la
Non MonotsryAssots (Info ontyl
23
3&57985
LiABILITIES
24
2471
2&.02.Z6

## Pinhoe Road Baptist Church 2025 Finance Report 

## Executive Summary 

2025 generated a small surplus against budget for the year as shown below. 

|General fund<br>Income<br>Spend<br>Totals|Budget<br>Actual<br>Diff<br>£000<br>£000<br>£000<br>-173<br>-173<br>0<br>173<br>159<br>-14<br>0<br>-14<br>-14|
|---|---|



The chart below summarises our sources of income: 


The chart below gives a summary of our spend: 


The church meeting decided to proceed with redevelopment of the toilets and central roofs at a project estimate of £150,000.  This is being financed by £100,000 from reserves and £50,000 from an appeal. 



## Acknowledgements 

Thanks are expressed to Phil Aubrey and Gina Snow for their enormous contribution to finance operations.  Gina oversees the payroll, verifies invoices and claims and assists with the bank reconciliations.  Phil oversees gift aid, Sunday offerings, banking, on-line donations and also assists with bank reconciliation. 

The church uses accounting software from Expense Plus which provides a great deal of guidance on a range of topics relevant to churches.  There is also a user forum on Facebook where church financial issues are discussed. 

1 Thess 1v3 _“I thank God for your work produced by faith”_ 

## Income 

Giving in 2025 was 8% below budget as shown below.  Contributing factors include a greater turnover of Sunday attendees and stopping the second morning service. 

|Income<br>Giving<br>Gift Aid<br>Other<br>Totals|Budget<br>Actual<br>Diff<br>£000<br>£000<br>£000<br>141<br>130<br>-11<br>26<br>24<br>-2<br>6<br>19<br>13<br>173<br>173<br>0|
|---|---|



Other income includes collections for other causes: special collections / agency giving Dnipro Hope summer camps £2900 Church weekend at home £704 

Christmas day offering for Dnipro Hope and Open Doors £1630 Craft fair for minibus appeal (outreach southwest) £711 

## MTP2 – building redevelopment 

Following agreement to proceed with MTP2, an appeal was launched in November and gifts totalling £30,296 were received with associated Gift Aid of £6811 resulting in a grand total of £37107. 

## Gift aid 

There are 62 in the congregation who are registered for Gift Aid. Frequently these may represent a couple or whole household. 

Total Gift Aid received from HMRC was £24,000 in 2025 which was below a budget target of £26,200. However, Gift Aid claims are retrospective and reflect the period July 2024 – July 2025. 

It has been clarified in 2025 that small gifts made via our card reader are eligible to be included in Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). This scheme allows Gift Aid to be claimed from HMRC on individual cash or card gifts up to £30 where the donor is not recorded. The availability of the card reader has proved popular with the congregation. In the second half of 2025 giving by named donors and through card and cash giving have both increased and so the forthcoming claim is anticipated to be 6% higher  compared with the same period last year. 

Gift Aid to be claimed on the recent MTP2 appeal is calculated to be £6,800 (so far) towards the total appeal target. 



## Total income by fund 

||Income|
|---|---|
|General|172468|
|Building restricted|33070|
|Fellowship restricted|5337|
|Totals|210875|



2 Cor 9v7 _“God loves a cheerful giver”_ 

## Expenditure 

Spend was 8% below budget for two main reasons.  Firstly, the Operations Manager was vacant the whole year (£7800). Secondly, it was expected that the Associate Minister would relocate to Exeter during 2025 resulting in associated housing allowance costs and relocation expenses. 

|Category<br> <br>Staffing<br>Ministry support<br>Church life adult<br>Church life child<br>Buildings<br>Evangelism<br>Mission support<br>Administration<br>Totals|Budge<br>Actual<br>Diff<br>£000<br>£000<br>£000<br>98<br>79<br>-19<br>6<br>8<br>2<br>1<br>1<br>0<br>6<br>6<br>0<br>25<br>23<br>-2<br>7<br>8<br>1<br>26<br>28<br>2<br>4<br>6<br>2<br>173<br>159<br>-14|
|---|---|



## Pension scheme for the Associate Minister 

It is a legal requirement for the church to enrol new staff into our occupational pension scheme.  This was done in December which was several months late.  For many years our pension scheme was B&CE (building and civil engineering).  However, when B&CE were approached we discovered they are now part of People’s Partnership.  People’s Partnership unfortunately had no record of our membership despite providing our membership number. We therefore had to apply afresh and incur a £600 joining fee.  People’s Partnership took the joining fee of £600 twice, so we requested a refund in 2026. 



## Housing allowance for Associate Minister 

Creech St Michael, along with other Baptist churches, had a ‘leaseback’ arrangement with their Pastors which was tax efficient and financially beneficial to the staff and the church. Unfortunately, the Baptist Union no longer support new leaseback schemes and no longer provide legal advice on the matter.  (Existing schemes however are still continuing). After approaching a legal firm and discussing with our Independent Examiner, Hugh Rodway, it appears that the only way forward would be to become a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and avoid the restriction by the BU corporation.  It is therefore disappointing, from a financial point of view, that no progress has been made to become a CIO. 

– Fabric top hall roof 

We obtained two quotes to renew the felt roof of the upper hall: MAB roofing – strip and renew  - £17,016 incl VAT EXE Flat roofing – felt overlay - £10,000 (non VAT registered) Both roofers proposed fixing external timbers to the roof to support the solar panels.  The church meeting agreed to seek professional advice from Jarman Ward regarding re-fixing the solar panels and assessment of quotes for roof renewal.  A budget of £20,000 has been identified for this work out of Building Development – designated fund. 

This work is essential due to leaks via the solar panel fixings which have caused damage to plaster and damaged the ceiling lights. 

## – Banking CAF bank 

In June 2025 CAF bank changed their on-line banking platform.  This caused significant problems including difficulty logging on, inability to search for transactions, difficulty with downloading statements and transactions for our accounting system, difficulty with selecting payees for making payment, inability to cancel standing orders.  Other churches experienced similar problems and breaches of data protection were alleged.  The Elders agreed to switch banking to HSBC as they compared favourably against other banks in terms of cost and functionality.  The CAF account was closed mid-December. 

## Operations Manager / Admin Team Leader 

The vacancy resulted in an underspend  of £7857.  The effect of the vacancy meant that there was a lack of support in the following areas: 

Providing access to the premises to contractors 

Managing online accounts including Microsoft, Virgin Media and Eclipse (resulting in unnecessary spend) Distributing post (delays in receiving important correspondence) Providing meter readings (gas, elec, ECOE, water) Receiving deliveries of equipment Reviewing and updating policies (required for Council grants) 

## Fellowship Fund 

This fund is used to support people experiencing hardship or needing temporary support. The fund was well used during 2025 with gifts amounting to £4980. As gifts are sometimes directed to members of the congregation, we do not claim gift aid on donations, as this does not meet the criteria of ‘charitable’ expenditure. 

Acts 2v44 _“they gave to anyone as he had need”_ 



## Budgetary control 

The income and expenditure report shows actual figures against budget for 2025.  Members are reminded that budgets are ‘plans’ as opposed to ‘allocations’ and overspends have been allowed where the overall financial position is sound. I.e. managing the “bottom line”. However, good stewardship responsibilities are expected of budget holders. 

## MTP Building redevelopment 

Income and spend is set out below: 

|Reserves<br> <br>**Restricted**<br>Donations<br>Gift aid<br>**Designated**<br>Donations<br>Gift aid<br>Fees - top hall<br>Fees - MTP2<br>Drains survey<br>Transfer from general<br>GRAND totals<br> <br>General<br>Redevelopment<br>Redevelopment<br>Fellowship<br>Totals|Open bal<br>Income<br>Spend<br>Closing<br> <br>22872<br>33070<br>55942<br> <br>17071<br>778<br>2353<br>648<br>13292<br>88000<br>39943<br>157234<br>£<br>68587<br>designated<br>unre-<br>101292<br>restricted<br>55943<br>restricted<br>2034<br>227856|
|---|---|



Our reserves policy requires maintaining a minimum of £63,500 in reserve. 

## Banking and investments 

The cash balances at 31 December are set out below: 



|<br>Interest<br>BU 90 day<br>2.50%<br>BU 7 day<br>0.50%<br>HSBC  savings<br>1.40%<br>HSBC current<br>CAF<br>Totals|£<br>110028.01<br>1951.2<br>95181.67<br>20695.49<br>227856.37|
|---|---|



The approach has been to maximise interest on savings whilst spreading savings across accounts.  The possibility of using COIF has been considered, but this carries some risk and needs to be long term.  The difficulties with CAF bank have taken a large proportion of the Finance Team’s time in 2025. 

## Related party transactions / Trustees remuneration and expenses 

Our Pastors, George Baker and Mig Partridge, received stipend, heating allowance or housing allowance and reimbursement of expenses and our Treasurer, Chris Gardner, received reimbursement of expenses relating to equipment purchases.  Apart from a claim for food at a Christmas social, no contribution or reimbursement of expenses in respect of _services provided by the Trustees_ has been made during the year. 

## Accounting policies 

The financial statements have been prepared on a ‘receipts and payments’ basis and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102). The church uses a national accounting system designed for UK charities which is called ExpensePlus.  This is administered by the Treasurer and finance assistants Phil and Gina. 

C Gardner Treasurer 




## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** 

**From  1[st] January 2025    To    31[st] December 2025** 

**Charity name: Pinhoe Road Baptist Church** 

**Charity registration number:** 

## **1132000** 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of<br>the charity as set out in its<br>governing document|Para 1.17|The principal purpose of the church is the<br>advancement of the Christian faith<br>according to the principles of the Baptist<br>denomination. The church may also<br>advance education and carry out other<br>charitable purposes in the United Kingdom<br>and/or other parts of the world.|
|Summary of the main<br>activities in relation to those<br>purposes for the public<br>benefit, in particular, the<br>activities, projects or<br>services identified in the<br>accounts.|Para 1.17 and<br>1.19|The provision of regular services of public<br>Christian worship is central to the church’s<br>fulfilment of its primary purpose above.<br>These have been held on Sundays at<br>10.30am, and advertised on the church<br>websitewww.prbc.org.uk.They have also<br>been accessible online via a livestream. A<br>programme for all ages of children and<br>young people is included in the morning<br>service.<br>Occasional courses are run to enable<br>anyone to explore what it means to be a<br>Christian, and these are publicised during<br>Sunday worship and online.<br>The church also runs several small groups<br>for development of faith and discipleship.<br>These meet during the week in the homes<br>of some members and on church premises,<br>and are advertised in the weekly newsletter<br>distributed by email to any wishing to<br>receive it.<br>The church runs Parent and Toddler<br>sessions at the church premises to assist<br>the local community and demonstrate the<br>love of Jesus Christ. Once a month, the<br>church hosts a ‘Messy Church’ session for<br>families with young children. A youth club<br>meets on a week night. The church<br>operates a safeguarding policy and<br>ensures that all people working with<br>children are appropriately vetted.|





|||A weekly coffee morning is run on church<br>premises, open to any in the<br>neighbourhood.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming<br>whether the trustees have<br>had regard to the guidance<br>issued by the Charity<br>Commission on public<br>benefit|Para 1.18|In planning activities to meet its objectives,<br>the trustees have had regard to the<br>guidance issued by the Charity<br>Commission on public benefit, and in<br>particular, the specific guidance on<br>charities for the advancement of religion.|



**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 Contribution made by volunteers Other 



## **Achievements and Performance** 

||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main<br>achievements of the charity,<br>identifying the difference the<br>charity’s work has made to<br>the circumstances of its<br>beneficiaries and any wider<br>benefits to society as a<br>whole.|Para 1.20|Our**Sunday worship service**moved to a<br>new start time of 10.30am at the beginning<br>of the year. This service is also accessible<br>online via a livestream, and with content<br>available to watch back later. An informal<br>monthly gathering is also held on Sunday<br>evenings for prayer and worship. We have<br>been joined by a good number of<br>newcomers through the year. A second<br>minister has joined the church staff to help<br>broaden and deepen the church’s ministry.<br>In 2025 we ran several different**teaching**<br>series, such as “The Fruit of the Spirit”<br>(looking at developing Christian character),<br>and “Gentle and Lowly” (looking at the<br>tender heart of Jesus Christ for all people).<br>These longer series were punctuated by<br>breaks for short series on different topics or<br>to hear from visiting speakers.<br>For**children and youth**, the usual range of<br>groups on Sunday morning [crèche,<br>Primary Sunday School (3–8-year-olds),<br>Xplore (7–12-year-olds), Encounter [for<br>teenagers] continued their teaching<br>programmes during the morning service. A<br>week night opportunity for older teens<br>began in the autumn.<br>A weekly session for Toddlers happens on<br>Wednesday mornings. ‘Messy Church’<br>continued each month with craft activities,<br>food, and a bible-based story for families<br>with young children, an event typically<br>attended by more than a hundred visitors,<br>of whom the majority are children and<br>young people.<br>During the week a youth club offers 8–13-<br>year-olds a venue for socialising and<br>games on Friday evenings.<br>Within the**small group programme**, a<br>variety of groups serve the discipleship<br>needs of a diverse range of people.<br>Practical pastoral care is also exercised for<br>those in various situations of need.<br>The church hosts an**International Cafè**<br>once a month, in partnership with another<br>local church. This is designed to introduce<br>new arrivals to life in the UK and Exeter,<br>and to help them improve their English.<br>Between 60 and 100 internationals attend<br>the café regularly.|





The church also held a variety of **outreach** events to spread the good news of Jesus and encourage more people into the church. Regular events include a Christmas Fair, a Carol Service and engagement with spectators of the Great West Run (held in May) which passes by the church. The **membership** of the church stood at 120 at the end of 2025. 

|**Additional information (optional)**<br>You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**<br>You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|Achievements against<br>objectives set|Para 1.41||
|Performance of fundraising<br>activities against objectives<br>set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance<br>against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||





## **Financial Review** 

|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s<br>financial position at the end<br>of the period|Para 1.21|At the year-end there was a healthy surplus<br>which has been built up over recent<br>years.   The church is in a good position for<br>planned building redevelopment projects.|
|Statement explaining the<br>policy for holding reserves<br>stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The trustees’ aim is to maintain a working<br>balance sufficient to be able to cover our<br>legal financial commitments for a period of<br>6 months. This would include our Ministers'<br>employment costs plus covering utility bills<br>for the Manse and the Church and to<br>maintain adequate buildings insurance<br>cover.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The financial status at the end of 2025,<br>going into 2026, was to have unrestricted<br>funds available in the General Fund of at<br>least £63,500. The General Fund balance<br>was £68,500 plus an additional £101,000<br>designated for building redevelopment.|
|Reasons for holding zero<br>reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in<br>deficit|Para 1.24||
|Explanation of any<br>uncertainties about the<br>charity continuing as a going<br>concern|Para 1.23||



## **Additional information (optional)** 

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

|The charity’s principal<br>sources of funds (including<br>any fundraising)|Para 1.47||
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and<br>objectives including any<br>social investment policy<br>adopted|Para 1.46||
|A description of the principal<br>risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
|Other|||





## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

|Description of charity’s<br>trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document<br>(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution (adopted 22ndOctober 2008<br>and amended 18thMay 2011 and 10thJune<br>2015 and 15thDecember 2020)|
|How is the charity<br>constituted?<br>(e.g unincorporated<br>association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Unincorporated Association|
|Trustee selection methods<br>including details of any<br>constitutional provisions e.g.<br>election to post or name of<br>any person or body entitled<br>to appoint one or more<br>trustees|Para 1.25|Appointment by the church members’<br>meeting|



**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

||||
|---|---|---|
|Policies and procedures<br>adopted for the induction<br>and training of trustees|Para 1.51||
|The charity’s organisational<br>structure and any wider<br>network with which the<br>charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related<br>parties|Para 1.51||
|Other|||



## **Reference and Administrative details** 

|Charity name|Pinhoe Road Baptist Church|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|1132000|
|Charity’s principal address|Pinhoe Road<br>Polsloe Bridge<br>Exeter<br>EX4 7HZ|





## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|1<br>2<br>3<br>4<br>5|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**<br>**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**<br>**to appoint trustee(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Rev George Peter<br>Baker|Minister and Elder||Church Members’ Meeting|
||Malcolm John<br>Partridge|Minister and Elder|24thMarch 2025 – 31st<br>December 2025|Church Members’ Meeting|
||Mr Bruce<br>Macpherson|Elder||Church Members’ Meeting|
||Mr Christopher<br>Maurice Gardner|Elder||Church Members’ Meeting|
||Mrs Amanda<br>Louise Grainger|Elder||Church Members’ Meeting|



– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved 

**Director name N/A** 

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity 

|**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**||
|---|---|---|
|Baptist Union Corporation<br>Limited<br>Baptist House<br>PO Box 44<br>129 Broadway<br>Didcot<br>Oxfordshire<br>OX11 8RT|||



## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** 

Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets 



## **Additional information (optional)** 

## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** 

**Type of Name Address adviser Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** 

## **Exemptions from disclosure** 

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details 

## **Other optional information** 



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