**Registered Charity Number - 1134242** **Penzance Baptist Church** **Trustees Annual Report, Auditor Examination and Accounts For the year ended 31st December 2024** ## **PENZANCE BAPTIST CHURCH** **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT, ACCOUNTS and INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** 1 ## **Penzance Baptist Church** **Report of the Trustees for the year 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2024** **Reference and Administration Details** **Charity Name** Penzance Baptist Church **Charity Registration Number** **Charity’s Principal Address** 1134242 Clarence Street Penzance TR18 2NY Cornwall ## **Board of Trustees** _(Name)_ James Belmour Edward Fletcher Ralph Hammond John Rubens Jonathan Stobbs _(Office)_ Deacon Deacon (Appointed 29 April 2024) Deacon Elder Minister ## **Independent Examiner** Rev. Michael Coles (BSc) 14 Pengarth Road Falmouth TR11 2TY Cornwall ## **Bank** Lloyds Penzance P.O. Box 8 Market House Penzance Cornwall TR18 2TN 2 ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The governing document of the Penzance Baptist Church as a charity is the Constitution for Grace Baptist Church Charities approved on 1 January 2007, and then adopted as the charity was registered on 10 February 2010. Penzance Baptist Church as a charity is constituted as an association, and the way in which the trustees are selected and appointed is through the means of the church members’ meeting. ## **Objectives and Activities** The principal object of the church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to Baptist principals in accordance with the church’s Basis of Faith. The church also carries out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world. In relation to these objects, our main activities are Sunday services (morning and evening), midweek Bible studies and prayer meetings, evangelistic activities in the community, children’s club, Parent and Toddler group, promotion of mission and matters of social concern, and various informal get-togethers to consider the Christian faith. ## **Achievements and Performance** Owing to the spiritual nature of the church’s objectives it is difficult to quantify achievements. We employ a Pastor who conducts the majority of both Sunday Services, as well as mid-week meetings. The weekly program of the church is busy with regular meetings and activities. The Pastor also takes services around the country at different churches and conferences throughout the year. He has also ministered overseas in Europe and West Africa. There is a leadership team which consists of Elders and Deacons. The Elders meet regularly to oversee the ongoing life of the church and apart from the Pastor, the other Elder takes a proportion of the Sunday Services and mid-week meetings. At various times other meetings in the life of the church are taken by church members. We also have links with associated churches around the country and invite speakers from those churches to take services on specific occasions. Generally, the church has continued to see new people attending the services at various times from the local area. Throughout the summer months the church drew many visitors from around the country and the world. For seasons such as Easter and Christmas we delivered invitations to the local community to come to the various services and activities. Following the delivery of Christmas cards and invitations to the surrounding streets we saw many visitors at all of the various activities. These included a ‘Carols, Coffee, and Cake’ afternoon in the lead up to Christmas. This saw a large number of people join us to sing carols and have some refreshments together. In addition to this we took the Carol singing into the community as a group from the church sung in the local Tesco. This involved giving people Christmas gift bags and invites to the services. We also had our usual Christmas Carol service which was very well attended and also made available via YouTube. Similar events were organized around the Easter period including a Good Friday 3 service followed by refreshments. It has been excellent to see people coming to the church for the very first time and some beginning to come regularly to services. The church also had a number of special services in the year including a Thanksgiving service marking the 222nd anniversary of the church, and its presence in the community for that time. We have also been very encouraged to see the way many have been accessing the online provision of the church for those unable to meet in person, specifically the live streams of the regular Sunday services. The broadcasts saw a wide engagement from people not just locally, but from across the country and the world. We have continued to hold other regular meetings throughout the week including a variety of clubs and activities for toddlers and children. The Parent and Toddler group ‘Toddliwinks’, is recognised in the community as an excellent group. The group has a constant attendance of existing and new parents/guardians, and works a waiting list when interest surpasses the necessary ratios.There are also two youth clubs, KiC Junior and KiC+, which run weekly covering all school age groups up to Yr11 in secondary. The younger group in particular has become very popular and is often at capacity. Many families are in contact with the church as a result of this and this has seen other things organized due to demand including a summer beach outing. PBC also has good relationships with a number of local schools. There have been a number of school visits to the church itself looking at the history and practice of the Baptist Church. Our Pastor has taken assemblies and lessons in local primary and secondary schools. We have continued to run a number of provisions in the week which give the local community opportunity to engage with the church. These included ‘Coffee and Cake’ afternoons, a Men’s Breakfast, Women’s Meetings, as well as ‘Lunch and Listen’ which is a monthly meal for over 55s. The church is seen as a place where people can meet each other and gives access to warm spaces in these difficult times. Such events also give people the opportunity to learn more about the message of Christianity. We have continued to make resources available to any interested in the life of the church and Christianity. There is free literature available at every meeting and whenever the church is open, as well as free Bibles for those interested. We have sought to keep the the church building in good repair. The main entrance doors to the church were replaced through kind gifts from church members and a grant from the Cornwall Historic Churches Trust. In addition to this, the front façade of the building is in need of substantial repair work. This is a major project and massive undertaking for a small church like ourselves, not least financially. It has already demanded much attention but the repairs will hopefully preserve the building for the benefit of the local community for years to come. The building is Grade II* listed and therefore has particular local and national significance. Such is the work needed that national organisations such as ‘Historic England’ and local authorities have been consulted with a specialist firm appointed to undertake the work. This is now in process and we hope repairs will be completed during the course of 2025. 4 ## **Financial Review** ## **Reserves** The Church has adopted a policy of seeking to hold reserves equivalent to three months regular expenditure, presently a reserve of £14,085. The current total reserve at 31[st] December 2024 is £6,487. ## **Risk Management** The trustees have identified the major risks to which the charity is exposed. These have been reviewed and the trustees are satisfied that adequate systems of control have been established to mitigate these risks. ## **Annual Return Figures** Income for 2024 - **£70,186** Expenditure for 2024- **£75,298** ## **Other Optional Information** ## **Public Benefit** The trustees have considered the guidance produced by the Charity Commission on the provision of public benefit and they confirm that public benefit has been provided by: - Promoting the whole mission of the church through the activities for individuals, parents and toddlers, and the elderly. - Providing regular public worship that is open to all - Conducting pastoral work including visiting the sick and the bereaved - Teaching Christianity through sermons, courses, and small groups - Providing a youth club with a Christian Ethos - Distributing evangelistic materials - Taking part in community events ## **Declaration** The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: ## **Signature (s)** **Rev. Jonathan Stobbs Mr. John Rubens Position: Chair Trustee** 5 Itru%lL'L4* 0[ Pisll/.iillcL. IlJplist Cliurch ndeiioiiilent &,xttiiiliii'r'4 Rc'i)i)i'l Iii thi¥ iiii'iiil)Lir% I rcpc)rt oil Ilic iii'l i)Iiiil.% ti)I' Illi yL%ll' 111(li1131 %1 l)Ll Liiil)Ll' 21124 Tlic. Iiii%lLI'N Ill. Ilie iliiii'jlii Iii'L fL%I)i)Ii%il)IL li)i- IIIL iirLp'ir'illl)11 i)r Ilic JLcountq. ThLy con8id¢r It is iiiy re81)i)ii%il)ilily li).. exiiiiiiiiLI IIIL IILLciiiiils iiiidli. s¢ction 145 of the 201 l Act. IL)Iliiiv Illi pi'1)iiiliiii% liiiil (loivii iii ilic Glncral Dircclions givcn by Ihc Charity ( iiiiiiiii%sii)Iiir%siLIi()11 145(5){bl ul. IhL 201 l Act., and liilL ivliiiliir1I11i'1iiiiliii' Ill%?Il¢r% l)ave coiiie lo iiiy attention. Hiisls of Indi'piiidL'llt Tr.xuiiiliiir's Statement My cxiiniiiiiilii)i) Wlls Liirried oul ID accordance with il)e Gencrdl DireLlioiis givcii by Ihc Charity C"i)iiiiiii%.4ii)11. Ali cxaiiiiiinlii)11 iiicludL'8 a revicw of Ihe accounliiig records kcpl by thc cli&irily anLI li Li)li)Pi?ri%i)n ot IliL JLLOUllts prescnlcd ivith tliosc rLcords. It cilso includcs Lon%idcialion iiiy iiiiii%iiiil ilinis oi. disclobiires in the 3ccount.s. and seeking cxplbefore investment gains(losses)|-5,1I|I|0|0|-5,1II|7,523|| |Netgainsl(losses)on||0|0|0|0||0| |investments|||||||| |Netincome/(expenditure)|-5,11I||0|0|-5,11||7,523|| |Extraordinaryitems||0|0|0|0||0| |Transfersbetweenfunds||0|0|0|0||0| |NetMovementinFunds|-5,1II||0|0|-5,11||7,523|| |Reconciliation ofFunds|||||||| |Iotalfundsbrought forward|1s,767||0|0|15,767||| |IotalfundscarriedforwardI|
1O,OSO||ol|0|10,656||| ## ## ## ## ## |Fundname|Fund balances|IncomeExpenditure|IncomeExpenditure|Transfers|Gains and|Fund balances| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||brought||||losses|carried| ||forward|||||forward| |Generalfund|8,92',r|63,397|-7 1,801|6,550|0|7,074| |BuildingFund|4,003|6,299|-346|-6,550|0|3,396| |MinistryDevelopment|2,837|0|-1,016|0|0|1,821| |MissionaryFund|0|400|-1,150|0|0|-750| |Uganda Support|0|100|-985|0|0|-885| |Totals|15.767|70,186|-75,298|0|0|10,656| |Total|funds|Prioryear funds| |---|---|---| |f||f.| |Cashflowsfromoperating activities:||| |Netcashprovidedby (usedin)operating uctivities|-14,709|-,1(l?| |Cashflowsfrominvesting activities:||| |Dividends,interest and rentsfrominvestments|9,851|9,033| |Nelcoshprovidedby (usedin)investing activities|9,851|9,033| |Cashflowsfromfinancing activities:||| |Netcashprovidedby (usedin) Jinancingactivlties|0|0| |Changeincushandcashequivalentsinthe reportingperiod|-4,959|6,641| |Cash andcashequivalents at the beginning of thereportingperiod|I t.345|4,'704| |Cash andcashequivalents atthe endofthereportingperiod|6,487|11,345| |Reconciliation ofnetincome(expenditure) tonet cashflow fiomoperating activities||| |Net income/(expenditure)forthereportingperiod(asperthe
statementoffinancialactivities)|-5,11I|7,523| |Adjustmentsfor:||| |Dividends,interest and rentsfrominvestments|-9,851|-9,033| |(lncrease)/decreaseindebtors|253|-882| |Netcashprovidedby (usedin) operating activities|-14,7A9|-2,392|