Anderson Baptist Church
Year ended 31[st] December 2024
Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
The trustees are responsible for preparing for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (The Charities Act) and that an independent examination is necessary.
Reference and administrative details
Registered Charity Number – 1135765
Principal address c/o 6-8 Amherst Road, Earley, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 1NU
Trustees
Rev. Alina Rai (Minister and Chair) Mrs Maggi Taylor (Deacon) Mrs Angela Lawrence (Deacon) Mrs Pat Dyer (Deacon) Mrs Luna Rai Pun (Deacon) Mr Emmanuel Essah (Deacon) re-elected 27 April 2025 Mr Pasang Tamang (Deacon) re-elected 27 April 2025
Independent Examiner
Philip John Nixon 28 Luckley Wood Wokingham Berkshire RG41 2EW
Charity Governance
Members of the Church are accepted in line with the Church Constitution (March 2009). Church meetings occur at least 4 times per year. In line with the Constitution the members appoint Trustees who together with the Ministers are responsible for the all financial, legal aspects and the day to day running of the church.
Objectives and activities
The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination. The church also supports missionary efforts in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
Our principal activities are described in the Secretary’s report below. The church has read the Charity
Commission guidance on public benefit, and is satisfied that its activities clearly demonstrate that the charity is providing a benefit to the public.
“To be a community which shares Christ, makes disciples and reflects Gods glory”
Anderson Baptist Church
Year ended 31[st] December 2024
Treasurer’s report for the April 2025 AGM
Mr Pasang Tamang
01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024 Income: £70,642.41 Expenditure: £74,092.54 Overspend: £3,450.13
Bank Balances: Current Account: £7,856.47 Savings Account: £42,104.26
Whilst there was another year of overspend, finances had been monitored throughout the year and this was expected.
We thank God for his unfailing love for us and the gifts he has bestowed upon our fellowship. We pray for continued careful investment in line with our Christian mission.
Secretary’s report for the April 2025 AGM
Mrs Patricia Dyer
The Diaconate are grateful for the emergence of some new leaders, who are taking responsibility in many areas of our praise, worship, and fellowship.
We continue to see confidence grow and friendships develop as we reach out to one another.
Particular points of praise and thanks can be found in the mutual support offered within the Diaconate, and also the growth for the Worship Team, and the Preaching Team, which has been to the benefit of all the fellowship. We give thanks to God that he bestows upon us his unfailing love as we strive to be Christ-like in our words and deeds.
Areas to seek guidance through prayer include issues around staffing, and where our investment focus should be, in terms of finance, and personal capacity.
I take this opportunity to thank Deacons both past and present for the support they have given me, within my roles of both Secretary and Administrator, and when facing challenging situations outside of these church roles. It is the prayer of the Diaconate, and we hope the fellowship of Anderson, that we continue to grow in love and wisdom when carrying out the mission of Anderson:
“To be a Community which Shares Christ, Makes Disciples and Reflects God’s Glory”
“To be a community which shares Christ, makes disciples and reflects Gods glory”
Anderson Baptist Church
Year ended 31[st] December 2024
Minister’s report for the April 2025 AGM
Rev’d Alina Rai
We have continued to bear fruit in the Spirit and to be witnesses for Christ our Lord. We have so much to thank God for his goodness and the many great works he has done amongst us. It has been another year of God’s favour and faithfulness. He has surely filled this church family with his glory and power
We held unto the Scripture from Haggai 2:4-6, which says, “Be strong and work, for I am with you. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. I will fill this house with glory, and in this place, I will grant peace.” We believed, we prayed, and we worked together for Him. God indeed answered our prayers, and we witnessed greater glory and his peace in this place. We are heading towards complete unity that Jesus himself prayed in John 17:21-23. And this inspires us to stay focused in our calling to become the house of prayer for all nations to give witness of our redeeming God.
Many Individuals openly sharing on how they are growing in their faith and feels committed to God is the evidence that the Spirit of God is stirring our lives and is at work to empower us and equip us for His Kingdom purpose.
Together we have grown in confidence in our God given gifts. Apart from God, we could have done nothing with such joy, unity and purpose. The Lord Almighty blessed this church with resources, with strength, with opportunities, and with willing hearts to serve and love one another.
The Church being able to send me on Sabbatical was a sign of spiritual maturity and our complete trust in God. This gave opportunity to many of us to grow in our confidence, our leadership skills and sharing
responsibilities. I came back refreshed and energised and felt so encouraged in ministry and towards the vision of Anderson. It was during my Sabbatical I learned how to really live a life of worship and truly understood the power of prayer. As a result, we opened the church door for prayer and worship during the week once in every term. We had a poor attendance but there was a powerful experience in ways seen and unseen. Let us not forget the quote by Hudson Taylor, "When we work, we work. When we pray, God works." For us to rest and harvest in plenty, we must learn to pray; pray more, pray together in Spirit and in Truth.
However, there was a good turnout in all our special occasions and celebrations such as harvest, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Church Anniversary and at Easter. All the different groups and teams worked hard and gave their best to support the ministry and mission of Church.
Short report from each group from our weekly fellowship and our children and Youth group has been circulated through emails. Each group are seeking to serve according to its purpose, their needs and the priorities. We are grateful for all our leaders and volunteers and for those who comes regularly to strengthen one another. Eating together and serving together is still something we enjoy and cherish for so many reasons. We took every opportunity during those special celebrations to eat and serve together. It was good to see everyone looking comfortable and being considerate to one another. We are looking for more opportunities to eat together where we can enjoy and engage in building healthy and stronger relationship within our community. This has led us to think further about how we can create a safe space and a healthy church environment especially among children and vulnerable adults. We thank our policy and safeguarding team for their careful attention to detail for our safety, and integrity in the community. We truly appreciate their ministry at Anderson. We also want to remember how God provided our every need in our mission and ministry through his faithful and generous people. We sincerely thank the finance team for their faithful and careful stewardship allowing us to plan and move forward with much confidence and trust in God. Let us hope and pray that we use our resources well and prepare ourselves to become financially stable and invest in our future without having to rely
“To be a community which shares Christ, makes disciples and reflects Gods glory”
Anderson Baptist Church
Year ended 31[st] December 2024
upon the Home Mission Fund, which is not going to be the way forward, always. Our partnership with BMS is very vital to support mission and missionaries and learn about the global church. A new team has been formed to stay connected, interested and pray intentionally and actively to support our partners. Thanks to Roy for his encouragement and leadership.
We have maintained our partnership with our association and attended the Leaders Day & the AGM, the Minister’s & Leaders conference as well as the Baptist Assembly, which allows us to connect and build our relationship with other churches, enabling us to partner in bigger vision and be empowered together as the Baptist family. It has been a safe space to learn, to connect, to inspire and to refresh ourselves with renewed passion and great ideas.
We are committed to support our local Baptist cluster group and local ministers’ group. Due to unsuitable days and other commitments, I couldn’t attend these meetings regularly. Praying together with our local leaders is quite important and have a lot of benefits, therefore, I will try to make this my priority in the coming days. The Church releasing me to work as a chaplain in the University of Reading gives me so many opportunities to learn and reach out to the wider community. This ministry keeps me humble and available for people of all background and religions. It certainly expands my understanding and challenges my thinking. And at the same time, it prepares me to talk and witness about my hope in Christ.
I have been also contributing some time to serve with the LMDG (Leaders and Ministers Developing Group) in SCBA since last year. I see myself learning and developing in my own leadership skills. My hope is to contribute something to the wider Baptist family and to Anderson herself in God’s time, will and purpose.
Our sincere appreciation to the Fabric Team, who has served us faithfully by maintaining the building and providing us with the rightful facilities to conduct and continue our community life. Though demanding and challenging at times, they remained steadfast and resilient to ensure the works are carried out. Their labour has not been in vain. Few people have joined the team to support this important work in the church life.
We are hopeful to see our children and youth ministry growing and developing slowly and steadily. There has been a progress, and it has become our focus, a vital matter to pray fervently in a meaningful way. We saw leaders growing and more volunteers coming to support the need of this ministry. We are excited to see what lies ahead of us as we hope to train and equip people for the future growth and guidance from the Lord. As we celebrate many good and great things God has done for us, we would also like to be mindful about many challenges and opportunities so that we can develop and sustain our ministry. We recognise the need for understanding and distributing the tasks and building a stronger team in all areas of ministry.
Let us continue to devote ourselves in prayer, in fellowship, in his Word and in remembering Christ so that we can learn to hear his voice and become the church that reflects the kingdom of God. Let the Spirit stir our lives and lead us in our ways.
Jesus said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer" Matthew 21:13
“To be a community which shares Christ, makes disciples and reflects Gods glory”
CHARITY COMMISSIO FOP F"NC)l ANI) AND WAI E And•rson Baptl$t Church Recei ts and ments accounts CC16a For the perlod from 011a112024 To 3111212024 Section A Receipts and payments Unre8trlcted fund8 Restrlcted fund8 Endowment fundi Total funds Last year to th• ng•r••1 t? th• n••r••t £ to th• n•ai••t £ ttJ th• n••r••t £ to th• ne•ro•t £ A1 Recèl ts Donstions from IndlviduBIs Don8lltsn8 from org)nla•iioni Gift 810 relunds Oller Incom 1,298 670 1,272 290 1,562 1,634 . 1tr,IJVLI 5,804 Rental Income Ulilllies refunds and compensation 8Jnk Inter*sl 12,201 3,293 824 12.201 3.293 824 347 ross Income or ARJ 71,194 1.836 73,030 81,B68 nv9• men •oe table 73,030 t8 Stslf ¢0518 Piofesslonal fees Manye costs Chur¢h costs VMriaDiÈ njn costs- buildlnosl admin V8r18ble runnin co$ls - pastoral Oulwafu Ivin Baplist cha'ilies othgr cttBrilies 42 935 631 7,709 9,836 2.905 5,167 5.200 1.140 45.575 698 14,803 11,596 1,885 4,338 4,800 5,921 831 7,709 9.B36 2,908 5,859 5,200 1,410 692 270 Sub total 75,623 76,485 89,610 A4 A8fjet and Investment Sub total Total payments 75,523 962 76,485 89,618 Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Tran8fer8 bolwgfrn funds A6 Ca9h funds last yaar ond Cash funds this ye8r end 4,329 20 B74 20 3,4SS 7,748 49,389 2.829 52,218 S5.873 CCXX R1 accounts ISSI 2010412025
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unr••trlct•d funds to nfr4ro8t £ ReBtrictèd fund8 to nearest £ Endowmgnt funds to neMre$t £ atrs6or'o$ DI>.tlI¢ B1 Cash funds Cas 20 325 Chuf¢h General 8Bnk Acwunt$ 7,303 2,466 Chur¢h $8ving9 Bank Accounts 42.088 38 Total cash funds 49,389 2,829 laor•• b•l•n¢es Wlh recelpis •n¢ p•yrpenl¥ rKcouniig11 Unrestrlcted fund8 to n•ar•it £ 360 Rostrlcted funds to n••rg8t £ Endowmgnt fund• to neare•t È B2 Other monetary assets GIN ald recelvable 36 GASOS 200 Fund tts whlch Colt loptlon•ll Currgnt vqlLS• tlonal B3 Investment assets Fund to whlc a88Ot bolon Insuraneo vllug tlon81 1,247.089 Coil loptlonall B4 Assets rgtalned for the charlty's own use Chbfch ond Hall bulldlnqs Stores 28,535 Church and HAII cont•nls 69.326 189 Ghurch Roè(J 425,861 10 Amh.urst Rood 280,723 Fund to whlch Amount due en duè 85 Llabllltles Colleetltsns lof Qlhèr 01ganisailons R•sirt¢ied Signed by one or two trustees on behaff of all the Iruslee3 Sign81ur8 Print Name Date of roval •AT CCXX R2 accounts ISSI 2010412025
I, (HARITY Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Anderson Baptist Church On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 Charty number 1135765 Set out on pages attached Respectlve The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responsibilities of The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145{5){b) of the Charities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Bas18 of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner'8 Statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of Ihe accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the ststement below. Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention examinerfs statement 1 . which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any malerial respect, the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act" and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met., or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: 20 September 2025 Name: Philip John Nixon Relevant professlonal qualification: FCA Address: 28 Luckley Wood, Wokingham, Berkshire. RG412EW IER