SUTTON IN THE ELMS BAPTIST CHURCH
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2025
The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2025
Statutory Information
| Registered Address | 2 Suton Lane |
|---|---|
| Suton in the Elms | |
| Broughton Astley | |
| Leicester | |
| Leicestershire | |
| LE9 6QF |
1136715 Charity Registration Number
| Trustees | Jonathan Morley | Minister |
|---|---|---|
| Heather Harris | Church Secretary | |
| Anthony Hill | Treasurer | |
| Peter David Clissold (untl March 2025) | ||
| Andrew Davies | ||
| Robert Foster | ||
| Deborah Sawyer | ||
| David Wheway | ||
| Property Trustees | The Baptst Union Corporaton Limited | |
| Baptst House | ||
| 129 Broadway | ||
| Didcot | ||
| Oxfordshire OX11 8RT | ||
| Bankers | Santander, Bootle, Merseyside | |
| Independent Examiner | John Denney, Chartered Accountant |
Charitable Object
The Charity, Sutton in the Elms Baptist Church, is governed by an Approved Governing Document (the Constitution) which states that 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.
The Church occupies premises which are held by the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd, on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above objective.
Organisational Structure and Decision-making processes
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 the Trinity or based on their own public profession of faith.
The Members’ Meeting normally takes place at least four times per year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church. In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint up to ten Trustees, including a Church Secretary and Treasurer. 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 active 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 for further consideration by the Trustees. The Constitution permits decisions to be made at Church meetings by appropriate majorities and the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible.
Objectives and Activities
To achieve the principal objective, which is set out above, the Church provides a variety of activities, both for its membership and for the local community. 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 act of regular public services of Christian worship. We seek to be a friendly and welcoming community, and all are welcome to attend our services, which take place each Sunday at 10.30 a.m. and on some Sundays at 6.00 p.m. There are also services at other important times in the church calendar, such as to celebrate Christmas and Easter; these are advertised on the Church’s printed notice-sheet, by leaflet, social media and on our website, www.suttonelms.co.uk. There is a programme for children and young people during services, as well as a space available for use by preschool children and their parents.
The Church runs a series of house groups (known as Small Groups) in the church building and in the homes of some members for the growth of faith, fellowship and discipleship. Further
details of these can be obtained from the Trustees on request or are available at the Sunday services of worship.
The Church is responsible for a Mum and Baby Group which runs on the premises on Tuesday mornings, as well as a longstanding Toddler Group, which meets on Thursday mornings. The purpose of both groups is to provide a safe place to develop friendships for local pre-school children and their parents/carers, demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ. The wellbeing café (Renew café) continues to be attended each Wednesday lunchtime by a small group of regulars, who meet to chat, undertake hobbies together and have an optional time of quiet reflection at the end of each weekly session. The group also often take part in the village’s annual Christmas Tree festival, organised by the local Anglican church. They also provide a church presence at our annual village Carnival in June, providing a space for refreshments, a chat and optional engagement in activities and prayer. The monthly Men’s Prayer breakfast continues to attract both young and old for a time of food, fellowship and prayer, with both local and invited speakers and they have been blessed with an increase in attendance in recent years, both from church regulars and the local community. A Ladies’ Breakfast commenced in 2025, meeting three times during the year and this has already proven popular, with church members inviting friends and neighbours from the local community.
The Church usually runs various events for youngsters and families during the year which, in 2025, included an Easter trail, a summer Fun Day, a Light Party (Halloween alternative), Bonfire party and various Christmas events. The purpose of these events is to provide enjoyable, entertaining and affordable activities for children and their families, to build friendships and community and to introduce them to the Christian faith.
The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted regarding the Disclosure and Barring Service with an up-todate Safeguarding Policy in place and regular training provided by the East Midlands Baptist Association.
The church premises are normally well-used by a variety of groups from the community during daytime and evenings, providing a variety of activities for both children and adults and the premises are also available to hire for private party bookings and other groups and events that complement the church’s values.
We are a Fairtrade Church, meaning that all tea/coffee provided on church premises is Fairtrade; we also request that all user groups also provide Fairtrade products.
Achievements and Performance
The Elms Café continues to operate in the hub area of the premises – this is a not-for-profit community café, run by volunteers, which is open 10 hours each week and serves cake, drinks and light lunches. The aims of the café are to provide a warm, welcoming meeting space for the local community, with good food, a friendly welcome and the opportunity to build relationships, ultimately to “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. This has proven to be very popular and has built up a good number of regulars over time, some of whom have taken up offers of prayer and some have also attended other church outreach events.
Our Community Veg box continues to be well-used, with people able to drop off excess fresh produce from their allotments or to take what they need. The church also has its own allotment (in a corner of land next to the church car park) and provides fresh, organically grown produce to the Elms café and the Community Veg box. We also provide opportunities to give to a local Foodbank, through a regular donations box and we hold a special collection at our annual Harvest service, usually held in October.
Whilst the success of the Church’s programmes can (to some extent) be indicated numerically (including financially), other less tangible measures of success, such as strength of fellowship, quality of pastoral support and spiritual growth are equally important. The church continues to encourage all its members to support one another practically, pastorally and in prayer.
As well as our regular services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through infant dedication we thank God for the gift of life, through baptism we celebrate faith in Jesus, in marriage public vows are exchanged with God’s blessing and through funeral services friends and family express their grief and give thanks for the life which is now complete in this world and to commend the person into God's keeping.
In February 2025, sadly one of our longstanding church members went to be with the Lord. At 31st December 2025, the total membership stood at 81.
Financial Review
The Church continues to primarily raise the funds it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation. In 2025, weekly offerings were above budget and we finished the year with an overall surplus. Funds also continued to be raised from fundraising events, premises hire and from external grant-making bodies.
The church financially supports a Sponsor Child in Uganda through Compassion UK (our previous sponsor child in Colombia has now graduated from the programme). We also financially support Tearfund’s Children at Risk Programme and the work of Spurgeons’ Child Care. The church also financially and prayerfully supports a minister-in-training and his family in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Church expressed its part in the life of the global church by making donations to national and international Christian organisations and societies with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the church’s own charitable purpose, and to some non-Christian charities, chosen by church members as of particular significance to them.
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 Reserves Policy is set at four months of budgeted expenditure; such an amount would provide working capital to cover fluctuations in income and expenditure and to meet emergency calls on cash, for example for emergency repairs.
The Trustees are satisfied that there are sufficient reserves at the Balance Sheet date, together with anticipated continuing income, to enable the Church to function effectively in the coming year.
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. f Independent examiner's report on the accounts
|
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/
members of SUTTON IN THE ELMS BAPTIST CHURCH
bralOn accounts for the year 31 DECEMBER 2025 Charity(fany) no| 1136715
Respective responsibilities The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The
of trustees and examiner charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under
| section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that an independent
| examination is needed.
| It is my responsibility to:
e examine the accounts under section 43 of the 1993 Act,
e to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the
Charity Commission (under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act, and
e » to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given
examiner's statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the
accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the 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 presenta ‘true and fair’ view,
and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention
statement (other than that disclosed below )
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect,
the requirements:
e to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the 1993
Act; and
e to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and
comply with the accounting requirements of the 1993 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.
Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Name: John Warner Denney
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body (if | Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
any):
Address: 35 Laurel Road
Blaby
Leicester LE8 4DL
IER 1 April 2009
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Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.
Give here brief details of
any items that the
examiner wishes to
disclose.
IER 2 April 2009
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ia,a
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Sutton|in the|Elms|Baptist Church|1136715|
|Receipts|and|payments|accounts|CC16a|
|A|é|Forthefrom period|||94|Jan-2025|31-Dec-2025|
|Section|A|Receipts|and|payments|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|Total funds|Last year|
|funds|funds|funds|
|to the|nearest£|to the nearest£|to the|nearest £|to the nearest£|to the nearest£|
|||Ai|Receipts|———|[a|
|||Incoming|resources from|charitable|
|||
||||Le|ee re||OT|PEELTSKEESEkel,|||
|Total Income|a) |ee |ee|
|||A2 Payments|
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|[sae]|[|
|Total Expenditure||1vsees|{sai|{______||___|vanes]||___azneo|
|assets|
|Net|income|
|/|(Expenditure)|[160.72|vase]|[di|L__teree]|||__|areata]|
|eeeip RR RE||gRR (9Se|
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|eh7|||ce ||peTB|mire]ele|FT|
|Net Movement|
|in Funds|150,472|7,382}/|——-||157,854 ||||270,148|
|(Renee|p| ieer|e|ared|fa|Deion|eee, WlLenin|aa|
|Total Funds Brought Forward|3o68e51|||-|232844/)|=|-|||2,835,807|| |2,565,659|||
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CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 3 22/02/2026
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Signedbehalf ofby all one theor trustees two trustees on seiihainia‘ Prk4 Nene approvalDate of
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CCXX R2 accounts (SS) a 22/02/2026
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