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2023-12-31-accounts

Trustees Annual Report & Accounts for 2023

Registered Charity Number: 1145170

1.0 Our Vision Statement:

“Growing together by loving God, loving others and serving our community”.

- Church without walls

2.0 Our Aims: Our Vision Statement describes how a healthy church should func�on and we have

We endeavour to share the Chris�an faith in Markyate and beyond; nurturing people in their faith and life journeys and sharing God’s love inside and outside of the church community through our words and our ac�ons. We hope that over �me this will lead to a growth in Church a�endance and membership.

We have con�nued to donate to Chris�an chari�es carrying out missionary and outreach work across the world and to foster links with these organisa�ons. We have also responded to the increasing number of refugees seeking asylum in the U.K and also to the crisis of war in Ukraine.

We have maintained our Church building, equipment, and facili�es to a high standard to make Markyate Bap�st Church building a welcoming place. We also share these premises with our village community when possible.

3.0 Opera�on of the Church

3.1 Ministerial Appointment : We are pleased to report that the Rev[d] Nick Drury took up his appointment as the Minister of Markyate Bap�st Church in February 2023 a�er serving his no�ce period with The Shore Community Church. He had previously served as Associate Minister there. An induc�on service, led by Reverend Mary Moody from the Central Bap�st Associa�on, was held on March 25[th] , followed by a Celebra�on Tea-party. Approximately 100 people a�ended.

3.2 Worship and Preaching: Church services are open to everyone. Normal Sunday morning public worship begins at 10.30 am, and there is also a Sunday class for children aged 4-11 called JAM “Jesus and Me” (JAM) that runs alongside the main worship service. We are also con�nuing to simultaneously stream our Sunday Worship services on Zoom allowing live viewing by a few members of our congrega�on who may be unable to a�end services.

The Rev[d] Nick Drury has organised and led most of our services throughout the year. We are, also, fortunate to have several members of our Church, capable of leading services to provide relief to the Rev[d] Drury when he has �me off. Time was spent focussing on Mark’s gospel. A Tenebrae service was held on Maundy Thursday. Daily prayer and reflec�on, also, took place in the week before Easter. A Bap�smal service was held on Easter Sunday.

3.4 Prayer: In 2019 we had determined that, as a Church, we would become a more prayerful body of worshipers. We have remained steadfast to this commitment throughout 2023. A regular interac�ve Zoom prayer mee�ng has run for one hour every Saturday morning. This on-line communal prayer session has been faithfully supported. In September there were weekly prayer mee�ngs.

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Many of the Church members par�cipate in a collec�ve prayer-chain ini�a�ve. This is coordinated by a prayer chain leader. He puts out mobile phone text message request for prayers from people who are struggling with the challenges of life, health problems, aging, or family issues. The MBC prayer chain is also used by Chris�ans from other church congrega�ons around the UK. They also submit requests for prayer. This MBC prayer-chain is known for providing a faithful and commi�ed prayer responses.

A Church Family WhatsApp group has also proved a powerful way of connec�ng with one another, sharing prayers and other church related informa�on.

3.3 Life Groups: Four Life Groups were running throughout the year. The groups meet regularly in people’s homes to study, pray, and develop a sense of fellowship, caring and mutual support for oneanother.

3.6 Pastoral Care: Church Members in Life Groups are cared for and supported through those Groups. In addi�on, there are other people who carry out pastoral care work within the Church congrega�on. A pastoral care volunteer from the Church is also working with Age UK in the village. She visits the elderly in the community who are in need and some of our members who, through age and infirmity, are now in care homes. We have also tried to maintain telephone contact with members of the church and congrega�on if they are away from church for a period or are known to be unwell. Nick Drury, the new Minister has been very ac�ve in pastoral care throughout the year. He has visited all the members of the church and congrega�on.

3.7 Church Membership: During the year we carried out an amendment to our Church Cons�tu�on, recognising that there were several aged and infirm Members unable to a�end Services and Church Mee�ngs. These were designated as Non-vo�ng members. On 31st December 2023 there were 38 members and 7 Non-vo�ng members. This represents an overall increase on the prior year of 4 members.

4.0 Church Ac�vi�es, and Out-reach :

We have con�nued to use our Church facili�es, the building and the garden to strengthen our rela�onships with the community. Our garden has been equipped with toys and children’s play equipment so that parents may bring their children into the garden at any �me.

In the Lent period, coming up to Easter, the garden was set out with an Easter story trail and treasure hunt for children. On Easter Saturday we held an Easter egg hunt in the garden and area surrounding the Church. This was greatly appreciated by children and parents alike and told the Easter story. In December we again re-established our Church Garden under the theme of “Hope, Peace, Joy & Love” with Christmas lights in the trees and an almost life-size Stable Na�vity Scene. Our Church Carol Service was an all-age event and was a�ended by many people from our community.

Hospitality is an important part of our Outreach for building rela�onships. As a Church, we try to hold at least four communal lunches a�er the Sunday Church Service to encourage fellowship in our Church Family. We always serve coffee every week a�er the service.

4.1 The MBC Café is held twice a month on a Friday and is an extremely popular venue for members of the community and the local Walking Group. The Walking Group sets out from the Church on Friday mornings and returns to MBC Café for refreshments. All these ac�vi�es provide an opportunity to form contacts with local people and hopefully to be able to link them more closely into our Church Family. Throughout the summer months, this Café ac�vity moved out into the Church Garden.

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Monday Café is a new outreach venture started at the end of the year that is increasing in its popularity. It is par�cularly appreciated and supported by a group of widowed ladies who provide mutual support and encouragement for one another and also by some of the Church members who a�end.

4.2 Holiday at Home

For the older members of our church congrega�on and members of our community a 2-day Holidayat-Home event was held in June providing lunch, tea, games and entertainment. A similar one-day event was held in December as a Christmas party celebra�on. These events were generously financially sponsored by a Community Support Grant from ASDA, who encourage community events and celebra�ons for the recovery of life-a�er-Covid.

4.3 Refugee Outreach: During 2023 the Holiday Inn Hotel on the outskirts of the village con�nued to be used by the Government Home Office to accommodate over 200 male refugees. The refugees who came to Markyate were largely from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa. Some of them are Chris�ans and a�ended our Church on a Sunday. Many were fleeing the persecu�on of Chris�ans in their own country and had heart-rending stories to tell. The welcome at Markyate Bap�st Church encouraged an increase in the numbers regularly a�ending the Sunday Service. Several Bap�sms have been carried out, preceded by courses of instruc�on over several weeks to ensure the sincerity and understanding of believers. During 2023 this work was helped by a grant received from Tesco at the end of 2022 and also another Gi� Aided Dona�on from an individual specifically for this refugee related work.

Several ini�a�ves have also been started to make life more bearable for refugees, irrespec�ve of their faith and beliefs to help them feel more welcome in the United Kingdom. Specifically:

4.3 Ukraine Support: The link established with the Ukraine support charity in Luton collec�ng clothing and cri�cal supplies has been maintained. Collec�ons have been made in our Church by our congrega�on and from the village.

4.4 Children and Youth Work: The “Jack and Jill’s Toddlers Time” group has been maintained in 2023. This ac�vity takes place twice monthly and is a very popular event. It is a mee�ng for child carers and children under school age and provides an opportunity for families to socialise and share experiences. Some of the families had been coming into our Church Garden to use the children’s play facili�es set up there. In school holidays a bigger event with picnic lunches was also arranged.

We have maintained our links and support with a local Chris�an youth group called “ The 2:67 Project” . Young people from our Church and the village are taken on a Sunday evening at a 2:67 run

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youth worship service called “Fuel”. These services are held at Churches in the St Albans area including occasionally at Markyate Bap�st Church.

Occasionally 2:67 runs Saturday evening Youth events such as Pizza Nights, Film Nights, or visits to Ten Pin Bowling. Some of our young people can par�cipate in some of these Saturday events from �me-to-�me.

4.5 Jumble Trail: This fund-raising event was held in June. It combined community outreach and fund raising. People were able to par�cipate in a “garage sale of unwanted goods, either in-front of their own homes or ren�ng a sale-table from the Church in the Church Garden. Par�cipants registered their sale loca�on with the Church. The Church published a map and sold these to interested buyers from the Church Garden where refreshments were also on sale. The sellers either retained the proceeds of their sales or shared them with the Church. Overall £280 was raised and this was shared equally between, the Village School, Scout troop, Markyate and Flamstead Care-Bus and Markyate Bap�st Church.

5.0 Sharing our Facili�es with the Community

We have con�nued to let out our premises, primarily the Church Hall, to several local organisa�ons serving the community for their regular mee�ngs. These include Alcoholics Anonymous – a weekly mee�ng, the Markyate History Society, a fitness class, and for the Dacorum Borough Council to run a Youth Club one night per week during term �me. Other village groups hold mee�ngs in the Hall from �me to �me. The Hall is also hired for children and family par�es.

6.0 Mission and Evangelism Dona�ons:

missions, based in the U.K. but with ac�vi�es around the world. Notably, these are organisa�ons working with children and promo�ng the Chris�an gospel. In many cases, our church members have close personal links and involvement with running these Mission ac�vi�es. These are organisa�ons that the Church has a close rela�onship with. In some cases, the Chari�es representa�ves speak at the Church services during the year to tell us about their work. The details of MBC’s Mission payments are in the Financial Report Note 3 on page 13.

7.0 Ecumenical rela�onships

Inter-denomina�onal ac�vi�es have increased during the year with Rev Drury forming a good working rela�onship with the Vicar at the Markyate Anglican Church. Several joint services have been held during the year and there was a joint “Walk of Witness” held on Good Friday, a joint service at the Village War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday and a joint open-air Christmas Carol Service at the Fire Sta�on in the centre of the village just before Christmas. All of these ac�vi�es provide Chris�an Witness to our village community and provide an opportunity for them to join in.

8.0 Employees and Volunteers

The Church employs one full-�me Minister and one part-�me Administrator, both on permanent contracts.

Throughout the year there were about 30 volunteers (excluding Trustees) ac�ve in various aspects of the Church’s opera�on. The Trustees want to thank all those who have worked so hard and given so freely of their �me to keep our church running and making it the lively and vibrant community that it is. Many also make valuable contribu�ons to the Church by bringing their exper�se to the benefit the church and ensuring that high standards of workmanship are achieved by those contracted to

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Church are used responsibly.

9.0 Governance

The Church’s Cons�tu�on takes the form of the model Bap�st Union Approved Governing Document which describes, amongst other ma�ers, the objec�ves and ac�vi�es of the church and the appointment of Trustees. The Church is governed and regulated by its own Members where all aspects of the work of the church are subject to the approval of the Members Mee�ngs, normally held approximately every three months. The elec�on of Deacons/Trustees was held at the Annual General Mee�ng in April.

An amendment to the Cons�tu�on was made during the year so that longstanding Members of the Church, no longer able to a�end Church and Members Mee�ngs were designated as “Non-vo�ng Members” but maintained their associa�on with the Church. This change overcame the problem of crea�ng an ar�ficially high level of members needing to be present to establish a quorum for a church mee�ng. This amendment to the Cons�tu�on was passed at a Special Church Mee�ng on 11[th] June 2023. The details of this change were no�fied to the Charity Commission together with the Minutes of the Special Church Mee�ng at which it was accepted by MBC. This change was approved by the Commission on 31[st] October 2023.

As reported in Sec�on 3.0 above, the Rev[d] Nick Drury took up his appointment as the Minister of Markyate Bap�st Church on 20[th] February 2023.

The Markyate Bap�st Church had in place the following policies and procedures.

10. Structure and Management:

The Leadership Team (LT) of Deacons is composed of all the trustees, including the Minister. The Deacons are nominated by the members and are elected for a three-year term and re�re by rota�on. Elec�ons are usually held at the Church Member’s A.G.M. The Leaders meet monthly to deal with church administra�on, financial affairs, pastoral concerns, to plan special events and projects within the Church, and the ini�a�ves to reach out to the community. The Leadership Team are jointly responsible for preparing the agenda for Members’ Mee�ngs. These mee�ngs are chaired by the Minister.

This Charity is not part of any wider group structure.

The Church has no trading subsidiaries.

10.1 Administra�ve informa�on : Markyate Bap�st Church is situated in Buckwood Road, Markyate, AL3 8JF. The details of church ac�vi�es can be accessed on the Internet at www.markyatebap�st.org and on the Church’s Facebook page. Other contact informa�on is also available there. The video recording of the sermons preached at recent services of worship can be downloaded from YouTube and the links are also published in the M.B.C weekly News sheet.

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10.2 Trustees and Deacons:

Nick Drury, Minister

Jeremy Bo�rill

Ruth Kieran

Steve McCurdy, resigned on 12[th] June 2023

James Salmon, Treasurer

Rosemary Salmon.

Chris Trew appointed on 23[rd] April 2023

Heidi Trew, appointed on 28[th] October 2023

Steve McCurdy resigned and le� the Church a�er expressing concern about a na�onal consulta�on being enabled by the Bap�st Union, regarding the Ministerial Recogni�on Rules on Ministry and Marriage. We were sorry to see him go and wish to express our thanks for all his hard work and the contribu�ons he has made to the Church over several years.

None of the Trustees resigned to take employment with the charity. Except for the Minister, none of the Trustees received any remunera�on for the work they have done for this charity, except for remunera�on of out-of-pocket expenses.

10.3 Health & Safety: The Church has a Health and Safety Policy that is aimed at ensuring all our ac�vi�es are carried out in a safe environment. The Health and Safety Policy and the policies for Safeguarding Children and vulnerable adults are reviewed annually. Trustees and volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults are required to have a DBS check.

There were no serious incidents to report during the period of this report.

10.4 Risk Management: The Church conducts a Risk Assessment for the new ac�vi�es that it undertakes. These are documented and the content of these documents are shared by the project leader with the par�cipants to make them aware of the risks and the ac�ons they should take to avoid and minimise these risks. We have been helped in preparing the assessments by Guidance Notes sent out by the Bap�st Union

During the period of this report, there were no External risks and impacts that impacted on the opera�on of the Church.

10.5 Safeguarding: The Church carries out DBS checks on anyone associated with the Church who has to deal with children and vulnerable people. Two of the Church Trustees, a man and a woman, are assigned to oversee the Safeguarding Policy and to provide a first point of contact for anyone who wishes to make a complaint or express a safeguarding concern. In general, our ac�vi�es do not require us to go beyond the Basic DBS check.

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11.0 Financial Review:

These Accounts Schedules shown on pages 12 to 14 should be read together with the notes of explana�on given below. They are prepared on a Receipts and Payment basis and follow SORP 13. They do not incorporate any form of accrual accoun�ng.

year through employment costs and the costs of maintaining the Manse, previously paid for by the tenant. The Receipts have been reduced because of the loss of rental income from le�ng the Manse. Consequently the accounts are significantly different from the previous year.

11.1 Income Receipts: In 2023 Receipts totalled £78,766, an 18% increase on the £66,873 of 2022. Voluntary Dona�ons and Receipts increased and exceeded those of the prior year. Mostly these came from individual’s monthly standing order bank payments. There was one specific dona�on of £1,000 for Refugee Support. The Gi� Aid Tax Recovery associated with these dona�ons also increased propor�onately, but we also had a four year backdated claim for dona�ons that had not been declared as eligible for G.A un�l October of 2023.

We had two small grants during the year totalling £800, slightly down on the previous year. Le�ng income on The Church Hall at £2,600 was up by £230 on 2022. This came from a variety of local community organisa�ons. The rise in na�onal interest rates from early in 2023, gave a substan�al increase in Interest Receipts to £7,880, 320%. This was earned on the interest received on the Church’s deposited funds which is paid out to the current account to meet opera�ng costs rather than being le� invested to accumulate .

Other Receipts [See Note1] at £10,909 were down overall by £1,687 or 13%. a consequence of losing the le�ng income on the Manse. Other Dona�ons within this category that were not eligible for Gi� Aid totalled £7,340. These came from a variety of individuals, and also included the receipt of £1,303 from the closure of a Bank account, jointly shared with St. John’s Church - Markyate. Half this amount had to be paid to St John’s. These funds were the residue of money raised through a villagewide youth ac�on project called NOISE, completed several years previously.

Outreach ac�vi�es, including Holiday-at-home, Jack and Jill’s Toddlers �me, and the Jumble-trail event brought in £1,820. There was also a one-off dona�on of £1,000 towards a new outreach ac�vity, Renew Wellbeing, planned to start in 2024. Within Other Receipts there were also some council tax refunds of £749 on the Manse.

The Church received no endowments during the year. No income was received from outside the UK. There were no government contracts or grants during the year. The Church does not employ any professional fundraisers and does not have any partnership with any commercial par�cipant.

11.2 Total Expenditure: In 2023 Total Expenditure was £79,560, a 74% increase on the prior year total spend of £33,729. We have seen infla�onary pressures related to labour cost increases from many service suppliers during the year.

Ministry Cost [See Note 2]: The Church’s new Minister, the Reverend Nick Drury joined at the end of February 2023. The total ministry costs incurred during the year were £27,295, an increase of £19,265 on the prior year. There were small savings during the year on life insurance payments related to the pension plan of the previous minister. A one-month payment was due on this obliga�on. This ended with the appointment of the new minister. With the arrival of Nick Drury there was a saving on external preaching fees previously paid to visi�ng speakers. In addi�on to the normal Ministry s�pend, pension and HMRC related payments, there was also a cost of £ 645 for con�nuing Ministry Development. This is in line with the recommended Bap�st Union policy to ensure that ministers maintain and grow their skill set.

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Mission Payments [see note 3]: These mission payments are part of the way this Church carries out its purpose and demonstrates its gra�tude for God's generosity to our Church. Total mission dona�ons in the year were £7,160, or 9.7% of our Receipts. This fell slightly short of our policy, to give 10% of annual Receipts.

Our dona�ons included support for the Bap�st Home Mission fund, providing support for struggling Bap�st churches and new start-ups in the UK. Also for the Bap�st Missionary Society – Worldwide, undertaking mission work in various third-world countries. Our mission payments are all made to chari�es based within the UK. However, several of these chari�es work overseas and £2,480 of these dona�ons goes to support work overseas. Much of this charitable work is associated with helping children. We have close informal links to most of these chari�es through members of our congrega�on. There are no formal contractual arrangements with any of these chari�es.

Manse Cost [see note 4]: In 2023 the church was responsible for the en�re cost of running the Manse to provide living accommoda�on for our minister. Total Manse costs were £9,686 in the year, an increase of £6,239 on the prior year. Before the new minister could move in, some minor internal repairs were required. Also, significant work was needed on the boundary fences and the replacement of the garden shed. Repair costs were £3,747 during the year. U�lity costs and Council Tax totalled £5,288, an increase of £3,496 on the previous year, when most of these costs were born by the tenant. The Manse Insurance cost increased by 10%, in line with infla�on.

Church Cost [See Note 5]: Total Church costs were £30,145, an increase of £6,571 on the prior year. Much of this increase was due to the higher electricity charges and spend on Church Equipment.

Church Maintenance at £1,038 showed a saving of £2,539 on the prior year. There were minor repairs, the most significant of which was £435 to repair a water leak in the main church roof associated with gu�ering problems.

Church u�li�es (water rates) at £804 were slightly up on last year. Church gas costs at £607 was also slightly up on the previous year because of increased ac�vity within the building. We benefited from a low gas unit charge well below the Government price cap, as a consequence of a long-term fiveyear contract; that contract will expire in September 2024. A new electricity contract took effect at the end of 2022, close to the Government price cap level, so the electricity charges increased significantly during the year to £5,453, a rise of £2,567, an increase of 89%.

The spend on new Church Equipment was £4,267, an increase of £3,288. Of this, £2,149 was for new LED dimmable ligh�ng under the balcony in the main Church Sanctuary, following the Government ban on the sale of fluorescent ligh�ng from September of 2023. There is further moderniza�on needed in the church on ligh�ng as a result of this change in legisla�on.

Increased ac�vity in the building resulted in slightly higher cleaning costs.

Church administra�on costs showed a slight year-on-year increase due to increased salary payments and the introduc�on of a pension scheme for our Administrator. The Subscrip�ons included the per capita payment per member to Bap�st Together, and a subscrip�on to the internet site, “Find-achurch”.

Church insurance cost showed only a small 2.7% increase during the year to £2,035, this compared with the 19.5% jump in the previous year.

Church Outreach Costs (See Note 6): Total Church Outreach costs were £5,273. an increase of £2,015. This included costs for certain community events that the Church ran during the year, including the Holiday-at-Home party events for elderly people from Markyate village and the Jumble Trail event.

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There was also a spend of £1,462 for Refugee Support, purchasing clothing for individuals who were inadequately clad to cope with the Bri�sh winter. The Church provided clothing using the money specifically donated for refugee support. Hire of the Markyate & Flamsted Village Care bus for Refugee group trips totalled £945.

These Outreach Costs also include the licence fees for the use of Worship Lyric Video hymn music to support our church services and for the fact that we broadcast these over the Internet. The refund of £650 to St John’s Church from the closure of the Noise bank account is also included in this cost.

In 2023 the Expenditure slightly exceeded Receipts giving a

11.4 Use of Restricted Funds in 2023: The Table on page 14 shows the movement through Receipts and Expenditure of these Restricted Fund categories. During 2023 it was recognised that certain Restricted Funds had fulfilled their original purpose but s�ll contained residual funds. With the agreement of the original donors, these funds were moved to more appropriate accounts where they could be put to proper use. These obsolete accounts could then be closed. In most cases the donors to these Restricted Funds were the Church Members. The proposed changes and movements of these funds were agreed at the Church Members Mee�ng on 29th October 2023. The fund movements were as follows.

The Church achieves most of its purposes through the ac�vi�es described in sec�ons 3 and 4 above. The Church has no other external source of income, other than the generous dona�ons of the Members and the congrega�on and the Gi� Aid recovery associated with those dona�ons, the hiring out of the Church premises, interest on deposited funds and some occasional charitable grants. The Church receives no money from Central Government or local authori�es, other than the HMRC Gi� Aid recovery on dona�ons.

11.5 Reserves Policy: The Church tries to maintain a minimum level of reserve in the Unrestricted Fund that is the equivalent to approximately 3 months’ general running costs and nine months staff cost; this is currently es�mated at £49,000. This reserve calcula�on assumes that we have a full �me Minister employed for a full year.

All the Unrestricted General funds of £108,327at the 2023 year-end, are now regarded as reserves. The overall financial health of the Church remains strong and adequate controls are in place to give early warning of any changes.

11.6 Accoun�ng Policies: The accounts are prepared in accordance with Charity Commission “Accoun�ng and Repor�ng by Chari�es – Statement of Recommended Prac�ce” (SORP 2013)” issued by the Charity Commission. Our accoun�ng systems are operated using the “Financial Co-ordinator”

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ordinator system was implemented in 2018 and have remained in place during 2023.

The Church Building Restricted Fund is our main Restricted Fund intended for improvements and extensions to the church building and facili�es.

The Minibus Reserve Restricted Fund was one of the obsolete funds. It was held as the result of the insurance payment for the the� of the vehicle the Church previously owned, stolen in 2017. The Church Leadership Team agreed that the Church could not jus�fy the purchase of a replacement minibus. The Church has hired the Markyate & Flamsted Village Care-bus on occasions to meet this need. This Minibus related reserve sum of £9,750 was transferred to the Designated Community Outreach Fund.

g) Fixed assets:

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OurTotal Assets are Sho￿ as £2,173.430an increase tsf E29.886. mainty as a resvlt in the in£￿Sed market value of the Manse. h) Governance costs: No legal fees were incurred in 2022. 11.7 Penslons: The Church had no ongoing pensh)n liabilrties in 2022. At the stsrt of 2023 a small £95 monthly premiurn p￿entf0r-DeClea$1ng Life Insurance wrth Critical Illness Cover" ft)r Reo Coffin was paid. This obligation temiinated when the new minister. Revg Drury, F)ined the Church in February 2023. The A￿d Drury continued his prewous membtr5hip ofthe 8aptist Union Pension Stheme when he took up his appointment at Markyate Baptist Chufch. The Church's Administrator's pay level increased in Janujry 2023 to a level where the Church was legally obliged to offer a Chur¢h Funded penS￿n scheme. The Administratorwas pleased to take up this offer and a scheme %va5 established through the Peoples Pensions agency. The Church was pleased to Provide this additional lorq.tem secunty to our Administrator. l? O Staff and Trustees.. The Chur¢h •mplgygd a part-tim• Adrninistrator thrwhoLrt the year and from 20th February 2023 the Church had a full.time Minister. No person earned more than £60.(Th￿ during 2023. No trustee received remuneration durlng the year, other than reimbursements incurred solely for minor purth4s*s of provisions and materials for church use. As Yequired by the Chrity Commission. the totsl valut of the employee benefits of the highest paid employee during 2023 was £46,854. Totsl staff remunerntion payments totslled £37,125 during 2023. Thls report w•$ apwryed •nd $18Md lof behdf ofthe Le•dwsNp Tewn ofTrusthes. Mlnlster: ReQ- Nlck Drury 11

MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH MARKYATE BAPTIST CHURCH
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST DECEMBER 2023
RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE
2023 2022 Variance
**Unrestricted ** **Designated ** Restricted Total Total 2023 v.
Receipts Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ Funds Funds 2022
Voluntary Donations & Receipts 41,989 1,330 — 43,319 38,472 4,847
Gift Aid Tax Recovery 13,258 — — 13,258 9,969 3,289
Grants — 800 — 800 1,000 200
-
Lettings 2,600 — — 2,600 2,370 230
Interest on Deposits 7,880 — — 7,880 2,466 5,414
Other Receipts(Note1) 7,188 3,722 — 10,909 12,596 1,687
-
Total Receipts
72,914
£
5,852
£
-
£		 78,766
£
66,873
£
11,893
£
Expenditure
Total Ministry Costs (Note2) 27,295 — — 27,295 8,030 19,265
Total Mission Payments(Note 3) 7,160 — — 7,160 7,520 360
-
Total Manse Costs (Note 4) 9,686 — — 9,686 3,447 6,239
Total Church Costs (Note 5) 27,996 — 2,149 30,145 23,575 6,571
Total Outreach Costs(Note 6) 1,102 4,081 90 5,273 3,258 2,015
Total Expenditure
73,240
£
4,081
£
2,239
£		 79,560
£
45,830
£
33,729
£
Deficit: Receipts minus Expenditure 794
-£		 21,042
£
£
Cash Funds at 31st December 2023 219,695
Cash Funds at 31st December 2022 220,489
794
-£
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES 2023 2022 Variance
Cash Funds £ £ £
-Current Account 10,240 34,082 -23,842
- Deposited Funds 209,456 186,408 23,048
Total Funds 219,695
220,489
-794
Deficit -£794
ASSETS Retained for the Church's own use ( Insurance Valuations)
-Markyate Baptist Church Building-13 Buckwood Road. 1,644,292 1,644,292 -
-Freehold Property-Manse 50 Buckwood Road 445,000 415,000 30,000
- Church Fittings,Furnishingand Equipment 84,138 84,252 114
-
Total Assets 2,173,430
£
2,143,544
£
29,886
£
Total Cash & Assets 2,393,125
£
2,364,033
£
29,092
£
Contingent Liabilities: At the 31st December 2023 the Church - £95 -
had no outstanding liabilities

12

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NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
2023 2022 Variance
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Total 2023 v.
Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ 2022
Note 1 Other Receipts
Other donations Non GA 5,857 1,483 — 7,340 6,662 678
Fund raising 426 — — 426 16 411
Other 749 — — 749 276 473
Holiday-at-Home — 435 — 435 265 170
WLTDO — — — — 74 - 74
Jack & Jills — 704 — 704 541 163
Manse letting — — — — 4,763 - 4,763
Outreach activity income 155 100 — 255 — 255
Renew Wellbeing — 1,000 — 1,000 — 1,000
Total Other Receipts £ 7,188 £ 3,722 — £ 10,909 £ 12,596 -£ 1,687
Note 2 Ministry Costs
Ministry Salaries 17291 — — 17291 — 17,291
Ministry pension 5329 — — 5329 — 5,329
Ministry HMRC 2604 — — 2604 316 2,288
Ministry expenses 524 — — 524 2499 - 1,975
Ministry visiting speakers 808 — — 808 4079 - 3,271
Ministry Life Insurance 95 — — 95 1137 - 1,042
Ministry development 645 — — 645 — 645
Total Ministry Costs £ 27,295 — — £ 27,295 £ 8,030 £ 19,265
Note 3 Mission Payments
Mission BU Home mission 2,520 — — 2,520 2,520 —
Mission Nansambo School Fund 500 — — 500 500 —
Myosotis Trust 500 — — 500 250 250
Mission the267project 300 — — 300 — 300
Mission BMS World mission 980 — — 980 2,110 - 1,130
Mission Step 1,560 — — 1,560 1,440 120
Way to the Nations 500 — — 500 200 300
Hospice of St Francis 300 — — 300 — 300
Open Doors — — — — 300 - 300
Salvation Army — — — — 200 - 200
Total Mission Payments £ 7,160 — — £ 7,160 £ 7,520 -£ 360
Note 4 Manse Costs
Manse repairs 3,747 — — 3,747 1,093 2,654
Manse utilities 3,120 — — 3,120 987 2,132
Manse other 2,168 — — 2,168 804 1,364
Manse Insurance 652 — — 652 563 88
Total Manse Costs £ 9,686 — — £ 9,686 £ 3,447 £ 6,239
Note 5 Church Cost
Church maintenance 1,038 — — 1,038 3,577 - 2,539
Church utilities 804 — — 804 675 129
Church gas 607 — — 607 485 122
Church electric 5,453 — — 5,453 2,886 2,567
Church equipment 2,118 — 2,149 4,267 979 3,288
Church cleaning 1,981 — — 1,981 1,456 525
Church insurance 2,035 — — 2,035 1,980 55
Church admin 11,902 — — 11,902 10,291 1,610
Church catering 1,662 — — 1,662 798 864
Church other 10 — — 10 137 - 127
Church subscriptions 287 — — 287 223 65
Church bank charges 100 — — 100 88 11
Total Church Costs £ 27,996 — 2149 £ 30,145 £ 23,575 £ 6,571
Note 6 Church Outreach
Ministry Holiday at Home — 1,027 — 1,027 660 367
Ministry WLTDO — — — — 214 - 214
Ministry Outreach expenses 292 1,466 — 1,758 — 1,758
Ministry Renew Wellbeing — 22 — 22 — - 22
Ministry resources 811 — — 811 1,300 - 489
Ministry youth work — 61 90 151 153 - 2
Ministry pastoral care — 1,505 — 1,505 931 574
Total Church Outreach Costs £ 1,102 £ 4,081 £ 90 £ 5,273 £ 3,258 £ 2,015
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13

USE OF RESTrICTED FUNDS IN 2023 ForyrfmeNOtCe￿Te Opening8alancebnfrorn2022 Men's Felltr￿hlP 0￿￿￿8?1a￿t￿￿Orn2o?2 FwwmNotCenlre Balance ￿ttle RestrKtedFtsTrlciiio2024 716 716 io To￿le￿edeD [swolEdC￿njtyoUtrea¢fi FuThJ ClosiryBèlance idlQFETh1 Ewenditu Balènce intheRestrKtedFuAlclff ro2024 YothActMtles Trnnsleffedlv t175wJatedCommuWOutreachFuThl cl0sirg8a1a￿e Jac &Jlll'sToddler$71m Tré￿rredto DesrynatedCrynmurftyOutreachFtsnd c¥￿Ir￿6&1arte M1￿b￿R¢S¢￿F￿ Tra051e￿8dto 08s4natedCL¥nnwnltyOutreachFurnJ osiyBalsnce io BdldlngFuThl Opening BaLarte blftrom2022 99103 2.149 YoulhActl¥llles Openiry8alarteLVlfrom% 519 519 Jack &JIU'sT•ddlersTlme Openirg8alartebhlrom2022 Mlrlbw ReseryFw¥J OpeniryBaiancet¥Ylrom21J22 570 9.570 Nil ASSIGNMENT OF FUNDS As at 318t Dtt•n)•r Y•ar.End 2022 V•rlan Unrtttrkt•d Funds neral fund 108,327 lO8,￿J 576 D•sbnt8d Funds 11.iJXS 978 1,026 9,979 978 RewWeknltvJ Y¢kn ￿nISty Sutstot81 Cwwaled Furtts R•8trktgd Funds Forw Cef n's Fekyhthip 8uiklirKJ FuThJ Yth Acli¥ib'es ￿nit￿ Resem F￿1 Sul>lot Restricl&Y Ftsrnys Fund• ￿th• chuY¢h 13,697 11029 716 716 10 99.103 519 10 2,149 519 109.918 STATEMENT OF CASH AND ASSETS As at 31st 00¢oth Year.End

)22 Current assets HSBC Current &c(yJrt 10.240 .23,842 Baptist Lknicn C¢xp Cankni* & c￿￿tieS b• C(XF 74.Y 85.140 49.754 £ 21969S 71.514 85,140 29,754 Totsl Fund¥ The Financial Statemènts pages 12.13. & 14 were approved by the Trustees and s behalf bythe Treasurer. ned on their 14 /1"fv¢'/ £024 Slgn Tr¢a$urer. James D. Salmon

Independent Examlnots Report Repyt to the trustees of. On xeounts Ylheyearend& 0oc•M￿31It Charity Number. 1145170 FknaKlal statements as Set￿1 on p•3e8 12 kn14 Of1￿ r•Ftht As tNstees you a￿ resp￿$1￿? for the preparntion tllh• fAndal staterne￿. ￿ trvstee consthr that an audit 1$ not required for this year (under sectson 144121 ol Ihe ch￿e8 kt 2011 ITh¢ 2011 Act) and Ihat an iThJependent examinat#￿ is needed. As a rety'red Fellryw of Chartered Instrtute ol s￿￿larIeS. l cons￿￿ mygelfsuitabty qu￿￿ed to carry out Ihe Independent examinalLon. Hawn9 ￿ty¥fi¢(l myfthat Ihe chanty Is not subd to 4￿r( and 18 elvjible for indep¢nd¢nl examinatbjn. it 1$ my responsibilty to: Exèmin• th• 8thyJ)ts ￿ller sectKfi 145 oftt 2011 kt To the pr￿edU￿¥ dtr•m in IM General Direckni by th? Charity Comrnissw under ¥ectb)n 145(5llbl of lh• 2011 Act., To state vknether p•ttulor m•#ws ha¥• eom• to my attentson. My exarnination was carried out in acccrfdanee vlth General Direction8 gryen by the Chanty Commisibn•r8. An •xaminabon tr￿ude3 a revw ol Ihe accwntsng records kept by the tharity ¥nd o efjmparison ofthe xxountspresente(I vththose rewds. Ital90 indudeaeon8id•rall)n ofèny unusual •m$ or dlsclosures In the accounts. and see￿.n9 exF4•tion$ frtyn truite•8 ccrteming any suth matters. The pr￿ed￿￿ Undtrtth￿ do Th)t provpJ• all the evhyence Ihatwojld be required In an audrt, and con￿qU￿nIty I d¢ Th)t •xprn88 an autht opknknn cffj IM fina￿¥1 statowKnt•. Ind8PgrbJentexwnlnprf¥ •latsm•nL. In connection with my examinabon, no mt•r to my 8ltsnUon'. 111 Which giv•s me reasonable c•use lo believe that, in any ma¢•ri•l r•$p•¢t, th trust••• have not met the requir¢m¢nts to ensure Ihat.. and Accounts ar¢ pr•parod which agree wlth the accountlng records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Ac( Or 1£ ?OJ PrWastal, F.C.l.S.. AC.1. atrrn, LU62PE 15