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2025-12-31-accounts

Sidley Baptist Church Known as Freedom Church Bexhill

Report and Accounts For the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Charity number: 1158651

Freedom Church Bexhill Year Ended 31 December 2025

Contents Page
Legal and Administrative Details 1
Report of the Trustees 2-8
Report of the Independent Examiners 9
Receipts and Payments Accounts 10
Notes to the Accounts 11-14

Freedom Church Bexhill

Year Ended 31 December 2025 Legal and Administrative Details

Charity Name Freedom Church Bexhill Charity Registration Number 1158651 Mailing Address Claremont Road Bexhill On Sea East Sussex TN39 5BX Trustees P Goldsmith (Appointed Oct 2023) M Scarlett (Appointed 12/06/24 Resigned 31/08/25) S Briton (Appointed 12/06/24) P Mullens (Appointed 12/06/24) I Costley (Appointed 12/06/24) H Belton (Appointed 12/06/24) Rev Sally Sago (Appointed Feb 2024) Property Trustees The Baptist Union Corporation Ltd., Baptist House, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 8RT Bankers HSBC, 4 Robertson Street, Hastings. Eats Sussex. TN34 1HW The Baptist Union of Ghreat Britain, Baptist House, PO Box 44, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 8RT Independent Examiners Ryefields Limited Unit 139 Airport House Purley Way Croydon Surrey CR0 0XZ

1

Freedom Church Bexhill Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustees

The Trustees presents their report and unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2025

Governance, Structure and Management

The Charity is governed by a constitution based on the Approved Governing Document for Baptist Churches.

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 other such general charitable purposes in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world as the Church shall determine.

Membership and Trustees

Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the Constitution wherein baptism by immersion upon a personal profession of faith is the normal mode of entry but persons seeking membership who have not been baptised may be accepted at the discretion of the Church Members’ Meeting on their own public profession of faith.

The members Meeting normally takes place 4-6 times a year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church.

In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint up to 12 Trustees including the Minister, 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 appropriate 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 in Church meeting for further consideration by the Trustees. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made at Church meetings by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible.

Public Benefit

The Church has read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and is satisfied that there is clear benefit to the public through the activities it carries out in meeting its purpose and objectives.

This is particularly shown by:

2

Freedom Church Bexhill Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

Objectives and Activities

Core Activities

In order to achieve the principal objective, which is set out above, the Church seeks to provide a variety of activities both for its membership and the wider community of Sidley and beyond. 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.

Sundays

Central to the work and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship. The main services take place each Sunday at 10.30 am, this service is live streamed. This enables those who cannot get to the building to continue to engage and worship with us. There is a quieter worship and prayer meeting on zoom at 6.30pm on Sundays, with a face-to-face meeting called ‘The Well’, at 6.30pm on the last Sunday of the month in the church sanctuary.

Other occasional services are advertised on the church notice board, the website and using the weekly news sheet.

Many teams contributed to Sunday service provision, this included the Sunday School team, the worship band, the AV team (providing sound, words, graphics & live streaming for those unable to attend), the welcome team, the prayer ministry team, those providing refreshments, those preaching and those bringing all age messages. All volunteers (with the exception of the Minister), and all working to fulfil our aim of sharing the love of Jesus to all who come into the church.

Attendance over the year was relatively static with occasional peaks for special occasions. Our average attendance at the Sunday morning services was 55 (including children, adults & those online), with a range of 43-75 attendees.

A full children’s programme is provided during the morning services and numbers of children continued to vary enormously from week to week (numbers ranged from 0-12) making preparation of sessions very challenging. Thanks to the Sunday team of volunteers who dedicated time and energy to providing teaching and activities week by week for varying ages of the children and young people who came along to church. Special thanks to Jackie and Gill for their leadership.

Pre School Children

The church is responsible for a toddler group which meets in term time on a Wednesday morning. Little Seeds enjoyed another successful year of providing a safe, welcoming and stimulating environment for local families with our primary goals being fostering early socialisation for babies and toddlers whilst offering support and building relationships with parents . At the Christmas party, there were 33 children and 32 adults in attendance. As of the end of December there were 34 families on the roll, with an average weekly attendance of over 20 children and 20 adults. Highlights of the year included the Easter, Leavers/End of Year and Christmas parties. These events always see the highest turnout.

The sessions offered a balance of free play, craft activities and collective story and song time, including Bible stories and songs. Parents were invited to attend Freedom Church activities and our prayer is that we would be able to welcome families from Little Seeds into our church community.

The continued success of Little Seeds is dependent on our dedicated team of volunteers who we are most grateful for. In the coming year of 2026, we aim to:

•Increase our volunteer base to ensure the long-term sustainability of the group.

•Plan a summer holiday event.

Enormous thanks to Angie, Emma & Helen who led the group week by week from September, after the resignation of our Children and Families worker.

3

Freedom Church Bexhill Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

Community Food Larder and Café

The Marketplace is a community larder which redistributes unwanted food from supermarkets and provides subsidised food for those of the local community who are in need of help to provide adequate food for their tables or want to save waste. The Marketplace is open every Tuesday morning from 10.00am until about noon except Tuesdays after a Bank Holiday Monday when there is a ‘ MiniMarket’ because we do not have a delivery on the Monday. This year (2025) Marketplace closed for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year. support. This project allows the church to work in partnership with many local agencies, local businesses and local schools.

Additionally, coffee and cake are provided and a warm space for social gathering for those isolated and seeking friendship. Those who are shopping for food pay £3.00 for which they can have bread, chilled products including cheese, usually an item from the freezer and fresh fruit and vegetables. Amounts depend on how much has been provided by the supermarkets (Tesco and Lidl). In addition everybody has a choice of 8 grocery items from the cupboards. The funding for the purchase of food for the cupboards is obtained by applying for grants from various organisations who support charities working with poverty and deprivation

In early 2025 numbers peaked at about 55 shoppers plus 20-25 coming to the café. As the summer approached the numbers decreased to about 45-50 at which level they remained till the end of the year.

There was a coach outing to Tunbridge Wells in July with a stop for Tea on the way home. Other social activities included a quiz evening and an entertainment evening with curry. Folk from the Market place attended the Harvest Festival church service, enjoying lunch afterwards and also participated in our Community Carol Service at Christmas. Prayer is regularly offered and accepted on a Tuesday morning, and everyone is encouraged to participate in the wider life of the church.

At the end of August there was a major upheaval when the current leader, Maureen Chaseley withdrew from Marketplace. It was quickly appreciated how much work Maureen did behind the scenes and how many hours each week she spent organising, going to meetings and networking on behalf of Marketplace. We are grateful to her as a church for all she did in her time at Freedom Church.

Following Maureen’s departure, the leadership was divided into specific roles which were taken on by continuing volunteers. This required some adaptation and the realisation that some changes would be needed. It was decided to trim the activities to the basic concept of providing food for those people who under current circumstances are struggling. Tony assumed the leadership in the café area, supervising the Monday morning deliveries, Anne overseeing and maintaining the food room ensuring cleanliness standards and Chris ordering food, completing admin and many other miscellaneous tasks, delegating other responsibilities as appropriate. The year ended with a strong team of volunteers who work well together to serve the local community.

Again, the church is immensely grateful to all those who volunteered and gave their time to help ensure the continuity of the Market Place.

Discipleship

The Church runs several Explore groups for the growth of faith, fellowship and discipleship in the homes of some members, and in the church during each week

In 2025 there was an increased interest in being part of an explore group. A new group led by Helen and Peter began in February and later in the year, Jenny and Sylvia opened another group. Both groups are very well attended.

4

Freedom Church Bexhill

Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

Discipleship

During the year sadly the Wednesday church group came to an end and we thank Penny for all her work in leading this group. Penny continued to meet with 2 people in her house each week. Other groups continued to be hosted by Heidi & Andy, Paula& Mike and Jane and Ken.

Multiplication of groups are encouraged as are new leaders who may or may not stay connected to their original group. Peter, Helen and Jenny are examples of stepping out in leadership and offering hospitality to provide a new space for people wanting to explore discipleship with others.

All the Explore groups only run due to the commitment and dedication of those willing to lead and those opening their homes where the groups take place. We are grateful to them. The groups play an important part in the discipleship journey of faithful Christians and contribute to the overall unity and deeper relationships that characterise church life.

In 2026 the need will still be to increase capacity and provision of small groups.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

The church is the lead partner church for Bexhill CAP Centre CIO (Charity Number 1174660) providing office accommodation for the CAP team within the church building. The church also assists with regular financial and practical support towards the much-needed work that the team provides to those struggling with debt in our community in line with the Partner service agreement.

Rev Guy Partridge, a member of the church, continued as the centre manager, overseeing both paid staff and volunteers, whilst reducing his own working hours slightly.

As Minister of the lead church, Rev Sago was officially appointed as a Trustee and later in the year, became Guy’s line manager.

This work sees many helped to escape overwhelming debt as well as introducing them where possible to Jesus.

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted in line with the Disclosure and Barring Service. The policy is reviewed annually. Access to suitable and appropriate training is provided to all those in roles which require it.

Grateful thanks are expressed to Helen Goldsmith who continued in the role of Designated Person for Safeguarding (DPS) updating church practices where needed and raising awareness of safeguarding within the church. Sadly during the year, Luci Partridge stepped down from her role as deputy DPS. Paula Mullens continued as our Safeguarding Trustee.

Achievements aand Performance

The Church does not measure the success of its programmes only in numbers, including financial numbers, but also in less tangible areas like fellowship and encouragement. 2025 was a busy year of both challenge and encouragement as the church experienced the ups and downs of community life.

Challenges included the loss of staff and the loss of some members & friends as we saw some pass on to glory and others move away to pastures new. There were changes in the leadership team and a time of unrest, followed by much prayer and a seeking of God’s will in the difficulties which by the end of the year had settled with a sense of unity and of moving forwards together. As a church we recognise the increasing challenge of recruiting volunteers for leadership roles and for team building with an aging church membership.

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Freedom Church Bexhill Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

The church was a target of minor vandalism by youths climbing on the roof and over the gates. Building challenges including a leaking roof as we sought to prioritise work and formulate an action plan from the Quinquennial report of 2024. There continued to be a need of maintenance volunteer(s) to look after the building on a regular basis for small jobs, a decreasing income over the year from offerings, a reduction in building hire income alongside increasing costs. (The cessation of some groups hiring the Halls was due to their own financial constraints and falling numbers participating).

Encouragements included

•Three baptisms

•A well-attended evangelistic evening with the speaker Simon Guilllbaud.

•The new appointment of a Children and Families Worker,

•Continuing partnership with Jesus Loves Sidley, a litter picking group.

•Two weeks of prayer one in January and one in August.

•Support from our Baptist family church Beulah who ‘loaned’ us a worship leader once a month for Sunday mornings.

•The continuation of a prayer walking group once a month alongside various other prayer groups.

•Welcoming new members.

•Various visitors and speakers.

•A Leadership Day in July to formulate a mission statement

•A church away day in September attended by more than 40 people.

•Volunteers continuing to step up to fill gaps when unexpected changes happened.

•A church BBQ in August.

•Hymn singing on the seafront with other churches in the town.

•Joining with March of Witness in the town on Good Friday, followed by a joint service of Churches Together in Bexhill. •A well-attended Harvest Festival with a quiz and lunch.

•Partnership with our local charity, Heart of Sidley to provide Christmas meals for over 80 people using our kitchen and premises

•Partnership with a local construction firm, BMR who funded the Christmas meals and our Community Carol service to support our missional outreach.

•Participation in the national ‘Shine Your Light’ event with Carol singing in the High Street led by Angy & Mike Scarlett, •Carol singing in Bexhill town as Churches Together.

•Visits by the local Academy sixth formers who brought Christmas gifts for Market place clients and joined us in carol singing.

•Attendance at the Partners in Mission Conference by leaders and others to explore joining in SEBA venture. This resulted in agreement by the church to join the initiative with the aim of being more effective in our local mission. •A large wooden cross being made and donated to the church.

•Thanksgiving services for the lives of Tony Williams & Barbara Farley

All our church activities are reliant on our volunteer caretakers who lock and unlock the building, and we appreciate all the hard work of John Knight, Fred Ginbey and Simon Green throughout the year and Jo, our administrator as she coordinates the church diary.

Our teaching throughout the year mainly focused on our missional purpose, on prayer and on unity as we shared lent daily readings from John’s gospel, encouraged one another in mission as we shared in LICC’s Fruitfulness on the frontline study. We also looked at the life & character of Joseph to encourage us as disciples in our faith journeys and the promises of God as we journeyed through advent to Christmas.

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Freedom Church Bexhill

Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

Paid staff

Our church administrator, Jo Marder oversees the work of the church office working 16 hrs (four mornings) a week. The church continues to employ a cleaner 6 hrs per week, Deborah Brown Both are very much appreciated by the church family for all they do.

A Children and families worker commenced in January 2025 working 15hrs per week. Unfortunately, very quickly her health became impaired, and this resulted in her resignation at the end of July after much sickness. As a result of her appointment few of the aims of the role were achieved. Towards the end of the year the church members agreed that they would not seek a paid replacement role due to financial constraints but continued to express a commitment to see the work with children and young people flourish in the church.

Membership

On 31 December 2025 the membership stood at 50 which was the same as Dec 2024. However there was movement during the year as follows:

I member transferred to another Baptist church

A membership and baptism information evening was held in July and was attended by 7 people and at the end of the year another evening was planned for January with 9 people expressing an interest to attend.

Building and Maintenance

On behalf of the trustees Peter Goldsmith led the oversight and implementation of various building and maintenance tasks during the year including the formulation of an action plan for the next 3 years to achieve the work outlines in the Quinquennial report, the rebuilding of a wall and the repair of a leaking roof.

Financial Review

Mike Scarlett continued as Church Treasurer until 31st August after which there was no treasurer in post. Our thanks are offered to him for all his hard work during his time in the role.

Whilst seeking a new treasurer, the Trustees appointed Sharon Britton to continue to handle, count and bank any cash received as well as ensuring staff and invoices were paid in a timely fashion. As Sharon had access to the accounts, she was able to bring monthly figures to the whole Trustee team each month for oversight. Helen Goldsmith volunteered to enter all the financial transactions into the church accounts using quick books.

We are very grateful for Sharon and Helen volunteering for such a vital role in this interim time.

The Church continues to raise the funds which it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation together with grants from a number of sympathetic charities for the restricted use of the Market Place. Financial systems are in place, as are policies for accountability and management, which are reviewed regularly.

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.

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Freedom Church Bexhill

Year Ended 31 December 2025 Report of the Trustee (Cont)

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have established a Reserves Policy to enable the church to function effectively and meet its obligations in

Statement from policy

Freedom Church Reserves Policy is as follows:

This Report was accepted by the Trustees Date:

Signed: Church Secretary

Treasurer

8

Freedom Church Bexhill

Year Ended 31 December 2025 Independent examiner's report to the trustees

I report on the accounts of the Trust for the period ended 31 December 2025, which are set out on pages 10 to 13.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and

to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given 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 you as 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 statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

have not been met; or

Name: Leslie John Tasker FCCA

Relevant professional qualification or body: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Address: Ryefields Ltd. Unit 139 Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon. Surrey CR0 0XZ. Date: 16 June 2026

9

Freedom Church Bexhill

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

Notes
Incoming resources
2
Charitable giving:
Giving to the church
Other income:
Grants received
Marketplace income
Legacy
Bank interest
Total incoming resources
Resources expended
Charitable activities
3
Total resources expended
Net incoming/ (outgoing)
resources for the year
Transfers between funds
4
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Represented by:
Petty cash
Bank		 Restricted
funds
Designated
funds
Total funds
2025
2025
2025
2025
£
£
£
£
53,840
-
1,000
54,840
10,673
-
-
10,673
-
10,250
-
10,250
-
7,840
-
7,840
-
-
5421
5,421
2,408
-
-
2,408
66,921
18,090
6,421
91,432
107,009
19,244
-
126,253
107,009
19,244
-
126,253
(40,088)
(1,154)
6,421
(34,821)
19,091
(19,091)
-
-
190,835
40,091
-
230,926
169,838
19,846
6,421
196,105
41
-
-
41
169,797
19,846
6,421
196,064
169,838
19,846
6,421
196,105
Unrestrticted
funds		 2024
£
83,202
16,100
27,136
-
-
5,329
131,766
132,230
132,230
(464)
-
231,390
230,926
182
235,085
235,267

Approved by the Trustees on ……………………………………….

………………………………………..

The notes on pages 9 and 10 form part of these accounts.

10

Freedom Church Bexhill

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

1 Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies are summarised below. The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the year.

(a) The accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis.

(c) Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts.

(d) • Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

• Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. e) Capital expenditure is written off on purchase.

2 Giving to the church

Unrestricted
Restricted
Designated
£
£
£
Gifts and donations
53,840
-
1,000
Interest
2,408
-
-
Property letting
10,164
-
-
Legacy
-
-
5,421
Other Income
-
-
-
Income form Market Place
-
-
-
BMS - Birthday Scheme
-
-
-
Little Seeds/Messy
509
-
-
Marketplace income
-
7,840
-
Garnts - Other
-
10,250
-
Tax recovered
-
-
-
66,921
18,090
6,421		 2025
Total
£
54,840
2,408
10,164
5,421
-
-
-
509
7,840
10,250
-
91,432		 2024
Total
£
76596
5329
15159
0
445
0
0
495
0
27136
6606
131766

11

Freedom Church Bexhill

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

**3 ** Total resources expended
Unrestricted Restricted Designated 2025 2024
Total Total
£ £ £ £ £
Resources Expended
Ministerial
Stipend 29,575 29,575 26,254
Manse costs 22,296 22,296 21,903
Employers Pension Contributions 3,732 3,732 3,319
Conferences/training 478 478 535
Resources/supplies 140 140 138
Phone 114 114 99
Pension Deficit (Baptist Union) 0 10
Total ministerial
Other staff costs
Administrator salary 9,985 9,985 6,875
Administrator pension costs 172 172 16
Child & Family Worker (C & F W) salary 6753 6,753
C & FW pension costs 182 182
C & F W - other costs 279 279 504
Cleaning Salary 3,750 3,750 3,553
Total other staff costs
Mission
Bexhill CAP Centre-Lead Partner Church Contrib 3,960 3,960 4,340
BU World Mission 765 765
BU Home Mission 765 765
Subscriptions 497 497 643
Charity Donations and Ministry Gifts 480 480 2,478
Children's work resources 1,554 1,554 1,575
Hospitality 834 834 1,048
Conferences, away days, retreats 396 396
Outreach and Discipleship Resources 391 391 175
Pastoral 237 237 139
Safeguarding 201 201 331
Guest Speakers 150 150
Travel, Mileage and Accommodation 48 48 87
Marketplace expenditure 12030 12,030 10097
Cooking Pops - expenses 0 1439
BMS Birthday Scheme Expenditure 0 480
Premises
Repair and maintenance 6,413 6,413 7,459
Electricity 3,747 3,747 5,580
Gas 3,074 3,074 2,860
Water 1,339 1,339 1,172
Insurances 1,668 1,668 1,618
Cleaning and Hygiene consumables 960 960 527
Misc equipment purchases 753 753 1,858
Fire, Safety and Security 378 378 643
Window cleaning 285 285 285
Premises - Sundries 106 106 744

12

Freedom Church Bexhill

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

Waste and Recycling
Refurb - serving area
Architect's fees
Total premises
Administration
Worship and PA
Accountancy and Bookkeeping
Phones, internet, Zoom etc
Copier leasing
Printing and Stationery
Church Suite
Advertising & Marketing
Sundry expenses
Bank charges
AV Upgrades
4 Movement of funds
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Designated funds		 83
2,465
1,279
1,108
886
867
414
377
169
120
107,009
19,244
-
Balance at
Incoming
Resources
1 Dec 2025
resources
expended
£
£
£
190,835
66,921
(107,009)		 83
0
0
2,465
1,279
1,108
886
867
414
377
169
120
0
126,253
Transfers
£
19,091		 13628
1054
417
914
999
886
798
414
686
186
173
3,290
132230
Balance at
31 Dec 2025
£
169,838
40,091
18,090
(19,244)		 (19,091) 19,846
-
6,421
-		 - 6,421
230,926
91,432
(126,253)		 - 196,105

Transfer of £19,091 from restricted fundss to unresticted funds due to a misallocation in 2024.

5 Assets

Assets
At 31 December 2025 the Charity had the following assets:
Unrestricted
Restricted
Current Account
3,173
Savings Accounts
3,979
19,846
Manse Trust fund
162,645
Cash held
41
169,838
19,846		 Designated
6,421
6,421		 £
3,173
30,246
162,645
41
196,105

13

Freedom Church Bexhill

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

6 Defined contribution pension schemes

The charity utilises the services of the Baptist Union Pension Scheme in respect of the Minister's pension and NEST for the Administrator's pension.

7 Remuneration and payments to Trustees and persons connected with them

No Trustees or persons connected with them received any remuneration from the charity or any related entity other than as disclosed below.

Rev Sally Sago acts as one of the church's trustees and receives remuneration and other benefits in respect of her services as minister. This includes rent paid by the church for the provision of manse accommodation in the private residence of the minister and her husband.

14