Charity R•gistratlon numbor: 1160436 ST THOMAS BApllsT CHURCH ANNUAL REPORT AND Accoupirs FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
PEFIIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Page Legal and Adminislrative Information TTh8tee8' Annual Report Independ&nt Examiner's Report Receipts and Poyments Account$ 7-8 Statemonl of Assets and Li8bilitiOS 10 Notes to the Accounts 11-14
STTHOMAS BAiyllsT CHURCH LEGAL AND ADMINISThATIVE INFORMATION YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 St Thomas Baptsst Church The Church is part ofthe 8aptist Uni¢n and its an5titLStion follows their guidelin88 as laid down in the Baptist Trusts for Church8$ 2003. Mr St8phen Cousley TRusfEES E Bailey P Evans- Secr8tsry R Turner H Prideaux A Collins G CuThan W M¢keftna A Daniel T DArby-Clark {appointad 18 April 2(Wl lappointgd 01 April 20081 lappoint8d 26 March 20191 Ir8signod 21 March 20231 lappointed 20 April 20211 {appointed 20 April 20211 (appointed 22 Mareh 20221 (appointed 21 Mar¢h 20231 Iresigned 0¢ April 20231 St Thom8$ BaOi81 Churth Dors6t Avwuo Exet8r EX4 112 1160436 BANKEAS HS8C 251>251 High Street Ex8tsr EX4 3PZ EXAM1PR Mrs S Trurnn FCCA FCA Bu$h & Co Limited Ch&rt8red Accountants 2 Bamfield Cr88¢ont Exeter EXI 1QT
STThOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH TRUSTEES. REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 The TTUStees, presem thglr report togeth¥r wilh the flnancial statemeTts for ihe year ended 31 Docember 2023. Th8 financial $tst•ments have been prèpared in accordance with tho accounting policies set out on page 71 and complywith theChyr¢h Constitution, the Charities Ath 2011 and the requirements of the Ststemeni of Recommendod Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities" Financial Reporting Standard 102 IFFIS 1021. ObpctiVo• •nd A¢llty St Thomos Baptist Church 1$ a charity Who prlncipal purpose 1$ thg advancemerrt of iho Chrislian laith. This bt done in a number of ways includinp the ¢hurch demonslraling lovg and concern for our members and friends, but al$0 for the communty around us. We provid¢ public benefit to the local communily in this way through our locol outreach activities, allowing the community to inter8¢1 With us. We also provide support for those who gather with us 8nd who aro included in our fellowship. We continue. as StThomas Baptist ChyT¢h, to be gratefijl to the Lord for his ongoing priwidènea and prt)vision to US as th8 ¢hurch coniinuo$ io grow after thg pandemic. We continuo to "know Christ and make him known" in so many ways. as our mission ststemenl suggests. 2023 will b8 remembared as an hi8tori¢ year for our church. In F8bruary 2023 we colebrated the h anniversary of the opening of ST8C on this site. An excdlent weekend was hod by all. There wa$ a social evening on Saturday followed by two of our pr¢vious ministers. Reverend D•vid Bird and Peter Fowler. preaching in the morning and gvening on the Sunday respe¢tively. We are grateful to those members and friènds who have left the church in the past btrt who reiumed io celebrale and thank the Lord bylih us. We are also grateful to those members and pravious pastors who gro unable to attend but who sent th8ir well wishes onto us. As part of the day we also remembered those who hod been sent outfrom the church to the mission figld orto pastoral roles elsewhere. As a church we should forrnally re¢ord our thanks io our pastor Stephen Cou$ley. ablysupported by Joanna and Ihe f¥mily. lor all his hard work during this year as pastor of our¢hvr¢h. Wo were delighted that Stephen rnaag to have hi$ long-awaited sabbatical frorn March io May 202& We know that this provid8d a much-n6edod break for him and for the famify, including a family holid0y to the US, but also lime for rgfle¢tion and study. Wo are extremely grateful to all the d¢o¢ons within Ihe leadershlp team who stood up to the plate during the pastorf8 Sabbatical and helped in so rnany ways. including leading many of th meetings, as well as thg mgmbers who did th¢ same. I don't think many of us quite re81ised how mu¢h work Stephen did in the church until he took three months offl We were very gr819ful to the visiting ministers Including some of our own previous fellowship who came and preached 60 faiihfully during that tirne. As a ¢hureh we cannot funthon without our leadership team and w8 $re so grateful to the deacons on iho 1oaderGhip t¥am for thoir unstinling support and faithful gttendance during the year. Hugh Prideaux stood down lor personal rea8ons in early 2023 and our thanks go to Hugh for hi$ setvice a8 a dea¢on and rnore recently a$ an elder. His wisdom, leadership and teaching hav8 boon much apPr13d by the church.
ST THOMAS BApnsTCHURCH TRUSTEES. REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 We w¢r8 delighted to welcome Ann Dhniel 88 a FMV deacon after the AGM in Mar¢h 23 and Phil Evans was re-91gCted as an elder. Tom Darby-clark stood down as a deacon in Marc17 202& Alan Collins, rote as chtjrch trett$ur8r but also es support to the Church Seerètary and Hannah as COM h8$ been much appraciatad. Aft8r mu¢h prayerful consideration Alan Collins applied to join Moor College in Sydney, Australia in 8¥rty 2024 to wrnmence pastoral studies and Alan gave noti¢6 of leaving the church land the untryTr. The le8dership were very gratefvl to Richard Turner who was then elected as Church Treasurer. Towards the end of 2023 we Started regular leadership team away days with a whole day away in East Devon. This proved to be a very important end reflective time for all of us as We considered the Lord's vision ftsr the church movÉng forward. We were also delighted in the $urnmw of 2023 to ¢ommi58ion Amy Cousley as she mov•d into an intern role in Grace Chur¢h in Bath. working w¢th young people. We were grateful to ihose who supported Amy both financialty and prayerfully Also in the summer of 2023. we were pl88sed again to join with our US broth¢r$ 8nd gl$tors for an outreach mission. As18st year it was great to see so many people attend the church dLtring the week and to shgre our testimonie$ across the Atlantic. The Saturday fun day was once again well attended and a groat opportunity for u$ to witne88 to tho wmmunity. Onc8 8g8in, our tsam worked extremely hard during that weekto support ourvisitors and to raadi th• ¢ommunity. We are also grateful to those members and fri8nds who provided a¢¢ommodation for our visitor& We trust God for conversions from this work We We 4160 pleaBed to hold a community Comnation Street party in May 2023 as we ¢el$brated the ¢oronatFOn of KiTha Charles111 with street party, games and an epilogue. During 2023 we had one baptism and no weddings. At the gnd of 2023 wo had 77 members ttaving rec8ived saven members into the fellowship durlng tho ye8r. DufFng this year we have prayerfully considered tho possibiltiy of a $ear¢h for 8n A8sistantlAssociate Pastor work alongside Stephen. We h8ve had preliminarydTr¥cussi¢>ns with the SoLrthwest B8ptistAssociation ISWBAI and l¢Jok forward to this progressing in 2024, if it is God's will. We are al$0 immensely gratefvl to all our employed staff includino Stephen CoLtsley as our pastor. Hannoh Torpey Blaylock a5 our Churth Operations Manager and Becky Shotter as our F8milie$. Children and Youth Coordinator IFCYCI. Wa were pleased to welcome Becky b•¢k into work aft6r her maternity lew8 •nd wish her well in her rovi$8d role with reduced hour8 working with familigs and young people. while we consider options for a potantial job4harg *arting in 2024. We corrtinue as a church to otter a variety of regular weekday event8, as well a$ our sèrvices on Sunday. which provide support to memb8rs of ihe Surrounding community. These include the Toddler group which meets on Wednesday. the Thursdry Dropin groLSP and the FraY Youth group. Onc6 a month we hold a 'Soup and Sweat, 88 wo11 a8 the Thursday Drop-in group which provides an opportuntty for members and fri8nd8 to have food propared for them. Likewise, we corrtinue to support membeTS of our ¢ongregation throuoh our 8ix home groups that rneet in members. homes every fortnight, ahèrnating with our wè6kly prayer meettng in the church. W8 continu8 to 8UPPOrt our rnembers who have been bereaved in the Bereavement Support Group, as well as our students from th& Univor8ity who join us &ach year and who are supported through their own dedicated weekly meeting.
STTHOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH TRUSTEES. REPORT YEAR ENDED 310ECEMBER 2023 We continue to preach through various topics and book$ of the Bible on Sundays and various Ihemes are addressgd, from a biblical perspecli¥e, in our home groups. We have, since the Dandemic. continued to INa stream our $orvic08 Itf approprial8} on YouTub8 which has further increased engagement with those who do not normally attend in person, 83 well as supporting those members who for various rean8 are unable to physically attend tho church. Contrilxrfon made by volunttom Apart fmm our throe paid employees, much of our activity of the ¢hur¢h is undertaken by volunteer5 and without them it would not be possible lor the church to provide many of its services for th$ fellowship or the community. We have many differ$nt peopl& volunteering lo do various lo around the church. many of ihem unseen. We are, as ever, immensely gratefvl to all our volunteers, especially those who have gone above and bgyond to keep p80ple ¢onnw8d during the lockdowns. A¢hiov•m•nts and P•rfomi•nc• The rnain a¢higv¢ments ol the charity ore identified abovg, os well as our benefit to the wider society P8rtl¢u10rfy in our local community and St Thomas. We do however continue to support church missionari8s elsewhere both in ihe UK and beyond and during thg y••r a $um of Q2,025 was given to Mission ond other charitable c•u$88. Fin•n¢id Review Th8 ¢hurch made a deficit in theyeer of £10.52912022-sufplus £16.3661. Totsl incomedecr8ased 12,75% compared to 2022 with 8 14.26% drease in offorings and donatlon6. Total expenditure in¢reased 6.62% compared to the previous yeÈr. Totsl cash lunds amounted to £84,582 ot 31st December 2023 of v¥hi¢h £12,333 is ho5d in restricted funds- £11,253 of ihis being held for building improvements. God r8moin8 falrhlul and w& continue fo seek to u$8 his resources in 8 W8Y that Iponours him. rhis year, a deficit wes budgetedto usesomeoltheac¢umul8tedsurpluses frompreviousyears," this ig reftectedin thi$yearsaccounts. Whi18 in¢ome/ooks to b8 significantlydown, itshouldlje notgdthatin 2022$1gnifJc8ntincom8 w•s receiyed to support Ukraine, andtherefore, thi8 1$ not asurpnse. A fvrth8rd8fidtbudg8th8sbeen $erfor2024 to mako the beSte olthe 6urplusheld by rhe chh. B•S•r Poli¢y The reserve$ policy is to rerain between 3 Bnd 4 months unrestricled e¥ponditu¥e which i approximatsly between £23,000 and £32,fy)O. At the year end, the ¢hurch's reseNes totalled £71.205 In8t current a$set$ less rtrIed funds). The budget $th for 2023 was sth 0$ 8 deficit budgot of £7.055 allowing some of the ex¢oSS reservos to bo spent. Structurn. 0ov•man¢• and MAn•g•m•nt The ch4Tity 1$ govemed by ito nstitUtion. Th8 church 1$ an unincorporotad association.
ST THOMAS BAiyllsT CHURCH TRUSTEES. REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Trustee$ (the olected leadership team) are elo¢ted at ihe ¢hur¢h AGM to stand for three years, fore needing to stsnd for reolection. Office holders IS8cretary & Treasurer) are appointed or ro-appointed e8¢h year at the AGM. Church elders (apart from th8 Ministsrl are 81$0 elected by the AGM. with a thrwear terfn, according to the constitution. Philip Ev8n$. Hugh Prideaux and Stephen CoLtsley continued to be eld8rs of St Thomas Baptist Church during ihis year, in accordance with the constitution, although Hugh Prideaux retlred 8$ a dea¢on and an elder in M8rch 2023, we are very grateful to Hugh for all the TrNork that hg has undertakan as both deacon and elder. Philip Evans and Alan Collins were ele¢t$d 4$ Church Secretsry and Treasur8r respectivaly and continued to $grva during this voar. Both are Supported by various members ot the Fellovtship who assist them. particularly in the TTeJsury team working wlth Alan. and Hannah, the Church Operations Manager, W0$ng with the Church S8eret8ry. who 18 also her lino m8nager. The following individuals have been efected by the church membership to stsnd as irust88s for the church dursng the last twelve months. Trust0• nam• Ollk• ltt anyl Datss a¢t•d IF not for Elizab*h Bailey Ann Daniel Deacon Deacon Elected as deacon in March 2023 Stood down 8$ Deacon on Marth 2023 Stood down 0$ ¢hur¢h tre8surer 8t)d deacon in Deeember 2023 Tom Darby-clafk De8¢on Alan Collins Church Treasurer Gary Cufran Philip Evans Deacon Church Secretary & Elder Elder Reolected as efder in March 2023 Stood down as elder •nd d•#¢on In Mardh 2023 Hugh Prid8aux Wendy Mckenna Richard Tumor Deacon Dea¢on and Treasuror Elected ¢hurch treasurer in Decembèr 2023 The trustees declara that they charity's trustees eapp tho trustees. repo ove. Signed on behalf of the Signatura Full name Philip Evans Richard Turner Position Church S8cr&tary Chureh Tr8a$urer
INDEPENDEKf EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ST THOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH I report to tho iwwees on my examination of the 8xounts of St Thomas Baptist Church Ithe Churchl for th8 year ended 31 Decernbor 20r8, Nvhi¢h aro sgt +JJt on pages 7 to 14. R••pongIbllltl and buls of rnport As th• eharity trn6tees of the Church you ore responsible for the preparation of the o¢£ourrts in ac¢ordan¢o with th? requirements of tho Chariti&s Art 20111.the Act'l. Having sati$fiod mys¢lfthatthe accounts of the Tnjst are not required to beaudited and are eligible lor independent oxamination, I report in of my examination of your eharivs eccounts as ¢arried out under sertion 145 ot the Charities Act 2011 1.tho 2011 Act"). In carying out my examination I have followed the directions given8 by the Charity Cornrnission under section 145(5llbl of the 2011 kn. I have completed my examinatiOTL l ¢onfirm that no matèrial matters have come to my attention in ccnneclion with the examination giving me causeto believe that in any m8teri81 rw)e¢L a¢¢ountin9 records were kopt In respect otthe Church ès required by sectSon 130 01th9 .'or the accounts do not o¢¢ord with tttose r8cord¥: or the 8ccounts do not comply with the applicable requIreMer concerning the forn ond corrtert of o¢counts set out in the Charities IAc¢ounts and Reportsl Regulations 2008 other than any requir&ment that the 8ccourrtS give o 'tru8 and fair vithrf which is not a rn¥tter considered part of on independent oxamination. I have no con¢ems and have come 8¢ros$ no other matteTS in conng¢tion with the examination to ich attention should bo drnwn in this report in order to enable a proper undorstanding of the o¢¢ounts to be rea¢hed. Mr6 S Trurgn FCCA FCA Bush & Co Limited Chartergd Accountants 2 Bamfiold Crescent Exeter EXI iaT D8ts: l OcYcBE
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STTHOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES ro ThE ACCOUNTS PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 The eipts and paymènts a¢¢ounts have been prepared under the Charities Art 2011 using a ¥ipts and payments basis. In¢om• Offeringg and donations are recognised when rg¢0ivgd by or on behalf of the Church. Glft aid tax refunds and the gift aid small donations sehemÈ are re¢ognls8d on a cash basis. Expondlturn Expendtture is induded wh¢n paid and include¥ any VAT vthith is not recoverabb Assets Iletsined for Charirfs Us• Assets retained for ChariVs use are volued on the following basi¥: Land and bL¢ilding$ Fixtures & flttings CompLrt8r 8quipm8nt Insuran¢9 cover vallse Markot volue Market value Invostm•nt Assets Investments are valued at marf(et value at 31 Dgcembgr. All investments are held wiihin the UK. Assets are recognised at the amounts due to tha charity which will provide a benofit. Uabi11tl•s Liabilitle8 aro roCOgni$ed at the amounts obligated to b6 paid by the charity. Unrestricted Funds represent the funds of the Church that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of tho Chur¢h. Designated Funds are ndS that ar6 not subS8ct to any rastrictlons h8va bgon set $side by the trustees for future exp8nditvr8 or commilmenL 8y earmarking funds in thi8 way, the trust8e5 set up a designated fund that remain8 part of the unrestrtcted funds of th8 charity. Restrictsd Funds are where the ineomo ha$ bgon raisad tor $pe¢tfi¢ purpo$os, for individuals or for specific events. The Irustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the chariVs ability to continue as a going concem.
ST THOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THE Accoumrs PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 8al#n¢• B•tsn BJForw•rd Rtteipts Paym•nts Transf•r• Clft>Thv•rd Mi$$lon fund Camp fund Church plant fund Building proj¥ct fund Local outre•¢h fund 15851 25 398 11,253 11.253 Total Funds 12,333 12,333 The Mission Fund continues to support various mission proj9cts both at home 8nd obroad. The Camp Fund was ¢t up lo fund young people, parti¢ulèrfy those from familigs on low in¢omes to go on evangelistic summ8r camps. Due to tho Covid 19 pandemi& no ¢amps took plo¢8 in the current y88r. The Church plant lund 1$ monles given for a pgtèntial new congregation to be plJnted in tha futur& Thoro was no movemont in this fund durin9 the year. The Building project fund was $et up to enable the construction ond equipping of a fijnthional church office ond additional ¢hur¢h building improvements. Balan¢ 8IFoAwd Mission Fund Camp Fund Church Plant Fund Building Projort Fund Lo¢aS Outreoch Fund 2,Wl 1.7 I72) 398 11.253 218 11.253 12181 Total Fund8 15,452 1,750 14.9121 12,333 12
ST THOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Incom• DonatnS received during th8 year are broken down as foifows; Offerings and donations Gift aid tax refunds and GASDS 101,268 18.606 119,773 20,044 119074 139.817 Income from chaTitable activities re1V$d during the year are broken down as follows: 2022 Coffee momingsl Soup & Sweet Youth group Subscriptions & Other incomo Junior Church Church weeken StudeTrt Weekendl Awvy Day Surrflry income 951 191 220 2.702 379 1.712 225 3237 6.113 EMPLOYMEKT COSTS Totol employee's remuneration for tho ye8r 8mounted to £61.533 for thr80 employee6. Gross Salaries amounted to £54,002. Employers. NIC amounted to £1,270 after claiming the 8mploymont allowanc8. In addition. pension contribLrtions of £6,261 were paid. There Te no employeos with romun&ration above £60,0. 13
ST THOMAS BAPTIST CHURCH NOTES TO THEAccouKrs PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 MISSION GIVRIG Grants were rnade to the following organl$atio in thè ygar. BaptFst Mi¥sionory So¢1 ICE Trust ISchool$ Mi10n) Fletired Baptist Mbnisters Housing Society BJptist Union Home Mission Exoter Univorsity Evangelical Christian Union Spurgaon Haven of Hope yOh Developmwtt Programme London City Mi$8ion St George'$ Monlen Love into action Mission Aviation Fellowship Rwonda Hopg Mission Trans World Radio Limltod Moldova Ukraine Other givings 1,800 21)0 559 14 1,175 1.175 1.175 1.175 1,175 1,358 1,355 1,365 17.594 950 22.025 35,792 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONsrrRUSTEES' REMUhlERATK>N AND EXPENSES No tru8ts8. nor any p8r8on ¢onnected wilh them. received any rernuneralion or other contribirtions liorn ihe charity during the year. No reimbursement of expenses in r8spect ol serwices provided by the trustees has beon made or is due to be made io any of them in respect of the year. 14