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
EXAM1P￿R 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 $tst•ments have been prèpared in accordance with tho accounting policies set out
on page 71 and complywith theChyr¢h Constitution, the Charities Ath 2011 and the requirements
of the Ststemeni of Recommendod Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities" Financial
Reporting Standard 102 IFFIS 1021.
ObpctiVo• •nd A¢ll￿ty
St Thomos Baptist Church 1$ 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$ley. ablysupported
by Joanna and Ihe f¥mily. lor all his hard work during this year as pastor of our¢hvr¢h. Wo were
delighted that Stephen rna￿ag￿ to have hi$ 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 apPr￿13￿d 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 Fr￿aY 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 $orvic08 Itf approprial8} on YouTub8 which has further
increased engagement with those who do not normally attend in person, 83 well as supporting
those members who for various rea￿n8 are unable to physically attend tho church.
Contrilxrfon made by volunttom
Apart fmm our throe paid employees, much of our activity of the ¢hur¢h is undertaken by
volunteer5 and without them it would not be possible lor the church to provide many of its
services for th$ 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% d￿rease 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 $erfor2024 to mako the beSt￿e olthe 6urplusheld
by rhe ch￿￿h.
B•S•r￿ Poli¢y
The reserve$ 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 r￿trI￿ed 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 8*xounts 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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rcZSZ5

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¢
8IFoAw*d
Mission Fund
Camp Fund
Church Plant Fund
Building Projort Fund
Lo¢aS Outreoch Fund
2,Wl
1.7
I￿72)
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•
Donat￿nS 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 re￿1V$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$atio￿ in thè ygar.
BaptFst Mi¥sionory So¢1
ICE Trust ISchool$ Mi￿10n)
Fletired Baptist Mbnisters Housing Society
BJptist Union Home Mission
Exoter Univorsity Evangelical Christian Union
Spurgaon
Haven of Hope yO￿h 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