Zion Baptist Church Melbourn CIO – reg. charity 1164945
2020 Annual report for the Charities Commission
This is the fifth Annual Report of Zion Baptist Church Melbourn CIO, which was registered as a charity on 21 December 2015. The stated principal purposes of the Church are the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination and the advancement of education and the carrying out of other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. We began 2020 engaging in a range of activities to carry out these purposes, all of which were open to any members of the public to attend. Due to the pandemic, the regulations from the government, and recommendations from the Baptist Union of Great Britain our regular activities were restricted from March 18[th] when we began using on-line events.
Church Services
Regular services took place at 10:30 am every Sunday morning. Following the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions we then made our services available on-line, including public worship, Bible teaching and prayer. Communion was shared in one of these services each month. Within the regulations for COVID19 we were able to hold some evening services. One wedding took place in 2020. There was an open-air Christmas Carol service within the safety restrictions, attended by 41 people. Extra on-line services were produced for viewing during the Christmas period.
Teaching Activities for Children and Young People
Sunday school groups for children aged three to fifteen met on every Sunday during the morning service until March 15th. Some young people were involved in helping with the Sunday School groups and Creche, alongside adults.
Following the lockdown restrictions, we provided on-line activities for the younger children through newsletters and Facebook links. The 11 – 14 group continued to meet on Zoom. The Sunday school children presented a lovely nativity drama for the on-line Christmas recording.
Our midweek youth group continued throughout the year following government guidelines and led by our student youth worker. This involved a mixture of Zoom and in person meetings, which were restricted to 15 young people.
Other Teaching and Prayer Activities for Adults
The majority of adults who attend the Church are part of a house group, some of which include people who do not regularly worship at the Church. The groups met regularly, in homes and later met using Zoom, for prayer, Bible study and mutual support. The Church also held a weekly morning prayer meeting, which later became a weekly on-line evening prayer meeting.
Community and Charitable Activities
The Church hosted a weekly toddler group during term time, which attracted up to 60 families. This had to close because of the COVID-19 restrictions from mid-March. There was also a weekly coffee morning,
mostly attended by the elderly, these have been contacted weekly by the leader of the group since the start of the pandemic. The weekly craft group was also open to all, making cards to raise money for charity but ceased to meet in March. The Church premises were used weekly to host a local Scout group, this moved to outdoor and zoom activities following the government guidelines and scout association guidelines. The church hosted a local Foodbank to help the families who were struggling during the summer holidays.
The Church makes a regular tithe to the Baptist Union charities Home Mission (working in the UK) and BMS World Mission (working overseas). The church collected shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse as part of the Operation Christmas Child programme. We continue to collect monetary donations for Christ’s Hope International, a charity which works with children in Africa.
Our Remembrance Day project involved participation from many people from the local community who were invited to add their own home-made poppies to the display which we placed at the front of the Church.
Church Fellowship
The plans to develop the church hall are going ahead.
We have introduced a Zoom coffee gathering every Sunday afternoon which has been well attended and is an opportunity for participants to keep up with regular conversations, keeping friendships strong. We have also been joined by people from a distance including from other countries which has strengthened contacts with some of our missionaries.
The secretarial team have produced regular newsletters keeping the fellowship informed and involved.
Statistics and Trustees
At the end of 2020, there were 71 members of the Church. Until March, in regular contact on Sundays and with other Church run groups there were approximately 90 children under 11 and 10 young people aged 11-18. Typically, around 90 to 100 people attended the service on a Sunday morning. On-line services on YouTube show as being viewed between 60 and 170 times and by December 2020 we had 126 subscribers to our channel.
There is one non-elected Trustee (the Minister), and at the end of 2020 there were eight elected trustees.
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Zion Baptist Church Melbourn On accounts for the year 31 December 2020 Charity no 1164945 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 December 2020.
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
-
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
| Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: |
Date: | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 March 2021 | ||
| Christopher Dougherty | ||
| Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales | ||
| Lakin Rose Limited | ||
| Pioneer House, Vision Park, Histon | ||
| Cambridge, CB24 9NL |
October 2018
IER
Zkn B•rtht C1¢ IMbDum 1164945 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For th• p•rfod Irom To 01101tt020 31112R020 Section A Receipts and payments Unreltrfcted ReStCled fund• Endowment lund Tot•1 fund toth• nMr••t E nMrnt£ loth• vwr•#£ tr)th• toth• wr•#£ Al R•ul Gtsier4 ru 44,387 Sumvur 5,•05 825 SIT MMRC GfftAd Sub lot•l(Gmss for ARJ Sub tot 90,1 120.740 A3P inisty Ewx• 41,971 a,766 41.109 6,708 1J,•Z7 7.770 1,3lQ Sub ¢0 i• A4 AM•t •nd Invth•nt Pub•. l•w t•blo1 Sub lot•1 77.$19 2337 AS TT¥n•f•rn b•iwo•n lundB A6 Cih fundi •nd C•¥h funds th18 fftr•nd 81.572 89,961 113.2J 171.5 193.0 128,108 CCXX R1 aD>Junts {SSI
Section B Staternent of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Endovrniwrt nd8 to [••¢£ D•tsit• fund¥ torwrwlE lund¥ 81 Cmh fvndl Fund ,661 Fthcfvnd 126 RtTlEd fund Endowrn•nl fund• fund ta nMrwiÈ Dot•ll¥ Fur C¥rr•thTAI on Oetails B3 Invmtmont a•••ts Detallo •M•tb•ion l¢)PtknM Curr1¥41 Dn B4 Au•ts r•tsln•d forth• ¢hrfty'i own u 86 L1•bIl1•4 Sn•Y by or OF Signature Ptht N•me roval CRSIMS L HORDEN 13103 CCXX R2 Un<Sl