Trustees' Annual Report for the period
Period start date
From 1 April 2024 To
Period end date
31 March 2025
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name Binfield Free Church
Other names charity is known by (Not applicable)
Registered charity number (if any) 1167303 Charity's principal address Chapel Lane Binfield Berkshire RG42 4AS ~~=——~~ Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Dates acted if not for Name of person (or body) Trustee name Office (if any) whole year entitled to appoint trustee (if any) 1 Jonathan David HICKS Elder General meeting of members 2 Austin Michael TRAINER Elder General meeting of members 3 Luke Malcolm WINMILL Elder General meeting of members 4 Martin Henry FULLER Deacon General meeting of members 5 ~~===~~ Harmndeep KUNDHI Elder General meeting of members Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) Name Dates acted if not for whole year (Not applicable) ~~=~~ Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information) (Not applicable)
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
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Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Constitution (adopted at a general meeting of the members held on 13 Type of governing document April 2016 and approved by the Charity Commission on 24 May 2016) (eg. trust deed, constitution)
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) How the charity is constituted
- (eg. trust, association, company)
Elected by a general meeting of members of the CIO. Only those persons elected to the Offices of Elder, Minister, Deacon and Assistant Minister are the charity trustees.
Trustee selection methods
- (eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:
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policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
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the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
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relationship with any related parties;
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trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
Organisational structure:
The church is led by a team of Elders , who together determine the teaching programme, vision, strategy, direction and prioritisation of the work of the Church in accordance with the objects of the church set out in the Constitution, and subject to the Church Rules agreed by the members.
Subject to the requirement in the Church Rules to bring certain matters to a General Meeting of members, the Elders are empowered to make decisions committing the Church to a course of action as they deem necessary to fulfil their responsibilities defined in the Church Rules and to fulfil the commission given to church by the Lord Jesus in Chapter 28 of the Gospel of Matthew, provided that such decisions are made in accordance with any policies and standing orders made by the charity trustees designed to ensure that the church operates within the law.
The Elders may also delegate this power to some or all of the Deacons on such terms as they think fit.
Any Minister also holds the Office of Elder and as such is jointly responsible with the other Elders to discharge all their responsibilities. A Minister is employed by the church to take a leading role and bear the primary responsibility among the Elders. Similarly, any Assistant Minister also holds the office of Deacon. (There are currently no Ministers or Assistant Ministers appointed, since Dafydd Taylor resigned on 30 Sep 2023.)
Related Parties:
The church corporately belongs to, and financially supports, the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), which is a UKwide network of similar churches with which we share an identical Basis of Faith and similar purposes.
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Section C Objectives and activities
| Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit) |
The purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Binfield, Bracknell Forest, and the surrounding neighbourhood. |
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| The main aims of the church are to introduce people to the love of God shown through Jesus Christ, to encourage those who already know God's love to keep trusting in that, and to demonstrate God's love in practical acts of kindness. The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit, and consider that there are three main identifiable benefits to the public or sections of the public that flow from the church fulfilling its purposes: 1. Those who come to know and continue in the love of God report that accepting the love of God in Jesus Christ was the best decision they ever made and that knowing this love gives them strength in their everyday life. 2. Advancing the Christian Faith promotes a moral framework. This framework is outlined in the Bible, the Old Testament being interpreted by the New Testament. A summary of the framework is the command for people to love God with all their heart, soul mind and strength and to love one's neighbour as oneself. An exposition of the framework can be found in chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew. Church members are encouraged to live out their faith within the community and to put this moral framework into practice in their everyday lives with everyone they interact with, so that this benefits the members of the public who interact with members of the congregation each day. 3. It is for the public good that the main beliefs of the Christian Faith are made known in society, even if people disagree with the Christian message, because this enables people to make informed choices concerning religious belief and contributes towards a free society where different ideas and beliefs are widely known by the public. The main public gatherings of the church are the Sunday services and prayer/bible-study meetings held on Wednesdays. These have been held in hybrid form (both in-person and online) since the lifting of COVID restrictions to maximise accessibility and are publicised openly on social media. The Sunday service is about 2.5 hrs long, and is in three parts: 1. The first part comprises all-age worship (for about 50 minutes) with Bible readings, prayers, congregational singing and accessible Bible teaching for adults and children together that is intended for the benefit of both Christians and non-Christians. 2. The second part comprises separate Bible classes (for about 40 minutes) for adults, teenagers, primary school-aged children and pre-school children. The classes for adults teach the doctrines of the Christian faith in more depth than is possible in the first part and are aimed at Christians specifically. 3. The third part (lasting about 25 minutes) is a celebration of the Lord’s Supper (also known as Holy Communion) – a remembrance of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ in the place of sinners, using the symbols of unleavened bread (representing his body) and grape juice (representing his shed blood) – and includes Bible readings, prayers, and congregational singing. |
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Section C Objectives and activities 4. We serve free refreshments after the first part of the service, to which everyone is invited. The church regularly offers and advertises courses such as Christianity Explored, Hope Explored and Discipleship Explored that clearly explain the foundations of Christian belief and practice and are intended primarily to benefit those not already part of the church. The church provides personal pastoral care to those who seek it. This is a significant element of the work of the Minister. The Minister also supports the teaching of religious education in several local schools, primarily by leading school assemblies. (The church is seeking a new Minister since Dafydd Taylor resigned on 30 Sep 2023.) The church runs a monthly youth group on Friday evenings to which all secondary/tertiary-age children and young people are invited, monthly fellowship groups for men and women, and fortnightly ‘life groups’ – small groups for pastoral care, prayer and mutual support, to which everyone is invited to belong.
| 4. We serve free refreshments after the first part of the service, to which everyone is invited. The church regularly offers and advertises courses such as Christianity Explored, Hope Explored and Discipleship Explored that clearly explain the foundations of Christian belief and practice and are intended primarily to benefit those not already part of the church. The church provides personal pastoral care to those who seek it. This is a significant element of the work of the Minister. The Minister also supports the teaching of religious education in several local schools, primarily by leading school assemblies.(The church is seeking a new Minister since Dafydd Taylor resigned on 30 Sep 2023.) The church runs a monthly youth group on Friday evenings to which all secondary/tertiary-age children and young people are invited, monthly fellowship groups for men and women, and fortnightly ‘life groups’ – small groups for pastoral care, prayer and mutual support, to which everyone is invited to belong. |
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| Section D | Achievements and performance |
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year |
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| Sunday services The main public gatherings of the church, for public teaching and worship, are the Sunday services. All our teaching is also made freely available on the internet as live streams and on-demand. During this year, we have provided several substantial teaching series based on the Bible, including expository preaching from the books of Matthew, Luke & Isaiah, teaching on Biblical Theology (“God’s Big Picture”), plus many one-off or shorter series. Typical Sunday gathering size is 40-60 persons plus online participants. Beech House Dementia Care Home (Binfield) The church offers monthly Christian worship services open to all residents, staff and families, at Beech House. This includes Bible readings, prayers, congregational singing and a short, accessible talk on a Biblical topic. Small group and personal pastoral care A considerable part of the church’s resources (principally, the time of a minister) is spent providing personal pastoral care to those who seek it, and in the leading of small group bible studies and prayer gatherings. School assemblies Our minister, Dafydd Taylor previously lead fortnightly assemblies at Binfield C of E Primary schoolbut this is currently paused as no Minister is in post. |
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| Section E Financial review | |
| Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves |
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| The charity trustees have established a policy stipulating atarget minimum levelof reserves ofsix months’ operating costs. This is because the work of the church is highly dependent on a small number of generous members, whose circumstances could change, and because the notice period for Ministers and Assistant Ministers (whose livelihood depends on the church)is six months. |
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Details of any funds materially None in deficit ~~a~~
Section G Declaration ~~ee~~
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Luke Malcolm WINMILL Austin Michael TRAINER ~~ee~~ Position (eg Chair of Trustees (Office of Elder) Trustee (Office of Elder) Secretary, Chair, etc) ~~ee ee~~ Date 3 January 2026 ~~|~~
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name Binfield Free Church members of On accounts for the year 31/03/2025 Charity no 1167303 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 / 03 / 2025 .
- 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:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
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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: Date: 28/01/2026 ~~[|~~ Name: Timothy David Neale ~~Ps~~ Relevant professional FCA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: Kirk Rice LLP, Victoria House 178-180 Fleet Road Fleet GU51 4DA
1
October 2018
IER
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
2
October 2018
IER
Binfield Free Church FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
| RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT RECEIPTS Receipts from regular giving Offering Offering - Give as your earn scheme Offering - Gift aided Receipts from church activities Gifts - other Origin - young people Wreath Making Event Dec 2024 Gift Aid tax refunds Bank interest Total Receipts PAYMENTS Preaching and mission Preachers Gifts - mission Building running and maintenance Heating and Lighting Manse Council Tax Water rates (2 years) Insurance Manse repairs Maintenance & improvements Church activities Evangelism and Major events Other costs Payroll services IT Provision Music Licences Publicity FIEC Membership Equipment Sundry & other expenses Total Payments |
Total y/e 31 March 2025 Total y/e 31 March 2024 £ 14,168 26,461 1,760 750 33,553 28,592 49,481 55,803 100 2,100 13 12 20 21,132 275 239 21,540 2,351 71,021 58,155 6,073 17,013 8,950 3,000 15,023 20,013 7,395 2,805 1,548 457 605 1,527 1,456 19,969 - 4,329 931 33,676 7,344 234 724 234 724 1,620 3,702 493 34 548 522 322 424 1,411 789 1,337 1,744 1,138 205 6,868 7,420 55,800 35,501 |
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Binfield Free Church FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Total y/e Total y/e 31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Excess of receipts over payments
Bank balances at the start of the year
Cash funds this year end
15,220 22,654 45,304 22,650 60,524 45,304
STATEMENT OF ASSETS
Cash fund
Bank Current Account Bank Deposit Account
45,497 31,236 15,028 14,068 60,524 45,304
Approved by:
……………………………………………………… Sunny Kundhi - Treasurer Quetin Trainer ……………………………………………………… Austin Trainer - Trustee ……………………………………………………… Luke Winmill - Trustee
Dated
27/01/2026 …………………………..
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