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2021-12-31-accounts

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2021

Verse of the year: Psalm 27:13

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (NIV)

The above photo shows the ‘planting a tree’, which formed part of the Pandemic Remembrance event held for the local community in July (see page 8 for details).

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

The Leadership Team (all of whom are the church’s trustees under the Charities Act) are pleased to present the Annual Report, together with the accounts that have been examined in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission, for the year to 31 December 2021.

The financial statements comply with the required Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).

The Trustees are so thankful for all the encouragement and support that they have received from the membership and congregation throughout the year.

Reference and Administrative details of the Charity and its Trustees

Charity Status

Sheddingdean Baptist Church is a Registered Charity - number 1168341. 20 July 2016.

The Church does not currently own a place of worship but has resumed meeting in person at the Sheddingdean Community Centre and monthly at Gateway Baptist Church.

Managing Trustees

The Church is administered by the current Diaconate who are the Managing Trustees of the Charity comprising:

Pastor: Reverend Trevor Beckett Deacons: Treasurer: Tafrina Styles

Sylvia Lewis Kay Norman Debbie McDonald Val Dando

Mike Southcombe and John Billinghay were trustees until September 2021. Nathan Hixson was a trustee until November 2021. Val Dando became a deacon in November 2021.

Bankers: Nat West Bank, 1 Muster Green, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 4AP

Baptist Union Corporation Ltd, Baptist House, PO Box 44, 129 Broadway, Didcot, OX11 8RT

CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 44JQ

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

~~Independent Examiner:~~

Mr Neil Watts, F.P.M.I., 25 Greenlands Close, Burgess Hill, RH15 0AR

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 Structure, governance and management

Governing Document

Sheddingdean Baptist Church is an un-incorporated body, a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Didcot, Oxfordshire. It is governed by the terms set out in its own Constitution.

The current Constitution was adopted on 27 January 2015 at a Special Church Meeting and was amended on 27 November 2018 in order to allow a higher number of Trustees.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The method of recruitment and appointment of trustees is set out in section 15 of the Church Constitution. Under guidelines issued by the Baptist Union, those appointed by the constitutional process to serve as elders or deacons, and those appointed to specific posts by the constitutional process, such as Secretary and Treasurer, automatically become Trustees on their appointment.

Organisational Structure

The Church is governed and regulated by its own members where all aspects of the work of the Church are subject to the approval of the Church meeting that is normally held five times a year. The Minister of the Church is a paid Managing Trustee and with the Deacons gives leadership to the Church. The Deacons assist the Minister in his role and are also responsible for preparing the business for the Church Meetings.

The Baptist Union and South Eastern Baptist Association

The Church is part of the wider Baptist family and is therefore a member church of the South Eastern Baptist Association (SEBA) and of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB). Both organisations are registered charities. The Church pays an annual subscription to SEBA and to BUGB based upon its membership numbers and also makes a donation to BUGB (Home Mission Fund) for the Baptist family in the UK.

Custodian Trustee

The Baptist Union holds the deeds for the Manse. This property is 31 Chestnut Close, Burgess Hill, RH15 0HN. No property valuation has been undertaken in recent years and the value shown in the accounts is the estimated value based on local market house sale prices and the Nationwide price increase index for the area.

Relationships between the Charity and Related Parties

Members of the fellowship have engaged and will, as restrictions lift, continue to serve in many ways in the local community including the Respect Youth club. Relationships are being strengthened with the Windmills Playgroup which meet at the Community Centre. Three members of the church sit on the management committee of the Maple Drive Community Group. The Sheddingdean Strummers, all of whom are members of the church, are a Ukulele, Guitar, Song and Dance Group which performs in local venues.

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 ~~Pastor Trevor is the SEBA represent~~ ative on the Baptist Union Environmental Network.

The church continues its support of Befriended, an organisation providing support and friendship for the lonely and elderly. A church trustee is a volunteer for them and until, August 2021, was a trustee on the Befriended Committee.

Members of the fellowship regularly contribute items of food and toiletries to the Basics Bank at Brighton and Hove City Mission, although the contributions have been less due to Covid.

Several Ministers of local churches continue to meet monthly for prayer and there are regular joint church prayer events.

The Church remains committed to promoting and using fairly traded produce.

Members of the Fellowship continue to support the Cornerstone Project financially.

Charity Vision and Mission Statement

‘Connecting more deeply with God (worship) so that we can connect God to every part of our lives (discipleship) and then connect others to Jesus (mission).’

At Sheddingdean Baptist Church we are seeking to be

Objectives and Activities

The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to Holy Scripture and the principles of the Baptist denomination. The Church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.

The Activities, which seek to serve both the membership and the local and wider community include, but are not restricted to:

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 ~~ nurture and growth of Christian discip~~ les

Worship

For the first part of the year, due to Covid Restrictions the church was unable to meet in person, and continued to meet on Zoom, with a time of fellowship following the service. However, weekly face to face services resumed from September, with the service being live streamed. These are held in the Community Centre at Sheddingdean. Once a month our service is held at Gateway Baptist, in the afternoon, to accommodate more people and to enable us to serve refreshments. This afternoon service has also incorporated Senior Songs of Praise.

There has been a well- supported weekly prayer meeting on Zoom on a Tuesday morning which ran from May, 2021.

The Minister has overall responsibility for services and for preaching, but members of the fellowship are encouraged to be involved in various ways such as leading the worship, preaching and playing musical instruments.

Bi-monthly church meetings were held on Zoom during the first part of the year, but resumed in person from September.

A Christmas Carol Service was held, to which the community were invited.

Connection Groups

The Church runs a number of Connection groups with the aim of providing fellowship, pastoral care and the growth of faith and discipleship. New groups have evolved to reflect the diverse and changing needs of the fellowship. Groups are encouraged to find the right time of day and days of week that best suit their members (e.g., the more elderly or those with a disability often prefer daytime meetings). Transport needs are also taken into account. Some groups are meeting face to face while others are continuing to meet on Zoom.

Children and Youth

There was a very successful Easter Egg Hunt for the local community at which three hundred children and their families turned up.

Messy Church was started again in December of this year. One month

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 ~~is an evening of prayer and preparation~~ , and the parents and children meet the following month on a Saturday morning.

Pudding and Coffee Club

Pudding and Coffee Club continues in a different format. Once a month, on a Saturday afternoon, several ladies meet at a local garden centre, and an annual social was held this year, at the home of a couple from the church - at Wivelsfield Green.

Mission

The Church provides financial and prayer support to organisations working for the advancement of the Christian faith both in the UK and in the wider world. In January we sent our Christmas 2020 Appeal gift to Love in a Box (YMCA) – a scheme to give a Christmas gift to the homeless youth.

Each year the church fellowship gives to various organisations.

Total mission giving was 20% of total receipts (excludes Cornerstone income)

The Church has maintained its support for its mission partners across the world through the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) with regular giving to a missionary couple located in the Middle East; to Baptist Union Home Mission (7.5% of total receipts) and to Baptist Twinning in Israel (for NETS – Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary).

The Church Anniversary Appeal was given to the Baptist Missionary Society, to support people particularly hit hard by Covid around the world, and particularly in Nepal. The Christmas Appeal was for a local charity helping the lonely – Befriended, and the Harvest giving went to BMS ‘I Will Stand’. Due to the nature of Covid and the change in the pattern of people’s giving, many more gifts have been donated by

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

~~individuals, directly to an appeal or cau~~ se, rather than being handled by the church accounts.

Giving (apart from Baptist giving) including regular support of the Savage family who planted and now lead a church, along with its associated activities, in Hem, Northern France. The church works with children and young people as well as people facing many difficulties in life. It also holds 2 or 3 community events annually. Regular support is also given to Brighton & Hove City Mission for their work with the needy, and to MANGA Community Development Programme (which aims to provide Bibles and support in health and education for people mostly in the Manga speaking area of Niger).

Once again, the church supported Samaritan’s Purse ‘Operation Christmas Child’. Approximately 100 shoe boxes were sent to disadvantaged children all over the world, accompanied by donations from the Church itself and individuals, to assist with transport. We have undergone this worthy project for several years now and our boxes in 2021 went, as part of a shipment of 65,538, to Central Asia.

Local Mission - The Church is situated on the edge of the Northern Arc development which will see 4,000 new homes built over the next 15 years. We see this this as a significant part of our mission field as we seek to serve and build relationships in the area and creating a bridge between the existing and new communities. A member of the church is working with representatives from other local churches to develop a welcome pack to deliver to the new homes. Sage Housing Association has made a contribution towards this. A group of prayer walkers have built good relationships with the builders working on the site.

The Church Leadership is fully committed to implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

GDPR came into force on 27[th] May 2018 and the Trustees are fully committed to implementing it. Three people attended a course at Gateway Baptist organised by

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 ~~SEBA. Subsequent to this, a GDPR~~ Policy was drawn up and passed by the Membership at the AGM.

The Church now holds signed permission by everyone in the database. The Leadership will update the policy as and when required to make sure that we conform to the regulations.

T h e C o r n e r s t o n e P r o j e c t

‘Church, Community and Creation working together in harmony’

The leadership recommended to the church that given increasing economic uncertainty in the pandemic period it was necessary to pause and pray further about the future direction of the Cornerstone building, but that should not prevent the church developing further the missional elements of the Cornerstone vision.

In September, an updated report on Cornerstone was submitted by Mike, the Project Manager. Feedback was given by two church members who had visited the factory for the Pod scheme called Ecopods. Although there were many positive points, the main drawback was the limitation in the worship space. An alternative Eco solution, using Pod Developments Ltd., had been researched and details of this were presented. In November, the church agreed to the compilation and submission of planning permission for a church building by this company.

Achievements and Performance

The Church does not measure the success of its activities purely by numbers, including financial numbers, but also in less tangible factors such as fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees acknowledge that these are difficult to measure but believe that 2021 was a good year in the life of the Church, particularly in the current climate.

As at 31[st] December there were:

Baptisms 0
New Members 0
Deaths 1 non member
Total Members 70

The average attendance for 2021, in person and on Zoom, was 50, and the wider church fellowship prospered through various activities in and with the local community.

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 ~~The Church is also involved with the Ma~~ ple Drive Community Group in organising the Annual Fayre.

3 members of the church have continued their involvement with the committee. The committee also gave financial support towards a community Easter egg hunt run by Sheddingdean Baptist Church. Its committee continues to meet online and is planning future events.

In July 2021 the church held a Pandemic Remembrance event for the local community. The event allowed for an act of personal remembrance as well as a time to reflect together as a community in the planting of a tree. We wanted to give thanks for those who have kept our community going by working to keep our schools open for key workers and vulnerable children, and those working in health and social care or shops and many other services. In the afternoon in partnership with Maple Drive Community Group we held a fun afternoon of activities for children and people of all ages

The Sheddingdean Strummers, is a small group of musicians who play, sing and dance and who are members of the church. After a long period of not being able to perform due to Covid restrictions, their band started up again in November, and performed at a lunch club at Union Church in Heathfield, and at The Vintage club at St. Wilfrid’s and at the W.I. in December.

Financial review

Sheddingdean Baptist Church’s principal source of income arises from gifts received from members and others who are personally associated with the church.

Since the launch of the Cornerstone Project, some large gifts have been donated by members of the fellowship and others have also been given and pledged by various trusts. Income has also been generated by charitable activities.

Finance is also required for the upkeep of the Manse, the stipend and housing of the Pastor and the hiring of venues for church activities. There are no other paid employees.

During the year the church continued to make significant gifts to home and overseas missions and relief appeals: many of these gifts were made directly by individual members online, rather than through the church’s accounts.

Policy on Reserves

While the Trustees continue to believe that it is not appropriate to hold excessive reserves, they recognise that a general reserve is required to provide:

All payments are subject to the availability of funds. In order to provide for these requirements, the Trustees believe that an appropriate level for the general reserve

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

~~should fall about midway between the a~~ verage of three months expenditure and one quarter of the annual budget. It is reviewed on an annual basis.

In 2018 the prudent balance figure was changed to £17,500 which, although slightly higher than the requirements set out above, was considered prudent whilst the Cornerstone Project is active. Reserves remained above this figure at all times throughout this year. In the event of the general reserve falling short of this ‘prudent balance’, action would be taken at the earliest opportunity to inform all members, and further steps would be taken to address the situation through the budgetary process. The decision to hold the majority of these reserves in a separate interestbearing account was made by the church meeting, and after many logistical challenges was finally opened in December where £15,000 of the general reserve was transferred. Given the requirement to give 3 months’ notice to withdraw the funds, the decision was made to leave the remaining £2,500 within the General current account.

The examined Accounts for the year 2021 follow in the subsequent pages of the report.

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For ear ended 31st December 2021 Missi￿- MI551￿- LoKer￿ft £71 Mir I <*i IBII rece￿ irto Csin £L É4&427 51 Music f<yMetTr￿i Walk ftA £IL £IL4 E7.14 £4 El T￿In1 É22 £￿7 £40 £2. Mai In lieu £1 £7 £L £7 £29 £1.04 £1. M1Th5t￿& alloWar￿e5 Missi( MI￿On MLEIC fwMetlThi£S £6. -É24. -£837 Balarte PUF E0Y￿￿￿è £23.24 Éi £1 Page 12 of 15

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For ear ended 31st December 2021 £525 £2L £91 £20.45 arcxli arGM £21, In lieu t £1 £1, £1 £1. Gfrs fr(mTrusts £0 Cake Rai tl.ve METrMial CdlKti¢m lyy S)le d ccxrEJcati Easy FLWKaisrYJ £1 RJBBIS £54 £1 £1 £1 £0 £1 £4 £1 C￿ft £6.1 £26. £26, Fwia iottrs fe <knir#J ￿rq £4, Wffi Bal clf -£1 -£i(K) Page 13 of 15

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

  1. The accounts have now been transferred to Excel Accounting Software which has replaced the Data Development Software used for the past 3 years. This software did not enable the General and Cornerstone (CS) accounts to be separated, and also presented some issues in relation to fund allocation.

  2. Due to the change in the software used, the Receipt and Payments of the General accounts and the Cornerstone accounts have now been presented separately and it also allows them to be managed separately. Columns within each section indicate which funds are held within these accounts.

  3. The balance brought forward figures have been adjusted from last year. Limitations in the operation of the software’s accounts for years 2019 and 2020 in terms of fund holding, have meant that although all bank figures and net balances for the year tallied, the carried forward figures did not reflect the breakdown of funds between the General and the Cornerstone accounts. This is an accounting adjustment and does not affect the actual funds held in the bank by the General or Cornerstone accounts. The brought forward total is £673 greater than the figure in the 2020 accounts as a payment, not yet made, had been included in the expenses but as the Accruals Accounting Method is not used, this expense need not have been deducted.

  4. £7,000 was transferred from the General account to the Cornerstone Designated account. This money formed part of the monies to be allocated to Cornerstone by agreement at a church meeting in 2016. At the church meeting in November, 2021, as part of the continued fulfilment of this intention, the church agreed that the Treasurer should transfer a sum of up to £10,000 depending on her discretion, dependent upon the fund situation near the very end of the year. The Treasurer decided it was prudent to transfer £7,000. There were sufficient savings from previous years’ savings to transfer the remaining £3,000, but the Treasurer wished to consult with a Charity Accountant, before doing this. This amount will be transferred during the course of 2022. As at the end of 2021, of the agreed monies to be allocated to Cornerstone, £10,000 still remains to be allotted when funds allow.

  5. There are no unpresented cheques or owed amounts.

  6. The Gift Aid (GA) received for Mission was £63. This money is included in the General Fund GA total. Where practical, GA money is included in the gift to the relevant Missions, in advance of the GA being received.

  7. The church holds a NatWest Current account for Sheddingdean Baptist Church General Funds as well as a 3 month notice interest generating Liquid Manager Saver Account which holds the majority of the Reserve funds (see also the information given in the Financial Review). The church also holds a CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) bank account for Cornerstone funds, as well as a NatWest Current Account, Two Baptist Union Deposit Accounts and a NatWest Liquid Manager Saver Account.

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

~~8. The format for these accounts is s~~ et out to comply with SORP regulations. This shows in detail the Receipts and Payments, and Assets and Liabilities of the Church.

  1. Assets and liabilities are recorded on a separate page. 10. For further notes, see ‘notes’ that follow.

JT Styles

These notes form an integral part of the Statement of Accounts

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

~~generally paid into the NatWest bank accou~~ nt. In order to keep the balance of money held in the NatWest Cornerstone Current Account to a level that does not attract business rates, transfers of money are made to the CAF bank account during the year. This account is used to make payments relating to Cornerstone.

JT Styles (Treasurer 2021)

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021

Note a: Nationwide index and recent sales in the area. Note b: £10,000 remains of the monies agreed to be allocated to Cornerstone at a Church Meeting in 2016. This will be transferred to the Cornerstone account when funds allow.

JT Styles (Treasurer 2021)

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Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 Examiner of Accounts The examiner ofthe 2021 accountswas Mr Neil Watts. F.P.M.l. We are NEry8ratehJl to him for all his help. DÈclaratlon Accounts prepared by the Treasurer Approved by the Trustees of Sheddingdean Baptist Church on 11.09.2022 and slgned on their behalf by. Tafrina Stwes IILÉÉIL JA*JDD Treasurer/Trustee Tntst Page 18 of 15

Sheddingdean Baptist Church Annual Report and Accounts For year ended 31st December 2021 CHARITY COMMISSION .' FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinees Report Rep)rt to the trusteesl member5 of Sheddingdean Bapttst Churth Burgess Hill SUSSEX On accounts for the yeaT ended 316t Dmber 2021 Charity no Irf any) 1168341 Set out on pages 1-15 + ExaThners Rer•Jt (11 I report lo the trustees on nry examination of the accounts of the above ¢harity1lhe Twstl for the year ended 3111212021 Responsibilities and basis of report As the chariivs trustees. you are resFonsible frxthe preparation of the accourEts in aC￿anCe wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe ￿. I rerx)rt in resKrt of nry exaMina￿n of the Trust's accx)unts Carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in ozrrying OLrt my examinatior>, I have followed all the ap￿Kable Directions given by the Charrty Commission under s&lK)n145(5)Ib) ofthe Ad Independent examlnefs ststement I have cOMp￿d nry examinat•)n. l ¢xJnfirm that no materk?l ￿￿tterS have come to nry attention in connecthjn wÈth the exaMI￿1t￿n which gives e8use to believe that in. any material respect.. the accounttng records were ￿t kept in &COrdan￿ with sec￿￿ 130 ofthe Charities Act", the accthnts dwj not T￿lIh the accounting records" or the xcounts did not corryty with the applicabbe requirements 0)n￿rnIng the form and contenl of accounts set out in the Charilies (Accounts and Rep￿s) Regulth"ons 2008 other than any requirement that the ac(x)unts gwe a and fail wew wh￿h is not a rnatter considered as part of an independent examination. I have r#) con￿M$ and have come a¢r05s no other matters in connection wilh the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enabte a proper ￿r￿erStandIng of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the bwkets rfthey do not apply. Signed- N￿1 Watts Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body Itf any): F.P.M.l. Address: 25 Greenlands Ck*e Burgess Sussex RH150AR Oct 2018 IER Page 19 of 15