Comberton Baptist Church
Charity registration number 1172657
Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2024
Purposes of the charity
Comberton Baptist Church exists for the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination.
The Church may also advance education, relieve poverty and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.
Main charitable activities
In fulfilling the purposes, the Church engages in a range of activities either on its own or with others that will vary from time to time, with activities being initiated, expanded, or closed, as appropriate.
The activities may include but are not restricted to:
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regular public worship, prayer, Bible study, preaching and teaching;
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baptism, as defined in the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle;
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the Communion of the Lord’s Supper which shall normally be observed at least once a month;
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evangelism and mission, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally;
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the teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of children and young people;
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supporting elderly and vulnerable members of our local community;
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nurture and growth of Christian disciples;
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education and training for Christian and community service;
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giving and encouraging pastoral care;
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supporting and encouraging charitable social action in the United Kingdom and abroad;
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encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christians.
Trustees’ statement
The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Achievements during 2024
Our vision as a church is to be an authentic community of disciples, becoming more like Jesus – walking in step with God, alongside each other and seeing lives transformed.
At the end of December 2024, Comberton Baptist Church had 65 Members. Average attendance in the final quarter of 2024 was around 78 people in the building and 25 online, broken down as follows:
| Children | 0-10 | 12 |
|---|---|---|
| Young people | 11-17 | 10 |
| Young adults | 18-30 | 6 |
| Other adults | 31-64 | 30 |
| Seniors | 65+ | 20 |
| Online attendance | 25 |
Sunday services
Sunday Services are normally held at 10.30am, followed by refreshments and a time of fellowship.
Our Sunday morning Bible teaching is divided into three sessions, broadly following the school term times. From January to Easter the theme was “Encounters with Jesus”. The summer series to the end of July was entitled “Only Jesus”, based on Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Finally, our autumn series, leading up to Christmas, covered the book of Isaiah and was entitled “Truth for Tough Times”.
Our teaching seeks to be relevant to modern day life, regularly asking the question, ‘so what?’
We also run programmes for our children and young people on a Sunday morning, with teams of volunteers helping our Youth Team, and our Children & Families Worker deliver these sessions.
A small prayer group meets on a Sunday evening. We aim to hold a communion service once a month.
Activities for Children
Our children’s programme on Sundays is known as “Energize” and provides a combination of bible teaching, craft and other activities. Children stay in church for the first 20 minutes of the service and then leave for Energize.
We ran a successful holiday club for primary school aged children during the first week of the school summer holidays, attended by 40 children from the community.
Activities for Young People
We continued to support and work with local youth organisation WCCYM (West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries) to provide resources and activities for young people in the area. These have included a monthly youth service “Thirst” and a Weekend Away.
On Sundays young people stay in the morning service for the first 20 minutes and then leave to follow their own programme.
EDGE Community Youth Club flourished during 2024, with up to 70 young people from the community joining each week. Three of the youth workers who help at EDGE are funded by
the local Parish Council, and we have had a grant from SCDC to provide high quality craft activities which is a benefit for the young people’s mental health.
Schools Work
As well as engaging with children and young people at the church we also support local schools in the delivery of certain aspects of the National Curriculum.
Our Minister regularly takes whole school assemblies at Barton Primary School.
Our Minister also helped to deliver “It’s Your Move” transition workshops for Year 6 pupils moving on to secondary school, in a number of primary schools in the area. He has also been helping at the local secondary school with RPE lessons for Year 10 and 11. Over the course of the year these have looked at a range of topics including Christian views on: the environment; questions of war and peace; medical ethics; and relationships.
Working Together
It has been great to continue to work together with other local churches. Along with St. Mary’s (Anglican) and the local Catholic Community we run Oasis Tea once a month in the Village Hall. This provides an opportunity for older members of our community to come together to engage in various activities and socialise over tea and cake.
We also ran the Oasis Holiday Club at the end of the school summer holidays – a mix of activities and talks with a Christian service, hot lunch and afternoon tea. There were around 35 attendees plus 15 helpers.
We held a Joint Sunday morning service in November, where many of the local churches close their individual buildings on a Sunday morning and we meet together in the performance hall at Comberton Village College.
Finally we hold regular meetings with other local Baptist Churches for a Cluster Tea and Celebration.
Serving the Community
In addition to those events already mentioned above there are several other ways in which we normally serve our local community on a weekly basis throughout the year.
Bumps & Babes is our very popular parent and baby/toddler group that meets each Wednesday afternoon and is run by a team of volunteers.
Fabric & Yarns normally runs on a Tuesday afternoon. Fabric & Yarns encompasses a whole range of crafts including sewing, knitting and crochet. It not only provides a place where people can learn and develop new skills but a place to come together with others and make friends.
The Walking for Health Group , supported by the local GP Practice, is led by a member of the church and uses our premises as the base for their weekly Monday morning walks. A range of walks is on offer including short walks that can be accessed by those who have restricted mobility but who also benefit from the exercise and social wellbeing these walks provide.
The Community Hub , supported by ACRE, operated through most of the year, offering a free 3-hour session per week, when members of the community can come to our heated community hall and enjoy tea, coffee, toasties, cake and biscuits as well as good company as well advice on coping with the cost-of-living crisis. We took the decision to close the Community Hub in Autumn 2024 as it was no longer meeting its main objectives.
Finally, we continued to work with the local Anglican church to extend our support to all members of the community, whether or not they were churchgoers.
Financial review
2024 was the seventh year Comberton Baptist Church operated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
The net current assets of the Charity on 31[st] December 2024 were £62,952. The Charity has full beneficial use of a church building, community centre (on the same site) and manse for the minister. These are held in trust by the Baptist Union Corporation as Property Trustees.
Operating receipts during 2024 were £86,840 and operating expenses £82,824. Full accounts, in accordance with FRS 102, have been prepared and submitted.
The bulk of the receipts were charitable giving from Members and others who attend Comberton Baptist Church, along with other charitable income.
Payments included the stipend of a full-time minister and salaries for part-time administrator and children’s worker.
As a policy, the charity seeks to maintain a minimum reserve of six months’ salaries and related costs. Also as a policy the charity gives 10% of its operating income to other relevant charities. In 2024 these included BMS (the Baptist Missionary Society), EBA (The Eastern Baptist Association), WCCYM (West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries) and Tek Ura – a Christian charity operating amongst the poor in Albania.
The Trustees have no concerns regarding the Charity as an ongoing concern.
Governance
The Charity is governed by a CIO constitution in an approved format for churches that are members of the Baptist Union.
Selection of Trustees
Apart from the Minister, who is a Trustee ex-officio, all trustees are elected by Members and serve for a maximum of three years before re-election or replacement.
List of Trustees
The following trustees all served for the entire period.
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Keith Tarring (Minister) • James Wrycroft
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• Bob Crichton (Secretary) • Kitty Chan • Debi Goodchild (Treasurer) • Steve Webb
Contact information
Comberton Baptist Church Green End Comberton Cambridge CB23 7DU Tel 01223 264707 | Email info@c-b-c.org.uk | Web www.c-b-c.org.uk
Declaration
The Trustees and Members of Comberton Baptist Church declare that they have approved this annual report for 2024.
Signed on 26[th] March 2025 by:
Bob Crichton (Secretary)
Debi Goodchild (Treasurer)
Comberton Baptist Church Statement of Assets and Liabilities As at: 31 December 2024
| Class and nominal code | General | Designated | Restricted | Endowment | Total | Last year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current assets - Cash at bank and in hand | |||||||
| 6501 : Bank Current account | 15,889 | (1,160) | (3,689) | — | 11,040 | 15,520 | |
| 6505 : Bank Deposit account | 20,929 | — | — | — | 20,929 | 20,528 | |
| 6510 : Building Society Enabling | 12,967 | 8,490 | 6,087 | — | 27,544 | 21,966 | |
| Reserve | |||||||
| 6512 : Building Society Monies in | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |
| Trust | |||||||
| 6514 : Building Society Invested | — | 135 | 3,261 | — | 3,396 | 3,308 | |
| Reserve | |||||||
| 6590 : Cash in hand | 5 | (5) | 42 | — | 42 | 159 | |
| Total | 49,791 | 7,460 | 5,701 | — | 62,952 | 61,482 | |
| Net total assets | 49,791 | 7,460 | 5,701 | — | 62,952 | 61,482 | |
| Represented by | |||||||
| Unrestricted - General | 49,791 | — | — | — | 49,791 | 45,774 | |
| Designated - Christmas | — | 100 | — | — | 100 | 119 | |
| Designated - Concert | — | 17 | — | — | 17 | 18 | |
| Designated - Eco | — | 2,634 | — | — | 2,634 | 2,790 | |
| Designated - Festival | — | 154 | — | — | 154 | 154 | |
| Designated - FurnishFit | — | 3 | — | — | 3 | 2,091 | |
| Designated - Passover | — | 413 | — | — | 413 | 151 | |
| Designated - WarmHub | — | 658 | — | — | 658 | 571 | |
| Designated - Capital | — | 136 | — | — | 136 | 132 | |
| Designated - Manse | — | 3,345 | — | — | 3,345 | 3,335 | |
| Restricted - WarmHub | — | — | — | — | — | 477 | |
| Restricted - Kitchen | — | — | 3,261 | — | 3,261 | 3,176 | |
| Restricted - Acts2 | — | — | 570 | — | 570 | 1,090 | |
| Restricted - Community | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | |
| Restricted - BumpsBabes | — | — | 118 | — | 118 | 143 | |
| Restricted - Childrens | — | — | 42 | — | 42 | 42 | |
| Restricted - Oasis | — | — | 20 | — | 20 | — | |
| Restricted - HolidayCl | — | — | 132 | — | 132 | 174 | |
| Restricted - EDGE | — | — | 1,558 | — | 1,558 | 1,232 | |
| Total | 49,791 | 7,460 | 5,701 | — | 62,952 | 61,482 |
Comberton Baptist Church
Receipts and Payments Account
For the period from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
| Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Endowment | Total | Prior year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | funds | funds | total funds | |
| Receipts | ||||||
| Donations and legacies | 80,900 | 530 | 681 | — | 82,111 | 80,733 |
| Income from charitable activities | 614 | — | 7,359 | — | 7,973 | 6,074 |
| Investments | 1,077 | 4 | 85 | — | 1,166 | 765 |
| Other income | 3,469 | 88 | 250 | — | 3,807 | 7,603 |
| Total receipts | 86,060 | 622 | 8,375 | — | 95,057 | 95,175 |
| Payments | ||||||
| Expenditure on charitable activities | 80,843 | 3,522 | 9,222 | — | 93,587 | 102,450 |
| Total payments | 80,843 | 3,522 | 9,222 | — | 93,587 | 102,450 |
| Excess of receipts over payments before transfer | 5,217 | (2,900) | (847) | — | 1,470 | (7,275) |
| Transfers | ||||||
| Gross transfers between funds - in | 780 | 1,013 | 994 | — | 2,787 | 7,904 |
| Gross transfers between funds - out | (1,980) | (14) | (793) | — | (2,787) | (7,904) |
| Excess of receipts over payments before other gains | 4,017 | (1,901) | (646) | — | 1,470 | (7,275) |
| Net movement in funds | 4,017 | (1,901) | (646) | — | 1,470 | (7,275) |
| Reconciliation of funds | ||||||
| Excess of receipts over payments at beginning of | 45,774 | 9,361 | 6,347 | — | 61,482 | 68,757 |
| Excess of receipts over payments for the year | 49,791 | 7,460 | 5,701 | — | 62,952 | 61,482 |
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees Charity Name Comberton Baptist Church On accounts for the year 31 December 2024 Charity no 1172657 ended (if any) Set out on page 1 (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 2024.
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 all 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:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
| Signed: | Date:24 February 2025 ~~f~~ |
Date:24 February 2025 ~~f~~ |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Name: | Linda Trollip | ||
| Relevant professional | MAAT (Licence number 20217160) | ||
| qualification(s) or body | |||
| (if any): | |||
| Address: | 38 Howes Avenue, Thurston, Bury St Edmunds IP31 3PY |
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