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← Letchworth Baptist Church

2024-12-31-accounts

Letchworth Baptist Church

Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2024

1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Letchworth Baptist Church West View Letchworth Garden City Hertfordshire SG6 3QJ GOVERNING DOCUMENT CIO - Association registered June 2017 as amended December 2021 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1173298 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR David Chan Pastor MANAGING THE CHARITY Michael Cornell Mike Waddell Secretary & Treasurer Steve Whittall

CHURCH ASSOCIATIONS Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) BANKERS HSBC Bank plc Epworth Investment Management Limited FINANCIAL ADVISORS Yoke & Co SOLICITORS Edward Connor Solicitor INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Jaimée Young Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

INDEX

Page 1 Legal and Administrative Details Pages 2-6 Trustees' Report Page 7 Independent Examiner's Report Page 8 Receipts and Payments Account Page 9 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 10-11 Notes to the Accounts

Page 1

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

1[st] January 2024 to 31[st] December 2024

The Trustees present their annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. The accounts employ the cash-based receipts and payments method and comply with Charity Commission guidance CC16.

1 Structure, Governance and Management

Governing documents

The governing documents are:

Constitution

Letchworth Baptist Church was registered by the Charity Commission on 6[th] June 2017 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

Trustees are appointed and recruited in accordance with the procedures set out in the governing documents.

Governance and Management

The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the church fulfils its charitable objectives in a manner that is compliant with the provision of the Constitution and Church Rules, especially the Basis of Faith.

In accordance with the powers set out in the Constitution a Standing Order has been established by which the Trustees delegate the day-to-day management affairs of the Church to the body of Elders. They are supported by deacons who are appointed by the elders and have been assigned specific responsibilities for administrative, ministry or operational functions.

The Elders, who include the pastors, serve as Trustees and generally hold monthly meetings to oversee church operations, review financial matters, and manage the church's affairs. Additionally, they usually gather once a month for prayer.

Church members’ business meetings have been conducted both in-person and via Zoom.

Page 2

2 Objectives and Activities

Charitable Purposes

The purposes of the Church are:

  1. The advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the basis of faith primarily but not exclusively within Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire and the surrounding neighbourhood; and

  2. Such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the members of the church in general meeting, put into practice the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith, including but not limited to: the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness and the advancement of education.

Summary of activities

The Church seeks to fulfil public benefit regarding the advancement of the Christian faith in the following ways.

These are generally achieved through a combination of Sunday services, midweek meetings and other activities for adults and children throughout the year.

As a general principle, meetings are open to the public and visitors are warmly welcomed. Communion services are held regularly and participation is open to all who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Activities are advertised on the Church web site, via a church WhatsApp group, the noticeboard and by word of mouth. Seasonal and other special events may also be promoted by leaflet distribution.

Both spiritual and material support has also been provided by Church members for missionary and community work in the UK and overseas.

As a general principle the church is funded by donations, not charges, and no one is excluded from membership or participation in the general activities of the church on financial grounds.

Page 3

All of the activities described have been conducted in accordance with the Charitable Objects and Basis of Faith set out in the governing documents.

3 Achievements and performance

In planning the activities, the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

The Church maintained its ministries, in order to provide public benefit, in the following ways:

The Role of Volunteers

The Church’s volunteers comprises both members and adherents who enable all its activities to take place.

Page 4

4 Financial Review

As the Church income level is well below £250,000 it has adopted cash-based receipts and payments accounting.

General

As an overview, the Church charity received £107,300 income during the period and had outgoings totalling £278,000. There was an overall decrease in funds of £170,700. The funds carried forward are £654,900 and include restricted fund balances of £17,000.

The Church's primary income consists of gifts and "Gift Aid" contributions from members and adherents and is given either as cash offerings or via standing orders. Additional income is generated through interest earned on funds deposited with the Epworth Cash Fund for Charities.

The pastor responsible for the Chinese congregation is an Office Holder Trustee, as set out in the constitution, and is financially supported in order to fulfil his role.

The Church also supports two missionaries. The funding for this is dealt with separately from the general church accounts. A target for missionary support is set in the last Church Business Meeting of each year. Any money collected in this fund is paid out to those missionaries which the Church members, at a Church Business Meeting, have agreed to support. Occasional gifts are made to other Christian ministries.

Additionally, a ‘Chinese Ministry Fund’ exists to support the work of the Chinese congregation and pastor in the Church and amongst ethnic Chinese and associated communities in the United Kingdom and overseas.

A settlement agreement with the departing pastor, which included a payment-in-lieu of pension, was completed. The support provided to the pastor responsible for the Chinese congregation was reviewed and, in order to be equitable and non-discriminatory, the level of regular pension contributions was aligned with the Baptist Union pension scheme and a lump-sum pension fund contribution of £49,068 was authorised by the church members.

The funds generated by the sale of the manse in 2023 have been designated for three purposes: Pastor Support (for use when a new pastor is appointed to cover items such as accommodation or other associated costs), Evangelism, and Church property maintenance.

Reserves policy

The trustees have determined that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £21,000 (which equates to about 3 months of pay and operational costs once a new pastor has been appointed) so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure vary adversely.

Page 5

The Church membership is relatively small in number, and income is almost exclusively provided by the donation of members and is thus limited. Should a greater need arise, the policy is to request additional donations from Church Members, in this way additional funds can be quickly raised.

5 Risk review

As a small charity, Letchworth Baptist Church is not subject to the compulsory requirement for risk reviews. However, the Trustees maintain awareness of areas of concern.

The Trustees are conscious that the work of the church is dependent upon the financial support of members and congregation. Without this support the work would be unable to continue. Also maintaining teaching in line with Basis of Faith is important from a spiritual, theological and constitutional perspective, and hence in achieving the church’s charitable purpose.

Informal risk assessments for the property and activities are carried out and, where appropriate, action is taken to monitor and mitigate identified risks.

In the year a major review of safeguarding led to updating the Church safeguarding policy and manual, which is now based on the Baptist Union Model. Thirtyone:Eight is retained as the safeguarding advisor.

The Church’s GDPR/privacy policy and procedures were also reviewed and a new policy, based on the model provided by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) was established. The review led to the adoption of the GDPR compliant ChurchBox database which considerably eases privacy management for personal data.

6 Responsibilities of the trustees

Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES

Mike Waddell Secretary

Date:………………………………

Page 6

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Letchworth Baptist Church ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2024 on pages 8 to 11 following.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’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 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

  1. 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.

Jaimée Young

Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

Date:

Page 7

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Unrestricted Funds
General Designated Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2024 2023
Notes £ £ £ £ £
Income receipts
Donations 40,973 - 15,539 56,512 72,102
Gift aid receipts 10,034 - 3,714 13,748 17,268
Lettings 200 - - 200 -
Income from charitable activities 853 - 786 1,639 2,104
Interest 32,201 - 44 32,245 3,995
Other 2,002 - - 2,002 -
86,264 - 20,082 106,346 95,469
Capital and similar receipts
Sale of property (manse) - - - - 805,000
Loan repayments 1,000 - - 1,000 -
1,000 - - 1,000 805,000
Total receipts 87,264 - 20,082 107,346 900,469
Payments
Payments
in
relation
to
activities undertaken directly		 charitable 2 259,625 - 2,501 262,127 100,184
Grants
paid
in
relation
to
activities undertaken by others		 charitable 3 370 - 14,202 14,572 16,136
259,995 - 16,703 276,698 116,320
Loans made 1,300 - - 1,300 -
1,300 - - 1,300 -
Total payments 261,295 - 16,703 277,998 116,320
Net
of
receipts
/
(payments)
transfers		 before (174,031) - 3,379 (170,652) 784,149
Transfers between funds 5 (582,205) 582,200 5 - -
Net movement in funds (756,237) 582,200 3,384 (170,652) 784,149
Cash funds as at last year end 803,017 - 13,578 816,595 32,446
Cash funds at this year end A 46,781 582,200 16,962 645,942 816,595

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

Page 8

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

AS AT THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

A
Cash funds
Cash at bank with immediate access
Notice deposits
Petty cash
B
Other monetary assets
Gift aid due to charity
Other debtors
C
Liabilities
Falling due within one year:
Payments in lieu of pension
Note 6
PAYE and pension due
Fee for Independent Examination
D
Assets retained for charity's own use
Church building
Contents and equipment		 General
Designated
funds
funds
£
£
13,627
-
33,154
582,200
-
-
46,780
582,200
794
-
300
-
1,094
-
-
-
261
-
1,170
-
1,431
-
Unrestricted Funds		 Restricted
funds
£
16,962
-
-
16,962
329
-
329
-
-
-
-
Fund to
which asset
belongs
General
General		 Total
2024
£
30,588
615,354
-
645,942
1,122
300
1,422
-
261
1,170
1,431
Value
2024
£
-
66,645
66,645		 Total
2023
£
210,612
605,655
328
816,595
255
207
461
137,259
174
1,320
138,753
Value
2023
£
-
59,504
59,504

The trustees have used insurance values for contents and equipment as the trustees are unable to reliably estimate current values; insurance values may differ materially from current values.

Current values have not been quoted for the church building because reliable valuations are not available (disclosure is not mandatory).

E Guarantees and secured debts

The charity has not given any guarantees and has not provided its assets as security for any liabilities.

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf

by date

_____Mike Waddell _____

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

Page 9

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.

2
Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly
Employment costs (including mileage)
Note 4
Additional employer pension contribution
Note 6
Payments in lieu of pension
Note 6
Church ministries and activities
Church repairs, maintenance and equipment
Church utilities
Insurance
Manse upkeep
Legal and professional fees
Independent examination fee
3
Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others
Organisations:
Illyrian Gospel Trust
Organisations < £1,000
Support of missionary
Other individuals		 Unrestrict Designated
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
ed Funds		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
1,960
542
-
-
-
-
-
2,501
6,326
1,560
6,316
-
14,202		 Total
2024
£
18,011
49,068
137,259
10,318
39,326
3,735
1,122
-
1,967
1,320
262,127
6,326
1,560
6,316
370
14,572		 Total
2023
£
17,469
-
30,000
9,749
2,121
2,920
987
9,918
26,360
660
100,184
7,552
831
7,552
200
16,136

4 Transactions with related parties

D Chan served as a church leader and was paid £14,890 [2022: 11,465] for serving in that capacity, not for serving as a trustee; these payments are permitted by the charity's governing document. Employer pension contributions £514 [2023: £260] - please see note 6 below regarding additional employer pension contributions.

No payments were made to trustees or persons related to them, except for reimbursement of expenses paid out on behalf of the charity.

Page 10

LETCHWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

5
Movement of funds
General funds
Designated funds
Church maintenance
Pastor support
Evangelism and Community work
Restricted funds
Missionary fund
Noah's Ark
Ladies Breakfast
Chinese Ministry funds
Harvest
Refurbishment
Christmas Day
Total funds		 Opening
balance
£
803,017
-
-
-
803,017
3,329
419
73
8,355
(6)
542
866
13,578
816,595		 Receipts
£
87,264
-
-
-
87,264
12,365
995
41
5,175
547
-
959
20,082
107,346		 Payments
£
(261,295)
-
-
-
(261,295)
(12,642)
(743)
(84)
(1,133)
(591)
(542)
(969)
(16,703)
(277,998)		 Transfers
£
(582,205)
102,200
450,000
30,000
(5)
-
-
-
(45)
50
-
-
5
-		 Closing
balance
£
46,781
102,200
450,000
30,000
628,981
3,053
672
30
12,351
-
-
856
16,962
645,942

Designated funds

£102,000 has been set aside for church maintenance, including repair of the church roof which will be undertaken in 2025.

£450,000 has been designated for pastor support, for use when a new pastor is appointed to cover items such as accommodation and other associated costs. This fund is expected to be utilised within two years, contingent upon the successful appointment of a pastor.

£30,000 has been specifically designated to support regular evangelistic and community activities over the next few years.

Restricted funds

Missionary fund is for the purpose of raising funds to support a particular missionary/organisation supported by the church.

Noah's Ark is a parent and toddler group that is run by the church; the attendees give donations which are used to provide refreshments and renew play equipment.

The Ladies Breakfast fund is used to cover food for these meetings.

The Chinese Ministry funds are used to support projects including Ministry in China, Ministry to Chinese elsewhere in the world, support of Pastor Chan's Ministry and Central. The transfer relates to reimbursement of expenditure paid from general funds.

Harvest - This is in support of the Mill Grove Children's home.

The refurbishment fund relates to a grant provided by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to fit an automated sliding door. The majority of the work was completed in 2022 and further funds spent in 2024.

The Christmas Day funds were paid to the recipient charities after the year end.

6 Payments in lieu of pension and other pension matters

In 2022, in consultation with charity solicitors and the Charity Commission, a settlement agreement was made with the departing pastor which included a payment-inlieu of pension of £177,106 once the manse had been sold. In 2023 an interim, initial advance payment was made to aid the rental of a property and a tax-efficient plan was recommended by their financial advisor for the remaining amount. The remaining amount, less expenses incurred, was paid in full in 2024.

Regarding the pension for the current pastor, D Chan, after having received professional advice the unconnected trustees made a decision for the employer pension contributions to be aligned with the Baptist Union pension scheme. This resulted in a lump sum payment of £49,068 being paid to NEST pensions.

Page 11