SOMERSHAM BAPTIST CHURCH
Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31[st] December 2024
Charity No: 1173623
Annual Report for 2023
For the Year Ending 31[st] December 2024
SOMERSHAM BAPTIST CHURCH
The trustees present their Annual Report and financial statements for the year ending 31[st] December 2024.
Charity’s principal address
Somersham Baptist Church, High Street, Somersham, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 3JB
Trustees
The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of the signing of this report were:
| Name | Office(if any) | Date of appointment | Date of resignation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr AnthonyCooney | 24 April 2022 | ||
| Mr Graham Lodge | Treasurer | 6 November 2022 | |
| Mrs Ruth Lodge | Church Secretary | 6 November 2022 | 17 November 2024 |
| Mrs Louise Peroni | Church Secretary | 17 November 2024 | |
| Dr Joshua Ross | 19 November 2023 | (appointed as pastor on 01 September 2024) |
Trustees are appointed for a 3-year term by the members of the Church.
Property Trustees
The Baptist Union Corporation Limited, Baptist House, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8RT.
Independent Examiner
Peter Thatcher
Structure, Governance and Management
The Charity was constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 29[th] June 2017.
The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document (Baptist Union Model Constitution adopted on 26[th] March 2017, with minor amendments in April 2021, and May 2022). Membership of the Church is open to those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ and wish to become members, and who, by applying for membership have indicated their agreement to become a member, indicated acceptance of the Beliefs, a willingness to participate in the activities, and acceptance of the duty of members set out in the Constitution. Persons seeking membership who have not been baptised in the manner described in the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle may at the discretion of the Church Members’ Meeting be accepted for full membership based on their own public profession of faith.
Ordinary Church Members’ meetings are held at regular intervals on not less than three occasions in a calendar year. It is stipulated that one ordinary Church Members meeting shall include the AGM (Annual General Meeting).
In accordance with the constitution, the Church Members’ Meeting appoints Charity Trustees, including a Church Secretary (or equivalent) and a Church Treasurer (or equivalent), who are responsible for the day to day running of the church’s work and witness, and the financial and legal aspects of the charity. All members are encouraged to take an appropriate part in the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furtherance of the charitable objectives.
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Objectives and Activities
The principal purpose of the charity is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination to include the advancement of education, community service and such other general charitable purposes in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world as the Church shall determine.
In order to achieve the principal objective which is set out above, the Church provides a variety of activities both to its membership and the community generally. The aim is to show the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed and to bring people in to a closer relationship with Him as living Lord.
Central to the work and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship. These services take place each Sunday at 10.30am. There are also occasional services at other times which are advertised on the Church Notice Board and on the website at www.somershambaptist.org. From time to time there is a children’s programme during the morning services. The church seeks to be a friendly and welcoming community and anybody is free to attend any of these services.
The Church runs a youth group for 8-14 year olds on alternate Friday evenings, and a series of fellowship groups in the homes of some members, for the growth of faith and discipleship: these groups are open to both members and non-members,
The church would ideally like to restart other community outreach activities in the coming year: possibly including groups to discuss relationship/marriage strengthening, or financial planning: although these would promote our Christian ethos, neither would not be limited people interested in discovering more about Christianity. Setting up these groups will happen if/when our resources allow (no detailed plans exist at this stage). The church may also be participating in village events such as carnival.
Prior to Covid-19 the Church was also used by local community groups on a regular basis: we were glad to see a local school and their PTA using our building again last year for several evening events including their Christmas production. We have also rented out our building 2 evenings each week to our village cubs /scouts/beavers groups, and the Church is also available on an ad-hoc basis for private hire, as well as for weddings and funerals.
The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted with regard to the Disclosure and Barring Service and attend required Safeguarding training.
Public Benefit Statement
The Church has read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and is satisfied that the activities outlined above clearly demonstrate that the charity is providing a benefit to the public.
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Achievements and Performance
The Church does not measure its success purely in numerical terms i.e., attendance and financial, but primarily in less tangible areas like fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure.
Now that pandemic lockdowns are well behind us, Sunday services have been held in the church building throughout the year: it has been good to be fully back into the swing of congregational participation in prayer and worship. We averaged 20 - 30 adult attendees and 4 - 8 children at Sunday worship during the year. We also held a special Easter service in April with members of Somersham Town (brass) Band joining our own musicians.
Membership was stable during the past year; we have 17 members as at 31[st] December 2024. The leadership team is well established although roles changed somewhat – with one of our trustees appointed as pastor in September, and we also appointed a new secretary in November.
One mid-week House Group continued throughout 2024, along with an additional weekly / fortnightly prayer meeting, taking place at church.
We continue to support our Missionary Family in South East Asia; including sending regular donations to their parent organisation UFM. This family were able to attend our services during their 2024 furlough in UK, with further contact via newsletters and occasional videos to enable us to feel close to them.
The Church was delighted to be able to appoint Joshua as our full-time pastor in September; this has freed up the leadership for other tasks, including more regular members discussions, with the aim of discerning together how best to serve both our membership and the wider community, given our limited resources.
During a year of consolidation, we are pleased with the way that such a small church has continued to worship and proclaim the gospel. Once again, we give all the glory to God. Heavenly Father - Thankyou.
Financial Review
The church raises funds which it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation. No wider public appeal was made for funds during the year.
The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by giving to national and international Christian organisations and societies with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the church’s own charitable purpose. The main recipients of this giving during the period of these accounts were: BUGB Home Mission, BMS World Mission and UFM (specifically to support our Church members who are missionaries in South East Asia).
The Church is heavily dependent on its membership working as volunteers in all aspects of the church’s activities, many of which run with little or no impact on the church’s expenditure, but nevertheless contribute substantially to the achievement of the church’s objectives.
The financial results for the Year Ending 31 December 2024, together with a summary of the accounting policies adopted are set out in the accompanying financial statements.
The church was historically a participant within the Defined Benefit section of the Baptist Pension scheme and (up until the middle of 2022) was making ongoing deficit payments to cover the costs of past service of its
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employees within the scheme under a recovery plan. Following a ‘buy-in’ arrangement announced in July 2022, recovery payments were reduced to £1 per month, but ceased entirely in October 2024, together with confirmation that the DB Plan has now been wound up, and that the Church no longer has any further responsibility towards the Plan.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees have established a Reserves Policy for its unrestricted funds to enable the church to function effectively and meet its obligations in the event of a decline in our income or a major cost.
Having considered the relevant risks of changes in income and expenditure, the trustees have determined that the appropriate level of reserves is in the range of £29,000 to £39,000. As at 31 December 2024 the church held total reserves of £146,877 (2023 - £147,243), of which £25,425 (2023 - £24,075) were Restricted and £84,000 (2023 - £84,000) Designated. The Trustees agreed that £84,000 has been designated for future Ministry costs at Somersham Baptist Church. Reserves that were neither restricted nor designated amounted to £37,452 (2023 - £39,168). (Please see Note 7 on page 9).
Approved by the order of the Trustees of Somersham Baptist Church on 01-August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Louise Peroni
Mrs. Louise Peroni Church Secretary
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Graham Lodge
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8 Assets Held for the Church’s own use
The Church is the beneficial owner (subject to the relevant trusts) of the following assets, the legal title to which is held by the church's custodian trustee (the Baptist Union Corporation):
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Church Premises at High Street, Somersham, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 3JB valued in the accounts at £1,171,803 (2023 - £1,046,252) based on insured value.
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The Church also owns fixtures, furniture and equipment with an insured value of £109,573 (2023 - £97,832)
9 Pension Scheme Liabilities
The Church was formerly a participating employer in the Baptist Pension Scheme ("the Scheme"), which was a separate legal entity administered by the Pension Trustee (Baptist Pension trust Limited). The assets of the Scheme were held separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers.
The Scheme, previously known as the Baptist Ministers' Pension Fund, started in 1925, but was closed to future accrual of defined benefits on 31 December 2011, and has now been wound up, with liabilities transferred to with the insurance company Just Retirement Limited. We received confirmation in November 2024 that the Church no longer has any responsibility for payments resulting from the scheme or its wind-up costs.
10 PAYE Liabilities
The Church deducts PAYE income tax from our pastor’s stipend and pays these amounts direct to HMRC using a direct debit arrangement. Amounts are notified to HMRC monthly but payments are usually taken some weeks in arrears. At the end of 2024 there was one payment of £82 notified to HMRC but awaiting collection of the direct debit.
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