**Wheatley Park Baptist Church Registered Charity Number 1174552** ## **Annual Report for 1st January 2022 to 31 December 2022** ## **Registered Ad** d **ress** Address :- Wheatley Park Baptist Church Winchester Avenue Doncaster South Yorkshire England DN2 4JE ## **Trustees** 1. Mark Snelson 2. Brian Lea 3. Alan Robinson 4. Ben Blidar 5. Peter Fernandes 6. Andrea Robinson Trustees are appointed by Church members votes. The Church means members of the charitable unincorporated association governed by the Church constitution and known as Wheatley Park Baptist Church. ## **Property Trustees** The Baptist Union Corporation Limited Baptist House, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 8RT ## **Bankers** Lloyds Bank plc Doncaster Branch PO box 1000 BX1 1LT ## **Independent Examiner** Mr E C Buffin Accountant Ashleigh and Co Accountants 57 Owston Road Carcroft Doncaster South Yorkshire DN6 8DA ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Charity is governed by an Approved Governing Document. Members of the Church are accepted in accordance with the Constitution, which requires them to be or to have been publicly baptised on the profession of faith in Jesus Christ or following other modes of baptism to renew their public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The members meeting normally takes place four times per year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church. In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint six Trustees, who together with the Minister, Church Secretary and Treasurer (who are also appointed by the Members), 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 objective. Relevant matters may be submitted to the Church meeting by the Trustees for guidance or may be raised by members in Church meeting for further consideration by the Trustees. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made at Church meetings by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible. ## **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. Objects of the Charity The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to 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. We aim to be a welcoming, outward looking, praying, growing, serving, worshipping church with team leadership. We desire to see people coming to faith in Christ, being incorporated into the fellowship and growing in discipleship. We value love for God and for one another. ## **Our Mission** Our purpose is to show Jesus to people everywhere by loving care and sharing the Christian good news, to help them believe, be baptised, join the church community and grow as Christians and worshippers of God. We are aware that we need to continually review our activities to ensure they are fulfilling our church mission and aspirations. In fulfilling the Purpose of the Church, we engage in a range of activities either on our 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: - regular public worship, prayer, Bible study, preaching and teaching. • baptism, as defined in the Baptists Union’s Declaration of Principle. • the Communion of the Lord’s Supper, which shall normally be observed at least once a month. • evangelism and mission, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. • the teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of young people. - nurture and growth of Christian disciples. • education and training for Christian and community service. - giving and encouraging pastoral care. • supporting and encouraging charitable social action in the United Kingdom and abroad. - encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christians. In order to achieve the principal objective, which is set out above, the Church provides a variety of activities both to its membership and to the community generally. The aim is to show the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed and to bring people into 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 10.30 am. There are also occasional services at other times which are advertised on the Church Notice Board and the website at https//www.wheatleyparkbaptist.com.uk. There is a full 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 series of house groups for the growth of faith and discipleship in the homes of some members, and further details of these can be obtained from the Trustees on request, or at the Sunday services of worship. The Church is responsible for a Parent and Toddler Group, which meets in the Church premises on Monday and Tuesday mornings, with the purpose of assisting the community and demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ. The Church runs various events for Young People and for people in the Third Age. 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. 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. ## **Achievements and Performance** The Church does not measure the success of its programmes only in numbers, including financial numbers, but also in less tangible areas like fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure, but believe that this year was a positive year in the life of the church, and that it will be able to pursue its mission purposes next year with renewed enthusiasm The Church continues to serve its local communities. Wheatley Park is situated in an area of both social and private housing, 2 miles from the centre of Doncaster. Some of the social housing is newly built and contact with the new residents has been a priority. The church was founded in the 1930’s when much of the original social housing was developed. We are a lively and informal evangelical church, committed to ministry in the power of the Spirit, seeking to love and honour God. We are members of both the Baptist Union and the Evangelical Alliance. The active membership of around 45 adults is multicultural with a good spread of ages. We have around 15 children and young people in the congregation. The average total congregation is around 60 people. We aspire to be a church community with a broad range of ages, and which is diverse by gender, race and background. We want everyone in our community to feel at home and to feel they belong. ## **Financial Review** The Church continues to raise the 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 most significant expense relates to the appointment of a temporary Church Worker while active recruitment of a new Minister of the Church is ongoing. The Trustee’s and Church Worker lead and co-ordinate the church’s activities including the Sunday services and provide pastoral care for the congregation and other people, and equip and encourage the membership in their life, Christian witness and service. The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by making gifts to national and international Christian organisations and societies with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the church’s own charitable purpose. 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, together with a summary of the accounting policies adopted are set out in the accompanying financial statements. The church is a participating employer within the Defined Benefit section of the Baptist Pension scheme and has been making ongoing deficit payments to cover the costs of past service of its employees within the scheme under a recovery plan. The church understands that if it had left the scheme at the year-end, it would have to have made a one-off payment to meet its statutory obligations to the scheme. The church has no plan to leave the scheme and expects to continue to make payments to the scheme in line with the recovery plan. ## **Reserves Policy** The Trustees have established a Reserves Policy to enable the church to function effectively and meet its obligations in the event of a decline in our income or a major cost. All surplus cash is held for cash flow purposes and any capital reserves ensure the ongoing objects of the Charity. The Trustees work to a three-to-six-month operating cost minimum Capital reserves policy. Having considered the relevant risks of changes in income and expenditure, the Trustees have determined that the appropriate level of cash reserves is in the range £20,000 to £30,000. The Trustees declare that they have approved the Annual report and financial statements Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees A W Robinson Alan William Robinson Wheatley Park Baptist Church (Trustee and Treasurer) Dated 17 July 2023 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth¢ portod from To Section A Receipts and payments Unre6trictad funds Endowment funds Total funds La8ty•ar totro ro•r•rt £ tothv r*ar•8t £ A1 R•colpts Regualr Contributions Oth*r bank d8posts Room hire nse rent Gift Day Isc Gfft AVJ Takings Grdnts Don3lK)ns Sub total(Gross income forAR) 30.4n 374 1.210 991 YJ,4n 31,BU4 14490 70 1,210 6.991 1,392 1.701 7,733 7,E14 7.814 150 1X¢ 5&387 A2 A88et and Inv88tment sale Sub tot•1 55.387 54387 A3 Payments Sakries & Wages Expenses PÈnsx)ns Ta¥ation & Nl Churth Maintenanc& Adnwnislration UtilitES Mariso expen¢*8 u￿an Saints Grfts lo other organwtions Misc Resouces Preaching pay￿￿nts Evenls n7 6.10B T83 4177 9.577 558 4177 252 252 2S2 678 676 Sub total 677 A4 Asset and Inv05tm8llt purchase$. table) Sub total Toealppyments 52,538 48.677 Net of re¢elpts/(payments) AS Transfern between funds A6 Cèsh funds last ytar•n Cash fvnds thls ywr ernl 2.850 2.850 19.892 2,85 2.850 19,892 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestrict8d funds R05tsid•d funds Endowm•nt fund8 Catogorie CCXX R1 ar￿Unts ISSI l)etall8 B1 Cash funds ¥on rotaicash fmjds $4.077 Unrn¥trict•d funds R•strfcied fund$ Endowment funds to r￿ar￿*t£ Details l)¥rort valu Details . z••• QYr•rt V¥tlu• Detai15 B4 Assots retain•d f¢rlho charlty's t)Wfk USO Detai15 B5 Uabllltlgs s￿nad by one orMD tNste88 on behalF of the tnjstees Date of approval o&IAs6 17- •7.2 CCXX R2 attounts ISSI 1910712023 ASHLEIGH & CO 57 R(wl mfi ACCQiIN-fANrs wlh y1￿kXhl i)N6 T¢1 i F4c.101.lI21337378 LI￿11.. ebuffin@liKali£xiJbk WHEATI£Y PAAK BAvrisr HUR Regpe¢iJ¥o responslbllltl•s of Truste•8 and Exafflln•r The charlty's Trustees are re$pongibl8 for the weparalion ol the a(tounts. The ch8rty' Trustees cx)nsider Ihat an audrt is not required for Ihls year lu￿￿er g￿tion 43121 ol Charities Aci 1993 {Ihe Act) aTra thal an independen* eXam1r￿l10n is neeAled. 11 1$ my responsikn'lrty: To examine the acc4)unls (under sedion 43{3lla) of the Act: To lollow the pr￿6￿ureS laid d(v4n in Ihe General Directions givefi by Ihe Charrty Commissioners (under section 43(7llbl of the Aell", and to state whether matters have come to my attention. Basis of Indgppndent Examlnorfs rnport My examination was carried oui in accordanc* with the General DlrédiL￿s gNen by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a remew of the accounb.ng ie¢ords kept by the chartly and a compafjson of the accoun15 Pfesented wilh Ihose rec£Jfds. It also inc5L￿e5 eonsiderats'on of any unusual tiems or disdosure$ in the accounts, and seekirKJ exFdanations from the Trustees oincemin9 any such matteT5. The prccedufes undertaken (kj not prov￿& all the ewdence that would be fequired in an altdrt, and consequently I do not expfess audit opnion on the accounts. Independent Examln8rfs Statement In connection wslh my examinab"on. no matter has come lo my attenliorb.. 1) Which gives me reasonable cause lo telieve that in any material respect the requlTements to keep 8ccounting Tttords In se￿[dan￿ wrth Seclion 41 of the Act. and to prepare ar￿unts which ￿)[d with the a(￿oUntIng rec4Jrds and lo cornpty with the requirements of tho Act have not teen M", or 2} to which, my oplnion. aiiention should be drawn in order to enable a prgper understsnding of the atcounts io be reached. ASHLElC).H & CO. AccouXTA&irs ' i-,Tof4 ROAD c:,Rnae.Fr E C BLIFFIN ASHLÉIGH & CO BDA 013ca ￿7378 31 May 2023