BRIXHAM BAPTIST CHURCH Charitable Incorporated Organisation Registered Charity Number: 1175103 ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 STATUTORY INFORMATION Name of the Charity: BRIXHAM BAPTIST CHURCH Registered Address: Market si Brixham Devon TQ5 8EU Charity Registration Number. 1175103 Date of Registration: 11 October 2017 Trustees from 1st January 2024 to the date of this report Julia Andrews (Secretary) Barrie Chivers (until 20th April 2024) Jim Collins Rev Darrell Holmes Bemard Lewis {Treasurer) Rev Colin Opie (from 1st February 2024) Minister.. Rev. Darrell Holmes Associate Minister. Rev Colin Opie (from 1st February 2024) Property Trustees: The Baptist Union Corporation, (Baptist House, PO Box 44. 129 Broadway. Didcot, Oxon, OX118RT). Bankers: Lloyds TSB. Independent Examiner: lan Ba￿ett FCA FCIE BARRE￿s CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND CHARTERED TAX ADVISERS 22 Union Street, Newton Abbot. Devon, TQ12 2JS CHARITABLE OBJECT The Charity is govemed by an Approved Goveming Document since 11th October 2017 when the Charitable Incorporated Organisation was fomed. The Approved Governing Document, the Constitution, affirms the principal purpose of the Charity as being 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 andlor other parts of the world. The Church occupies premises which are held in trust for the Church by the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd. as Holding Trustee. The premises continue to be held on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above objectives. Included in the premises are four small flats let to tenants at a low rent. A Manse is provided for the Ministerfs use, however it is currently rented out. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DECISION4qAKING PROCESSES Membership of the church is obtained in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Governing Document of Ihe church. Whilst highly valuing and encouraging baptism by total immersion, the church practises open membership in that Ihose who seek membership but have not been baptised according to the Baptist Union's Declaration of Principle may. at the discretion of the church members. meeting. be accepted for full membership based on their profession of fawlh. Church members are expected to adhere to the beliefs of the church, lo commit themselves to serving Christ within the church and beyond. and to abide by the decisions of the church meeting. Church Members, meetings take place at regular inteNals through the year with one of these meetings constituting the Annual General Meeting al which members receive the annual accounts and reports. and consider matters of relevance for the coming year. A minimum of four ordinary meelings are required annually. Ordinary Church Members, meeting5 took place during the year on 30thJanuary, 23rd April (including AGM), 21st May, 23rd July, 24th September and 26th November. The church is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and all trustees are appointed by church members, meetings, observing the requirements of the governing document. The managing trustees are responsible for the day to day running of the church's WO￿ and witness and for the financial and legal aspects of the charity. Church members are encouraged to seek appropriate roles furthering the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furtherance of Ihe charitable objective. The trustees take relevant matters to the d)urch meeting for consideration, and similarfy matters may be raised by church members for trustee discussion and deliberation. A consensus of opinion is sought whenever wssible: however, the governing document pemits decisions to be made by voting or secret ballot. This was the Ihird full year of the ministry of our Pastor Rev Darrell Holmes. Rev Colin Opie was appointed as part time non-stipendiary Pastor on 1 sl February 2024. He was ordained on 20" April 2024. Maria Orton continued to serve as part time Children Youth and Families Pastor. Adline Lewis continued to be employed as part-time deaner. Our Mission continued to be "Shlnlng for Jesus In the dathness°which is focussed around.. Shining for Jesus and living lives glori￿ng to Him. Sharing Jesus with the next generation and removing obstacles that prevent them coming to Him. Shaping our community with love. showlng compassion to the leas¢ the last and the lost. OBJECTIVES AND ACTivmES The church provides, and provided in 2024. a variety of activities available to its membership and to the community at large. to achieve its stated principal objective, as set out above. The aim throughout is to show. through word and deed. the love of Jesus Christ to the community in which the church is set and to the wider world beyond, and to bring people into closer relationship with Him as living Lord. WORSHIP Regular public services of Christian worship continued throughout 2024 at 10.30am followed by a time of fellowship and refreshment. We were often joined by a few visitors from around the country and world. many of whom were on holiday or made us a deslination church when they were in town. Our services have been livestreamed and have had a strong following from online viewers, averaging around fifty deVI￿S each week. Brixham Baptist Church is therefore reaching far more than just the local community. PRAYER We acknowledge that prayer is a vital part of our corporale and individual lives. Regular midweek prayer meetings took place, and an on-line prayer ne￿Ork enabled prayer requests to be Sha￿d. We parlicipated with olhers in the Torbay area in the Try Praying Initiative. FELLOWSHIP Several groups continued to gather. and some new groups started to meet regularly for friendship. study, prayer and encouragement. EVANGELISM As part of our vision to share Jesus and in keeping with the Baptist Union's Declaration of Principle that it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to take part in the evangelisation of the world. we have organised specific evangelistic events including the Easter Trail and promoting the Try Praying Initiative. CHILDREN, YOUTH and FAMIUES WORK In 2024, we continued to connect viith around 50 families in the local community through our various church activities and ￿MMunity contacts. Our Children, Youth and Families Pastor worked a team of tsventy volunteers providing regular activities for children from toddlers to teenagers and their parents or carers. Several of these activities catered for children and families vtho did not regularly attend the church. In Co￿peration with local health visitors and social seNices we provided hampers forfamilies in need within the local community. OTHER CHURCH ACTIVITIES Our café which opened two days a week and our coffee moming which opened once a week fulfilled the aim of the church to be engaged with tts community and provide space in whith people felt welcomed and secure. These were used as a regular meeting place for individuals and groups in the town. Meals were also provtded several times during the year to whith members of the community and congregation were invited. We donated Filled Backpack5 for distribution by a charity for the homeless in Tor- bay. We also donated Shoeboxes filled with items for children in need overseas distributed by Samaritan's Purse. SAFEGUARDING Our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures were reviewed, updated and brought to the attention of the congregation. USE OF THE BUILDING An increasing number of groups from the community used the premises during 2024. In addition lo the four flats which are Tented out, we have submitted plans for ¢onver- sion of part of Ihe building to two more flats. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE The church MeaSu￿S its perfomance not simply in terms of numbers, including financial numbers, but also through the assessment of its Suc￿ss, or otherwise. in less tangible areas such as encouragement, discApleship and fellowship. We welcomed eight new members in 2024. We were saddened to lose eleven church members who resigned or transferred membership and one church member who died durtng 2024. Al the end of the year church membership stood at 67. We are grateful to all the volunteers who gave their time and effort to the work of the church. FINANCIAL REVIEW 2024 The church continued to raise the funds needed to cary on its activities from within its membership and wider congregation. This was supplemented by the net rental income received from the flals and manse, and income received trom the 'Front Room, cafe together with income from hiring out both the church hall and the 'Front Room,. The church played its part in the life of the wider Church through grants made to organisations, societies, and individuals, worf(ing nationally or intemationally with Christian objectives compatible with the church's own objectives. Specific aid was given to the Baptist Union for its work in the UK and intemationally, Brixham Girls Brigade, the Fishermen's Mission and Thimar-LSESD. The church is heavily dependent on Its fellowship working as volunteers in all aspects of the church's activities, mosl of which ran without significant impact on the church's expenditure, but nonetheless contributed considerably to the achievement of the church's objectives. .The financial results for the year. together with a summary of Ihe accounting policies adopted are set out in the accompanying financial statements. The trustees are salisfied that they have sufficient reserves at the year-end together with the ongoing income anticipated to enable the churdi to function effectively in the coming year. The trustees have assessed the major risks facing the church and are satisfied that there are policies in pla￿ to minimise these risks. STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES. RESPONSIBILrriES Charity law requires the trustees (the churth leadership) to prepare financial statements Ihat give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the end of the financial year. In doing so the tnjstees are required to: 1. Select suitsble accounting policies and apply them consistenlly; 2. Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 3. State whether applicable accounting standards arKI statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the finanaal statements: and 4. Prepare the financial statements on the ongoing concem basis unless it is inapproprtate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. The leadership are responsible as managing trustees for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with Trasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply wth charity law. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the church and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities. SIGNATURE AND DECLARATION I declare, in my capacity of charity Irustee, that the truslees have approved the report on pages 2 to 7 and the accounts on pages 8-11 and have authorised me lo sign on their behalf. Signed: Julia Andrews (trustee) Brixham Baptist Church Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31st De￿mber 2024 2024 Charlty No 1175103 2023 TOTAL Unre5tTKted Restrtcted rorAL ￿tr￿eStr￿ted Restthted Income from.. Donations ond legacies Donations Offerings Standing orders Gifts Gift Ald BMS Home Mission Other Build fund charrtable activitie5 Front Room Youth event5 Coffee mornings Investments Interest Rent TOTAL INCOME 163 8210 163 8210 33049 4731 42 9242 37157 225 42 9242 37157 225 33049 4731 917 201 917 201 3570 8428 2351 10779 3274 296 6965 6965 8044 853 853 91 91 614 36543 99556 614 36543 2731 102287 546 36521 95142 36521 1414 96556 Expenditure on.. charitoble octivities Front Room Staff costs Travel & other expenses Youth worker expenses Visiting ministry Church Insurance Light. heat & water Repairs & maintenance Professional survey Cleaning expenses Equipment Ministerial Houslng Council tax Housing Manse rentalproperty Insurance Service charge & fees Council tax Repairs & maintenance 3258 3258 54902 1195 1889 3550 48694 1476 2769 145 3550 48694 1476 2769 145 54902 1195 1889 50 4719 4719 4855 6754 11389 11558 4855 6754 22947 7952 380 8332 164 147 164 147 219 107 219 107 2042 9240 2042 9240 19)9 8820 1909 8820 334 2489 363 334 2489 363 314 1555 294 1555 394 394 Brlxham Baptist Church Charity No 1175103 Recelpts ond Poyments Account for the year ended December 2024 fcont'd) 2024 Z023 Unrestrirted Re5trkted TOTAL Llnrestrlrted Restrkted roTAL other Worship & outreach Events Training Professional costs BMS Home Mission Donations Telephone & web hosting Copyrlght & TV Licence stationery & photocopier Church refreshments Other Loan repayment Bank charges Warm room 4 Front ThÈatre Flat5 expenditure Repairs & maintenance Development Other 1413 175 545 540 2250 2250 300 1166 350 350 211 1789 1413 1353 545 540 2722 2250 986 1166 350 350 886 1178 65 720 2250 2250 800 904 65 720 2451 2955 1264 472 201 705 464 904 327 604 191 586 327 211 1789 191 586 219 219 1033 1033 107 310 4746 107 310 255 6692 255 6692 3296 4746 3296 TOTAL EXPEAIDITURE Transfer Net Re¢elpts/poyments li(K) 2716 112731 114028 12928 126956 -10459 15 -18886 -11514 Transfers -11171 11171 Bank & Cash Balances At beglnnlng olyeor Atend of year 700 2292 72307 61863 100072 70015 2635 2292 102707 n307 Brixham Baptist Church tharlty No 1175103 Statement ofAssets and Li0￿11te$ rt3tst December2024 2024 2023 Unre5tiicted Restrtcted TOTAL Uftrestrfcted Restrlrted TOTAL Cash Funds Uoyds Current account Uoyds Deposit account Cash 13547 46629 128 13547 1559 48188 128 1559 61863 17595 50283 2137 70015 17595 52575 2137 n307 2292 2292 Debtors Gift aid Note The trustees confirm. in accordance with the Charitable Incorporated Organisatior)s (General} Regulations 2012, that at the year end the CIO did not have any outstanding guarantees to third parties nor any debts secured on the assets of the ao. Approved by the Trustees cn Ilth March 2025 and signed on their behalf by B. Lewis Trustee Independent Examlnerfs Report to the Trustees of Brixham Baptlst Church CIO Charfty no. 1175103 I report to the trustees on my examination of the account5 of Brixham Baptist Church Ithe Church) forthe year ended 31 December 2024. Responsibilities and basis of the report As the charity trustees of the church you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Art 2011 (the Actl. I report in respect of my examination of the church's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions Biven by the Charity Commission under section 145{5)Ibl of the Act. Independent &xaminerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confim) that no material matters have tome to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any materlal respect,. l. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the church as required by sectlon 130 of the Act; or 2. The accounts do not accord with those recoid& I have no concems 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 understa of the accounts to be reached. lan Barrett FCA FCIE Barretts 22 Union Street Newton Abbot TQ12 2JS Iyh March 2025