Arbury Road Baptist Church Cambridge, CB4 2JE Email: contact@arburyroadbaptist.org Telephone: 01223 297955 _‘Knowing, and making known, the hope and life of Jesus’_ ## **Arbury Road Baptist Church – Annual Report 2025** ## **References and administrative details** ## **Registered address** 20 Arbury Road, Cambridge CB4 2JE Charity Registration Number 1175114 ## **Trustees** Susanne Lyle (Operations Strategic Leader/Trustee) Ruth Kemp (Strategic Leader/Safeguarding Trustee) Richard Green (Treasurer) John Watts Fiona Bell-Williamson Lauren Haywood Julia Snyder ## **Property Trustees** The Baptist Union Corporation Limited Baptist House, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 8RT ## **Bankers** Barclays Bank, Leicester LE87 2BB ## **Independent Examiner** Mr Richard Law ## **Annual Report for 2025** The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2025. ## **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 six times per year and has responsibility for the overall policy of the church. In accordance with the Constitution, the members appoint five Trustees, who together with the Minister, Operations Strategic Leader (previously 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 the 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. www.arburyroadbaptist.org Arbury Road Baptist Church is a registered charity number: 1175114 ## **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. This year, it has been great to be able to welcome and include increasingly diverse worshippers from around the world as we gather to worship together. In a time of pastoral vacancy, the leadership team (including our Community Chaplain, Trustees and Strategic Leaders) has worked together to navigate this challenging time. Throughout the last year, we have continued to know and make known the hope and life of Jesus, both through our services and in the community around our church. Over the year, we have again focused on spiritual growth and have been blessed in seeing a number of new faces join our church family and congregation. 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 that as a church we help people to know, and make known, the hope and life of Jesus. Central to the work and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public services of Christian worship, which are hybrid services accessible for those online as well as those gathering with us in person. Our services take place each Sunday at 10.30am, as well as a fortnightly prayer meeting at 7.00pm. There are also occasional additional services at other times such as at Christmas and Easter, which are advertised appropriately, including through the church website at arburyroadbaptist.org. We continue to delight in the privilege of being a family church, with representation across the age demographics. We continue to see a blossoming number of children and young people joining us for ARK Sundays (Arbury Road Kids). The Church runs a series of home groups for the growth of faith and discipleship, which this year have continued to grow and help and support members of our church to grow in their faith and as disciples of Jesus. The Church runs a range of activities in our local community, which have flourished during the last year. These include ‘Wonderfully made’, ‘Space2BU’ (safe places for adults and young people dealing with mental health challenges), ‘Wonder Wander’ walks and ‘Faithful friends’ (a community group helping people to explore the Christian faith). With ‘Lunch Break’, we have continued to serve a monthly meal, offering friendship and fun to the local community. In addition, ‘Coffee with Kindness’ is a group for local parents to unwind, connect with others and seek help if needed. We have been able to offer a holiday lunch for those in our community who would usually depend on free school meals, or who would just like to come and join in with what is happening in their local community. All our community events aim to demonstrate the love, hope and life of Jesus Christ to all in our local community. 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. We have dedicated Safeguarding Trustee, responsible for ensuring our Church continues to be a safe place for all who attend. 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 such as fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure but believe that 2025 has been a positive year in the life of the church, and that it will be able to pursue its mission purposes in 2026 with continued enthusiasm. Over the last year, we were delighted to welcome six new members into our church family; three members left our membership for various reasons. It has been a privilege to walk alongside others who are exploring Jesus throughout their life, and we have had the joy of seeing eight people baptised in our church over the last year. At 31 December 2025, the membership stood at 43. This year we have continued to serve our community and work towards the fulfilment of our community dream which can be found on our church website (arburyroadbaptist.org/dream). Our community chaplain role has continued to thrive, and we are thrilled to see this work continuing to bear fruit in the life of the church. ## **Financial Review** The Church continues to raise the funds it needs to carry on its activities from within its own membership and congregation. We currently operate at a small surplus, due to having a pastoral vacancy. The financial climate continues to be a challenging one and we continue to explore ways of funding all that happens in the life of our church so we might be able to serve and support those around us. The most significant expense relates to the employment of our church staff team, but as already stated above, we are currently in a time of pastoral vacancy. However, Kimberley Rayson continues to serve as our community chaplain, taking the life and hope of Jesus out into the community around our church. We have recently sold our manse, with a view to buying a newer property requiring less maintenance in the centre of the community we serve. The Church expressed its part in the life of the wider church by making grants to national and international Christian organisations and societies with Christian aims and objectives compatible with the Church’s own charitable purpose. The Church is grateful for all the volunteers who give of their time to support the activities of our church. These volunteers come both from within the membership of the church, and from other churches and members of the community. We continue to be grateful for all who contribute to the life of our church in such a wide variety of different ways. 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. CHARIIY COMMISSION FOR ENGIA14D AND WALES Athjry Ro•d B•pttst ehur¢h Recei tsand ments accounts CC16a For the reriod from 01-Jan 31-D To 2025 2D25 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted lunds Restricted lund5 Endowtnent funds Tothi funds L••ty••r trbth• ￿￿T•ll¢ ¢oth• n•arMt£ A1 Rac81 ts 4•.1 14.794 26.771 880.oj 41.91 11,903 34.628 Gitt Aid Ill￿￿d Rev•nuBI OlhE( l MAn9è SB 14.7 43.374 880,030 16.518 ross income or ARJ ,410 an $•0 iabl•. m•n 917,3 A3Pa Ernpbyee Rewed 8fflve PrÉmisei 4077 1&7Q7 4089 20,708 10.200 894 9,2 12,01$ 3•,022 20.M1 10.1•2 72$ 32,386 3M29 409 Church 199ion$i Support ange 12.013 Sub total 17J17 9LI,740 A4 Asset and Investment Sub total 58,491 17,317 95,740 Not of￿￿Ipts/fpayrnQnts) AS Transfers between fund5 A6 Ca$h fund$ last year end Cash funds this year end 912.yo 719 911,586 2.710 970. 1.000.814 CCXX R1 xcounts ISSI 231D212028 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds Restricted lund5 Endowtnent funds Laiegories to nurgstÉ to TrHar•St£ B1 Cash funds cu[Tent￿¢Xlun1S 20,542 910,149 21,824 Petyca5h. knch rotal cash funds 970.790 29,824 Unrestrlct8<1 funds •av•stE Restrictsd tunds to nMr•rt£ Endowm8nt tund$ to Thoar•st£ DÈtails FuThdtowhkh c￿rr•Trt Y•lu• onal Details B3 Inv•stm•nt a88•t8 F￿￿t*wh￿l C￿rr•￿t v•lu• on•1 Details B4 AJ8ets retalned for the charlty'8 own u80 FwKltowhkh Amount du• Yth•n du• Dgtails BS Llabllltles Signed by ow Injsteeson beha￿ of all ihe Iwslees Date of roval SKJnatu Print Name CCXX R2 xcounts ISSI 231D212028 ## **TO:** Membership **DATE:** 22 March 2026 **FROM:** Richard Green– Treasurer **SUBJECT:** Treasurers’ Annual Report - 2025 ## **1.0 Summary** - 1.1 The General Fund had an in-year surplus of £41,218. This is an improvement on the budgeted in-year surplus of £18,334. The surplus is good news, however, is mainly due to not having a Minister. - 1.2 - General fund cumulative reserves were £61,567 as at 31 December 2025. - 1.3 The accounts have been independently examined by Richard Law Accounting Services. No issues have been identified. The summary income and expenditure statement, and balance sheet are shown at the end of this report. ## **2.0 General Fund Commentary** 2.1 Expenditure underspent by £13,951. Brief explanations for variances over £500 are: **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area Amount Over/Under Explanation
compared
to budget
A decision was taken to increase hours of the
Employee Related -£1,365 Overspent Chaplain in the Community (£728). Cleaner costs
were £637 more than expected.
Due to selling the manse, repairs, utility, Council tax
Manse +£10,150 Underspent
and insurance budgets all underspent.
Fewer repairs (£3,462) and lower energy costs
Premises +7,507 Underspent
(£3,816) were the main reasons for the underspend.
The new sound system (£5,793) and survey/solicitor
costs (£1,916) for 12 Maio Rd were the main reason
for the overspend. Donations of £4,634 were
Supplies and
-£4,567 Overspent received towards the sound system (see income),
services
although when giftaid is claimed it will mean the full
cost has been covered via donations. There was an
underspend of subscriptions of £2,387.
There was no spending on Sunday morning
Church activities +£856 Underspent Children’s work, or Youth Night. Visiting Preachers
underspent by £539.
Outreach in Cambridge (£644), Home Mission
Missions/Support +£1,3371 Underspent (£350) and BMS (£350) were the reasons for
underspending.
**----- End of picture text -----**
1 ## 2.2 Income overachieved by £8,983. Brief explanations for variances over £500 are: |**Area**|**Amount**|**Over/Under**
**compared to**
**budget**|**Explanation**| |---|---|---|---| |Offerings|+£13,700|**Overachieved**|Offerings were higher than expected.| |Giftaid|+£7,294|**Overachieved**|Giftaid was higher than expected.| |Letting/Car Park|+£9,766|**Overachieved**|Lettings/Car park rent was higher than expected.| |Interest|-£994|**Underachieved**|Interest rates have been reducing.| |Manse rent|-£24,000|**Underachieved**|Manse was not rented out.| |Insurance|+£627|**Overachieved**|Claim due to lost keys at church. Will have been
offset by additional expenditure.| |Donations|+£2,479|**Overachieved**|Donations received to assist with the costs of the
new sound system (£4,634). A further £845 of
other donations were received which was less than
the budget set.| ## **3.0 Other Designated/Unrestricted Fund Comments** ## **3.1 Reserve Fund – balance at 31/12/2025: £35,435** This fund is used for reserves and is transferred to the General Fund when needed. Some car park rent was put to this fund during the year. Due to the general fund being in surplus, no amounts were needed to be transferred out. ## **3.2 Lunch Break – balance at 31/12/2025: £1,001** This fund monitors the income and expenditure of Lunch Break. - **3.3 Kitchen Fund - balance at 31/12/2025: £1,141** This fund was set up a few years ago when some funding from the previous lunch club were available and retained for kitchen use. £265 was received during the year, and £381 spent. ## **3.4 Go Fund - balance at 31/12/2025: £1,600** The Go Fund was set up to enable grants to be provided for individuals to ‘go’ and undertake missional or other agreed activities away from Cambridge. No spending has taken place during the year. ## **4.0 Other Restricted Fund Comments** ## **4.1 Outreach in Cambridge - balance at 31/12/2025: £3,234** This fund has historically had some funding to help cover the costs of missional outreach work in our local area. No income or expenditure occurred during the year. - **4.2** ## **Fellowship Fund - balance at 31/12/2025: £1,075** This fund collects donations during communion services. The fund can be accessed by requests to the Minister for financial hardship or other issues being faced by those in the fellowship. Nothing was received during the year. £59 was spent. **4.3 Looking Forward Building Fund – balance at 31/12/2025: £4,793** This fund helps cover the costs of agreed projects. Donations of £120 was received and nothing spent. 2 ## **4.4 Bursary Fund – balance at 31/12/2025: £1,000** This fund provides financial assistance to help people attend whole church events/activities that incur a charge. There has been no income nor expenditure during the year. - **4.5 Wonderfully Made - balance at 31/12/2025: £2,447** - Tracks income and expenditure for Wonderfully Made Creative Café. £1,065 income was received and £625 spent during the year. - **4.6 Chaplain in the Community - balance at 31/12/2025: £15,294** This fund tracks the income and expenditure specifically for ‘Chaplain in the Community’. £15,413 donations were received and £16,633 spent during the year mainly on stipend and outreach costs. - **4.7 M. Harris Investment Fund – balance at 31/12/2025: £1,980** This fund is historic, nothing was spent during the year. - **4.8 Manse Fund – balance at 31/12/2025: £870,045** This is a new fund created due to the sale of the previous manse. £880,030 was received from the sale. £2,077 interest was received on the funds held with the BU. £12,063 was spent on sale fees/costs. ## **5.0 Balance Sheet as at 31/12/2025** - 5.1 Cash balances are now very strong at £1,000,873. This is due to the sale of the manse and will reduce as/when a new manse is purchased. - 5.2 Most surplus cash is held in the Baptist Union Deposit Account (£979,972). By keeping our surplus funds with the BU helps other Baptist Churches access loans for building and other improvements. ## **5.0 Thanks** - 6.1 We thank the Lord for His provision during 2025. - 6.2 Thanks go to Joan Cooper for all her help in her role as Assistant Treasurer – particularly collecting, counting, and banking the weekly offering and other income, which she does with 100% accuracy and reliability making my role as Treasurer so much easier. Thanks also to Sue Brignell who has provided support during the year, particularly on payroll and HMRC requirements. - 6.3 My thanks also go to our external auditor, Richard Law who agreed to audit the 2025 church accounts. - 6.4 Also, my thanks go to all the Trustees who have helped me in my Treasurer role during the last twelve months. I have found it very challenging but with the help from the Trustee’s and also Mike Hobbs (ex-Treasurer) who has been so helpful when I couldn’t get the accounts to balance, I have managed to get through. 3 ## **ARBURY ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH** ## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31/12/2025** **----- Start of picture text -----**
G E N E R A L F U N D
INCOME Note 2025 Budget 2025 Actual 2024 Actual % Change
Offerings 35,496 49,196 51,919 -6%
Giftaid 7,500 14,794 11,903 20%
Lettings/Car Park 0 10,966 0 100%
Other/Donations 5,050 10,446 5,057 52%
Insurance 0 627 0 100%
TOTAL 48,046 86,029 68,879 20%
EXPENDITURE
Employee Related 2,712 4,077 24,099 -491%
Manse 14,219 4,069 9,211 -126%
Premises 25,214 17,707 19,652 -11%
Supplies & Services 7,117 11,684 4,168 64%
Church Activities 1,500 644 409 36%
Missions/Support 7,950 6,579 7,283 -11%
Projects 0 0 0 0%
TOTAL 58,712 44,761 64,822 -45%
FUND TRANSFERS
To Chaplain in Community -50 0
From Reserves 0 15,000
Sub-total Fund Transfers -50 15,000
In Year (+) Surplus / (-) Deficit -10,666 41,218 19,057
**----- End of picture text -----**
Arbury Road Baptist Church - Accounts 1 **----- Start of picture text -----**
O T H E R F U N D S
INCOME (OTHER FUNDS) 2025 Actual 2024 Actual
Unrestricted/Designated
Reserve Fund 1,160 5,223
Lunch Break 1,235 1,449
Kitchen Fund 265 180
Manse 882,108 0
TOTAL (Unrestricted/Designated) 884,768 6,852
Restricted
Fellowship Fund 0 15
Looking Forward Building Fund 120 686
Wonderfully Made 1,065 302
Chaplain in the Community 15,413 21,717
TOTAL (Restricted) 16,598 22,719
SUB-TOTAL (Other Funds Income) 901,366 29,571
ALL FUNDS TOTAL INCOME 987,394 98,450
EXPENDITURE (OTHER FUNDS)
Unrestricted/Designated
Lunch Break 1,287 1,035
Kitchen Fund 381 0
Manse 12,063 0
TOTAL (Unrestricted/Designated) 13,730 1,035
Restricted
Fellowship Fund 59 0
Looking Forward Building Fund 0 10,452
Wonderfully Made 625 2,881
Minister in the Community 16,633 16,551
M.Harris Investment 0 0
TOTAL (Restricted) 17,317 29,883
SUB-TOTAL (Other Funds Expenditure) 31,047 30,918
ALL FUNDS TOTAL EXPENDITURE 75,808 95,740
FUND TRANSFERS
Reserves to General 0 -15,000
From General to Chaplain in Community 50 0
SUB-TOTAL (Fund Transfers) 50 -15,000
Other Funds (+) Surplus / (-) Deficit 870,369 -16,347
ALL FUNDS TOTAL (+) Surplus / (-) Deficit 911,586 2,710
**----- End of picture text -----**
Arbury Road Baptist Church - Accounts 2 ## **Balances and Reconciliation** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Balances: 31/12/2025 31/12/2024 Change (£)
Barclays Current Account 20,802 20,327 475
Baptist Union Deposit Account 110,125 68,921 41,203
BU Deposit CC004 (6-Month Notice) 293,782 0 293,782
BU Deposit MC009 (1-Month Notice) 551,002 0 551,002
BU Deposit NC054 (3-Month Notice) 25,064 0 25,064
Welcome Lunch Petty Cash 99 99 0
Net Liabilities 1 -260 -320 60
1,000,613 89,027 911,586
Funds:
31/12/2025 31/12/2024 Change (£)
Unrestricted/Designated
General Fund 61,567 20,350 41,218
Reserve Fund 35,435 34,275 1,160
Ark Kids 0 0 0
Lunch Break 1,001 1,052 -52
Kitchen Fund 1,141 1,257 -116
Go Fund 1,600 1,600 0
Pioneer Fund 0 0 0
Manse 870,045 0 870,045
TOTAL 970,790 58,534 912,255
Restricted
Outreach in Cambridge 3,234 3,234 0
Fellowship Fund 1,075 1,133 -59
Looking Forward Building Fund 4,793 4,673 120
Bursary 1,000 1,000 0
Wonderfully Made 2,447 2,007 439
Chaplain in the Community 15,294 16,464 -1,170
M.Harris Investment 1,980 1,980 0
TOTAL 29,824 30,493 -669
TOTAL FUNDS 1,000,613 89,027 911,586
**----- End of picture text -----**
1. £260 owed to BMS **Independent examiner's** In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my **statement** attention (other than that disclosed below) 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, Arbury Road Baptist Church have not met the requirements to ensure that: - proper accounting records are kept; and - accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting - records; or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: ___ ~~.~~ ~~_�_ { _ .~~ ~~_J�_ A ___~~ _·•_ ~~___~~ _____ _ _2 L&>1vl!�yff,pL� /,,,.; 6(/,C/l c,t l -t_ • _,11tt-< c.�_ 2 ,- _.5 �1._ Arbury Road Baptist Church - Accounts 3