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2024-12-31-accounts

Silverton Evangelical Church School Road Silverton Devon EX5 4JH

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Web: http://www.silvertonevangelicalchurch.org.uk/ Registered Charity No: 1177666

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CONTENTS
Page
Legal and Administrative Information 1
Trustees' Annual Report 2-5
Independent Examiner's Report 6
Statement of Financial Activities 7-8
Balance Sheet 9
Notes to the Accounts 10-14

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CHARITY NUMBER 1177666
ADDRESS School Road
Silverton
Exeter
EX5 4JH
TRUSTEES T Browne
R Carne
N Maylan
R Salisbury (Chair)
KEY MANAGEMENT A Mathers
Church Leader and Community Worker
BANKERS Barclays Bank Plc
3 Bedford Street
Exeter
SOLICITORS Gilbert Stephens LLP
15-17 Southernhay East
Exeter
EX1 1QE
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Dane Bradley-Carter BSc FIAP

[1 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The Trustees present their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 10 and 11 and comply with the Church Constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS 102). The legal and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report.

Objectives and Policies

The principal purpose of the Church is the advancement of the Christian faith through preaching and teaching of the Gospel and by supporting mission at home and overseas. The Church Constitution is supported by a Core Values document which sets out our vision as:

"We are a family of Christians worshipping God, enabled by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus. We are committed to growing in maturity together in Christ through the study of the bible and prayer. In our daily lives we desire to share God's love, In what we say and what we do as we reach out in service to our local community and beyond".

In planning our activities, we consider the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

Organisation and Structure

The Church is overseen by Trustees who are all members of the Church. There is a minimum requirement of 3 Trustees and no upper limit. New Trustees are nominated by the membership. At the end of their term of appointment a Trustee may be reappointed for a further two terms before standing down. All appointments are voted on at the AGM.

The Church operates a membership. Individuals apply to join and they are visited by two Church members who report to the next Ministry Team meeting and the Trustees and, if their application is supported, they are normally welcomed as a member at the next Church service. Our membership is stable at around 60, with a few new members welcomed during the year, and almost 20 children in member families.

The spiritual activities of the Church are delegated by the Trustees to a Ministry Team of currently five drawn from the Church membership. This includes one Trustee. New Ministry Team members are approached by the Trustees and if they agree to serve in this role, and are recognised and ratified at the following Church meeting, then they serve the Church as long as their endorsement is not rescinded by a Church meeting. The Ministry Team normally meet on a monthly basis to consider the life of the Church.

The activity of the Church is broken down into various areas and teams drawn from the Church membership exist to develop each area. The teams responsible for Sunday services, home groups, prayer, pastoral care, children and young people's activities, community action are led by the Ministry Team. The Mission Team, which coordinates the church’s involvement in mission locally and overseas, reports regularly to the Ministry Team by regular meeting attendance by the team chair

Other activities including finance, building management and hire, communication, website management, and sundry practical issues are led by currently five other members who, along with two of the Ministry Team and a Trustee, form the Resources Team. This team meets bimonthly. . A Finance Team of four members review the accounts monthly and meet as need arises. Two of their members serve on the Resources Team.

There are over 20 church members serving in these formal teams and many others are also involved in teaching the young people on a Sunday morning and supporting Messy Church. There are numerous other groups who serve the church in practical ways, often on a rota basis.

The Church holds an Annual General Meeting and typically one other Church members’ meeting each year to discuss the activity of the Church and these are very well attended.

[2 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Achievements and Plans

Our weekly Sunday morning service is a focus for our worship, teaching, prayer and fellowship. The number of people attending this year has increased, regularly exceeding 40 adults plus up to 20 young people. As some people are unable to attend each week we continue to record the teaching material and upload it to our website as often as possible. On many occasions the whole service is recorded and made available on our private Church WhatsApp group.

We had a full programme of activities over the Christmas period and we were delighted that so many people joined us for the Candlelight Carol Service that the hall at the rear of the meeting room was very full.

Our homegroups continued to be an important part of our Church life. During the year there were three evening groups, one day time group plus a ladies only day time group, with provision for young children. Men Allowed, the men only group continued to meet for various social activities.

The Care Team continued to support a number of people who were unable to get to a Sunday service. This included regular visits at home including sometimes taking communion to them. The monthly Pop Up Café on a Tuesday morning continues with normally over 15 people attending, This includes Church members plus other people from the village.

Our support of young people has continued to grow. The two fortnightly Friday evening young people’s clubs continued to be very popular with high levels of attendance. On the alternate Friday evenings The Hot Chocolate Club meets in a church member’s home. Around 10 girls have fun together in an environment where they can discuss issues of faith as well as the challenges they face growing up. 19 members of the youth group joined around 2000 young people at Spree, a youth weekend at the Devon County showground. They were supported throughout by 5 church members and had a great time together

To support younger children, we continued a monthly Monday Messy Church after school. This is popular with the church families and a growing number of other families in the village. The baby group for new mothers continued to meet each Friday morning with new mums joining. They often stay on to join the very popular parent/carer and toddler group which meets later in the morning.

Another highlight of the year was our church weekend away at the Esplanade hotel overlooking Fistral beach in Newquay. Around 60 children and adults enjoyed sharing this again with over 40 people from Beacon Heath church. We had very helpful teaching on Psalm 23 and enjoyable fellowship together.

We held a funeral service for one of our church members. While it was a sad time, particularly for the family involved, it was great to celebrate a life well lived and the hope that we have for eternity.

[3 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 .

Plans for the coming year

The Trustees and Ministry Team are pleased with the developments in the year and are planning to focus on community engagement in 2025 including running some more outreach courses. We also look forward to celebrating the opening of the building 70 years ago in July 2025.

Financial Review

The majority of our income comes from regular monthly donations from our members. These donations, including gift aid refunds and one-off gifts of £2,200, increased to £72,478 from £69,276 in 2023. Other gifts and sundry church income, including rental income reached £5,079 (£3,789 in 2023). Income from these sources, excluding the weekend away income was £77,847 (2023 £82,735 which included a legacy of £10,000). In addition, we received very supportive grants from Silverton PC and two village charities of £5,750 (2023 £3,500) towards our youth work activity and £700 from the village street market.

Total unrestricted expenditure, excluding the weekend away costs was £63,237 (2023 £57,028) including a depreciation charge of £3,438 (2023 £3,295). This also included mission giving to other charities and individuals engaged in Christian service of £7,308 (2023 £4,964). This led to a surplus on the unrestricted fund of £5,967 and £1,189 on the restricted youth work reserve.

This created an unrestricted cash surplus for the year, after excluding the depreciation charge of £10,939 which is a very encouraging outcome. It is very important that this continues as, after allowing for an interest charge of £1,545 then £13,445 was used to reduce the loan from SWBA to purchase the Church manse. We are due to continue to pay £15,000 each year until August 2030. It is encouraging to see the total of these repayments outstanding dropped to £85,000 at the end of the year. At the year end we had £36,520 held in bank accounts and a further £10,127 was due from HM Revenue and Customs under the gift aid scheme. This was received in January 2025.

Reserves Policy

The church receives most of its income monthly from its members throughout the year. However gift aid is an important element and this is normally claimed once a year and received early in the following year. It is the policy of the Church to maintain general reserves of at least two months’ normal expenditure which includes monthly loan repayments. This is calculated at £12,000.

Total assets held as unrestricted funds at the year end were £530,200 but most of this is invested in the church building and manse so cannot be spent. We also have various fixtures, fittings and equipment totalling just over £20,000. The gift aid debtor, other debtors and current bank account are in line with the current liabilities. Therefore the free reserves, which when the restricted reserves are excluded are £24,000, are held in the deposit account. This is also reduced by the designated reserve of £5,000, to contribute to planned building refurbishment work (see note 3), to £17,000. This exceeds the cash holding policy of £12,000 by £5,000.

The Finance Team produce an annual budget based upon the level of regular monthly income receivable and anticipated annual expenditure. For 2025 this budget shows a cash deficit approaching £10,000. This would eliminate the surplus cash holding and the finance team will monitor the outcome in 2025 very closely.

Investment Policy

The Finance Team have considered the most appropriate policy for investing any funds not used for the day-to-day activities of the Church. As they are quite modest they are held in Barclays Bank accounts with the bulk of the funds held in an interest bearing deposit account.

[4 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Safeguarding

We take the care of children and vulnerable adults very seriously. Our safeguarding policy is based upon a model document prepared by the Baptist Union. This was updated last year so our safeguarding team updated the church policy last year and made it available to everyone. The process of carrying out DBS checks and training is an ongoing process as new people take responsibility for church activities.

Risk Review

The Trustees and Resources Team examine the major risks that the Church faces each financial year. These are brought to the attention of the Church membership at either the AGM or additional Church Meetings.

Trustees' Responsibilities

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the financial position of the charity during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees follow best practice and:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ascertain their financial position and to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and regulations thereunder. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES

Rob Salisbury

……………………….

Robert Salisbury Chairman

Date: 7[th] March 2025

[5 ]

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

I report on the accounts of the Church for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 7 to 14.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

The charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under (under Section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is required.

It is my responsibility to:

To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioner. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the financial statements present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statements below.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Dane Bradley-Carter BSc FIAP Date 10[th] March 2025

[6 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2024 Funds Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £ £ £
INCOME
Donations
Offerings and donations 8,835 51,579 60,114 7,419 49,189 56,608
One off donation - 2,200 2,200 - 3,000 3,000
Tax refunds 631 9,533 10,164 1,156 8,512 9,668
Grants and legacies 5,750
700
6,450 3,500 10,000 13,500
__ _ __ ______ ______ ______
15,216 64,012 79,228 12,075 70,701 82,776
Investments
Bank Interest - 665 665 - 303 303
Rental income - 1,853 1,853 - 1,397 1,397
__ __ _____ __ __ __
15,216 66,530 81,746 12,075 72,401 84,476
Charitable Activities
Other income - 2,551 2,551 - 2,089 2,089
Week end away - 9,262 9,262 - 5,125 5,,125
__ __ __ __ __ __
TOTAL INCOME 15,216 78,343 93,559 12,075 79,915 91,690
__ __ __ __ __ __
EXPENDITURE ON
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Missionary and charitable donations 7 345 7,653 7,998 - 4,964 4,964
Employment Costs
Salary 12,225 26,800 39,025 3,800 25,700 25,700
Pension - 3,621 3,621 - 2,679 2,679
Training 725 502 1,227 512 364 876
Housing costs 2,691 2,691 - 2,877 2,877
House repairs - 2,405 2,405 - 3,347 3,347
Travel and reimbursed expenses 387 566 953 163 802 802
Church Building Expenses
Light and heat - 1,454 1,454 - 2,464 2,464
Water rates - 450 450 - 324 324
Insurance - 894 894 - 800 800
Repairs and renewals - 5,399 5,399 - 2,324 2,324
Depreciation - 3,438 3,438 - 3,295 3,295
Administration expenses
Speaker gifts - 62 62 - 635
635
Training - 520 520 - 555 555
Children teaching materials - 334 334 - 243 243
Leadership training costs - - - - - -
Printing and literature - 754 754 - 343 343
Subscriptions & DBS checks - 1,097 1,097 - 1,065 1,065
Youth work costs - 247 247 - 433 433
IT expenditure 613 613 - 884 884
Church events - 939 939 - - -
Telephone and internet costs - 435 435 - 472 472
Sundry costs - 575 575 - 341 341
Website - 243 243 - 243 243
Week ends away - 9,139 9,139 - 5,636 5,636
Loan interest - 1,545 1,545 - 1,774 1,774
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 13,682 72,376 86,058 4,475 62,664 67,039

[7 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Restricted
Unrestricted Total Funds Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2024 Funds Funds 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
Note
NET INCOME/EXPENDITURE 1,534 5,967 7,501 7,600 17,051 24,651
TRANSFERS
4
(499)
499
- (500) 500 -
TOTAL FUNDS
BROUGHT FORWARD 8,101 523.734 531,835 1,001 506,183 507,184
___ ___ ___ ______ __ __
TOTAL FUNDS
CARRIED FORWARD 9,136
__
530,200
__
539,336
__
8,101
_
523,734
__
531,835
__

[8 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

Note
£
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Fixed Assets
2
CURRENT ASSETS
Gift Aid refunds
Legacy
10,127
-
Debtors and Prepayments
2,125
Cash at bank:
Deposit
33,114
Current
3,407
___
48,773
_
CREDITORS amounts falling due within
one year
Accruals
Loans
Loan South West Baptist Association
2,910
-
13,697
_
16,607
_
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL
ASSETS
LESS
CURRENT
LIABILITIES
CREDITORS amounts due more than
one year
Loan South west Baptist Association
TOTAL ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds:
3
Restricted Funds
4
2024
£
£
574,345
9,848
10,000
690
29,449
5,086
_
55,073
_
2,195
4,000
13,455
_
19,650
_
32,166
_
609,511
67,175
______

539,336
_
525,200
5,000
_

530,200
9,136
_
539,336
_
2023
£
577,284
35,423
__
612,707
80,872
_
531,835
_
518,734
5,000
__
523,734
8,101
__
531,835
______

The notes on pages 10-14 form an integral part of these accounts. These accounts were approved by the trustees on 7[th] March 2025 and signed on their behalf by

…Rob Salisbury………… Robert Salisbury

[9 ]

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements have been prepared under the historic cost convention except for the freehold property which has been included in the accounts at its deemed cost as determined by the Trustees as set out in Note 2. The financial statements have also been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Charities Act 2011, the Statement of Recommended Practice: "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS102) and Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS102).

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the church is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe the main affiliation to another body or those that are informal gatherings of church members.

The Church meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue operating.

Debtors

Debtors are included at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

Cash at Bank and in Hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of opening of the deposit.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation arising from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are recognised at their settlement amount.

Financial Instruments

The charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Incoming Resources

Voluntary Income

Collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the Church.

Investment Income

Interest entitlements are accounted for as they accrue.

Resources Used

Expenditure is included on an accruals basis.

10

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

Incoming Resources (continued)

Depreciation

No depreciation is provided on the freehold property. It is the Church's policy to regularly incur expenditure on the maintenance and improvement of the property. The Trustees consider that the life of the asset is so long and its residual value is so high that the depreciation is insignificant.

Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost of other Fixed Assets over their effective useful lives as follows:

Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment

Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment 10 years straight line 20 years straight line Audio and computer equipment 3 years straight line

Expenditure on assets over £300 is capitalised.

Unrestricted and Restricted Funds

Unrestricted funds, including designated funds, represent the funds of the Church that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the Church.

Restricted Funds are where the income has been raised for specific purposes, for individuals or for specific events and the expenditure is reported accordingly.

2. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

COST
As at 1 Jan 2024
Additions
As at 31 Dec 2024
DEPRECIATION
As at 1 Jan 2024
Charge for the year
As at 31 Dec 2024
NET BOOK VALUE
As at 31 Dec 2024
As at 31 Dec 2023
Freehold
Property
Fixtures,
Fittings &
Equipment
Audio &
Computer
Equipment
£
£
£
557,051
-
66,188
-
3,360
499
_
_

_
557,051
66,188
3,859
_
_

_
-
-
46,344
2,965
2,971
473
_
_

_
-
49,309
3,444
_
_

_
557,051
16,879
415
_
_

_
557,051
19,844
389
_
_

_
Total
£
626,599
499
_
627,098
_

49,315
3,438
_
52,753
_

574,345
_
577,284
_

The Church has elected, in accordance with section 35.10(d) of FRS102, to use the carrying value on 1 January 2015, the date of transition to FRS102, of the freehold property previously carried at a valuation, as their deemed cost.

11

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

3. DESIGNATED FUND

A fund of £5,000 was designated for repairs of the church building and manse based upon the assessment of repairs anticipated in 2025.

4. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Brought Income Expenditure Carried
2023 Forward forward
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted
General fund 506,183 79,615 (62,564) 523,434
Restricted
Youth work 12,075 (4,475) 7,100
Family support 1,001 - - 1,001
Total 507,184 91,690 (67,039) 531,835
2024 Brought Income Expenditure
Carried
Forward forward
£ £ £
£
Unrestricted
General fund 523,734 78,343 (71,877) 530,200
Restricted
Youth work 7,100 15,216 (13,836)
8,480
Family support 1,001
- (345) 656
Total
531,835
93,559 (86,058)
539,336

The Family Support fund provides support to Church members in need.

A youth worker was engaged in 2023. The youth work fund records funds raised and expended specifically to support activity with children and young people.

A donation was received for the purchase of equipment for the youth club. When the this was spent the asset was no longer restricted and the funds were transferred to the General Fund.

Restricted expenditure includes £2,400 of the church leader and community worker’s employment costs relating to youth work for the year. This represents 8.25% of his cost during that period.

12

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

5. EMPLOYMENT COSTS

A salary of £39,025 (2023: £24,750) was paid to the church leader and community worker and the youth worker. Employer NIC cost of £Nil (2023: £Nil) was incurred due to the Employer Allowance.

An employer’s pension contribution of £3,621 (2023: £3,035) was made under the Workplace Pension Rules.

The average number of employees was 1 (2023: 1). No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000.

6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

No Trustee received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

There were no Trustee expenses during the year except for reimbursement of small expenditure incurred on behalf of the Church by individual Trustees.

7. MISSIONARY AND CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Gifts are made to various individuals and organisations who have a connection with the Church. The major donations were as follows:

Restricted
Unrestricted
£
£
Church Family Support
345
-
Open Doors
-
837

TABS
-
500
CR2EE
-
246

Mission to France
-
500

UCCF Exeter
-
500
Crossline
-
150

Scripture Union
-
400

Baptist Home Mission Fund
-
2,000

Tearfund
Lifewords
-
-
1,000
290


Barnabus Trust
Exeter International outreach
Individuals
-
-
-
500
730



_


345
7,653


___
2024
£
345
837

500

246

500
500

150

400

2,000
1,000
290


-
500
730



_
7,998
____
2023
£
-
-
500
773
500
475
-
-
1,000
475
-
266
500
475
_
4,964
____

13

SILVERTON EVANGELICAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

8. SUMMARY OF FUNDS

2023
Tangible
Fixed
Assets
Current
Assets
Current Non-Current
Liabilities Liabilities
£
£ £ £
Unrestricted
General fund
577,284
46,9722
(19,650) (80,872)
Restricted
Youth work
-
7,100 - -
Family support
-
1,001 - -
Total
577,284
55,073
(19,650)(80,872)
2024
Tangible
Fixed
Assets
Current
Assets
Current
Liabilities
Non-Current
Liabilities
£
£
£
Unrestricted
General fund
574,345
39,637
(16,607)
(67,175)
Restricted
Youth work
8,480
Family Support
--
656
-
-
Total
574,345
48,773
(16,607)
(67,175)
Total
£
523,734
7,100
1,001
531,835
Total
£
530,200
8,480
656
539,336
Total
£
523,734
7,100
1,001
531,835

14