**HONITON FAMILY CHURCH - ANNUAL REPORT For the year ending 31[st] December 2021** **Name of Charity -** Honiton Family Church **Registered Charity Number -** 1181655 **Registered Address -** High Street Honiton Devon EX14 1LW **Trustees -** The following individuals served as Charity Trustees between 1[st] January 2021 and 31[st] December 2021: - Mr Tim Judson (Pastor) - Mr Jon Millard (Treasurer) (1[st] January – 1[st] July) - Mrs Serena Brooks (Deacon) - Mr James Tupper (Deacon) - Mrs Becky Kingdon (Secretary) (1[st] January – 22[nd] November) - Mr Matthew Clapp (Treasurer) (25[th] January – 31[st] December) - Mr Richard Lucas (25[th] January – 31[st] December) - Helen Charters (25[th] January – 31[st] December) - Ken Bedford (25[th] January – 9[th] March) - Kev Hannay-England (25[th] January – 5[th] November) **Property Trustees-** Baptist Union Corporation Ltd Baptist House, PO Box 44, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 8RT **Bankers-** ## **General Account:** **Restricted Account:** Lloyds 82 High Street Honiton EX14 1JJ Lloyds 82 High Street Honiton EX14 1JJ **Independent Examiner -** Emily Wilkinson 1 ## **Organisational Structure and Decision-making processes –** Honiton Family Church (HFC) is an unincorporated association with Managing (Charity) Trustees appointed by a meeting of Members. Members of the church are accepted in accordance with the constitution which allows open membership so that persons who have not been baptised in the manner described in the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle may at the discretion of the members’ meeting be accepted for membership based on their own public profession of faith. All members are encouraged to take part in the spiritual and practical tasks involved in the furtherance of the charitable objective. Members meetings take place six times a year and have responsibility for the overall policy of the church. Additional meetings are held as required. In accordance with the constitution, the members appoint Trustees, who together with the Minister, Church Secretary and Treasurer (who are also appointed by the members), are collectively known as the Diaconate. The Diaconate have overall responsibility for the day to day running of the church’s work and witness, and the financial and legal aspects of the charity. Relevant matters may be submitted to the members meeting by the Trustees for guidance or may be raised by members in members meetings for further consideration by the Trustees. HFC is governed by a church constitution. Though the constitution permits decisions to be made at church meetings by appropriate majorities, the church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible. 2021 was another exciting and challenging year for the church. Continued restrictions, which were ever changing, meant that relationships and coherence in the community has been tricky. However, despite the difficulties, our numbers have stayed relatively stable. In September, we began to meet again physically, after nearly a year and a half of being online for our Sunday services. Various community-based groups have been using our building space in different capacities, and our opportunities to be involved in the wider community have increased. Our pastor, Tim Judson, has continued to establish good relationships with the wider community, and has encouraged members of the church to develop existing relationships. It has been our intention as a church to build on the connections we have already had with local organisations and individuals, so that we might help serve the needs of the wider community together. Tim has also encouraged people to invest more heavily in the areas of life within which they are currently placed, whether that is in a profession (such as teaching or working in a local shop), being a full-time parent, or through interactions in the neighbourhood and other community initiatives. This has enabled our presence in the wider community to become stronger. The hope for the following year is to develop more structure within the life of the church, particularly in terms of the leadership, so that we can better equip people to serve in the wider community, and, to facilitate ways that we as a church 2 organisation can work at filling in some of the gaps that exist socially, economically, and spiritually. HFC continues to pay a part-time cleaner, who is supported by volunteers on an ad hoc basis. Looking ahead to 2022, as finances permit, we are keen to pay for help with administration which will support and strengthen the work we do to serve our church family and our wider community. ## **Objectives –** HFC is a Baptist Church and is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. HFC is governed by a church constitution which is based on _“20[th] March 2008 Approved Governing Document for BUGB churches”._ This document states that the principal purpose of the charity 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.” HFC occupies premises which are held by the Baptist Union Trust Corporation on Trusts which are entirely compatible with the above objective. **We seek to be a church who are** “Seeking God’s kingdom in Devon as in heaven”. This means that: - Jesus Christ is the origin, means, and goal of all that we are and do. - We are family-friendly, committed to everyone; both young and old, rich and poor etc. - We seek to be grounded, imaginative and relational in our life together. - We aim to embody Christ both inside the church, and within the town and wider area. We aim to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed and to bring people into a closer relationship with Him as the Living Lord. Moreover, we aim to be a church that welcomes people of all types and experiences into our church family confident in the transforming power of Jesus in all our lives. In order to achieve this, HFC provides a variety of activities both to its membership and to the wider community. HFC is heavily dependent on its membership working as volunteers in all aspects of the church’s activities. Many of these activities run with little or no impact on the church’s expenditure, but nevertheless contribute substantially to the achievement of the church’s objectives. 3 ## **- Regular Activities** ## **Sunday Services –** At the beginning of 2021, our Sunday services were held online. As restrictions were lifted, we transitioned from weekly online services to meeting in person. Since September of 2021, we have been meeting on a Sunday morning at 10:30am for worship together. We now meet at the chapel building on the High Street, which is owned by the church, rather than resuming our gatherings at the community college. We aim for our services to be accessible to seekers as well as both new and mature Christians by having a simple and fluid service structure. The format of our services has been simple, due mainly to the necessary caution because of COVID-19, but also because of the limited number of people able to volunteer on a Sunday. Therefore, we usually meet for an hour, singing, praying, having a short talk, and sometimes some interactive activities for children. This year, we have not had refreshments for people but hope to resume this in due course. Communion Services have been held less regularly than in previous years, but they have generally been at least once every two months. There are also “seasonal” services at other times. As of the 31[st] of December 2021, HFC has 43 church members. As the situation regarding COVID-19 continues to alleviate, we hope to broaden the horizons of what we do together, not just in terms of Sunday mornings, but also in our wider life together. ## **’ Children s Work –** **Little Stars Parent and Toddler Group** – Little Stars runs every week during term time and is attended by, on average, twenty 0–5-year-olds and their carers. It has been encouraging to regularly see new parents attending. Little Stars is a great access point into church, and it is a great way for us to build relationships with our wider community. We have been able to invite the families in attendance to other events including services and family and community events. We have themes, parties, and trips and at the end of the summer term we hold a “graduation ceremony” during our Sunday Service for those starting school. The Little Stars Parent and Toddler Group met online throughout 2021. The online support group enabled parents, carers, and volunteers to stay in touch. While our ‘usual’ activities continued to be limited by the pandemic, we were able to continue to find new and interesting ways to ‘meet’ and offer input and encouragement to local families. Each week, we held an online story-time for our Little Stars community to watch live. We plan to begin meeting in person again in January of 2022. 4 **Families Events -** Our families events provide outreach for the whole family unit. Due to the pandemic and resulting government restrictions, our usual activities were limited. However, we were pleased to be able to hold a family Nativity service online in December. **Sunday Mornings –** During 2021, our age group co-ordinators worked to provide content for our children and families to access. The team produced seasonal activity packs for our children and families containing crafts and bible-based learning. We were also able to begin after-service meetings for our children and young people. These were held once a fortnight and were an opportunity for the church to encourage and support families as well as giving the children and youth a safe environment in which to socialise. These meetings began online but transitioned towards in person meetings as restrictions allowed. In October of 2021, as children’s groups were not restarted straight away, our age-group coordinators produced activity boxes for the children to enjoy during the Sunday services. ## **Pastoral Care –** This year, we have continued to try and encourage pastoral care within the Life Groups that operate (there are four of these groups). We are still trying to be mindful of those who are part of our community, but who may not be invested in a Life Group. It is hoped that in the coming year, we may be able to develop a strategy to facilitate pastoral care more effectively, possibly by appointing a team leader to work alongside the pastor. **The Team -** We hope to provide support for all those who are part of HFC in whatever capacity. This support takes a number of forms and, given our limited resources, is largely based around walking alongside somebody in difficult times, listening and praying with them as well as signposting more practical help in the form of CAB, CAP or Social Services. The relationships that Tim has built with other organisations are proving to be very useful for us in referring people to get help. Organisations such as Parental Minds CLC and Honiton Food Save are working well with us, and they use our building space as they support us. We have certain people in the church who work for these organisations as a result of the relationships being built. We have a number of families and individuals struggling with mental health issues; depression, anxiety and the effects of living with children with additional needs. Through our Life Groups, specific relationships, as well as the program of church life, we hope to compliment the work done in conjunction with other organisations to support people, as part of our ongoing pastoral care. 5 **Life Groups -** HFC runs four life groups. These groups encourage social fellowship and growth of faith and discipleship. Although our life groups are attended mainly by church members, they are open to anyone who would like to contact a group and learn more about the Christian faith. In the last year, Tim has produced online videos resources that have been accessible for Life Groups to follow off the back of Sunday sermons. This has meant that people who are not at the service on a Sunday can still catch up with the content (Tim also sends a copy of his sermon to the church). Our groups currently meet on Mondays, Wednesdays (2) and Thursdays. The groups provide a great opportunity to encourage one another and to pray for those who are struggling with life both within and outside of HFC. **Prayer Meetings –** We are committed to being a church family that regularly gathers together to pray for our church and for our wider community. Our monthly prayer gatherings have been well attended over the past year and have continued to be so in the lockdown, over video-conferencing. From September, these monthly prayer gatherings have been in the main hall of the church building, and attendance has increased. These prayer gatherings have been a valuable way in which we have been able to support our community while not being able to meet physically. As restrictions continue to lift, we hope to create more opportunities for prayer, not just for people in the church, but for the wider community. Pending vaccination roll outs, we hope to make use of a prayer room space in the building for daily prayer as part of this. **Safeguarding -** The safeguarding team meet regularly to discuss matters of concern and to update procedures. In order to provide a safe and trusted environment, we ensure that all our volunteers working with children and adults at risk are subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We ensure that all volunteers understand and adhere to our Safeguarding policy. ## **Other Regular Activities –** Throughout 2021 we have had to adjust and find new ways to engage with and support our local community. Many of our usual social events and family events were not able to continue as planned. However, we have been excited to develop new relationships within our local community and learn through the pandemic what areas of need there are in Honiton and the surrounding area. **Work parties –** Weekly work parties continued in the January of this year, right up until the September, when we began to meet again as a church. We have since organised occasional work parties where we have cleaned up areas or spaces that need to be maintained. A significant work party was the clearing out of the kitchen space, which had been condemned by the EHO in January 2020. We have since discovered numerous structural issues to the building, which are necessary to sort before we refit a new kitchen. 6 Finances permitting, we hope to establish an order of tasks that need to be done, so that we can eventually fit a new kitchen as part of fulfilling our mission to the wider community. ## **– Charitable Giving** In past years we have given to Home Mission and BMS. Due to the changing climate in 2021, we were able to give the reduced amount of £1000 to Home Mission. but look forward to being able to increase our giving in the future. HFC has a link with Compassion UK. Compassion UK is a Christian charity that seeks to release children from poverty through child sponsorship. Compassion UK provides vulnerable children with food, clothing, education, access to medical care and the care of their local church. We were not able to hold a Compassion service in 2021 as we have in previous years, but we look forward to being able to do this again in the future. HFC commits itself to supporting missionary work, both local and further afield, through financial giving and in prayer. During 2021, despite our financial constraints, we were keen to serve the local community in ways that were appropriate, within the limits and potential of our resources in a broader sense. One of the ways we achieved this was by opening up our building to local charities and community-focussed groups that needed a physical space within which to operate, but which had no financial means to achieve this. During the ongoing struggles constituted by the challenge of COVID-19, we approached some key groups who were doing work that we wanted to partner with. Groups like the Honiton Food Save and Parental Minds were given storage or office space free of charge. The geographical location of our church meant that it was a strategic location for these groups to operate out of, and our relationships with others in the town have increased as a result. It is hoped that as these groups begin to accumulate financial means, especially means towards venue hire, that they may in due course be able to contribute to the wider work that we are seeking to do as a church, and in turn, be supporting us as we try to support others. 7 ## **2021 HFC Annual Financial Summary** In 2021, HFC continued to recover from the aftereffects of the Covid pandemic and resultant lockdowns. The ongoing humbling generosity of the church’s congregation and membership meant donations and offerings totalled £40,159 and they continue to be HFC’s largest source of income. Gift Aid revenue was down at £1,980, but a number of claims for this period should appear in the 2022 figures, owing to administrative issues. Pandemic restrictions meant lettings income for the church building was substantially reduced to just £480 for the twelve months, whilst income from letting the manse generated £9,750 across the year. Stipend/salaries of £33,520 were the largest single area of expenditure in 2021. Other expenses, totalling just over £17,000, were largely due to repairs and running costs for the church and manse, as well as contributions to the pastor’s housing. A donation of £1,000 was made to the Home Mission. We continued to transfer £100 per month from the General Account into the Reserve fund. The balance at the end of December 2021 was approximately £12,000. While the 2021 HFC accounts show a return to positive income of £3,591 overall, caution is advisable. Storm damage to the roof and other pressing building issues means funds will be very limited in 2022. Matthew Clapp, HFC Treasurer 8[th] September 2022 8 21HF Ann IFin CMARITY (OhlMISSIOM FOR IND Receipts and payments accounts T• CC16a •Wiri•ii JVI3X21 Section A Receipts and Pa￿15 fvr AIR t•J 1&1•6 pts •14 ARI 171 5t hilEr 144 144 gTrVg ÈIAIIJ 4M7 SiJ6• 1mT 17• .n¢ 1.?27 979 &Ji J7 23.N2 21.7) 4.1 2&B53 section B Statement of assels and liabilities at the end ol the wiixl ifvestnded Re5rtt ETrtb)Wjtt￿nt rd5 13115 10 10 rm HFC does not measure the su￿sS of ils pro3rammes only in numbers (including financial numbers), but also in areas like fellowship. encouragement and Ihe development of people's lives to cope with the difficulties of living in today's world. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure. but believe that 2021 has been a positive year in the life of the church, as it ¢c￿lInUeS to re-invent itself and pursue its mission to: 'Seek God's kingdom in Devon as in heaven,. The Truslees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that the activities outlined above demonstrate Ihal the charily is providing a benefit to the public. This Annual Report was approved by the trustees on.. Signed on behall of the truslees by: (Signature} {Posilion) // (Signature) TH.r￿... ckn.lfp FACOAJ (Name) (Posilion) CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO AND WALES Independent examlner's report on the accounts Soctlon A Indopondont Examinor s Report Rgport to lh• trusl••sl m•rnbgr8 of Honiton Family LIKwch On account• for th• year ended ai Decen)ber 2021 Charity no lif any) 1181615 S•t 4Xrt on p•g•• 1-11 I wort to the trustees on my emamknaI￿ of the accowts of the abo arlly {Ihg Trusi'i kn U* yeai eThJed 31 Decembw 21)21 Responsibilili•s and As cfwity li￿$ d Lho TnJsl. you rosponsibl8 Iw ihv prewabon b••è• ol r•port cl th• accounts In ac£ordw¢• ¥Ath th• rtyuirenxnts of th• Charib•$ 2011 llhe Act. ). 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