Thaxted Baptist Church
Trustees’ report April 2026
We thank God for His goodness over another year.
In our Sunday morning services we are blessed to have worship enhanced by our musicians and systematic Bible teaching through the sermons. The two Bible study groups are flourishing and the regular monthly prayer mornings are continuing. In October a special ‘Day of Peace’ with talks and practical sessions was much appreciated by all who attended. Numbers on a Sunday morning are increasing gently and it has been a joy to welcome younger members to the church family as well as older friends.
Many of the church family have experienced ill health and other difficulties during the year and we mourn with Margaret especially in the loss of Bryan. In all the ups and downs of life the love and care shown by the church family is a great source of strength and comfort.
Our engagement with the local community has continued through our regular activities: the coffee morning, men’s breakfast, Community choir and Coffee & Company for those who have been bereaved. Liz and her helpers have arranged more craft days which are always much enjoyed by all who attend.
The regular monthly services at Humfrey Lodge continue and we again hosted some of the residents, their carers and families at the church for Christmas and Easter services. A new venture is a monthly service at CraftAbility (formerly Thaxted Centre for the Disabled). A seated exercise class is held every week and is very well-attended. We have maintained our support for the Foodbank with a lot extra at Harvest, and the fresh produce from Harvest is given to Pam’s Place for the community lunches.
Classes from the Primary School have visited at Christmas, Easter and Harvest; the pupils enjoy the story and craft activities. Jim also goes into the school to take assemblies.
Jim’s sermons and monthly reflections are posted on the church website and events are also posted on the town Facebook page. The monthly reflections are also posted on the local websites. We contribute to the Thaxted Community Magazine which is delivered to every household in the town, and Jim and others make frequent contact with the shopkeepers and local businesses.
We have shared in Thaxted Churches Together events including the Good Friday walk of witness, the Big Brekkie, a summer picnic and the Harvest service and supper. The Messy Church Summer Holiday Club was a lively event enjoyed by a good number of children.
The building project is making slow progress: the application was finally submitted to the Listed Buildings Advisory Committee in September 2025 and after making the changes requested, we await their decision imminently.
The deacons wish to thank everyone who contributes in any way to the life of the church; many of you fulfil more than one role and the deacons appreciate your support and prayers. We are grateful too for the generous giving which enables the church to run well and, in turn, to support other ministries in the UK and worldwide.
The reserves policy of the church is to hold £10,000 from the free cash reserves to cover church running costs and the cost of ministry for six months. This policy is reviewed annually.
As we deacons look forward to this next year we feel that God has given our church a special vision to seek his heart in prayer. The early church was steeped in prayer and the results were spectacular. The deacons encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities for corporate prayer in church life.
The world these days so often seems full of confusion, pain and violence. We pray that TBC will be a place where people feel welcome, safe and cared for, and that the church will be a beacon of light and hope in Thaxted and beyond.
Jim Ford, Carole Marchant, Paul Tingey & Fran Griffiths
| wr CHARITY COMMISSI FORENGIAND ANDWAIES |
THAXTED BAPTIST CHURCH | THAXTED BAPTIST CHURCH | THAXTED BAPTIST CHURCH | THAXTED BAPTIST CHURCH | 1182813 | 1182813 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Totalfunds | Last year | |||||||||
| tothenearest€ | tothenearestf | to thenGarest | f | tothenearestf | to | thenearestf | |||||||
| A1 | |||||||||||||
| RegularOfferings | 25.082 | 25.082 | 16.275 | ||||||||||
| Donations&Other lncome | 1,542 | 1.5,42 | 1,842 | ||||||||||
| ManseRent | 10.353 | 10.353 | 12.135 | ||||||||||
| Raisedfor other Causes | 851 | 851 | 555 | ||||||||||
| Gifl Aid | 5.561 | 5,561 | |||||||||||
| Building&Repair Fund | 387 | ||||||||||||
| total( tncomelor |
|||||||||||||
| AR) | 42,538 | 85'l | 43,389 | 31,194 | |||||||||
| A2Asset and investment sales, (seetable). |
r--=r--l r--- t----_] |
r--lr---l r---.1 T---:l |
|||||||||||
| rotatreceiptsl-Afiil | l-ili] | f-l | I | m,asgIl-iii!?l | |||||||||
| A3 | |||||||||||||
| !linistry | 4.158 | 4,158 | 5,625 | ||||||||||
| Vlission | 5.740 | 795 | 6.535 | 5,115 | |||||||||
| lhurchRunningCosts | 7,549 | 7,54S | 9,422 | ||||||||||
| \llanse | 4,358 | 4.358 | 9,4?2 | ||||||||||
| \dministraion | 1,489 | 1,489 | 2,173 | ||||||||||
| )utreach/Evanoelism | 556 | 656 | 425 | ||||||||||
| ;hurchRepairs/ lmprovements | 8,185 | 8,186 | 8,599 | ||||||||||
| Subtotal | 32,036 | 795 | 32,831 | 40,781 | |||||||||
| rotatpaymerr'rc | l--ffiI | l-l | f | 3r$ilt-----l67ETl | |||||||||
| ,yetu,recetp.st tpi,ymenrs);.Gi ASrransrersbetweenrundsI-j A6Cashfundslastyearend |
74,6771 cashrundsthisyear"rrrc |
;-i l-] 1 f---lTl |
1s5l |
i-; I- |
I-1 |
i......G;i i.Isg-n -1I -if-] - ll zt,stzlI s+,lrgl I 8sproll-155r1 |
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds tonearest€, |
funds tonearestf |
funds tonearestt |
|||||
| BlCashfunds | +++ | ||||||
| Totalcashfunds | I | *JrrlI |
^ll | -I | |||
| (agreebalanes | with receipts and paymonts | ||||||
| account(s)) | Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||
| ji: | tonearestf | tonearestf, | tonearestf | ||||
| 82 Other monetary assets | |||||||
| Cost (optionaU | |||||||
| 83 lnvestmentassets | |||||||
| F':!ll | : | Fundto which | Cost(optional) | Currentvalue | |||
| 84Assetsretainedforthe | ChurchBuilbing | ||||||
| charity'soyvnuse | Manse | ||||||
| Fixtures,Fittings& | Equipmeml (Church) | ||||||
| Furniture & Furnishings (Manse) | |||||||
| B5Liabilities | BMS | WorldMission | |||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Print Name | ||||||
| ( |
| Report to thetrustees | ThaxtedBaptist Church |
|---|---|
| Onaccountsforthe year ended |
31stDecember 2025 Gharityno |
| Setoutonpages | 1-3 |
| Ireport to thetrusteeson my examinationofthe accounts oftheabove | |
| charity("theTrust") for theyear ended3111212025. | |
| Responsibilitiesand | Asthecharity's trustees, youareresponsible forthepreparationofthe |
| basisof report | accountsinaecordance withtherequirementsoftheCharitiesAct2011 |
| ("theAct"). |