RUSH Tr4 ERE baptist church Re8lstered Chwlty Number 1197284 TRUSTEES REPORT AND FINAhflALSTATEMEI¥TS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st DECEMBER 2024 Page No. INOEX Part L. I to 5 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Part B: FINANCIAL STATEMEMrs STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACtIVlTIES STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES NOTES l Basis of Accounts 2 Mission and other causes 3 Other Church funds: 4 Buildlng Fund 5 Mlnlstry 6 Upkeep of Church propertles 7 Admlnistratlon 8 Manse expenses 9 Recelpts Analysis - Offerlngs, Use of premlses, Interest recelved 10 Payments Analysls-other Church funds, Mlnlstry 11 Designated Funds io 12 Restrlcted Funds REPORTOF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER RUSHMERE BAPTI￿ CHURCH Report and Flnanclal Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2024 ReferenfL and Admlnlstraik)n Detslls Charity name Other names the charity Is known by Charity's princlpal address Rushmere Baptlst Church RBC 110 The Street Rushmere, Ipswlch IP5 IDF 1197284 Registered Charlty Number Mana8lng Trustee5 The Trustees for the year ended 310ecember 2024 and up to the date of thls report were.. Hazel Hunting Val Oufour Vivienne Dav15 Allan Tucker Shlrley Austin Davld Barnard Jenny Blades John Ford Rlchard Laycock Ray Parker Mark Trlpp Minister Secretary Asslstsnt Treasurer Treasurer ControlllnKTru$tees Baptist Unlon Corporation Ltd 129 Broadwav Dldcot Oxfordshire OXII 8RT Structure Govwnance ond Management Govem•nce The church is governed by the Approved Governing Document adopted at a Church Members, Meeting on 19, July 2016,. amended and re-adopied at Speclal Church Members, Meeting on 24, May 2022. Membershlp Member5 are admitted in accordance with the provisions of the Approved Governing Document by vote of the church meeting on the basis of their public profession of Chrlstlan falth either bv Believers Baptlsm or by affirmation. contlnued PartA- Trustees Report Page I RUSHMERE BAPTI￿ CHURCH Report and Flnandal Ststements for the Year ended 31 December 2024 Trustees The Managing Trustees of the charity are the Ministers of the church for the time belng (appointed by the church meeting for an unspecified period), the Secretary and Treasurers lappointed annually) and the Deacons of the church (appointed by the church meeting for a period of 3 years). The Trustees plan to meet monthly (holidays permitting) to review operations, the financial performance and discuss developments to ensure the church objectives are being fulfilled. Church Meelln8 Meetings of the church members are normally held bi-monthly .One of the$e meetlngs Incorporates the annual church members meetlng to receive the Annual Accounts and to appoint Independent Emaminers. The church meeting has rÈsponslblllty for the overall pollcy of the church in accordance wlth the Approved Goveming Document. Relevant matters may be submitted to the church meetlng by the Trustees for guidance, or may be ralsed by members in the church meeting for further consideration by the Trustees. ObJ¢ctlves and Acuvltles The prlnclpal purp05e of the church is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the prlnclples of the Baptist denomination. The charity also carrles out and supports other charltable purposes In the United Klngdom and other parts of the world. When plannlng the activltles of the year, the Trustees have consldered the Charlty Commission's guidance on public benefit and in particular, seek to enable people to find and live out thelr faith as part of our church communlty through.. Worshlp and prayer Learnlng about the Gospel and developlng knowledge of and trust In Jesu$ Provision of pastoral care Missionary and outreach work To facilitate this V￿rk we provide and malntaln the fabrlc of the church buildings at the charitys main address and also the church manse at 22 Roxburgh Road, Ip$wl¢h. Our maln activities include: Sunday worshlp servlces, Mid-week small groups and Pastoral work, Young peoples, clubs- various age groups Lunch club for the over 6¢Ys °Ru5hmere Duckling5" Babes and Tots group for parents or guardlaThs All our staff and volunteers that work wlth children and adults at risk have a cleared DBS enhanced check. conilnued PartA- Trustees Report Page 2 RVSHMERE BAWnST CHURCH Report and Flnanclal Statemenrs fof the Year ended 31 December 2024 Achlevements and Perf(Kmance We give thanks for the leadership of our Minister, Hazel Hunting. Hazel completed her second year as NAM (Newly Accredlted Minister) and has continued to bless us with her creativity, wisdom and energy. As well as leading our Sunday services, Hazel has continued to be part of the leadership of key mid-week artivitles Ducklings: Spring & Illumin8,' Henley House 5ervi¢e5' Outreach to Broke Hall School as well as her pastoral dutles. Thls wide range of responsibilities together with the Increasing numbers of people attending OiIT regular mid-week activities led us to consider how we could increase our capacity to reach out Into the Community with the good news of Jesus. At the Julv Church meeting, we agreed to recrult a part-tlme Mlnistry Assistant to work in partnership with Hazel, strengthening some of our current mid-week activities but also initiating new ones. We were delighted when. in October. God provided an excellent person for thls new role, commencing In January 2025, inltially on a 2 year contract. We celebrated Easter in March with a meal and servlce of Medltation on Maundy Thursday, lolned other 8apti5ts for a joint Good Friday service at Colche5ter Road Baptist Church and held an all-age servlce on Easter Sunday. At Chrlstmas, we had three new Initiatlves. Hazel led a "Blue Christmas. reftectlve service for those who find ¢elebratlng Christmas difficult; we held a Children's Christma5 party, to which many children from hollday club and FFAF came; The Famlly Natlvity Servlce was Joyous; Other actlvltles organlsed during the year were: A well-attended chlldren'$ holiday club at the end of July. It was a loy to see our teenagers leadin8 many of the actlvities and to see many of the chlldren and their families attend the Sunday service at the end of the week-when hot dogs were much enjoyedl Our teena8er5 then went to"New Day" for a week, together with our Minister and youth leader and all were Insplred by Mixing with young people from other churche5. The "Hollday at Home. event- a special day for our older generation. We have continued to support Unlted Evenlng Servlces wlth our local group of Chur¢hes, giving us the opportunity to support one another and share In dlfferent styles of worship. Provlslon of 70 Shoe boxes for.cry in the Dark" dlstrlbution in Romania At Harvest and at our December Gift Service a large collectlon of food, retall vouchers and chocolates were donated for the Ipswich Food Bank"FIND." In November, we participated in the Tearfund 8ig Quiz to support their work throu8h local churches In poor countries. Monthly coffee mornings for the local communlty where the proceeds go to support the work of St Ellzabeth H05pice. At ChrSstmas, the Candlelight Service and "Carols round the Pond" were very well attended with almost 400 people at the latter event. Both are good opportunltles to reach out to our community. There have been numerous occaslons when we have met together over meals and all have provided opportunities for fellowshlp and some funl Thank you to all those who have organised these meals. We 8ive thanks for the blessing of our Church building. It has become a popular venue for others to use as well as a reliable and flexible bullding ft>r ourselves. continued Part A- Trustees Report Page 3 RUSHMERE BAPTisfcHURCH Report and Flnandal Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2024 AChIeven￿nts and Performance- contlnued We praise God for our Worship team who lead us with such dedication ènd talent each and every week and who led a weekend of worship and praise at the end of November called 'Make Way.: thi5 was an afterni)on and evening of worship and testimonies leading to the Baptismal Service and Worship on the Sunday morning. tt wa5 such a 5plrlt filled weekend, such a blessing. Looklng back over the year, there have been many example5 of people stepping up to do new things, and of people growin8 In their falth and encouraging one another. At the end of the year, the joyous Spirit-filled weekend of °Make Way" a5 well as the Christmas services, has brought us together with deep sense of God's love for us and our purpose in working together to build H15 Klngdom. We have contlnued to provlde flnanclal support to the mission organisatlons and charltles shown on Page 3 in the attached Financial Statements. In our troubled and often violent world this, tO8ether with our prayers. Is a way that we can honour our Savlour and brlng hope. We pray that God wlll gulde the work and priorities of all these or8anisatlons and that they will have the resources they need. Future Plans As we go fonvard in 2025, we want to develop new ways of reaching out to the communlty, connecting w4th people and sharing God'5 love wlth them. Ben Wale wlll loin us In January 2025 as our part-tlme Mlnistry Asslstsnt and we look forward to see how God will use him and us In the year •head. May God open doors and hearts and give Hazel and Ben all that they need. We pray for God to embolden us wlth new energies and vislons to bulld on all that has been achleved in the past and go forward together wlth loy to reach others wlth the good news of the Klngdom. Hnanclal revlew The church flnances are shown In detall in the following Flnanclal Statements- Part B Pages I to 10. The Ststement of Financial Activbtles IRecelpts ènd Payments Account) on Page l of the Flnan¢lal Statements shows that the day to day actlvltles are accounted for In the Unre5trirted Funds column, resulting in a Cash Surplus of £1,579 for 2024 year and free Cash reserves of £79,195 as at 31st December 2024. The Average weeklv Glvlng figure for the year was £1,093 per week compared with the Bud8et figure of £l,IOD per week. Thank you agaln to all rnember5 contributing to the higher level of Donations to the General Fund during these difficult times. Together wlth a good level of Lettin8 income from the hirlng of Church premises and some unspent Non-Pay budgets in the Ministry line. the General Fund has reported a small Cash Surplus for the vear. contlnued Part A- Trustees Report Page 4 RUSHMERE BAPTISTCHURCH Report ènd Flnanclal Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2024 Re5eTves pollcy Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees In furtherance of the objectives of the church. The Reserves polic¥ requires a minimum level of free cash reserves of 3 .5 months of annual expenditure which currently equates to £25,OCNJ. The actual flgure held at 31 December 2024 is £79.195 and it wa5 agreed at the July Church Members meetin8 that the time is now right to utlllse some of these surplus cash reserves to appoint a new part-time Minlstry Assistant to intrease the Outreach capacity of the church, initiallv on a 2 year ¢ontract. The vlslon Is that as thls fole bears frult, new members will Join the church and all rnembers wlll prayerfully conslder the support they give for thls new role, that would allow It to be extended beyond the Initlal 2 year period and ultimately no longer have to be funded from the cash reserves In the General Fund. Desl8nated Funds are prlmarily fund5 Set aslde by the Trustees for specific projects or to provide funds for antlcipated major expendlNre in future years. They also include actlvltles admlnlstered by members of the Church. These funds are detailed in Note 11 of the Accounts, Re5tilcted Funds are donatlons recelved subjert to specific purposes by the L)onor5 as to thelr use a$ detailed In Note 12 of the Accounts. Dedaratlon The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report above and it is signed on their behalf bv.. Slgnature ALffJ<- Slgnature Name ft f fo4rfR Name J)L)FL)ue Position Posltion Date Date PartA- Trustees Report Page 5 R(ISHMEAE BAPT15T CHURCH STATEMÉ14TOF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Recelpts and Payments Account) FOR ThE YEAR ENOEO 31ST DECEMBER 2024 JWIIU25A*J$ Unreslrlrted IGener•ll D•sl8nat•d R•strirt•d Tot•1 Totsl Funds R•c•lpts Donatbns and Glfts 56,817 9,302 11,963 2,788 6,432 1.392 63.249 65.612 11,402 10,462 2,628 Income Tax refunds 10,694 11.963 2,788 2,528 3.837 Income from Church Property Interest Recvlvablo Mlsslon & Oth•r Caus*s Churth Funds & Actlvltles 2,528 1,09) 2,747 4.246 Legacies OtherlLoan monles Total R4t•lpts 81,960 2,747 10,351 95.058 Pvym•nts Mlnlstry Mlsslon & Other Cause5 48,576 12,049 12.121 635 48.576 14.577 11121 635 45.565 13.496 IL063 1,038 4.S27 5,041 2,528 Upk••p of Church Premlses Manse Expensej mlnlAration Church Funds & Actlvrf