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2023-12-31-accounts

Lumb Baptist Church

Charity No. 1199233

Annual Report and

Financial Statements

Year Ended 31[st] December 2023

TEXT FOR 2024 Come bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord” (Psalm 134:1)

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Reference and administration details

Trustees:

Mrs Sally Fielden Mrs Elizabeth Rimmer Miss Marilyn Grainger Prof Peter Fielden Mr Ian Rimmer Mrs Ros Bill Mrs Julie Sharp Mrs Beryl Tattersall

All the above were appointed on 11[th] May 2023.

The minister Revd Stephen Ansell is also a trustee and has been in position since March 2022

Registered Office.

Lumb Baptist Church, Burnley Road East, Lumb Lancashire BB4 9PL

Operating from: Lumb Baptist Church – as above.

Bankers

TSB, 55 Bank Street Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire BB4 7QN

Independent Examiner

Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE KM Chartered Accountants 1[st] Floor, Block C, The Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley BB11 1JG

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Trustees Report

Year Ended 31[st] December 2023

The Trustees present their report on the activities of the Charity.

Objects

The principal purpose of the Church 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.

Our Activities

Minister

I want to start by praising God for all the ways in which He has so richly blessed us over the last year. Renew Wellbeing and Lumb Little Lambs have both continued to grow and each of our three community events - the street party for the Coronation, Treat or Treat (our alternative Halloween event) plus the Fire Pit Carols were enjoyed by many. I also wish to praise and thank God for the dedicated individuals within our fellowship who have worked tirelessly to make these events such a success.

Thank you as well to everyone involved in the running of the church across the year. From those of you who looked after the building in any way, served refreshments, provided technical support, bought and arranged the flowers, preached or were on welcome of a Sunday morning to those of you who prepared communion, led our young peoples’ work, played in the worship band, oversaw the finances, assisted with the funerals, led the Sunday service or helped me prepare the crafts for our All-In services – your commitment has been invaluable. Please forgive me if I have failed to mention anyone involved in any other acts of service and hope you too will accept my thanks. I praise God knowing that your wonderful team effort will carry on into this new year.

So, what has God been saying to all of us over 2023? Well, we started the year with our key text, or more accurately key word, “Dwell”. We were called to dwell deeply in Jesus Christ by immersing ourselves in Him through reading His Word, much prayer and being fully open to the Holy Spirit.

Following on from this, a few weeks later, came our vision message which divided into three parts:

  1. We were to be a place where we dwelt deeply in God.

  2. We were to be a place of sanctuary for those going through the storms of life and, through God’s grace, they could have their lives turned around.

  3. We were called to be a place in which and from which, people can live courageously for God.

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In spring, we looked at the early chapters of Luke’s gospel, starting with Jesus in the wilderness and finishing with Jesus’ sermon on the plain. It was wonderful to hear again the amazing miracles and teaching of Jesus, but most of all to see how Jesus seemed to value the company of ordinary people and even the worst of sinners. We saw again that absolutely no one is beyond God’s love.

We spent the summer with Gideon, a man who was short on confidence and full of excuses, yet with the presence of God overcame the Midianites. It reminds us again that if God is with us, we can do what is seemingly impossible. This encouragement continues to speak to us in 2024 as we seek God’s will for our future.

Finally in the autumn, we turned to The First Letter of John. John’s main themes are:

We have started 2024 with our key text for the year ahead:

Though it might seem a totally strange thing for us to do, we saw that it really does move God’s heart when we express our love for Him in words, in time spent with Him in prayer and reading and by serving Him. I pray that in all these ways we will truly bless God in 2024 May God bless you all. Steve

Secretary

What an encouragement it is to be writing this report having had Steve and Sarah with us for two years and the blessing their ministry has brought to us.

Here I seek to address areas not covered in all of the other separate reports. We are delighted to have further developed our links with Water School over the past year by them having their Easter, Harvest and Christingle services in our building. We also again gave every child a Real Easter Egg and Peter Fielden continues as a school governor with them.

Easter Time saw our energetic folks walking to Towneley Park and back and a good number of people saw in Easter Day sunrise with a communion service on the top of the field behind us.

The final administrative details were completed and on May 11[th] we had our first annual general meeting as the newly formed Lumb Baptist Church Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

We have been heartened by the response from our community to the Coronation Street Party, Treat or Treat event and the Fire Pit Carols; it was encouraging to see so many local people and make new links and contacts with our community.

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We now have a trained Welcome Team for Sunday services and our rotas are published on a We now have a trained Welcome Team for Sunday services and our rotas are published on a We now have a trained Welcome Team for Sunday services and our rotas are published on a
three-monthly basis. There has also been the addition of a monthly Sunday evening prayer
meeting.
The morning service on Sunday 23rdApril included the dedication of Toby Fielden. On Saturday
20thMay Steve Ansell had a surprise 60thbirthday party at church, many thanks to Sarah for
getting him there whilst keeping the secret!
We were very saddened by the passing of our dear friend Lynne Kemp in July, we thank God
for her life, it was a privilege for us to have known her, may her family know God’s peace and
blessing.
As we review another year, we praise God for his many blessings to us and His amazing grace
poured out to us through Jesus Christ. As we look to the future our hope and trust is in Him.
God bless Sally
Coffee with a Cause
We were able to have only 4 coffee mornings this year as the people who run it had family
commitments.
January - RAFT -£35
February - Defibrillator -£130
March - Marie Curie - £100
June - CAP - £70
Thank you all who come along to support such good causes.
God Bless
Carole Commented [S Fielden1]:
Flowers
I would like to thank all those who have kindly provided flowers for the church each week. It
has been a difficult time for me this year so I do appreciate all the help. I love to see the
flowers in church which are then taken to someone who may be ill or you think it would show
we care. There is a list at the back of the church for you to add your name if you wish to
provide flowers. There are quite a few places available over the year.
Thank you, Beryl.
Lumb Little Lambs
Lumb Little Lambs is the baby and toddler group that meets in the church every Thursday
morning (in term time) from 9.15-11.15am.
We usually have about 12-15 children, but more recently have seen numbers increase up to
20. Nearly all the children are from local families which have no other contact with the church.
Hopefully we come across as a very friendly and welcoming group.
As well as general play time we have regular story time where the children and adults gather
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Thank you, Beryl.

round and listen to a Bible story. We also sing nursery rhymes and regularly sing ‘Jesus’ love is very wonderful’, then finish with a prayer before snack time.

Over the last 12 months we have had an Easter Egg hunt, sports day, Christingle service and a Christmas party. A number of our children and their families attended the King’s coronation party, the Treat or Treat event and the carpark carol service.

It’s a real privilege to be involved with the running of this group, getting to know the children and their relatives, and hopefully showing something of the love of Christ to all who come.

A very big thank you for everyone who is involved in helping on a regular basis. Please remember to pray for this very important work in the life of our church.

Susannah

Men’s Group

Following on from a conversation at a house group a new men’s group has been established this year. The aim of this is to enable social activities including both members and non-church members. Communication is via a Whatsapp message group. There are currently 19 gentlemen in the group with others more than welcome to join.

Activities so far have included a canal boat trip on the high seas of Skipton, a ten-pin bowling evening, a trip to the national railway museum in York, a games night at Lumb and a Christmas meal at the Rose and Bowl.

Activities to come include an evening with Stephen Oldfield, a local historian, scheduled for February 22[nd] . In addition, we are in the planning stage of a trip out of the valley to the National Motor Museum in Gaydon. Ideas for future activities and trips are more than welcome.

We hope that this will help cement and deepen relationships within the church community and also provide an opportunity to invite people who otherwise would not be involved in church activities. Please hold this group in prayer for the year ahead.

Steve Allcock

Open the Book

Our Open the Book team meets every Monday at our church to rehearse the story for each week. We are a team of nine people from different denominations across the Valley, but five of us are from Lumb. We go into five different schools over each half term, Water and St Annes each week; Newchurch every two weeks; and St Pauls and St Mary's every half term. Therefore about 950 children and staff hear the Word of God on a regular basis. Although this sounds a lot, there are still nine schools we cannot go into purely because we do not have enough active members on our team. What a joy it would be if more people came to join our team, then we could approach more schools and enable more children to hear the Word of God. Christianity is taught in schools but only under the 'umbrella' of Humanities and 'Comparative Religion’.

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We go into schools having prayerfully brought them before God and asking the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the hearers.

We always try to use good props with a good visual effect to add emphasis and impact to the stories which are all written by a Christian man called Bob Hartman. He is well known for his interpretations of Bible stories, and he also writes stories himself. We would ask that you join us in prayer on Mondays and Wednesdays to strengthen the work that is going on and ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to work in us and through us to these precious lives.

Thank you. Grahame and Jennifer Long and the Open the Book team.

Pastoral Care Team

On the Pastoral care team, we aim to ensure that every member of our church and congregation is safe and happy. If anyone is missing from our Sunday Service for more than 3 weeks without telling anyone, then we will be concerned and we will try to contact you. We will remind everyone on our list who is their link person, and how to get in contact with us. Please feel free to contact your link person if you have any concerns, if you need a lift or if you just need a natter.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are all one body made up of different parts, but we all rely on each other. The pastoral care of Lumb Baptist Church still remains with each member looking after each other.

Jennifer Long.

Prayer Meetings

Our fellowship prayer meetings are a vital part of the life of our church. They are times of worship and praise, thanksgiving and intercession.

Every Sunday morning from 9.45 to 10.15 there is a prayer meeting in the room next to Steve’s office. This is a peaceful and quiet time to thank God and commit all aspects of the service to Him, especially for everyone taking part in leading the service, and for everyone who is attending.

On the first Saturday morning of each month we have a prayer meeting in the church lounge from 8.30-9.30am. On the last Sunday evening of each month we have a prayer meeting from 6.30-7.30pm again in the church lounge. Please think about attending any or all of these meetings. Even if you think you would never want to pray out loud that’s fine- it’s also a time to pray quietly.

It is good to be together in fellowship with God and each other.

Susannah

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Renew Wellbeing Lumb

Every Monday term time 2.00 - 3.30pm. A space to come and “just be” … time out for you. Sit and read a newspaper, do some mindful colouring, a word search, a crossword, Sudoku, or have a quiet prayer. We always have a jigsaw on the go, or you can join in with some artwork, crafting, play a tabletop game or table tennis for the more active. Equally just have coffee/tea, homemade cake and a chat. We finish the session with a wind down of relaxation and short reflection.

This year we had the final money from the local Coop community fund of £1600 which we used to refurbish our lounge with settees, cushions and coffee tables.

We also bought several other resources, planters, compost and plants.

We link in with Social Subscribers and Age UK and we have had a dementia information day. We also had the pleasure of welcoming five students from Burnley College who started a placement with us at the end of the year. They brought singing and chair-based exercises to the group. Pat Bridge stepped down from being a host at the end of this year and we are very grateful for all her input and support. We are open to all and praying for more to come from the community. Renew can be a space for those who feel burdened and stressed to come and chill out. You may not be burdened or stressed but you can always come and sit with someone who is. So if you are free one Monday afternoon come and join us.

Ros on behalf of Renew Wellbeing Lumb.

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Safeguarding Report

As I have noted previously, Safeguarding is a very sad but a completely essential component of the fallen world in which we live. As a church, it is so important that we adopt the “gold standard” in safeguarding practice to protect all who may be at risk, and also, equally importantly, to protect those who work with children, young people and adults at risk (formally known as “vulnerable adults”).

During the past Church year, I am very pleased to report, and offer great thanks to our Father in Heaven, that we have had zero safeguarding incidents. It is so important that we seek to maintain this record in the coming year, but also that we continue to have in place the appropriate mechanism to deal with a safeguarding issue, should it arise. The key Safeguarding person at Lumb is Julie Sharp, (Designated Person for Safeguarding). Julie organises both the DBS checks and training sessions. She is also the “go to person”, should there ever be a safeguarding incident. She is also very willing to advise on all aspects of safeguarding. A lesser role is that of the “Safeguarding Deacon” (at Lumb this is Peter Fielden) whose role it is to ensure safeguarding best practice is being followed, and to publicise the need for training and DBS checking.

Safeguarding best practice is described in our local church Safeguarding Policy, which is a lengthy but necessary document, based on best practice guidance from the Baptist Union. This document is compiled to explain in sufficient detail about how we should implement safeguarding best practice within all meetings that include children, young people and adults at risk. You may find a copy of this document on the church website. There is also a printed copy pinned to our notice board at the back of church. If anyone requires a printed copy, please contact Peter Fielden as the Safeguarding Deacon.

Please be aware that we are required by law to run a DBS check on each of our church workers. At Lumb, it is also our policy that our deacons should be both formally safeguarding trained and DBS checked for completeness. If you would like to help with our work, at Lumb with either children, young people or adults at risk, then please ensure you have an up-to-date DBS check. If you are unsure whether your old DBS check is still valid, or need to enlist for a DBS check, then please ask Julie.

Finally, please understand that whilst Safeguarding is there to ensure a safe environment for all who may be described as children, young people and adults at risk, it is also there to ensure the safety of all our dedicated workers who serve in such an environment within our fellowship at Lumb.

My heartfelt plea is unchanged from my previous annual reports: It is that, whether or not you are affected by safeguarding practice directly, you hold the safety of our children, young people and adults at risk, and also those who serve as workers with these groups regularly in your prayers. Please pray for the Lord’s protection and guarding in all that we do at Lumb in this regard – many thanks.

Peter Fielden (Safeguarding Deacon)

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Sunday School Report

In days when families no longer routinely send their children to Sunday School, we are truly blessed to have so many children and young people worshiping among us week by week. We are thankful for their lively energy, and it is a joy to see them growing. We all share in the ministry of nurturing, encouraging and welcoming both families and individuals of all ages as we seek to grow in Christ together.

We continue to have two groups:

The primary section , led by Jennifer and Amanda have five children who attend regularly. They enjoy story time, crafts and creative play.

The older group who also have five young people attending regularly are led by Susannah and myself. They also enjoy art, quizzes, competitive games, drama and are growing in their confidence in reading the Bible.

Both groups have continued the curriculum we started in 2022 of teaching the Old Testament in chronological order and breaking it up with events from the life of Jesus and learning about how he met with many different people.

This year, it has been particularly noticeable that the older young people are developing their abilities in speaking from the front and acting out different characters from Bible stories, and also leading and encouraging younger children.

The children and young people have been busy in craft activities: creating Mothering Sunday cards to go with the flowers, making Easter gardens in the Easter family service, assembling wreaths of poppies for the Remembrance Sunday service and walking forward to the war memorial with them during the service, making Christmas cards with Bible verses for all the congregation.

The nativity service is always a highlight of the year and this year it took a modern twist with newsroom scenes reporting the events in Bethlehem. Many thanks to Ian for writing and producing and to all the young people for superb characterisation.

The year also concluded with an outing to the pottery painting café in Waterfoot.

Thank you to everyone who is willing to come in Sunday School classes and give their support to the leaders, your input and support is very much appreciated.

Julie

Financial review

The attached receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities summarise the church finances in 2023.

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Reserves policy

The Reserves policy of our church is to hold six months’ staffing costs and six months’ regular expenditure to allow the church to adapt to any changes in the income or expenditure of the church. This is subject to a minimum of £20,000. After preparation of the 2024 budget, six months regular expenditure is deemed to be £30,000.

At the financial year end the cash reserves are in excess of this amount.

Risk management

Risks to the charity include those mitigated by comprehensive safeguarding policies and training and insurance covering buildings, contents and activities. A formal risk assessment has been worked on by the trustees.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Church is an independent charity. In accordance with our Constitution Trustees are appointed as required and aim to have a broad range of skills and contacts within the Church community. The trustees are also the Deacons of the church.

The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated organisation number 1199233 governed by its Constitution.

Approved by order of the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 10[th] June 2024

Trustee

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Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of Lumb Baptist Church

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE KM Chartered Accountants 1[st] Floor, Block C, The Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley BB11 1JG

Date 10[th] June 2024

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LUMB BAPTIST CHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
2023 2022
Receipts
Weekly offerings 39863 37256
Gift Aid 9410 9597
Grant - 1881
Church weekend 395 6155
Other donations/income inc Gift Day 4309 7340
Deposit account interest 530 214
Rent received (Manse & ground rent) 8343 5230
62850 67673
Payments
Minister's stipend, Employers NIC, Pension contributions, property 39669 36453
Donations to other organisations 3898 5669
Cleaner 1701 1544
Manse 2902 5700
Church property costs (including roof repair, windows etc) 6792 5250
Equipment 168 5148
Graveyard 844 555
Church weekend - 7830
Independent examination 300 282
Other 10789 11067
67063 79498
Net receipts (4217) (11825)
Balance brought forward 52122 63947
Balance carried forward 47905 52122
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LUMB BAPTIST CHURCH STATEMENT OF BALANCES

LUMB BAPTIST CHURCH
STATEMENT OF BALANCES
Cash Funds
Bank accounts
Baptist Union account
Other Assets (at cost)
Manse
Liabilities
Other liabilities – repairs
Funds held unspent
Other assets
Chapel (no historical cost records available)
Other liabilities
Baptist Ministers Pension Fund		 2023
39,997
7,908		 2022
44,442
7,680
47,905
52,122
120,000 120,000
5384
-
5,384
Nil Nil

The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the trustees on 10[th] June 2024

………………………………

Trustee

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