2025-12-31-accounts - Light Of Life Baptist Church

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period from 01/01/2025 to 31/12/25

Charity name: Light of Life Baptist Church

Charity registration number:1201230

Objectives and Activities

The principal purposes of the Church are: -

The advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination.

The Church may also advance education and conduct other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.

Beliefs

As a member of the Baptist Union the Church subscribes to the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle:

“That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.

That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried and rose again on the third day’.

That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.”

Activities

In fulfilling the purposes, the Church will engage in a range of activities either on its own or with others that will vary from time to time with activities being initiated, expanded, or closed, as appropriate.

The activities may include but are not restricted to:

regular public worship, prayer, Bible study, preaching, and teaching.
baptism, as defined in the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle.
the Communion of the Lord’s Supper which shall normally be observed at least once a month.
evangelism and mission, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
the teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of all people.
nurture and growth of Christian disciples.
education and training for Christian and community service.
giving and encouraging pastoral care.
supporting and encouraging charitable social action in the United Kingdom and abroad.
encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christian denominations.

The charity trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Achievements and Performance

Light of Life Baptist Church CIO in 2025 was continuing the work of the church in promoting the Christian Faith as detailed in ‘Activities’ above.

In 2025 Light of Life Baptist Church CIO had the following achievements:

Meeting altogether, at least twice a month (usually on 1[st] and 3[rd] Sundays) for services which include communion and provision for children, young people, and adults. Attendance at the services increased throughout 2025 and visitors, as well as regular church members, were often present.
We have welcomed, enjoyed, and valued hearing from visiting speakers across the Baptist Union and other Christian Denominations, at a number of the services during Elizabeth Stoners sabbatical.
The Christian celebrations of Easter, Harvest and Christmas were also marked by the fellowship with additional events, such as sharing pancakes with members at our Nourish service, an Ash Wednesday service, a community meal on Maundy Thursday, a Good Friday service, a sunrise service on Scratby beach on Easter morning, a Harvest celebration, Christmas Carol service and a Christingle service on Christmas Eve. Everyone has been welcomed to these events, by publicising both in the Chapel’s front Window (which is on the pavement edge) and through social media (The Chapel’s Facebook page). Events are promoted through the local Facebook community page. Christmas services were advertised in the free local NR29 booklet which is delivered to all households in the NR29 area.
LoL held 4 Family Meetings (Partners’ meetings) in 2025. These meetings always include worship, sharing of administrative and legal information such as financial updates and policy reviews (as required), and opportunities to

prayerfully consider development of new and old activities. All these meetings are minuted.

Safeguarding/Health and Safety/GDPR/ Social Media policies were reviewed at the AGM.
The Church has continued to meet its legal requirements by being insured (buildings, contents, public liability, and employer’s liability) and has maintained fire safety and other safety and risk assessment checks.
The leadership team of Charity Trustees met monthly during 2025 and continued to meet monthly during the 3 months that our pastor Elizabeth Stoner was on Sabbatical. The trustees’ meetings are a mixture of spiritual discernment, any pastoral needs, and legal and admin matters. All these meetings are minuted. Light of Life aims for all the fellowship to be involved in tasks, activities, and decisions, not just the charity trustees, and seeks to encourage involvement of everyone as able.
In 2025 Light of Life Baptist Church CIO continued to meet, all together, in person twice monthly on a Sunday. At the first Sunday of the month, we meet for a ‘Nourish’ service. This is a time of sharing breakfast, followed by a time of contemplative worship and devotions. The Nourish format has seen more people attending.
The third Sunday of the month is our ‘Gather’ service. This is an all-age service, incorporating praising (through song), prayer, teaching with sharing of communion together. The numbers attending is slowly growing.
Our ‘Life Groups,’ small group meetings have continued throughout 2025. These happened in both our chapel building and in people’s homes.
Oasis, a Renew Wellbeing Group, has continued to thrive, growing in numbers (now with approximately twenty attendees each week). Some of the Oasis attendees now attend other LOL services and activities (such as Sunday morning services) and are becoming embedded in the church family. Oasis meets every Monday morning, even on all the bank holidays continually throughout the year.
In January 2025 we held a Youth Alpha course, which was attended by a small number of our youth. The Youth then went on to lead the Nourish service in May.
Renew Cambridge -a small struggling Baptist Church (with whom we met in 2024 and have now been added to our regular tithes), a few members of Renew visited The Chapel and joined us for our March Gather service.
In March one of the LoL partners started to steer an online life group called Xplore for those ‘New to faith.’ It continues and the direction of the topics discussed around faith are steered by the members thoughts and questions each time they meet.
The Chapel hosted a packed few days of activities for Christian Aid Week in May 2025. As well as raising funds for Christian aid, the event brings different Christian denominations in the village together and attracts the community.
Throughout the year LoL serves the community by providing free events. In 2025 two ‘Lego Cafes’ were held during school holidays. These provided a safe place for children to play, parents and carers to meet, free refreshments, opportunities for those attending to chat and get to know members of LOL, and opportunities to donate to Flegg area Food Bank (financially or by bringing food donations).
LoL continued in 2025 supporting ‘The Bibles for Children’ by collecting and donating sufficient monies to provide Bibles in the local school.
In June, a few members of the leaders’ team attended the Baptist Church at Wittard Road in Norwich for the regional Eastern Baptist Association meeting and service afterwards.
At the beginning of June LoL started a short half an hour of evening worship on the first Sunday of the month led by one of the partners. This is a service of worship and thanks to God.
In July LoL was awarded the grant application for buildings work to improve the warmth and efficiency of using The Chapel for services etc.
In August LoL opened The Chapel for a local group to use the facilities while they were attending the local village fete.
Elizabeth held a fifth Sunday family picnic (gathering) at her manse which was well attended.
On September 3 partners of LoL took part in the Annual Churches sponsored bike ride, cycling between a number of churches around the parish and local areas.
Light of Life provided the use of the chapel, free refreshments and cake, and toilet facilities for those who were out in the village on the evening of 31[st] October, opening our doors to approximately 150 of our community.
In November we hosted a Tearfund Quiz- helping to raise money and awareness within the community of this charity. Both partners and members of the local community attended it.
In December Oasis joined with the Ormesby St Margaret Church and took part in their Christmas tree festival.
In 2025, the website was updated to include our inclusivity statement, which has increased enquiries from people looking for an inclusive church. As a result, we have had new members join us and share our services.
Pastoral work, especially for those who are no longer able to attend chapel events and for those experiencing times of hardship (bereavement, illness, and hardships) continued in 2025. Pastoral visits are maintained by our minister, trustees, and all members of the fellowship. ‘Pastoral matters’ is a recurring agenda item at Trustees meetings, to ensure nobody is overlooked. During Elizabeths Sabbatical information was shared among the leadership team and partners were engaged to help when able.
In 2025, a couple of trustees began volunteering in different areas of their local community, including Ormesby ‘Stay and Play’. One trustee also volunteered to support the local Great Yarmouth Christmas Stocking campaign for families in need across the wider community. Members were informed about the campaign and encouraged to donate gifts.

Financial Review

Light Of Life Baptist Church CIO, Charity Number 1201230 was legally registered with The Charity Commission for England on 5.12.22.

End of year accounts for Light of Life Baptist Church (up to 31.12.25) have been prepared and ratified by an external examiner.

Reserves Policy:

We should only hold money in reserve for specific reasons. Whilst the Bible clearly indicates that we should not hoard, it is also clear that sensible planning for known events and responsibility for, and to, others is important. We are taught to believe that God will provide, and we all know that this is true and that there are many instances, both large and small, in which it can be demonstrated. God does not however expect his people to be foolhardy, but to count the cost of a project before they proceed with it. The Trustees need to balance their faith in the ongoing provision of God through his people, with the contractual obligations they have.

We believe it is correct and proper to hold in reserve a minimum of 3 months operational costs. This is to ensure we can meet our responsibilities and contractual obligations through any minor disruption in income.

The trustees will review the reserves policy every year, with the treasurer [continually] monitoring the status of the church finances and providing interim information / reports to leadership and membership meetings.

Structure, Governance and Management

Type of governing Document: Constitution

How is the Charity Constituted? Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee selection detailed in Constitution of Light of Life Baptist Church CIO. Trustees are members of Light of Life Baptist Church and are elected by the membership at Members’ meetings.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Light of Life Baptist Church
Other name the charity uses	LOL
Registered charity number	1201230
Charity’s principal address	Light of Life Baptist Church, The Chapel, North Road, Ormesby, GreatYarmouth. NR29 3RS

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for full year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Rev Elizabeth Stoner	Minister		Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Gemma Pearce	Treasurer		Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Catherine Linstead	Secretary		Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Stephen Howard			Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Hannah Farman			Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Marie Hearney		Jan- Oct	Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church
Heather Nichols		Jan-Oct	Membership of Light of Life Baptist Church

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved.

Director name None

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name	Dates acted if not for full year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others.

Description of the assets held in this capacity.	None held
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how these sits within the custodian charity’s

objects. Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets

Other optional information

Light Of Life Baptist Church CIO, Charity Number 1201230 was legally registered with The Charity Commission for England on 5.12.22.

The financial year for Light of Life Baptist Church runs from 1[st] January to 31[st] December.

Light of Life Baptist Church CIO Charity Trustees’ plan for 2025 was:

Succession planning for new Treasurer for 2025
Continuing to fulfil our purposes of “advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination.”
Complete handover to new treasurer in 2025

All these targets were achieved.

Light of Life Baptist Church CIO Trustees plans for 2026 are:

To live out our values of Hospitality/Sabbath/Spirituality through the events below:
Continue with the action plan for the seven energy efficiency recommendations made in 2025 survey.
Apply for grants to replace The Chapel roof.
Further engagement with the local community and community projects.
Encourage and help the faith of the young people to grow as disciples of Christ.
Continue to develop Oasis as a consistent and regular well-being safe space for the wider community.
Continuing the church rhythm and encouraging involvement from partners, children, and visitors as we grow together in faith, showing Christs love for all.
Plan further visits to Renew Church Cambridge.
Continue with serving the local community in a range of outreach events, eg. further Lego cafés, social events and inviting people to our monthly Nourish breakfasts.
- To introduce teams of people to oversee and help (where able) with the day

to-day activities required to encourage growth and outreach of our church.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Catherine Linstead Signature(s) Gemma Pearce Catherine Linstead Full name(s) Gemma Pearce Position (e.g. Treasurer Secretary Secretary, Chair) Date 20/05/2026

CC16a

Charity Name Light of Life Baptist Church

No (if any) 1201230

Receipts and payments accounts

Period start date

Period end date

For the period from

12/31/2025

1/1/2025

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

to the nearest £

Total funds Last year

to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

A1 Receipts
Offertory	40,940	-	-	40,940	35,310
Legacy	10,000	-	-	10,000	-
Non restricted gift aid	7,468	-	-	7,468	7,203
Savings Interest	722	-	-	722	942
Donation - Pension Loan	-	2,500	-	2,500	1,400
Donation - LEGO Cafe	48	-	-	48	-
Donation - Bike Ride	53	-	-	53	-
Donation - Childrens Bibles	-	239	-	239	-
Donation - Food Bank	-	5	-	5	-
Donation - MNDA	-	423	-	423	-
Donation - Christian Aid	-	407	-	407	-
Donation - Oasis Utilities	377	-	-	377	-
Grant - Baptist Building CIO	-	5,000	-	5,000	-
Chapel Hire	50	-	-	50	-
Ink Cartridge Recycling	11	-	-	11	-
Unrestricted 2024 Donations					1,850
Restricted 2024 Donations		-	-		4,078
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	59,668	8,574	-	68,242	50,783

A1 Receipts
Offertory Legacy Non restricted gift aid Savings Interest Donation - Pension Loan Donation - LEGO Cafe Donation - Bike Ride Donation - Childrens Bibles Donation - Food Bank Donation - MNDA Donation - Christian Aid Donation - Oasis Utilities Grant - Baptist Building CIO Chapel Hire Ink Cartridge Recycling Unrestricted 2024 Donations Restricted 2024 Donations *Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	40,940	-	-	40,940	35,310
	10,000	-	-	10,000	-
	7,468	-	-	7,468	7,203
	722	-	-	722	942
	-	2,500	-	2,500	1,400
	48	-	-	48	-
	53	-	-	53	-
	-	239	-	239	-
	-	5	-	5	-
	-	423	-	423	-
	-	407	-	407	-
	377	-	-	377	-
	-	5,000	-	5,000	-
	50	-	-	50	-
	11	-	-	11	-
					1,850
		-	-		4,078
	59,668	8,574	-	68,242	50,783
- - Sub total - Total receipts 59,668 A3 Payments Ministrycosts 33,473 Tithes 4,906 Memberships 285 Church Outreach 317 Donation - Childrens Bibles - Donation - MNDA - Donation - Christian Aid - Visitingspeaker costs 90 Church Operations 1,201 Chapel maintenance 905 Chapel maintenance(CIO) - Chapel Roof - Tech maintenance 630 BU Pension Loan 1,262 Chapel Utilities 663 Chapel insurance 887 Bank fees 153 Oasis 50 Hospitality, outreach, LOLyoung people - - Chapel utilities and insurance - - Sub total 44,820 A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). Misc refunds to account (youth chill monies and manse water and seweragepayments Gifts to other organisations (food bank, B f C,tear fund) Office, wifi, website, tech, CCLI, bank charges		- - - 8,574 - - - - 239 423 407 - - 489 2,020 - - 5,055 821 - - - - - - - 9,454	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - 68,242 33,473 4,906 285 317 239 423 407 90 1,201 1,395 2,020 - 630 6,316 1,484 887 153 50 - - - - 54,275
					534
					-
					534

					51,317

Ministrycosts	33,473	-	-	33,473	32,868
Tithes	4,906	-	-	4,906	4,208
Memberships	285	-	-	285	-
Church Outreach	317	-	-	317	-
Donation - Childrens Bibles	-	239	-	239	-
Donation - MNDA	-	423	-	423	-
Donation - Christian Aid	-	407	-	407	-
Visitingspeaker costs	90	-	-	90	-
Church Operations	1,201	-	-	1,201	1,267
Chapel maintenance	905	489	-	1,395	2,090
Chapel maintenance(CIO)	-	2,020	-	2,020	-
Chapel Roof	-	-	-	-	-
Tech maintenance	630	-	-	630	-
BU Pension Loan	1,262	5,055	-	6,316	3,308
Chapel Utilities	663	821	-	1,484	-
Chapel insurance	887	-	-	887	-
Bank fees	153	-	-	153	-
Oasis	50	-	-	50	-
Hospitality, outreach, LOLyoung people	-	-	-	-	1,072
Gifts to other organisations (food bank, B f C,tear fund)	-	-	-	-	498
Chapel utilities and insurance	-	-	-	-	2,424
Office, wifi, website, tech, CCLI, bank charges	-	-	-	-	1,385
*Sub total*	44,820	9,454	-	54,275	49,120

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)

	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	Sub total -	-	-	-	-

	Total payments 44,820	9,454	-	54,275	49,120

	Net of receipts/(payments) 14,848	- 880	-	13,967	2,197
A5	Transfers between funds -	-	-	-	-
A6	Cash funds last year end 26,457	5,492	-	31,949	-
	Cash funds this year end 41,305	4,611	-	45,916	2,197

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Details Current account BU 1 month notice deposit account BU 7 day notice deposit account Details Details Details Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Pension Loan with Baptist Union Corporation Limited, outstanding balance	to nearest £ 4,611 - - 4,611 OK to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - 32,919 - - - - Restricted funds Restricted funds Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
		-
		-
		-
		-
		OK
		to nearest £ Endowment funds
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		When due (optional)
Pension Loan with Baptist Union Corporation Limited, outstanding balance	32,919
	-
	-
	-
	-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Signature	Print	Name	Date of approval

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of

Charity Name Light of Light Baptist Church

On accounts for the year ended

31 December 2025

Charity no (if any)

1201230

Set out on pages

CC16a p1-3

(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

Responsibilities and basis of report

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 12 / 2025 .

As the charity trustees of the Trust, 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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed 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 material matters have come to my attention ( ~~other than that disclosed below~~ *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed:

Date:

19.04.2026

Name:

Martin John Rivett

October 2018

IER

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address:

49 Crestview Drive

Lowestoft

Suffolk NR32 4EW

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

October 2018

IER