## **Kensington Baptist Church Annual Trustees report  2025** 

The Church has continued to spread Gods word and minister to the people of Brecon and the surrounding area. Trustees take responsibility for different areas of the Church, and have produced a series of reports. 

## **Ministry and discipleship report** 

- Small Groups    A new small group will be starting after Easter bringing the number up to 3 groups regularly meeting. 

- Big bible study    This has been well appreciated but is having a temporary respite until Emma returns 

- Teaching   The “series” approach is well embedded and the latest linking the old testament to the new has proved really inspiring. 

- Worship  and leading     More people are involved with leading worship and services and this inclusive approach has been valuable with Emma’s absence. A worship leaders seminar was held in February 

## **Prayer and Pastoral Care Report** 

The pastoral team resumed meeting in January  discussing any issues and future planning. It was decided subsequently to meet every 3 or 4 months. 

Emma initiated a prayer experience in the church prior to Easter. This was open for most of the week before Easter and was well attended. This comprised of 10 ‘stations’ on various themes, encouraging reflection and private prayer. 

A new prayer list has recently been produced by Barbara and Roger. This includes anyone who has recently started coming to the church. The prayer ministry has continued on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays on the month immediately after the service. There is also a prayer gathering on the 3 rd Sunday of the month at 5pm, which has had varying levels of attendance. 

## **Hospitality and Welcome.** 

This area of the deacons’ responsibilities was assigned to Sarah and Keri at the deacons meeting in September 2025. 

This year the church has held a number of social events which have been great fun and given opportunities to deepen our friendships and welcome newcomers. These have included a church lunch , a BBQ, a Sport’s Day in the park, a birthday celebration for Blod’s 90 th and Gloria, a cricket match held at Crickhowell Cricket Club, a St David’s Day lunch, an Easter morning walk to watch the sunrise and a Harvest Celebration lunch. Thank you so much to all who have organised those events – and helped to wash up and tidy away after. Much appreciated. We’re hoping that people will come forward to offer ideas and help to organise events for the year ahead. 

The welcome team have continued to greet everyone as they arrive at our services on a Sunday morning. Barbara has faithfully organised this service but will be stepping down from Easter and Keri will take up the role. The deacons may look for some new welcomers to join the team. We are so grateful to Barbara for all her work and organisation. Thank you so much. 

Jo continues in her role to watch for new comers to the church who are returning regularly and collect contact details. Thank you Jo. This enables Emma to keep them in touch with our communications, by email or WhatsApp. However, it should be noted that most people who are part of the church play a very active role in welcoming newcomers and visitors and helping integrate those who are interested into the life of the church. The tea and coffee are also provided by a fantastic team who often juggle their rota commitments to lay on refreshments. This is organised by Liz who holds everything together. Thank you Liz and all who help. This year we have added two caffertieres to 



our equipment, along with a new dishwasher. We are also working towards being more aware of potential food allergies and intolerances among the people we serve. We could do with some extra helpers for this team. Please chat to Liz if it’s something you could commit to. 

Children and Youth – Rebecca Willis Muddy church 

4 leaders are currently running Muddy Church twice a month. Thank you to all who give up time and energy to do this it is greatly appreciated. Thank you also to those who invite and bring along young people to attend. 

The attendance is fluxuating; we have had quite a few visitors but not many have returned. 1 regular young person attends Muddy Church with others attending on a more adhoc basis. 

The team are considering how we can continue to provide something for children and young people on the first and third Sundays without spending lots of time preparing sessions for low or no attendance as this can be demoralising. This may take the form of pre prepared pick up and go activities, possibly contining with the Muddy church model and hopefully still going outside as much as possible. 

If you have and thoughts on Muddy Church going forwards or are interested in helping out in any way please talk to Becs. More volunteers would be very welcome! Fun days 

3 Fun Days have been run in the last year – Summer, holidays (Monday) October half term (Monday), Christmas (Saturday) 

Thank you to all who made these possible particularly to Emma for securing funding and heading them up. It was great to see so many visitors coming into the church as well as families we have connections with. The Deacons have considered an Easter fun day and have decided against it due to the church currently having depleted resources and the Sparklers team needing a break. We will look again at the possibility of providing something in the summer. 

Sparklers - Thanks to Paul Campbell for this report: 

It has been another successful and enjoyable year for Sparklers. My unofficial figures would suggest anywhere between 18 and 26 children come to each Monday morning session. The church hall provides the 

perfect venue for the children to enjoy themselves and for parents, carers and grandparents to chat, relax and socialise. 

Each term brings new children and families, as the older ones move on to nursery and school. In the last few 

months we have had more babies and under ones which is brilliant. As volunteers we also love to see our regulars who have been coming from the beginning and some parents are now onto their third child! It is a significant commitment for our dedicated volunteers. So huge thanks to Nick, Emma, Jo, Christine, Lindsay, Roger, Sue and Teresa. We would love more volunteers to be involved and this would help us all, as we do need to cover time away on holidays. We are open every Monday morning in term time and at half 

terms. We take a break during school holidays. 

It is great fun and very rewarding. My highlights include seeing the happy faces at the Christmas party, the nativity play-where they all get involved, seeing the families come to church open days and to muddy church, noticing the relief on a tired mum’s face when she is offered a tea or coffee on arrival. I particularly enjoyed being asked by one of our more active boys to sit down and read him a story during a rare quiet moment. 

## **Mission and Growth** 

- Kensington has a real presence in Brecon in the music scene and other networks. These relationships are an important missional opportunity and invitational church has resulted in growth. 

- Website and social media  Our website is a primary portal for visitors finding the church, Facebook is a fruitful way of advertising our activities and events. 

- Key moments     The musical event at the muse, Fun days, Sparklers, Beer and carols and other Christmas services, user friendly services like chatty church. 



- Alpha   The recent Alpha course has been held at Paul and Mel’s house and 5 people have attended as well as Paul Mel and Nick. 

- The church is growing and this is a wonderful thing!!!! 

## **Ecumenical relationships** 

Kensington is a key player in the Brecon churches together which is chaired by Nick. Key events have been Community Christmas Carols, a lent course and the good Friday walk of witness. 

## **Church Building  and Maintenance report** 

With the exception of ongoing problems with the heating (now fixed by a new boiler) The maintenance of the building has continued with the support of local tradespeople. Regular cleaning is undertaken by “Sparkle cleaning”, Windows cleaned by “So squeekin’ clean” Gas & heating work by ”Brecon Gas”, Electrical work including safety checks by “Beacons Electrical” and plumbing by “NSP”. The Church is insured with The Baptist Insurance company, and premiums have remained stable. The kitchen has been reorganised, with attention to safe practices. A replacement dishwasher has been purchased, new taps fitted in the kitchen, and the fire extinguishers updated and checked. A shed has been purchased and located outside the building, which has allowed for the reorganisation of cupboard storage in the hall. Overall, the building has served us and the local community well, and we are grateful for the responsibility of caring for such a fine asset. A small strip of land was sold to our neighbours to settle an ongoing discussion about rights of access. The funds raised by this sale, which are restricted to use on the premises, were approved by a Church meeting to be used for the installation of Solar panels. Applications for planning permission are ongoing. Adrian Clark 

## **Church Lettings Report** 

Moved bookings to Church Suite 

- Has enabled more people to be able to see the bookings calendar. 

- Calculating the amounts for invoices is simpler 

- A central database is useful. 

The Church hall is very popular during the daytime and evenings with Powys organisations, Charities, Music groups and Fitness classes. Most days there is activity taking place in the building 

A variety of groups 

- Dementia groups 

- Bereavement groups, 

- Baby speech and language, baby massage 

- Pilates & Dance 

- Orchestra, Baby & Toddler music 

- Rainbows, Brownies and Guides 

- Family History group 

## Issues 

- The heating has been a significant issue over the past year, hopefully that is now resolved. 

- Storage for regular groups has also been difficult, but with cupboard reorganisation and some outside storage this seems to have been resolved. 

- Security, occasionally windows have been left open, and the key taken which inconveniences other groups 

- Group organisers often want a contact telephone number which we need to consider. 

- • Fire doors are left propped open 

- Groups are tasked with clearing up after themselves which generally works well but occasionally those groups that are floor based, Pilates, baby music group, do have to sweep before they can start their session. 



## **Eco church report** 

- Regarding 'moving on' in the Award scheme, a new Eco church survey was introduced in 2025 with different questions and criteria and I will need to look at this and evaluate what further measures we can take to see if we can achieve the Gold award. 

## _**our outside space:**_ 

- 2 of our planters were emptied in order to move them and make space for the new shed. I found one planter internally damaged and this has been left empty to dry out and then determine whether it can be repaired. Meanwhile we have made a new metal planter to replace it. Around the end of March, new planting will be done in the large planters, and the front flower bed outside the sanctuary will have its spring tidy up and cut back. 

- The hanging bird feeders were removed last year as they were constantly being blown away. We put up window feeders instead, but these are apparently no longer recommended by the RSPB so the hanging feeders will be put back with more wind resistant hangers. 

## **Prayer walk report** 

We are guided by the scripture the Lord gave us when we started in 2017 from Jeremiah chp 29 v 7 “Seek the WELFARE of the city where I have sent you into exile and Pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its WELFARE you will have WELFARE”. As we go out we are praying for the needs of the people and town that the Lord will Bless them. 

A reading from Imani devotion about Prayer Walking. 

“When we walk the streets in prayer, we are carrying the presence of God into our community.  Prayer walking transforms ordinary ground into holy ground. Each step becomes an act of faith that pushes back darkness and welcomes the kingdom of God around us.  Prayer Walking turns streets into sanctuaries.” This past year has been an adventure. We went to different churches to pray alongside them. We have walked the streets of the town when events such as Jazz Festival, Brecon Choir Festival, County Show praying for protection, safety, blessing the business and accommodation. We have included going to venues and pubs not forgetting the Muse which held the “Experience the Light” at Easter. 

One of the highlights of the year was that we received permission and with the College Manager went into the Old Tax and Social Care building to pray in every room before the students occupied it. We go at the beginning of the academic year to pray at the schools and we had permission to go into every building that the NPTC occupy. 

The Ministry of Defence held free bus rides on the Epynt commemorating 85 years since the farms and communities were evicted. As this is land is out of bounds to the public we seized the opportunity to go and pray for healing and restoration of the land and people. 

At the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show we joined with other Christians based at the Christian Centre for Rural Wales to pray for the nation. Barbara Tonkin 

## **Prayer meetings report** 

Each Sunday a faithful, small group gather in the Lounge to pray before the service and also for church activities during the week. We also remember groups who use the premises during the week. Sometimes there are just 2 of us but can be up to 7. We use scripture to guide us and it is encouraging that how the Lord has led us to pray corresponds with the theme, songs and preaching during the service. We sense the presence of God as we faithfully pray for the people attending and trust that all will be blessed. That visitors will find a welcome and be encouraged by being in fellowship with us. Barbara Tonkin 

## **Walk ‘n’ Talk group** 

Walk n talk is having a break for a couple of months due to falling numbers and the poor winter weather. Sarah is liaising with the Ramblers Association talking about the possibility of rebranding the walks as ‘wellbeing walks’ under the umbrella of the RA. We are no longer able to meet in the cafe in St Marys after the walk, but if we restart we will meet in the theatre cafe. 



## Kensington Baptist Church, Brecon 

Financial statement & Accounts for the year ending 31st Dec 2025 

General Fund - receipts & payments Account, Lloyds Bank current account 

|Receipts|2025|notes|2024|2023|2022|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Offerings|£32,424.12|2|£26,891.94|£21,517.57|£20,592.00|
|Donations & other income|£1,692.40|3|£1,902.00|£2,470.20|£1,870.22|
|Gift Aid|£5,114.18|4|£5,767.90|£4,134.10|£3,804.03|
|Grants|£1,100.00|5|£0.00|£1,500.00||
|Room Hire|£14,849.20|6|£12,547.30|£8,398.00|£6,462.00|
|Utility refunds|£349.84|7|£194.44|£921.69|£797.61|
|Raised for other charities|£396.00|8|£220.00|£466.00|£385.00|
|Transfers|£0.00||£0.00|£17,120.70|£0.00|
|Total Receipts|£55,925.74||£47,523.58|£56,528.26|£33,910.86|
|Total income|£55,529.74||£47,303.58|£56,062.26|£33,525.86|
|Payments||||||
|Ministry|£41,198.17|9|£40,103.52|£13,941.76|£5,548.87|
|Mission|£3,534.18|10|£4,372.44|£2,453.02|£7,302.34|
|Church Premises|£10,071.57|11|£12,106.91|£13,270.38|£9,352.75|
|Fees & Subs|£464.00|12|£1,494.14|£1,373.92|£717.21|
|Sundries|£568.24|13|£305.56|£891.67|£2,396.19|
|Communication|£1,627.71|14|£100.00|£540.00|£920.49|
|loan repayment|£1,200.00||£1,200.00|£1,200.00|£800.00|
|Refunds|£0.00|||£1,100.00||
|Paid to other charities|£636.00||£365.00|£446.00|£395.00|
|Total Payments|£59,299.87||£60,047.57|£35,216.75|£27,432.85|
|Total expenditure|£58,663.87||£59,682.57|£34,770.75|£27,037.85|
|Balance||||||
|Bought forward|£24,816.21||£37,112.22|£95,800.71|£89,322.70|
|Receipts|£55,925.74|15|£47,523.58|£56,528.26|£33,910.86|
|Payments|£59,299.87||£59,819.59|£115,216.75|£27,432.85|
|Surplus|-£3,374.13||-£12,296.01|-£58,688.49|£6,478.01|
|Balance carried forward|£21,442.08||£24,816.21|£37,112.22|£95,800.71|



Minister: Emma Franks Deacons: Joy Garfitt, Nick Hay,  Sarah Rees, Kerri Wilder,  Adrian Clark Rebecca Willis, Martyn Harris 

Accounts prepared by A. Clark 

Dated  08  /  01    /  2026 

Accounts checked & approved by G Higson 

Dated   26  / 01 / 2026 



## Notes to General Fund Account, Jan - Dec 2025 

|Account Basis|1|Accounts prepared on receipts/payments - Lloyds General|Account|
|---|---|---|---|
|Offerings|2|Standing Orders|£30,058.00|
|||Cash offerings (includes donations via sum-up)|£2,366.12|
|||**Total**|**£32,424.12**|
|Donations & other income|3|Donations (funerals etc,)|£986.00|
|||Sparklers|£706.00|
|||Refunds|£0.00|
|||**Total**|**£1,692.00**|
|Gift Aid|4|3rd quarter not claimed this financial year (approx £1500)|**£5,114.18**|
|Grants|5|Grant from SWB for Easter musical production|**£1,100.00**|
|Room hire|6|payments incomplete ( £505 outstanding )|**£14,849.20**|
|Utility refund|7|Refund from EDF when account changed to Octopus|**£349.84**|
|Raised for other Charities|8|BMS General, & birthday|**£396.00**|
|Ministry|9|Ministers Pay (full year)|£33,542.17|
|||Ministers housing allowance (overpaid in 2024)|£7,656.00|
|||(Salary & housing combined for pensionable income)||
|||**Total**|**£41,198.17**|
|Mission|10|Sparklers|£396.93|
|||Home Mission - 12 month £150|£1,800.00|
|||Other mision, includeing outreach activities|£1,287.25|
|||**Total**|**£3,484.18**|
|Church Premises|11|Insurance|£1,627.61|
|||Utilities (note refund of £349.84 under income)|£3,347.67|
|||Cleaning & Maintenance|£5,096.29|
|||**Total**|**£10,071.57**|
|Fees & Subs|12|Baptist groups annual subs|£363.50|
|||**Total**|**£363.50**|
|Sundries|13|Kitchen & Office equipment|£354.39|
|||Cricket match|£100.00|
|||Food, beverages, gifts etc.|£113.85|
|||**Total**|**£568.24**|
|Communication|14|Church phone|£108.00|
|||Internet connection|£351.66|
|||Church suite software|£268.10|
|||Proclaim|£209.49|
|||CCLI Licences|£235.86|
|||Website|£129.60|
|||books etc.|£74.20|
|||Advertising|£250.80|
|||**Total**|**£1,627.71**|
|Receipts|15|approx £2,000 below expected figure, (see notes 4 & 6)|**£55,925.74**|





## Kensington Baptist Church, Brecon Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at 31 December 2025 

## **Assets** 

|Cash balances held at 31/12/24|Cash balances held at 31/12/24||
|---|---|---|
|General Fund - Lloyds Bank Treasurers Account||£21,442.08|
|Lloyds Bank 30 day access account||£84,943.88|
||**Total unreserved funds**|**£106,385.96**|
|Baptist Union Trust Fund account||£10,059.55|
||**Total restricted funds (building only)**|**£10,059.55**|
|**Non Monetary Assets**|||
|Church Site|Estimated value|£354,000.00|
|Church Building|Insurance value|£1,029,524.00|
|Contents|Insurance value|£54,827.00|
||**Total**|**£1,438,351.00**|
|**Liabilities**|||
|Baptist Strategy Building|Scheme loan (at 01/01/2023)|£41,800.00|
|Repayments||£1,200.00|
||**Total**|**£40,600.00**|



|**Total income & expenditure, all accounts,**|**2025**|
|---|---|
|(excluding specific grants & monies passed on)||
|Income||
|offerings, hire, donations etc.|£50,415.56|
|Gift aid|£5,114.18|
|Interest|£1,753.47|
|**Total income**|**£57,283.21**|
|Expenditure||
|Ministry|£41,198.17|
|Mission, fees, communication etc.|£6,194.13|
|Building, Utilities & insurance|£10,071.57|
|Loan repayments|£1,200.00|
|**Total expenditure**|**£58,663.87**|
|**Surplus/deficit  for year**|**-£1,380.66**|





## Reserve fund accounts 

## **Lloyds Bank Business Account - Secondary Account** 

||2025|2024|2023|2022|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Balance|£0.00 (account|£500.00|£500.00|£500.00|
||closed)||||
|Interest||£0.00|£0.00|£0.00|
|Transfers in||£0.00|£0.00|£0.00|
|**Total receipts**||£0.00|£0.00|£0.00|
|Payments (Ukraine Charity)||£500.00|||
|Transfers out||£0.00|£0.00|£0.00|
|**Total Payments**||£500.00|£0.00|£0.00|
|Balance carried forward||**£0.00**|**£500.00**|**£500.00**|
||**Lloyds Banks 30 day notice online savings account**||||
||2025|2024|2023||
|opening balance|£83,190.41|£81,184.62|£0.00||
|Transfers in (from current account)|£0.00|£0.00|£80,000.00||
|Interest|£1,753.47|£2,005.79|£1,184.62||
|**Total receipts**|£1,753.47|£2,005.79|£81,184.62||
|Balance carried forward|**£84,943.88**|**£83,190.41**|**£81,184.62**||



||**Baptist Union Trust Fund account**(reserved for building works)|
|---|---|
||2025|
|opening balance|0|
|Payment from land transfer|10000|
|interest|59.55|
|**Total receipts**|£10,059.55|
|Balance carried forward|**£10,059.55**|
||**Total reserve Funds**|
||2025|
||**£95,003.43**|





## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of  Kensington Baptist Church** 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the ABZ Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 30 November 2017. 

I confirm that I have no connection with the trust, other than my role as independent examiner. 

As the charity trustees of Kensington Baptist Church 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 s. 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under s. 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 in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; 

the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the _Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations_ 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

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. 

Signed 

Gordon Higson