Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT 2021122 Page 1 of 14 MELKSHAM BAPTIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS for YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022 ON Presented on behalf of the Deaconate by: Mr Alan McFall Church Secretary & Treasurer Approved by Deacons (Managing Trustges) at Diaconate Meetlng on lis V Chairman........ Mr Joshua P ar, Pastor Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 2 of 14 ## _**Legal & Administrative Information**_ Name of Charity: Melksham Baptist Church Officially “Manse for the Minister of Melksham Baptist Church & Sunday School” Address of Charity: Old Broughton Road Melksham Wiltshire SN12 8BX Email: Website: www.melkshambaptistchurch.org.uk Charitable Status: Registered with the Charity Commission of England & Wales Registration Number = 261709 Administration: The Church was founded under Trust Deed, originating in 1669. Day to day administration and leadership are the responsibility of deacons (managing trustees). Of the deacons, the church secretary and church treasurer constitute the officers of the church. Decision-making is the collective responsibility of the church members through the Church Meeting, a quorum being represented by thirty percent of the church membership. At the date of this report, managing trustees or deacons are: Mr Joshua P Parmar Pastor in training Mr Alan D McFall Secretary/Treasurer Miss Caroline Hancock Mr David Payne Mr Maurice Perry Deacons are elected at the Annual General Meeting to serve for a period of three years; following which they must stand-down but may offer themselves for re-election. The Church is affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and its regional administrative body, the West of England Baptist Association. The West of England Baptist Trust Company Limited are Custodian Trustees, holding in trust the title deeds of the property at Old Broughton Road, known as Melksham Baptist Church and Sunday School; and the property at Western Way known as The Old Baptist Burial Ground. Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 3 of 14 ## _**The Church**_ Melksham Baptist Church is affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and to the West of England Baptist Association. It is also a member of the Melksham Family of Churches. Membership of the Church is open to all who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and whose lives bear evidence of that fact. The usual means by which people become members is through Believers' Baptism. Those desiring to become members are asked to seriously consider the New Testament teaching on baptism, but the Church shall welcome into membership those who earnestly desire to serve and follow Christ and who come from other Christian traditions. The fellowship was formed in 1669 and the building in which we worship today is Grade II listed, having been built around 1776 _._ ## _**Objectives**_ The advancement of religion for the salvation of all who believe in Jesus Christ and for the benefit of society in general, both locally and in the wider world. Specifically, making Jesus known in Melksham. ## _**Principal Aims**_ - Be a worshipping, witnessing community of Christians; ministering to the members, wider congregation and local community including through links such as Melksham Family of Churches, schools and other voluntary organisations as appropriate from time to time. - Help others come to a closer relationship with their Creator and Saviour. - Support the work in Great Britain of the Baptist Union Home Mission and that overseas of BMS World Mission - Encourage the giving of time and talent to aid and development work, primarily through other charities whose aims are compatible with our own - Maintain the church premises as a safe and sound environment in which we, and other groups to whom we give access, may function; doing so in a manner that preserves the listed building, as far as possible, in its original form Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 4 of 14 ## _**Policy Statements**_ ## **Reserves** The policy of the trustees is to retain sufficient reserves to maintain the smooth day to day running of the church, avoiding as far as possible being overdrawn on any bank account. We also need to be in a position to meet our commitments as an employer of the Pastor both during employment and in the event of unexpected cessation. We need to be mindful of the requirement for significant capital expenditure, from time to time, on maintenance of our property portfolio which from 2020 now includes a manse. ## **Investment** Where the trustees have opportunity to exercise influence over investment decisions, they do so on the strength of advice from the Custodian Trustees, seeking to maximise the annual return over a period of at least ten years and through either Government or ethical stocks. Short-term surplus funds are held in a “pooled” bank account, managed by the Baptist Union Trust Company Limited. ## **Risk Management** A Health & Safety Review is conducted every two years and reported to the trustees. A two-yearly portable electrical appliance check is conducted. An electrical installation condition report is produced every five years (latest in April 2019). A quinquennial (5-yearly) inspection of the property is carried out and reported to trustees and custodian trustees. (This was last done in April 2019). The most significant risk we face is of the occurrence of a “cessation event” whereby we no longer make contributions to the Baptist Pension Scheme and are required to make a single payment to clear our share of the deficit in the Defined Benefits section of that fund. To this end, it is our policy to avoid a cessation event and to make use of the period of grace facility by which we continue making contributions during the time of a pastoral vacancy. ## **Internal Financial Controls** We follow the guidelines contained in the Association of Church Accountants & Treasurers Handbook as far as is practicable for a congregation of our size. ## **Conflict of Interest** We take care to avoid situations where conflict of interest may arise, whether in letting of contracts (deacons declare/monitor interest) or in making of decisions at church meetings (members absent themselves where necessary). ## **Complaint Handling** The Pastor and Church Secretary, who involve other deacons or specialists as relevant, initially deal with complaints. A record is kept of all correspondence and discussions. Where relevant, we take guidance from the Charity Commission guidelines on Reporting Serious Incidents. ## **Safeguarding** It is policy for Pastor, deacons and all involved in leading work with children or vulnerable adults to have attended the complete set of Safeguarding Training sessions to level 3, as provided by WEBA. DBS checks have been completed on all relevant members in the past and are renewed in line with recommendations (currently after 3 years). Policy and associated procedures were reviewed during the year 2020/21. ## **Data Protection** We have a policy and procedures to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (May 2018). Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 5 of 14 ## _**Brief Review of Church Life in the Year to March 2022**_ ## **Summary** A gradual return toward normality was managed in line with easing of Government restrictions until January 2022 when most of the former activities of church life were re-established: communal worship, prayer/study meetings and all hosted activity in our premises with the exception of the Gateway Club. Contact was maintained with new, young families and has resulted in the toddlers Rhyme Time group gaining strength and meeting every week in term time. Regular social events are now being planned for summer of 2022. The cover photograph shows, on the left, the small pre-prepared individual elements for Communion that were used in worship until February. Church meetings were held only for urgent and very important business, and this included an AGM at which everyone who wished was able to attend. In October the deacons attended a residential weekend introduction to the local Baptist Association’s (Webnet) “re:imagine” programme associated with our receipt of a Home Mission grant. We have found this to be thought-provoking and enjoyable as well as likely to be critical to the future of the church. We continue to be grateful for the moral and financial support of our neighbours in Corsham Baptist Church as well as the guidance from the Baptist Union and West of England Baptist Association (aka Webnet). ## **Members & Friends** - Sadly, two members passed away. One other transferred her membership to the Independent Chapel at Atworth. - Three new people have been attending worship on an increasingly frequent basis in recent months, as have several Rhyme Time families, which is encouraging for all. - At 31[st] March, church membership stood at 32 people (although 3 have lapsed over the years). - We are in regular contact with over 40 individuals via email/phone/letter and the number accessing the regular YouTube session is variable. ## **Outreach** - The pastor, his wife and children have maintained regular contact during lock-down via Facebook with Rhyme Time families and the numbers attending since returning to operation have been growing steadily since the turn of the year. - We have contributed to the Family of Churches outreach to young families via Messy Church, although this has had a difficult return to normality since Christmas, partly due to having to move to different premises (kitchen facilities having become unavailable at the previous school). ## **Social Activity** - None has been possible for most of this church year. ## **Church Growth – Development of Faith** - The Home Mission Grant from WEBA has allowed us to continue to employ our Pastor in training and he has been very faithful in preparing a sermon each week, supporting those in need of prayer and moral support and pursuing his training via contact with the Baptist College in Bristol via Zoom. Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 6 of 14 ## **Other Witnessing** - It has again been our privilege to provide food and essential support to those who have been referred to the Melksham Foodbank. The demand through the periods of lockdown has almost doubled and, thankfully, so has the level of donation of food and finances from the community. Otherwise, there has been limited opportunity. - Funerals and weddings have given an opportunity for witnessing to the faith and have led to new contacts being established. - **Management of Premises** - This has been limited to essential routine maintenance that can be carried out with regard to social distancing and within our financial capabilities. The organ had its regular tuning and maintenance. Since January, most organisations hiring the halls have been able to resume. - **Overseas Mission** - We are formally partnered, through the BMS World Mission organisation, with mission workers in Peru (Laura-Lee Lovering) and Uganda (Darby Family); we support them by our giving to BMS and regular email contact. - We continued to provide storage space to Tools with a Mission (TWAM) and members also supported Christian Aid (although door-to-door collection was not possible). ## _**Outlook**_ Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic had a negative effect on our finances for two years, this has largely dissipated. The pandemic has been directly responsible for two or three regular worshippers failing to return. Increasing poor health associated with the onset of years has been responsible for at least as many others. Reluctantly, to maintain a safety margin with respect to cashflow, it was necessary to dip into the reserve fund held in Baptist Union Corporation account to the tune of £5,000. It is hoped to at least partially restore the previous level in the summer of 2022. A future budget has been prepared which is dependent on (1) the congregation rising to a challenge of modestly increased giving and (2) agreement from the WEBTC to a reduction of the level at which we repay the manse loan. This has enabled us to commit to the pastor’s continuation in a full-time role and it is our prayer is that God will bless this step of faith with renewed growth and financial security which will accompany us well into the future Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 7 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ## **ANNUAL ACCOUNTS** **&** ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT** Note: Accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT 2021122 Page8of 14 CHARITY COMMISSION | FOR ENGIAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Exam5ner'5 Report Report to the trustoe members of On a¢¢¢>unts k¥r the year dod 31£r 301% Charrty no {If any) XA Sot ou¢ ¢n pages orfE-fio I feport to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above c*arity1lhe Twsfi for thg year ended Re¥pons5bllltlos and basls of r•port As thg d)ariVs trustees, you are respork8iblg for the preparation of the 8c¢ounts in accordance with tho reqijiroments of Ihe CharIt￿S Aci 2011 he Ad'l. I report in respect ol my examination of the Trusvs accounts ¢arTTed out under secilon 145 of th$ 2011 Act and in carytng OLrt my examlnalion, I ha￿ fdlowed all the applicable Directions gnien by the Charity Commisslon under soi*lon 145lSllbl of the Ac*. Indepgndent oxamingrfs statomont mber of I have COM￿¥ted my examination. I confirm that no m818rtal matters have com6 to my 8ttention in connection with the examination lolher than that dlsdosed bolow'l which gNes me cause to b81(6vg in, any material rasp8GL. the accounting records wgrg not kept in accordance with section 130 of thg Charities Act,. or the accounts dld not acwrd with the accounting records,. or the aecounts ¢Jid not compty wlh the applicable raquir9ments Con￿mIng the forrn and content of accounts set out in the Charities (A{￿Unts and Reports) Regulations 2008 oth&r than any requirement that the accounts gwe a 'true and t81rf vbw which is not a matter considered as part of 8n Indopendenl examinat￿n. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connectlon with the examination to whlch attention should be draym in this report in ord9r to 8nabJe a proper understandlng oftho acwunls to be reached. ' Plgas$ d81 the words in the brackets rfthey do not appty. SSgn•d: Dato: AEFSXI Name: -T R•l•vant prof•$slon•l qu•IIA¢•tlon(¥) or body IER Oct 2018 Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 9 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ |**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||| |**Statement of Financial Activities**|||||||| |**for the Year Ended 31 March 2022**|||||||| |||Version:|2|Date:|06/04/2022||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||Notes|Unrestricted|Designated|Restricted|**Total**||Total| |||Funds|Funds|Funds|**Funds**||Funds| |||£|£|£|**2022**||2021| |**Receipts & Payments Account**|||||||| ||||||||| |**Receipts**|||||||| |Offerings||23,914|||**23,914**||23,437| |Donations||2,997|||**2,997**||508| |Grants||15,904|||**15,904**||14,004| |Fund-raising activities||0|||**0**||0| |Legacies||0|||**0**||0| |GiftAidTax||4,938|||**4,938**||6,163| |InvestmentIncome||3,765|||**3,765**||5,025| |PropertyIncome||4,358|||**4,358**||1,510| |OtherCauses||||5,216|**5,216**||4,874| |Realisedinvestment gains||0|||**0**||0| |**Total Incoming Resources**||55,875|0|5,216|**61,091**||**55,521**| ||||||||| |**Payments**|||||||| |Ministry||28,074|||**28,074**||25,916| |Church Life||1,912|||**1,912**||514| |Properties||13,954|||**13,954**||12,200| |Administration|7|16,590|||**16,590**||14,051| |OtherCauses &Mission||||5,263|**5,263**||4,647| |**Total Resources Expended**||60,530|0|5,263|**65,793**||**57,327**| ||||||||| |Net before transfers||-4,655|0|-47|**-4,702**||**-1,806**| ||||||||| |Transfers between Funds||0|0|0|**0**||0| ||||||||| |NetReceipts/(Payments)||-4,655|0|-47|**-4,702**||**-1,806**| ||||||||| |OpeningBalances|||||**22,515**||**24,321**| ||||||||| |**Closing Balances**||-4,655|0|-47|**17,813**||**22,515**| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| |There arenorecognised gains or losses otherthantheresultsforthe yearas set out above.|||||||| ||||||||| |Allactivities are classed as continuing.|||||||| ||||||||| Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 10 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Melksham Baptist Church Statement of Assets & Liabilities At 31 March 2022** |**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||||| |**Statement of Assets & Liabilities**|||||||||| |**At 31 March 2022**|||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| ||Notes||||**2022**||||**2021**| ||||||£|£|||| |**Fixed Assets**|||||||||| |TangibleFixedAssets|||||||||| |Investments|8|||3,506|||||| |||||||3,506|||4,000| ||||||||||| |**Monetary Assets**|||||||||| |ShortTerm Deposits|9|||**5,711**|||||10,668| |CashatBank||||**12,101**|||||11,846| |||||||**17,811**|||22,513| ||||||||||| |**Liabilities**|||||||||| |Missionpayments|10|||1,192|||||1,129| |Loans (interest-freefrom members)||||0|||||0| |Loansfrom WEBTCo.Ltd|11|||77,490|||||86,857| |PensionSchemeliability|12|||18,400|||||33,100| |||||||**97,082**|||121,086| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| |**Insurance value -**|||||||||| |**Buildings**||||**3,653,319**|||||3,294,284| |includes pipe organ||||81,127|||||73,155| |**Contents**||||**98,076**|||||88,437| |**Burial ground at Western Way, Melksham.**Nomeaningful valueis available soithasnot|||||||||| ||been includedInthe Statement of AssetsAndLiabilities||||||||| ||||||||||| |**Manse at 102 Linnet Lane, Melksham**||||**£250,000**||purchase pricein April 2019|||| |**Purchased inconjunction with West of England Baptist Trust Company,**|||||||||| |**who, when loan repaid, will hold a 60% interest inthe property**|||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 11 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Melksham Baptist Church** ## **Notes to the Accounts For the Year Ended 31 March 2022** **----- Start of picture text -----**
1. Accounting Policies
a. Accounting convention
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and recorded on a Receipts and
Payments basis.
2022 2021
2. Ministry
Minister's Stipend and Employers costs 25,855 24,419
Expenses 2,130 1,397
Preaching Fees 90 120
28,074 25,936
3. Church Life
Worship materials 151 0
Developing faith & community support 79 302
Flowers 67 0
Junior Church 0 0
Catering 475 3
Piano & Organ tuning 98 0
Donations 45 0
Subscriptions 320 209
Other costs inc Assembly 677 0
1,912 514
4. Premises
Manse 3,397 3,173
Repairs, Renewals and Improvements 1,420 1,140
Heat and Light 2,783 4,313
Water Rates 100 93
Insurances 2,549 2,521
Cleaning 303 380
Equipment & depreciation 3,403 579
13,954 12,199
5. Administration
Printing & stationery 208 315
Telephones 0 0
Audit & accountancy 100 100
IT costs & music licences 869 826
Loan repayments 12,000 9,000
Other Note 7 3,413 3,810
16,590 14,051
**----- End of picture text -----**
Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 12 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Melksham Ba tist Church p** ## **Notes to the Accounts** (Continued) **For the Year Ended 31 March 2022** **----- Start of picture text -----**
6. Other Causes and Mission
Home Mission 1,580 1,284
BMS World Mission 2,138 1,399
MAF 119 33
Alabare (Action on Homel'ness) 326 263
Bible Society 75 117
Spurgeon's Homes 430 665
Christian Aid 380 0
Leprosy Mission 10 38
Bristol Baptist College 0 25
Melksham Food Bank 70 200
TWAM 10 0
Cancer Appeals 0 480
Stewardship (H. Wood) 0 0
MFoC Bless Melksham 0 25
Crisis Fund 0 0
The Turning 25 0
MIND 0 13
WHCT 50 25
CSW 50 55
WEBA Albania 0 25
5,263 4,647
**----- End of picture text -----**
Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 13 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ |**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|**Melksham Baptist Church**|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||| |**Additional Notes**|||||||| |**For the Year Ended 31 March 2022**|||||||| ||||||||| |**7. Admin/ Other is cost of ministerial training & part cost of ministerial recognition event**|||||||| ||||||||| |**8. Note re Assets / Investments:**|||||||| |InvestmentisBlackrockCharitableInvestmentFund. Evaluationat||||31/03/2022|||| ||||||||| |**9. Short termdeposit is with Baptist Union Corporation 3-mth notice account**|||||||| |We transferred £5,000fromthis account to the General AccountinOctober 2021|||||||| |**10. Mission Payments to be made**||**£**|||||| |HomeMission||394.92|||||| |BMS||158.91|||||| |BMSB'day||15.00|||||| |BMSAppeal||0.00|||||| |MAF||60.00|||||| |Alabare||89.00|||||| |Spurgeons||120.00|||||| |CrisisFund||354.18|||||| |||**£1,192.01**|||||| ||||||||| |**11. WEBA Loan **is £100,000 toward purchase of Mansein April 2019.|||||||| |Repayment terms £12,000 perannum for 10 years;Interest charged=£2,634.82|||||||| Melksham Baptist Church TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 Page 14 of 14 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Melksham Ba tist Church p** ## **Additional Notes** (continued) **For the Year Ended 31 March 2022**