EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
17 DONAGHADEE ROAD
GROOMSPORT BT19 6LH
www.groomsportepc.com groomsportepc@gmail.com facebook.com/groomsportepc
Trustees’ Report
2025
GROOMSPORT EPC TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
2025
Aims
Groomsport Evangelical Presbyterian Church exists to advance the Christian Faith, and facilitate the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this to the spiritual benefit of people, young and old and both locally in the Groomsport area and across the world.
Finance
Income to the Church is primarily through the gifts of members and adherents; this takes various forms such as a regular weekly offering placed in the collection box, or direct debits from the bank. For the year 2025 the total value of this income (including Gift Aid refund from HMRC) was £148,276.99. This reflects the ongoing generosity and commitment of the whole congregation to the financial support of the work.
The regular major financial outgoing is to the Central Fund of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, from which ministerial salaries and expenses are funded. It was very encouraging to be able to meet in full the 2024 target figure set by the Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The total figure was £42.000. In accordance with our agreed church policy, we strive to give 10% (approximately) of offerings to the work of Christian mission, both locally and internationally. It is pleasing to record that this goal was achieved again this year with a figure of £10,650. This money was allocated to carefully chosen mission organisations, Bible Colleges and individual mission workers and their families, by the Deacons Board of Groomsport EPC Church.
Outreach
All outreach expenditure, running costs of activities held on church property, and all building maintenance and equipment to sustain these activities were financed wholly from church funds. The usual activities held in the church buildings continued as normal: morning and evening Sunday services, and very successful Mothers and Babies group also Youth Club when a good number of young people from the community attended on a regular basis. Midweek Prayer meeting and monthly Ladies meeting were also well attended. The priority of the church remains unchanged: namely the preaching of the Bible message of salvation and living a God-directed life – this reflects our conviction that to live out this is the method God normally employs to bring people to saving faith in Christ and then enable them, on an ongoing, day-to-day basis to live out Christ-changed lives. The benefits of this reach beyond this physical world and into eternity, every activity, either carried out by the church on its property, or supported financially anywhere else in the world, has this greatest of all benefits to people, as its focus and incentive.
All the church based activities listed above, which cover the youngest child to the oldest adult within the church, are open to the population of Groomsport at large, are directed
ultimately to these benefits, through proclamation of the whole teaching of God as contained in the Bible.
Trustees
Rev Marcus Hobson
Mr Allister Lucas
Mr Angus Macleod (Session Clerk)