BANBRIDGE ROAD CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND
Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023
Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105222)
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BANBRIDGE ROAD CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at that date.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
1 Banbridge Road, Dromore, Co Down, BT25 1AD
Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105222)
CHARITY TRUSTEES
The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report were
Rev Gary Trueman
Mr Irvine Abraham
Mr Eric Andrews
Mr Simon Cole
Mr Colin Heaney
Mr Michael Masters
Mr Gavin McDonald
Mr Gary McNally
Mr Alan Robinson
PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS
Minister Rev Gary Trueman
Clerk of Session Mr Alan Robinson
Treasurer Mr Gary McNally
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER
David Martin, DSM (NI) Ltd, 3B Church Street, Dromore BT25 1AA
BANKERS
Danske Bank, Donegal Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JS
SOLICITORS
Conn & Fenton solicitors (inc. WJ Baxter)
39 Bow Street Lisburn BT281BJ
STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT
The Kirk Session
The charity trustees of the congregation are the members of its Kirk Session. Under the congregation’s governing document, The Code, the book of the constitution and government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Kirk Session is tasked to watch over and promote the spiritual interest of the congregation and of persons not connected with any congregation who are within its bounds. It ensures pastoral care is in place in the congregation and seeks to further the contribution of the Church to Christian witness and service in the local community. The Kirk Session has delegated to its Congregational Committee the temporal affairs of the congregation including administering all funds and property belonging to the congregation. Members of the Kirk Session are ex-officio members of the Congregational Committee.
The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and the ruling elders of the congregations. All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator, the minister in active duty in the congregation, has no deliberative but only a casting vote.
Stated meetings of the Kirk Session are held at least four times in each year and as required.
To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congregation a person must be a voting member and a regular attendant on its ordinances. The selection of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the congregation or by the Kirk Session. Members are elected if they obtain two-thirds of those who vote.
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Presbytery
Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Dromore Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the active ministers of congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregation.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church, representing in one body the whole Church and acting as its supreme legislative, administration and judicial authority, in dealing with all matters brought before it. The General Assembly is normally constituted during the first week in June for worship and to conduct its business. At the end of business, it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the active ministers of each congregation, retired minsters and a representative elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.
DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
The charitable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of religion. Banbridge Road congregation of the Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, as a Reformed Church within the wider body of Christ is grounded in the Scriptures and exists to love and honour God through faith in His Son and by the power of His Spirit, and to enable her members to play their part in fulfilling God’s mission to our world.
The congregations mission statement states ‘In this Church Jesus is central; we love, reach and teach people to help them become more like Him’ Our vision focuses on equipping individuals through seven core values of His Word, Worship, Prayer, Discipleship, Fellowship, Mission and Service.
Our congregation aims to live out its Mission and Vision as a family of God’s people by being: - A Covenant Community: where our relationships are rooted in the promises of God by living faithfully toward him and toward one another - An Intergenerational Community: where adults intentionally take the lead to engage with, encourage and nurture younger members to maturity in Christ. - An Outward looking Community: where we want the blessings of God that belong to us in the gospel to become blessings for others beyond the bounds of our community. As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, we believe that the Bible is the supreme authority over
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all we do, and that the Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms set out what we understand the Bible teaches on key matters of Christian faith and practice.
ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES
The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is observed on five occasions during the year and members who have been baptised and who have made a public profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are permitted to partake in the Lord’s Supper.
Visitors who profess Jesus Christ as personal saviour are welcome to join in the communion service
The congregation holds regular bible study meetings and has a wide range of organisations including ARK (Sunday School), Presbyterian Women, Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, SNATCH (Youth Fellowship),Lots-a-Tots, Creative Hands, Dorcas Group (knitting ) and Young Adults
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Worship and Prayer
The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11.30. In addition, the congregation meet for an evening service once a month (excluding June-Aug). During the week the Bible Study and prayer time provides opportunities for members to meet for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for a time of prayer.
At 31st December 2023 there were 229 communicant members and 260 families connected with the congregation. The average weekly attendance is approximately 280 at morning worship
Pastoral Care
Members of the congregation who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age are visited on a regular basis by the minister, pastoral assistant, pastoral care team member or by one of the elders.
Mission and Outreach
At a local level the congregation seeks to encourage and equip our members to share the gospel on their ‘front lines’ in everyday life: at home, school, university, work, and leisure. We also reach many boys and girls in the surrounding community through our BB and GB Company.
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Locally we support Youth for Christ, Via Wings (Dromore food bank) and the Belfast City Mission financially and practically. Internationally we support Fields of Life mainly through child sponsorship programmes.
The congregation supports the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. This fund enables congregations to support the wider mission of the denomination and to do mission and outreach on a denominational basis beyond what the congregation could do on its own.
The United Appeal Fund provides financial support for mission personnel at home and overseas, assists congregations with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church planting, and assists with the running costs of Union Theological College, the Church’s training college for ministry students, and financially supports smaller congregations in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.
The congregation also contributes to the denominations annual World Development Appeal, Presbyterian Children’s Society and any other special appeals organised by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Presbytery
The congregation was represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our minister and one of the elders. This provides an important link between the congregations and the wider structures of the church.
General Assembly
The minister and one of our elders were nominated to attend the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in June.
Organisations
Sunday Morning – The ARK supported by a crèche provide spiritual learning for 35 children up to the age of nine BRYM AM (Senior Sunday School meets before morning worship to provide fellowship and spiritual learning for twelve 9-18 year olds
Sunday Evening - SNATCH meets at 20:00 and provides fellowship and spiritual learning for twenty 12-18 year olds
Mid-week our halls are used by:
Girls Brigade on a Wednesday night and Boys Brigade on a Thursday night with approximate membership of 80 in each, 160 children in total
The Dorcas group of 15 approx. women meet once a month to knit and crochet blankets and children’s clothing supporting mission projects.
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Presbyterian Women (PW) meet once a month throughout the year to share fellowship and support many missionary activities.
The 3 O’clock club senior citizens group meet on the 3[rd] Saturday of the month to share fellowship and listen to invited speakers.
Our men’s ministry Band of Brothers (BOB) meet occasionally throughout the year
Creative Hands has 15 - 20 members and meet once a month to design and make various types of craft items craft items
Our young adults group meet four times a year to cater for our adults aged 18-40
Volunteers
Approximately 100 church members volunteer in some way or another, ranging from supporting morning service (praise band, choir, welcome team, ARK, crèche, technology team, and set-up teams), to supporting church administration (congregational committee, general office, count teams, finance team). Volunteers also participate in an ad-hoc way to support one-off activities such as Holiday Bible Club (summer programme), coffee mornings to support many activities.
The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who give freely of their time by serving on committees and helping with organisations and other church activities.
PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland meets the public benefit requirement by providing benefit to its members and the general public by making known the Christian Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the advancement of religion.
The direct benefits which flow from the purposes of the Church include the gaining of an understanding in Christian beliefs as set out in the Bible and in the Church’s subordinate standards (the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms) leading to spiritual and moral development and opportunities for response to Bible teaching. In turn, this framework leads to practical expressions of Christian beliefs and standards in the local community such as through the care of those in need (including the sick, disabled and bereaved).
Generally the above benefits are delivered locally by congregations and their members Public access is made known through the use of noticeboards, printed material, press advertisement, websites, and social media or in other ways.
In Dromore we work closely with the local community including primary and secondary schools who both use our facilities at various times during the year.
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The purpose does not lead to harm. The only private benefit flowing from our purpose is related to Ministers, Missionaries, Deaconesses, Irish Mission workers and Lay Agents who receive benefits as a result of their holding office or employment. However, this is incidental and necessary in order to further our charitable purpose. There are no other private benefits. The beneficiaries of this purpose are members, their families, other individuals that the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is in direct and indirect contact with, the community in which pastoral services are provided and other communities throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both Christian and other secular organisations, charities and individual members of the public.
The Kirk Session has had regard to the Charity Commissions Public benefit requirement statutory guidance.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The congregation’s main source of income is members’ contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 200 contributors during 2023
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congregation in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accounting practice.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the congregation’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the congregation and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Kirk Session at a meeting on 14[th] June 2024 signed on its behalf by:
Minister Treasurer
Reverend Gary Trueman Mr Gary McNally 14[th] June 2024 14[th] June 2024
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