BallygoivAn Presbytei'lRn Chui'eh Report of the Ti'ustees for the year ended 31 December 2023 The tTUStees present their report with the financial ststements of the chai'ity foi. the year ended 31 December 2023. The Iruste¢s have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities- Statement of Re¢ommended Practice applicable lo charities preparing their accoun15 in accoi'dance with the Financial Reporting Standard 8pplicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (eff¢cliv¢ l January 2019). OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The charilable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of the Christiai) religion. The Ballygowan congregation of the Presbyterian Church is a congregalion of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Presbyterian Church in Ii'eland, as a Reformed Chui'ch within the wider body of Christ is grounded in the Sci'iplui'es, and exists to love and honour God IhTough faith in His Son and by tl?e power of His Spirit, and to enable members to play their part in fijlfilling God's mission to our world. The congregation's mission statement reads.. 'for the Elory of God, Bxllygowan Pi'esbyterl8n Church desires to see the mAkinE 9nd mAtlli'ing of disciples of Jesu5 Christ, this through ivorsliip* felloivshlp, servlce And evAngelism' Our vision is, by the grace of God, to be an inelusive. welcoming community of Chrisl's people of all ages, which.. is increasingly characterised by love for God, and love and eoncern for others. is cominitted to the historic Christian gospel as revealed in the Bible. remains I'elevant to people of tliis tin)e and place. The ¢on8r¢gation aim5 to live out its Mission and Vision as a family of God's people by being.. A Covenant Community.. where our relationships ale rooted in the promises of God by living faithfully toward him and toward one another. An Intergeneralional Community.. where adult5 intentionally lake Ihe lead lo engage with, encourage and nurture younger memb¢r5 to maLurity in Christ. An Outward looking Community.. whei'c we want the blessings of God that belong to us in th¢ gospel to b¢¢ome blessings for others beyond the bounds of our cornmunity. As a congregation of the Presbytei'ian Chur¢h in Ireland. we believe that the Bible is the supreine autliority over all we do. and that the Weslminster Confession of fialth, along with the Largei. and Shoi'l¢r Cateohisins set out what we understand the Bible lea¢hes on key mattel's of Chi'islian faith and practice. Significant Hctivities The year 2023 conlinu¢d to be a challenging oiie. The numbers attending Sunday morning worship have been slowly growing since the pandemic. The Sacrament of the Loi'd's Supper is usually observed on three occasion5 during the ye8r and all Ih05e who have been baptised aiid who Iiaye mode a profession of faith in the IArd Jesus Christ are admitted lo the Lord's Supper. Pagc I
BAllygoivAn Pi'esbyteriAM Church Report of thc TTUStees for the year ended 31 Dcceniber 2023 OBJECTIVES AND ACTivrriEs Th¢ Congregation holds regular bible study meetings and has a wide ran8¢ of organi&ation5 including Sunday School l Bible Class Youth Club l Youth Fellowship l Young Men's Group l Girls, Group Midweek Fellowship l Life Groups l Energise Presbyterian Women's Group Parent and Toddlers Boys Bi'igade Gil'ls Bi'igad¢ Bowling Club Badmiiiton Club Varioiis other groups Public beiiefit The Presbyterian Church in IrelAnd meets the publi¢ benefit requirement by providing benefit to its meinbeTS and the general public by making known the Chi'istian Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ througli Ihc advancement of i'eSigion. The direct benefits which flow from the purposes of the Churcli include the gaininE of an llnderslanding in Chi'istian beliefs as Set out in the Bible and in the Chureh's subordinate standai'ds (the Westniinster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechistns) leading to spiritU81 and nioi'al developmeiit and opportunities foi. response to Bible teaching. In turn, tliis franiework leads to PTa¢tieal expressions of Chi'islian beliefs and standards in the local comniunity such as through the care of tliose in need (including the sick, disabled and bereaved). Generally the above benefits ore delivered locally by congi'egations and their members, or are facilitated IhrouEh presbyteries oi. ai'¢ oi'ganised and delivered ¢eiitrally. Local delivcry is facilitated by centi'al I'e50ur¢¢s in alinosl all case5. Public ae$S is made known thi'tsugh the use of noticeboaTds, printed material, pi'ess advertiscment. w¢bsit¢s, and social Tnedia or in other ways. Th¢ beoefits al'e demonsti?ted thi'ough regulai. evaluation of th¢ sei'vices and iiiformal and ad-ho¢ feedback from mcmbers, their families, and members of the public. The purpose does not lead lo hai'm. The only private benefit flowing fmm our purpose is related to Ministers. Missionaries. Dcaconesses. Irish Mission workei's and Lay Ageiits wl)o receive benefits as a rlI11 of theii. holding officc or employnienl. However, this is incidental and necessai'y in ordei. lo further oui. charitable piirpose. There are no other private benefits. The beneficio1.ies of this purposc are members. theii. families. other individua15 that the Presbyterian Chul'ch in Ireland 15 irt dii'ect and indirect contaot with, the community in which pastc)I'al services are provided and othei. Communities IhTougliout Northerii Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our eng2genient with and support for both Christian and other secular organisations, Charities and individual meinbers of ihe Pliblic. The Kirk Session has had regard to the Charity Cornniissions Publi¢ benefit requirement statutory guidance. Volunt¢ci's The Trustees wish to a¢knowledge tlieir decp appreciation of t1105e who give fi'eely of their tim¢ by serving on comTniltees and helpiiig will) oui. organisations and oth¢i' ¢hur¢h 8Ctivities. We continue to have robust child protection policies and procedui'e5 in place. Poge 2
DAllygow8n Presbyteriaii Church Report of the Ti'ustees for the year ended 31 Decembei. 2023 ACHIEVEI MENT AND PERFORMANCE Ministry teAm The ministry team is led by our niinister th¢ Rev Nick Cooper. Andrew Marlin started as a studenÉ assistant on 19th September 2021. Our youth rninislry throughout 2023 has been leil by our part time youth Worker Andrew Norrie. Howevei. Andrew resigiied on 12th Nov¢inber 2023. Pasioral care ond visitation is supported by Robin Faii'bairn our pastoral CRre worker. Worship and prlyer The eongi'egation usually meets ftir worsliip each Sunday at I1..30am and foi. half the year in the eveiling at 6-45pm. Av¢rage attendance at Sunday morning woi'ship is around 130. Dui'ing (he week there are opportunities for Ineilibers lo meet together again for fellowship> to Study the sci'iptui'es and for a time of prayer. As well as our regular Siinday servic¢s dui'ing the year we acknowledged God's gift of new life at 7 Sacrdments of B8p¢isni and l D¢dieation and sought lo ¢omfort those who had been bereaved during the year. 3 mai'riage serviceg were eonducted in 2023. At 31 Deceillber 2023 there were 31 l ¢on)m4Jnicant members and 503 families coniiected with the congregation. 85 of whom do not contribute financially. PastorAI cAre Members of the congregation who are unable to attend ¢hurch due to sickness or age are visited on a r¢gular basis by the Inini5ter. elders or by thc congregation's pastoral care worker. Mission And outreach At a local level the congregation normally reaches out to our community regularly 11)rough the work of oui. pait-time pastoi'al cair worker aiid through the work of our various action team5 who organize regulai. eve1115 e.g. Café Church, Faiiiily Fun Days, Holiday Bible Club. Cinema nighis, Concert5, picnics. trips and oihcr special events. At an international level the congirgatioii pi'cviously eoinpleted a substantial fund-raising effort to help refurbish the outpatient and ¢mergeney depaitinents of Kiwoko Hospital in i'ural Uganda - o Christian hospital we have developed Strong links wiih. Dui'ing 2023 we contiDued to sponsor Tural ¢ye clinic5 from Kiwoko Hospital and it is anticipated that this sponsorship will continue year on yEar. Another overs¢os mission focus is in helping encouiagc and 5UPPOrt the local cl)urch and villagers in a small village (Budai) in Moldova. A team from our Churcl) went out in 2023. The ¢hurch continues to make regular donations to other various external Inissions and agencies and this ¢onlinued i 2023. The ¢ongiEgation also support5 the United Appeal for fvIission wl)ieh is a cenlral fund of the Presbyterian Cliui'ch in Ii'el8nd. This fund enables coiigregations lo support the widei. mission of the denomination and to do missioii and outreach on a denominational basis beyond what tlie congi'egalion could do on ils own. The Uiiited Appeal Fund piY)vides financial support for missioi) PBI'sonnel at home and overseas. a5s1sls eongregations with the deployment of locally based staff. enables chuirh planling. provide5 grant support for the upkeep of chui'ch PTemiSBS, assisls with the running costs of Union Theologiral Cvllege. the Chui'cli's training college for niinisliy students, and financially SUPPOrts coiigi'egations in the area5 of worship, disciplcship. global iiiission, outreach. leadei'5hip and pastoral care. Presbytery The congrcgation is represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our niinistei. and on¢ of the elders. This provides an imporLant link between the congregation5 and the widei. structures of the chui'ch. Page 3
Ballygoivan Pi'esbyteriRn Church Report of the Trustees for the yeTri' ended 31 Decembei. 2023 GenerAI Assembly The meeting of th¢ Gene121 Assembly of the PTesbyl¢rian Church in Jirland wa5 held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast. Property The congTegation continues to maintain its buildings and facilities. FinAnces The trustees giv¢ thanks for the ongoing SUPPOTt of so many who continue to give finan¢ially to th¢ work of the Church. Howevei. our financial situation is giving us ¢oneern with the current high ¢osts of elecli'icity, heating oil etc. Oi¥aDisations The table below gives a brief summary of the organisations and avei'a8e att¢nd8n¢es. Age Range ri requency of meeting Montlily (Sept-may) Bi-weekly (Sept-June) Weekly {Sept-Ap¥) Avcrage attendance /0 non mtmbei's Oi'gAnlsAtion Notes Ballygowan PW Group 45-90 30-35 Midweek Fellowship Badniinton Club 40-90 18+ 10 15 Sat21. Weekly {Sept-Apr) Wed 90-110 Weekly {Sept-Apr) 24 Weekly {Sept-Apr) 90-100 Twice monihly before {Easter, 14aivcst. Chi'istmas) Twice nionihly {Sept-May) Weekly (Sepl-June) Twice moiithly (Scpt-Api') Aliern¥le Inonths Weekly (Sept- June) Junioi. YC, once per nionth. Senior YC twice per nionth Sept-june) Weekly (Ort-mayl Twice Yeai'ly As requii'¢d Weekly (Restarted Feb 18) 66 Girls Bi'igade Bowling Club Boys Brigade 3-Adult 18-90 3-18 unkiiown 50 70 Choir 45-80 18 Energise 40-80 14 Parents & Toddlers 30-35 80 Life Groups Feinale Focus Suiiday School & Bible Class 18-90 40-65 20 12 3-18 66 Jiinior 40 Senior 20 25 80 21 Youth Club Evening Service5 Cafe Chiirch Catering Corps 13 6-85 3-85 18-80 Youth Fellowship 12 Page 4
Ballygoivan Pi'e5bytei'i8n Chllr¢h Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2023 rilNANCIAL REVIEW Reserves policy The Congregational Committee have examined the Church's requirement5 for ieserve5 in light of the main risks to the Chui'ch. It has established a policy whereby the Iinrestricled fund5 not committed oi. invested in tangible fixed assets held by the Church should be between 3 and 6 months of the expenditure. The reserves 8re needed to meet the workiiig capital needs of the Church and the Congregational Committee are eonfident they would be able to continue the current activities of the Cliuirh iii the event of a diDP in funding. Al the year end the levcl of reserves available to the Cliur¢l) is £581,089. £536,910 of this is r¢presenled by investment in fixed assets. The remaining £44,179 is sufficient to cover the 3 months resei'ves policy. At 31 Decembei. 2023 the Church also held £34,772 of resti'icled funds which have beell provided for the purposes specified in note 15. Review of the yeai. The results for the year are set out in detail on paEe5 9 to 22. The results Show uniEslri¢ted net outgoing resources for the yeor of -£12,743 (2022 -£29,921). FUTUREI PLANS The Church plans conlinuing the activities outlined within th¢ Annual Report in the ftirth¢otnin8 years. STRUCTURE, GOVEI RNANCE AND MANAGEMENT The Kii'li Session The charity tiustees of th¢ Ballygowan congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland are the members of its Kirk Session. Uiider the congregatioi)'5 governing document, The Code, the book of the constitution and goveriin)ent of the Presbyterian Cliurch in ITeland, thc Kii.k Session seeks to watch oyei. and promote the spiritual interest of the congi'egation and of person$ not conllect¢d with the congregation who are within its bounds. It ensure5 pastoral cal'e is in place in thc congr¢gation and s¢ck5 to further the eontribution of the Chuich to Christian witne55 and 5eTvice in the local community and bcyond. The Kii.k Se$5ion has delegated to its Congi'egational Committee the tenipoi'al affaiiB of the congregation including adrninistei'ing 211 funds and property belonging to the congregation. Nlembei's of tlie Kirk Se55ion are ex-oificio members of Ilie Congregational Committee. The Kirk Session eonsisls of th¢ ordained minister (Rev Nick Cooper) and the i'uling olders of th¢ congregation. All meinbeis ar¢ entitled to piDpose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Modcrator. the minister in a¢tiv¢ duty in the congregation. has no deliberative but only a casting vote. Stated meetings of the Kirk Session are l)eld evel'y two iiionths and soinetime5 Inore frequently if requil'ed. To b¢ chosen foi. the office of the eldei'ship in the congTegation a person rnust be a voting n)¢mber and a regulai. attendant on its ordinances. The selection of those pi'oposed to be called lo the Dffice can be either by the congregation or by the Kii'k Session. Memb¢rs are elected if they obiaiii two-thirds of those who vole. Page 5
BallygoTrvan Pi'esbyteriAn Churcli Report of tlie Ti'ustees foi. the yeAr ended 31 December 2023 STRucfuRE, GOVII RNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Presbytery Under the Pi'¢sbyterian Church in Ii'eland form Df governance the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Pitsbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and t¢mporal affairs of tlie congregation5 assigned lo il by the General Asseinbly of the Presbytei'ian Church in Ireland. Ballygowan congregation of the Pi'esbylerian Cliureh has been assigned to the Down Presbytery of tl)e Presbyt¢i'ian Chureh in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists Inainly of the active niinisters of congi'egalions assigned to it by the General Assembly. minstei's who have retired from a¢tive duty and an elder appointed by the Kii'k s$SOn of each congregation. The GenerAI Assembly The General Assembly is the Supreme court of the Church. representing in one body the whole Cliui'ch and acting as its supr¢me legislative, administi'ation and jiidicial authoi'ity. in dealing with all matters brought before IL The General Asseinbly is normally constituted during the first week in June for worship and io conduct its business. At the end of busin¢ss it is dissolved. The meinbership of the General Assenibly con515t5 mainly of (he active ministers of each eongi'egation, retired niinsters and a repi'¢sentalive elder apw)inted by the Kirk Session of each congregation. RKFCRENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number CN105295 Pi'incÉpAI Address 14 Church Hill Ballygowan Co Down B T23 6JA Triistees Rev N Cooper Mr R Burgess Mr S Cleland Mi'5 S Cleland Mr J Gabbey Mrs M Oibson MT R Gibson Mrs J Gi'ibbon Dr R Harper Mi. M Hile5 Mr J Johi)ston Mi. M Lyons Mr D McKee (Cl¢rk) Mr J M¢Moi'die Mi. M Mcmullen Mr J Megraw Mr D Milligan Mrj Ralph Mr C Scott Mr H Scott Independent Examiner Mcllveen 14oward LiTnilcd Chartered Accounlanls 169a Uppei. Newlownards Road Belfast BT4 3HZ Page 6
BallygoiYAn Pi'e5byteriAii Chiirch R¢poi't of the Ti'u5tce5 fui. the yeAI' elided 31 Deeombei. 2023 REFERENCE AND ADMINI[L4T1VE DETAILS Banl(ei Dan5ke Bank Donegal Squait Wesl Bclfasl BTI 6JS Solicitors H¢witt & Gilpi Thomas House 14-16 James SIL'eet South Belfast BT2 7GA Mlntstei, Rev. Di.. Nick Cooper Clei'li of Sesslon David McKee Seti'etAI'y to Coiigi'¢gfitionnl Commlttee Sharon Mecloy Cliurch Ti'eAsui'eJ' Wendy Patt¢Tson Independent ExRminei' Mcllveen Howavd Liinited have been re-appointed as Independent Bxaminers foi. the ensuing y¢aT. AppiDved by oiQer of the b041'd of Ii'ustees on . and signed on ils behalf by.. Trustee Page 7