Larne Free Presbyterian Church
Trustees’ Annual Report
Year Ended 5* April 2025
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland Number: 109396 HMRC Charities Reference Number: XN 48691
Larne Free Presbyterian Church
References and Administrative Details
Charity Name
Lame Free Presbyterian Church
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland Number
109396
HMRC Charities Reference number
XN 48691
Trustees
David Brown (Rev) John Craig Hill Reid Ken Sampson R Semple
Contact Address
Hill Reid, 29 Mill Brae, Larne, BT40 2DE
Independent Examiner D. N. Mawhinney FCCA
Bankers
Danske Bank, PO Box 183, Donegall Square West, BELFAST, BT1 6JS
Trustees’ Report
For the Year Ended 5" April 2025
The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 5" April 2025.
Introduction
The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster came into being on 17th March 1951 as a testimony to the historic faith of Presbyterians that emphasised the inspiration and authority of Scripture against the liberal, rationalist infidelity that had made serious inroads into Presbyterianism in Ireland as well as the other main Protestant denominations.
The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a worldwide Protestant Reformed denomination consisting of congregations which accept and uphold the Articles of Faith. It is Protestant in its basis, Presbyterian in its government, Reformed in its doctrine, Evangelistic in its ministry, Fundamentalist in its stand and defence of the Historic Christian Faith, and subject only to the Lord Jesus Christ as
the Great King and only Head of The Church. The Word of God, as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is its only rule of faith and practice.
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Larne Free Presbyterian Church
Articles of Faith
The Absolute Authority and Verbal Divine Inspiration of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God;
There is but one living and true God, and in the Godhead there are Three Persons, equal in power and glory, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost;
The Eternal Sonship, Virgin Birth and Deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;
The personality of God the Holy Spirit, and the absolute necessity of His work in Regeneration and Sanctification, and His infilling of the indwelt Believer for power to live and witness for Christ;
The Substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Resurrection as the only way of Salvation from sin through Faith;
God has appointed besides the Word and Prayer the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper;
Baptism. The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, under Christ the great King and Head of the Church, realises that bitter controversy raging around the ordinance of Christian Baptism has divided the Body of Christ, when that Body should have been united in Christian love and Holy Ghost power to stem the onslaughts and hell-inspired assaults of modernism, hereby affirms that each member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster shall have liberty to decide for themselves which course to adopt, each member giving due honour in love to the views held by differing brethren, but none espousing the error of baptismal regeneration;
The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper has been appointed by our Lord for Remembrance of Him in His work as Saviour. Its purpose to the child of God is for strengthening, and the putting of a visible difference between the redeemed and the unregenerate. This Sacrament will be observed once each month in every Free Presbyterian Congregation, or more, or less frequently as each local congregation
shall decide; and
The visible and personal return of Our Lord Jesus Christ. These Articles of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the Westminster Standards form the Subordinate Standards of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.
Purpose
The Objective of the Church is to promote the advancement of religion in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the subordinate standards of the Articles of Faith, the Westminster Standards, and the Book of Church Order.
Public Benefit
This congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster meets the public benefit requirement. The Church is established to benefit its members and the general public both at home and abroad through the advancement of religion. The benefits which flow from its purpose include the holding of public worship and fulfilment of the Great Commission to preach Christ crucified in all the world, the coming of souls to saving faith in Jesus Christ, repentance from sin and the holding to orthodox Bible religion. Adherence to this framework leads to spiritual and moral development and wider society living in accordance with God's moral law. It encourages demonstrable acts in the world such as fervent evangelism, missionary effort, the establishment of new churches, the instruction of students for Christian service, the progress of Christian schooling and the provision of pastoral care,
students and humanitarian relief. The benefits are further demonstrated through attendance at public worship as well as regular evaluation of activities, informal and ad-hoc feedback from members, their families, and the general public. The purpose does not lead to harm.
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Larne Free Presbyterian Church
The Charity’s beneficiaries are the Christian Church and the general public within society in Northern Ireland and wherever across the world the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster has an opportunity to minister. The only private benefits flowing from this purpose are to those members who would receive reasonable remuneration paid in respect of employment by the Church; those members who may enter into contracts with the Church and receive reasonable payment for goods and services supplied; where a member may benefit as a student at our Bible Colleges; or where someone from a member’s family may benefit as a pupil at a Christian school. These private benefits are incidental and necessary to ensure the public benefit is provided to our beneficiaries.
Activities and Events
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Larne Free Presbyterian Church carried out the following activities
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© Conducted over one hundred services of public worship through the following regular services — Lord’s Day morning and evening.
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e Seniors Fellowship and Children’s Meetings.
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e The Lord’s Supper was observed monthly.
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© Conducting Public worship through the following special services — two week-long Gospel Missions, Teaching Conferences, Special times of Prayer, Youth Rallies, Baptism Services and other Special Meetings. A week-long holiday Bible Club during summer 2023 with sixty children attending. Weekly outreach was undertaken to give people the opportunity to ask questions about the Gospel and to receive literature.
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e The Elders attended the monthly Presbytery meetings.
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e Representatives attended the monthly Missionary Council meetings.
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e The Kirk Session interviewed and accepted new communicant members. e The Kirk Session provided pastoral support for the members and attendees. e The Kirk Session met regularly to provide spiritual oversight.
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e The Church Committee met regularly to oversee the financial and practical matters
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e The Church supports the work of Radio and TV broadcasting through Let the Bible Speak and the training activities in the Whitefield College of the Bible. Encouraged fervent evangelism in the rest of the UK through the work of the Mainland Commission and the growing missionary work through the Mission Board and The Free Presbyterian Mission Society Africa. Supported the work of Christian Education through the work of the Education Board.
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e Twenty-one thousand leaflets were delivered to the farming community. e Throughout the year those suffering from addictions were counselled.
Structure, Governance and Management
The Trustees meet on a regular basis to discuss the work of the church, and to make decisions concerning the activities within the church. Matters are reported to Church Members at the Annual General Meeting when the Financial Report is given and the Accounts are presented. The Church Committee met regularly to take delegated responsibility on behalf of the members of the Kirk Session to assist it in managing the Church's finances and assets and in making decisions regarding the day to day financial and material affairs of the Church.
Financial Review
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The main source of income is from weekly offerings, and voluntary gifts and donations, supplemented by use of Gift Aid and Gift Aid Small Donations Schemes.
Larne Free Presbyterian Church
The total amount received during the year amounted to £66,043.00 from which total payments in the amount of £76,697.00 were made, leaving a deficit of £10,654.00 for the year compared with a net surplus of £15,783.00 in the previous year. Cash funds held at the year-end amounted to £91,994.00 (2024: £102,648.00).
The Church reserves policy is to accumulate sufficient reserves to provide cover for 12 months operating expenses and future capital projects.
Going Concern
The Trustees have reviewed the budgets for the year ahead and are satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the Church can continue its activities and the financial statements for the year ended 5* April 2025 can be signed off as a going concern.
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in Norther Ireland requires the Trustees to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Charity for that financial year.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Church’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the Assets and Liabilities of the Church. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Church and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees' Report is approved by the Board of Trustees on 22 Jaz /Zo2 (and signed on their behalf by:-
LEZev David Br -Trustee Hillpla ReidReid- Trustee
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