Strathendrick Baptst Church – Review of the Year November 2024-2025
Closing prayer from last year’s Annual Review - " The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” Matthew 9:37 . Read on to see just how God has answered that prayer!
November 2024
At the close of last year’s AGM, the LT had been excited to report that they had just received a very promising application for our post of Youth and Outreach Worker, so they had moved ahead and invited the candidate for interview in mid- November, with the interview panel consisting of 2 LT members and 2 others from wider church family.
The interview panel were very impressed by the candidate so the LT met and agreed to move to the next stage of the process and invited the candidate to join us for a Sunday service to meet church family and to lead a YG session. This was all communicated to wider church family who were asked to please continue to pray for God’s guidance in this process.
The LT had also followed up on an exciting opportunity for StrathBap to be more engaged with the Balfron Local Place Plan and had invited P to join our November LT meeting via Zoom. F had first met P at the ‘Celebrating Balfron’ event in early October. through his business ‘Place at the Table’– was assisting the Community Council to engage with all Balfron residents to encourage them to share their vision of Balfron in the next 10-15 years. P is passionate about churches being part of this process – inspired by Jeremiah 29:7 – ‘Seek the welfare of the city (Balfron) where I have sent you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare’ - and encouraged us as a church to engage with the consultation process as a way of both expressing our vision for the community, and listening to the vision expressed by others – and being open to God calling us into being involved in meeting some of those needs/aspirations.
We were all really excited and inspired by P’s vision and agreed to seek an opportunity for him to come and share it with all church family.
November also saw us continue our preaching series in Exodus; share in prayer for the community at the monthly inter-church prayer gatherings; and enjoy extended times of fellowship with each other at a Sunday Munch. Several folk had also enjoyed taking part in the ‘Talking Jesus’ Course led by K, to explore ways we could be encouraged to share our faith with others. Regular house group gatherings during the week also provided opportunities to support and encourage each other on our faith journeys. The ‘Create Space’ craft group also continued to meet monthly for crafting, tea and chat!
December 2024
As always, a really busy month, with some notable additions this year. As usual, we organised and printed a village Christmas card on behalf of all three local churches with details of all our services over the festive period, and coordinated distribution to every home in Balfron.
On Sunday 1[st] December we welcomed P as our guest to share his vision for the role of churches in their local communities.
Monday 9[th] - Friday 13[th] December – We had been privileged to be invited to host another Advent Prayer Space at Balfron High School. This year, we had been delighted to welcome and include some ideas for the prayer space from the SU group too.
Then on Sunday 15[th] December – inspired by all the fun of our recent Stay & Play events, we hosted an all-age Messy Church at Christmas! This had also turned out to be the most convenient date for our Youth and
Outreach candidate to visit, so S had an interesting introduction to the organised chaos/informality that characterises StrathBap, as well as the opportunity to lead a YG session.
The Sunday Club also made Christmas cards for our local emergency services, which accompanied tins of home baking provided by various members of church family and were delivered around the village by the children and their families during the following week.
On Thursday 19[th] December we enjoyed carol singing outside Balfron Co-op, with all the cash collected in our bucket being donated to the local Scout and Guide groups this year. Festive goodies at the ‘after-party’ at the G family home were much appreciated!
Tuesday 24[th] December , K led our Christmas Eve Community Carols and Nativity – an opportunity to invite local families to join us in celebrating Jesus coming into our world! Huge thanks to everyone involved in the service, hall decoration and providing and serving delicious festive refreshments afterwards!
Sunday 29[th] December F led an informal service of prayer and sharing as the year drew to a close.
January 2025
The new year began with a few hardy souls gathering for a church family walk in Aberfoyle, then our first service of 2025 was our annual all-age Service of Commitment on 5[th] , and the following week we embarked on a new preaching series on the ‘I am’ statements of Jesus.
The LT had met early in January to consider next steps in the employee process and were grateful for all the positive feedback they’d received from church family after S’s visit in December. Accordingly, they had agreed take up references and make a formal offer of the post. We were of course delighted and very excited when S accepted the job –with a planned start in early March
Other highlights of January had been –
We’d been delighted to have been invited by Balfron High to start placing a few prayer stations in the 6[th] Form Café space, particularly for pupils preparing to leave school who might have anxiety around next steps.
We’d also been pleased to be able to co-ordinate with the Pupil Equity Lead at the school to provide a quantity of gift vouchers for distribution to young folk from needy families to allow them to choose and purchase clothing items.
Also – following the success of our Messy Church at Christmas, we considered plans for further Messy Church and Stay & Play events.
All these opportunities for outreach tied in nicely with the vision P had share with us in December.
Sadly, Craft Group attendance had fallen away – for a variety of reasons - so we are now exploring better ways to move forward with those who’d been part of the group.
The monthly inter-church prayer gatherings continued to be a source of great encouragement, with several local churches represented regularly.
Later in the month we’d enjoyed a presentation by G on the project in Bolivia – including a video link with M! Our first Sunday Munch of the year had rounded off the month well.
February 2025
We opened the month with K leading an all-age service on Sunday 2[nd] .
We had been pleased to have successfully completed our Annual Report to OSCR, the charities regulator, but they had drawn our attention to the need to review our governing document from time to time, so the LT had
agreed taken time to do this and had identified a couple of areas that they thought needed further discussion namely –
Applications for membership (Clauses 14-18)
Obligations of Membership (Clause 22)
They also felt that we should do more to encourage members to prayerfully consider being baptised, if appropriate.
After careful consideration, the LT had agreed that the best way forward would be to invite church family to review the document for themselves and feedback any areas they felt worthy of further discussion/review, and we would then arrange a Members Meeting for this purpose.
The inter church prayer gathering met later in the month.
We moved forward with plans to welcome Sn into our midst and made arrangements for a church lunch to celebrate her official Commissioning on Sunday 9[th] March.
Meantime, we were all becoming anxious about L’s deteriorating health and continued to hold him and all the family in prayer.
March 2025
We were all shocked and heartbroken by the loss of L on Saturday 8[th] March, and came together on Sunday to comfort each other and share our sorrow – and wonderful memories of the inspiration that his life and incredible prayer ministry had been. L had been a founding member of StrathBap nearly 40 years ago, so his loss leaves a huge, unfillable hole in our church family.
In these circumstances, the LT took the decision to postpone S’s commissioning service until a later date.
A wonderful service of thanksgiving for L’s life was held in Balfron church of Scotland on 26[th] March.
S had a very busy first few weeks, including an encouraging meeting up at Balfron High, as we explored ways in which she could enable StrathBap to serve the school and wider community. S has been providing regular updates on all her activities via the weekly church notices and a more detailed monthly newsletter, so church family have been kept very well informed.
March had also seen the start of an additional weekly house group on Wednesday evenings, so this was a very welcome development .
We were pleased to welcome S to the March inter-church prayer gathering too.
April 2025
On Sunday 13[th] April we hosted ‘Messy Church’ on Palm Sunday, and over the following three mornings, Monday 14[th] -Wednesday 16[th] , another very successful ‘ Stay & Play’ outreach event, both of which allowed us to continue building relationship with young families in the community.
On Maundy Thursday 17[th] the inter church prayer group gathered at a service in Strathblane Church of Scotland.
Sunday 20[th] April K and S led our all-age Easter celebration - as usual preceded by breakfast of bacon rolls and hot cross buns!
And on the following Sunday 27[th ] we were delighted to be able to commission S formally into her role as StrathBap’s Youth and Outreach Worker! This was - of course - followed by a celebratory bring-and share lunch in the hall.
May 2025
As SQA exams got under way throughout Scotland we prayed for all the young people involved.
On Sunday 18[th] we had been asked to vacate the hall for the annual Embroidery Exhibition, so StrathBap went on tour to Aberfoyle again, with an informal service of sharing in the Memorial Hall, followed by a church picnic and fun in the park on a lovely sunny afternoon!
Following conversations with families who’d attended our Stay and Play events and which had highlighted the desire for a regular Babies and Toddlers group, the LT made plans to establish such a group as a service to the community, with S taking the lead role, supported by volunteers from church family. Having S in post to undertake all the behind-the-scenes organisation and planning to make such outreach possible has proved to be a huge blessing to us as a wee church keen to serve our community.
June 2025
We began the month with K leading our first ever ‘Stop the service – Start the Service’ all age, during which we left the hall and undertook some prayer walks and litter picking around the village – and were also blessed by several good conversations with folk we encountered too!
After the service, we held a Members Meeting to allow church to discuss any issues that had come to light during our review of our Constitution. No major changes to the constitution had been suggested, but it had been agreed that a more informal membership application process would be more appropriate for us, and also that we should reintroduce the annual signing of the Declaration of Membership forms at our Service of Commitment, usually held in January. Minutes of the meeting were circulated to all church family during the following week.
With the SQA exams finally over, we continued to pray for all our high school youngsters as they moved up a year, and for all P7s in our local primary schools undertaking transition events as they prepared for the move to Balfron High, and encouraged everyone to consider becoming involved in the SU Pray for Schools initiative to make every school in Scotland a prayed-for school. Such an opportunity to make an impact!
Final meetings of the regular inter-church prayer gathering, house groups and Strathendrick Teens took place as we moved towards the summer break.
Our services had been hugely blessed and our worship beautifully enhanced by the informal youth band led by over recent months, so we gave thanks for that too as they stepped down for the summer.
Just before the end of the month, the former Registry Office in the village became available for rent, so several members of the LT booked an appointment to view it to ascertain if it could provide a suitable premises for a StrathBap hub, to allow us to further serve the community. Those of us who visited were excited about the potential for numerous outreach activities – and importantly also experienced a real sense of peace and God’s leading in this situation.
It was agreed unanimously at the following LT meeting that we should proceed with the initial paperwork involved. R had obtained the appropriate forms from Stirling Council to apply for the tenancy, and also for a Change of Use application.
As next steps the LT shared their enthusiasm for the property with church via WhatsApp and at church on the Sunday, and agreed that an EGM would need to be called to ascertain the feelings of all church members before we could accept the tenancy,
And to close the month we were delighted to announce that StrathBap has a new website!! Many thanks to J for all her hard work – and to J too for his input. Church family were encouraged to visit the site at www.strathendrickbaptstchurch.org and send J any suggestions for additional content to provide a real flavour of StrathBap as a church community.
July 2025
With summer holidays now upon us, weekly house groups took a break and we moved to a more informal time of activities for our Sunday Club and Youth Group members during sermon time as the preaching team began a series on the Parables of Jesus.
SU residential holidays got underway, with several of our young folk enjoying participating, so we gave thanks for all the wonderful volunteers who give of their time and energy to staff the camps and help youngsters to learn about God and his deep love for each of them.
Other events including Magnitude and Renderfest were also sources of encouragement for our young people.
Summer break also allowed all our church families to time to recharge and enjoy time together and the great weather allowed us to enjoy several church picnics at Loch Ard too.
August 2025
During the final full week of the school summer break we hosted another ‘Stay and Play’ event over three mornings, which was once again much appreciated by young families and gave us another opportunity to build on relationships within the community. News of our plans to start a new regular Babies and Toddlers group was shared and met with great enthusiasm.
On Sunday 10[th] August, S led our ‘Back to School with God’ all age service, during which Bibles were presented to C, E and R on the occasion of their move up to Balfron High and we prayed for them and all young people and teachers as the new school year got underway. The service was followed by bring-and-share lunch .
Just over a week later, on Thursday 21[st] August , StrathBap launched the new, weekly Babies and Toddlers Group as an act of service to families in our community! A very exciting day in the life of our wee church – and all made possible by having S in post to act as lead and volunteer coordinator!
With schools settled back, it was now time to bid farewell to the university students in our church family, so we took opportunities to pray God’s blessing on the new season in the lives of B, C and E.
Church family members had also been pleased to support a Community Litter Pick which had been organised by local folk to celebrate the life and community contribution of L.
On Sunday 24[th] August, we held and EGM to allow all church family to share thoughts on our application for the tenancy for the former Registry Office. Prior to the meeting, church family had all been issued with a document prepared by R outlining the financial implications of taking on the tenancy and the need for regular giving to increase to allow us to afford it. Following a wide-ranging discussion, a vote was taken by secret ballot on whether to proceed with the application, with 20 members voting in favour and 6 against.
Rl then moved to the next stage in the application for Change of Use of the building, on the understanding that if the application was not successful, then we would all know that God was closing the door on the venture.
Under AOB, church family were also asked to give prayerful consideration to a review of our practice of supporting scholarships at a high school in Malawi.
Our relationship with the school had begun some 18 years ago when Balfron High established a partnership with the school and we had decided as a church to begin sponsoring the education of 8 pupils at the school. Over time the school changed from being co-ed, to a boys’ only school, so we continued to sponsor 4 boys, and
give an equal amount of support to the Mamie Martin Fund, a charity which specialises in supporting girls’ education in Malawi. Over the 18 years, our contribution has risen from around £800 per annum, to currently over £4000 (due to increases in school fees and the devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha).
The LT had discussed this at a recent meeting, and agreed to bring this before church family so allow them the opportunity to review this giving, especially in the light of possible increased outreach within our own community. We have committed to honouring the school fees for the new academic year beginning in September, but asked church members to be prayerfully considering this matter between now and our AGM in November, when we’ll take the opportunity to discuss various options.
September 2025
September saw the launch of a new preaching series based on the responsibilities of membership set out in our StrathBap Constitution.
It also marked the end of the 6 months probationary period for S, so the LT undertook a review, including feedback from church family, at the end of which we were delighted to officially confirm S to the post of Youth and Outreach Worker!
Our annual church weekend away took place later in the month – once again at the Windmill Centre, Arbroath – and this was a wonderful time of fun, fellowship, laughter – and a few tears! – for all those who attended.
On 25[th] September, StrathBap members were delighted to attend the Induction of to the post of Church of Scotland Minister for the Drymen/Balfron charge. We look forward to working closely with in outreach initiatives in the community.
October 2025
We were pleased to be able to host the first meeting of the Strathendrick Teens group at the Mclintock Hall on Friday 3[rd] October. The group now plans to meeting regularly on the first Friday of the month, with various churches in the area taking turns to host.
On Sunday the 5[th] , we enjoyed a super Harvest celebration service led by S, followed by a bring-and-share lunch in the hall. Donations of foodstuffs were collected for Start Up Stirling’s Foodbank too.
As the date also marked Street Pastors Sunday, we took the opportunity to join with other churches throughout Scotland, in giving thanks for the work of Street Pastors (including S!) and prayed God’s blessing on all who volunteer to share his love in this way.
The regular Babies and Toddlers group continued during the October break, and in second week expanded into another Stay & Play event over three mornings, at which older siblings were warmly welcomed.
On Thursday 9[th] October we received the exciting news that our application for the Change of Use of the former Registry Office had been approved! We now await Stirling Council drawing up a lease for the rental of the property!
Several of us were also hugely blessed by a visit to StrathBap from G’s band, when their lovely music greatly enhanced our worship. We enjoyed meeting all the band members and look forward to their return visits!
Closing comments
StrathBap is a family where we all share our gifts to support and encourage each other on our faith journeys, so it’s appropriate to take this opportunity to thank everyone all that they do including -
Serving teas and coffees- and yummy baking/preaching and leading services/leading Sunday Club and Youth Group/hosting house group gatherings and Sunday Munch lunches/ young people’s band/ music and IT/setting up and taking down halls – and just being there for each other!
So – that’s another year in the life of our wee church! We give thanks to God for his faithfulness and for his leading into a new and exciting season and for his provision of both S and premises in the village from which to expand our service to the community. Our prayer from last year has indeed been answered!
" - The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” Matthew 9:37 .
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APPENDIX 2
$C048949
Strathendrick Baptist Church
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Receipts|and|payments|accounts|
|Forthe|eM|
|Scottish|Charity|Regulator|from period|||[7|TT IL|pL|IL|Ld|
|Section|A|Statement|of|receipts|and|payments|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|siinseasoiage|Pesscosschecen|Total funds|Total funds|last|
|funds|endowment|endowment|a|
|funds|tianae|faride|current period|period|
|to|nearest £|to|nearest £|to|nearest £|to|nearest|£|to|nearest £|to|nearest £|
|A‘|Receipts|
|Donations|=|CdS,|389|||31369||__32,108|
|||a|
|Legacies|||
|Receipts from fundraising|activites|||ha|||
|IGrosstrading|receipts|||Loe|
|Income|from|investments|other|than|
|land|and|buildings|
|Rents from land & buildings|||Be|
|Gross|receipts|from|other|charitable|
|activities|
|Af Sub total|___31,369||ea)||Ee|
|A2|Receipts from|asset &|
|investment|sales|
|Proceeds|from saleof|fixed|assets|||
|[Proceeds from|sale of investments|||
|A2|Subtotal]|
|A3|Payments|
|[nvesimentmanagementoosis|[||eo|
|Payments|relating|directly|to|charitable|
|activities|28,048|28,048|11,077|
|GrantsSeverance anddonationscosts[208|||[5208fees| [~o.565,|
|[Preparation ofan|eczounis||eo|
|rr|a|
|Perf|sts ||eens|||[aso][|]|
|A3 Sub total|33,771|33,771|[|_24,092||
|A4|Payments|relating|to asset and|
|investment|movements|
|offredassets|
|Purchases|
|Purchase|ofinvestnentsAd|Sub|total[||
|netrecsiots/(payments)|[an] T)|
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APPENDIX 2 - Strathendrick Baptist Church Section B Statement of balances
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$C048949
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aarp Restricted funds Expendableendowment endowmPerman ent Total— Total last period
funds funds e
to nearest £ to nearest & to nearest £ to nearest & to nearest & to nearest £
B1 Cash funds Cash and bank balances at start of year | 54. |
eeSurplus/ (deficit) shown on receipts and az) | a)
Cash and bank balances at end of year 63,562 63,562
(Agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Fund to which asset belongs Market valuation Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
- —— —
Total
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (if available) pain (it Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
- = =
Total
Fund to which liability relates Amount due Last year
to nearest £ to nearest &
|
|
Zz —— = |
Total
Fund to whichi liability relates Amount(estimate) due Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
— — —
Total
Signed by one or two trustees Date of
on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name approval
US ]lo
2€/o[2
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2025 Accounts/ Statement of balances
1
December 2007
APPENDIX 2 .. 2 Strathendrick Baptist Church Section B Statement of balances
$C048949
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eS Restricted funds Expendableendowment endowmentPermanent Tote — Tota! last period
funds funds ee
to nearest £ to nearest& to nearest £ to nearest£ to nearest £ to nearest £
B1 Cash funds Cash and bank balances at start of year | 84.981 |
Surplus / (deficit) shown on receipts and 44,013
payments account ,
(Agree belances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Fund to which asset belongs Market valuation Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
i — —
Total
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (if available) pea ony (tt Last year
to nearest£ to nearest £ to nearest £
- = =
Total
Fund to which liability relates Amount due Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
i — =
Total
Fund to which liability relates Amount(ectimate) due Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
B5 Contingent liabilities
j
Total
Signed by one or two trustees Date of
on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name approval
Zs |lo
2€/k/2'
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2025 Accounts/ Statement of balances
1
December 2007
APPENDIX 3
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Independent examiner’s report on the accounts
Report tothe Charity name
trustees/members of Strathendrick Baptist Church
Registered charity SC048949
number
On the accounts of the Period start date Period end date
charity for the period Day Month Year Day Month Year
01 10 2024 to 30 09 2025
Bet OEE On Eaaee (numbersber of addtionalto include sheets).th
Respective the charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance
responsibilities Of with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the
trustees and examiner Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The charity trustees consider that the
audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It
is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (Cc) of the
Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities
examiner’s statement Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the
accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with
those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the
accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The
procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit
and, consequently, | do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent examiner’s In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention fofper-therr: that
statement disclosedonthe attached page]
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the
requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and
Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
— to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with
Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met, or
2. towhich, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed Date: as fre] a 5
Name
Relevant professiona
qualification(s) or bod
(if any)
Address
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*Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. If the words do apply, set out those matters which have come to your attention on the following page.
APPENDIX 3
Disclosure section
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose