The following paragraphs are from the Church’s constitution (last amended: 20th May 2025)
1 Name
The name of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation is Cherry Hinton Baptist Church (“the Church”).
2 National location of principal office
The Charitable Incorporated Organisation must have a principal office in England or Wales. The principal office of the Church is in England.
3 Purpose
3.1 The principal purposes of the Church are:-
3.1.1 The advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination.
3.1.2 The Church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world.
4 Beliefs
As a member of the Baptist Union the Church subscribes to the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle:
“That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again on the third day’.
That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.”
5 Activities
5.1 In fulfilling the Purpose the Church will engage in a range of activities either on its own or with others that will vary from time to time with activities being initiated, expanded, or closed, as appropriate.
5.2 The activities may include but are not restricted to:
regular public worship, prayer, Bible study, preaching and teaching;
baptism, as defined in the Baptist Union’s Declaration of Principle;the Communion of the Lord’s Supper which shall normally be observed at least once a month;
evangelism and mission, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally;
the teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of young people;
nurture and growth of Christian disciples;
education and training for Christian and community service;
giving and encouraging pastoral care;
supporting and encouraging charitable social action in the United Kingdom and abroad;
encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christians.
6 Affiliation
The Church is a member of the Baptist Union and the Association.
7 Powers
The Church has power to do anything which is calculated to further its purposes or is conducive or incidental to doing so. In particular, the Church’s powers include power to:
7.1 borrow money and to charge the whole or any part of its property as security for the repayment of the money borrowed. The Church must comply as appropriate with sections 124 and 125 of The Charities Act 2011 if it wishes to mortgage land;
7.2 buy, take on lease or in exchange, hire or otherwise acquire any property and to maintain and equip it for use;
7.3 sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the property belonging to the Church. In exercising this power, the Church must comply as appropriate with sections 117 to 123 of the Charities Act 2011;
7.4 employ, appoint and remunerate such staff and office holders as are necessary for carrying out the work of the Church. The Church may employ or remunerate a Charity Trustee only to the extent that it is permitted to do so by clause 9 (Benefits and payments to Charity Trustees and Connected Persons) and provided it complies with the conditions of that clause;
7.5 deposit or invest funds, employ a professional fund-manager, and arrange for the investments or other property of the Church to be held in the name of a nominee, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000.
8 Application of income and property
8.1 The income and property of the Church must be applied solely towards the promotion of the purposes.
8.2 A Charity Trustee is entitled to be reimbursed from the property of the Church or may pay out of such property reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her when acting on behalf of the Church.
8.3 A Charity Trustee may benefit from trustee indemnity insurance cover purchased at the Church’s expense in accordance with, and subject to the conditions in, section 189 of the Charities Act 2011.
8.4 None of the income or property of the Church may be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise by way of profit to any member of the Church. This does not prevent a member who is not also a Charity Trustee:
8.4.1 receiving a benefit from the Church as a beneficiary of the Church;
8.4.2 buying or receiving goods and/or services from the Church on reasonable and proper terms;
8.4.3 selling goods, services or any interest in land to the Church on reasonable and proper terms;
8.4.4 being employed by, or receiving remuneration from, the Church on reasonable and proper terms;
8.4.5 receiving interest on money lent to the Church at a reasonable and proper rate which must be not more than the Bank of England bank rate (also known as the base rate);
8.4.6 receiving rent for premises let by the member or connected person to the Church provided that the amount of rent and the other terms of the lease are reasonable and proper; and/or
8.4.7 taking part in the normal trading and fundraising activities on the same terms as members of the public.
8.5 Nothing in this clause 8 shall prevent a Charity Trustee or Connected Person receiving any benefit or payment which is authorised by clause 9.
9 Benefits and payments to Charity Trustees and Connected Persons
9.1 General provisions
Unless the payment or benefit is permitted by clause 9.2, or is authorised by the court or the Charity Commission, no Charity Trustee or Connected Person may:
9.1.1 Buy or receive any goods or services from the Church on terms preferential to those applicable to members of the public;
9.1.2 Sell goods, services, or any interest in land to the Church;
9.1.3 Be employed by, or receive any remuneration from, the Church; or
9.1.4 Receive any other financial benefit from the Church: in this clause, a “financial benefit” means a benefit, direct or indirect, which is either money or has a monetary value.
9.2 Scope and powers permitting Charity Trustees’ or Connected Persons’ benefits
9.2.1 A Charity Trustee or Connected Person may receive a benefit from the Church as a member of the Church to the same extent that other members benefit from the activities and services of the Church.
9.2.2 A Charity Trustee or Connected Person may enter into a contract for the supply of services and/or goods to the Church where that is permitted in accordance with, and subject to the conditions in, sections 185 to 188 of the Charities Act 2011.
9.2.3 A Charity Trustee or Connected Person may receive interest on money lent to the Church at a reasonable and proper rate which must be not more than the Bank of England bank rate (known as the base rate).
9.2.4 A Charity Trustee or Connected Person may receive rent for premises let by the Charity Trustee or Connected Person to the Church. The amount of the rent and the other terms of the lease must be reasonable and proper. The Charity Trustee concerned must withdraw from any meeting at which such a proposal or the rent or other terms of the lease are under discussion.
9.2.5 A Charity Trustee or Connected Person may take part in the normal trading and fundraising activities of the Church and benefit from the services provided by the Church and participate in the Church’s activities on the same terms as members of the Church.
9.2.6 Notwithstanding the fact that any Minister or Ministers appointed by the Church are Charity Trustees they will be entitled to be paid an agreed and reasonable remuneration or stipend out of the funds of the Church provided that a majority of the Charity Trustees at any given time do not benefit under this provision.
9.2.7 Where it is proposed that a Charity Trustee or Connected Person is to be employed or receive remuneration or sell goods or services or any interest in land to the Church and where this gains the approval of the Charity Trustees and the Church Members’ Meeting then this shall be permitted only if:
9.2.7.1 the Charity Trustee or any person connected with the Charity Trustee who may benefit directly or indirectly from the proposed remuneration declares an interest in the proposal before discussion on the matter begins;
9.2.7.2 absents himself or herself (or in the case of any Connected Persons themselves) from any part of any meeting at which the proposal is discussed and takes no part in any discussion of it and is not counted in determining whether any such meeting is quorate;
9.2.7.3 does not vote on the proposal;
9.2.7.4 the remaining Charity Trustees who do not stand to receive the proposed benefit are satisfied that it is in the interests of the Church to contract with or employ that Charity Trustee (or Connected Person) rather than another independent person and must record the reason for their decision in the minutes; and
9.2.7.5 in reaching that decision the Charity Trustees must balance the advantage of contracting with or employing a Charity Trustee against the disadvantages of doing so (especially the loss of the Charity Trustee’s services as a result of dealing with the Charity Trustee’s conflict of interest).
10 Conflicts of interest and conflicts of loyalty
10.1 A Charity Trustee must:
10.1.1 Declare the nature and extent of any interest, direct or indirect, which he or she has in a proposed transaction or arrangement with the Church or in any transaction or arrangement entered into by the Church which has not previously been declared; and
10.1.2 Absent himself or herself from any discussions of the Charity Trustees in which it is possible that a conflict of interest will arise between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Church and any personal interest (including but not limited to any financial interest).
10.2 Any Charity Trustee absenting himself or herself from any discussions in accordance with this clause must not vote or be counted as part of the quorum in any decision of the Charity Trustees on the matter.
11 Liability of members to contribute to the assets of the Church if it is wound up
If the Church is wound up, the members of the Church have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.