CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE FERNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH

Transcription

1 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE FERNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH ARTICLE I The name of this Church shall be THE FERNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH This Church recognizes as its only rule of faith and practice the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. It shall be a Missionary Baptist Church. It holds the teaching about proper subjects for Baptism and Church membership and for participation in the Lord s Supper as is general among Missionary Baptists. This Church shall consist of such persons as have been baptized upon a confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The government of this local Church shall be a spiritual democracy, each member being entitled to a vote with the following exceptions. Only members eighteen years of age and above may vote on: A. the call or dismissal of a pastor; B. the incurring of major indebtedness; C. the selling of church buildings and/or land. Items listed in A, B, and C of this section require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. The discipline of this Church shall be such as usage has made customary in Baptist Churches. This Church shall be independent of any other church. ARTICLE II The officers of the Church shall be a pastor, deacons, secretary, trustees, general Sunday School officers, and teachers, and such officers as deemed necessary. All officers of the Church shall perform such duties as are usually understood to pertain to their respective offices. The qualifications and duties of the pastor and deacons shall be as set forth in Acts 6; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 5:1, 17; II Tim. 1, Titus 1:5-9; Heb. 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-5. The duties of all other officers shall be as held by Missionary Baptist Churches. All chairmen shall be elected by their individual bodies using the secret ballot. When more than one name is submitted to the Church for one office, a secret ballot shall be taken.

2 FBC Constitution & By-Laws, p. 2 The chairman of the Deacons, the chairman of the Finance Committee, and Deacons serving their second year shall be designated as trustees for legal purposes. ARTICLE III The seal of said corporation shall be a circular disc with the words, The Ferndale Baptist Church surrounding the words Seal stamped thereon. ARTICLE IV The church shall meet for the observance of the Lord s Supper at such times as may be found convenient. The church shall hold quarterly business meetings at such times as it deems convenient to do so. All yearly elected officers will be elected at one of these meetings, before the time to begin serving their annual term. Special business meetings may be held at any time, when called by the Pastor after first informing the deacons, or, in the absence of the Pastor, the chairman of the Deacons, with the approval of the deacons, may call a special meeting. Exceptions: Any business meeting called or held for the purpose of election, appointment, or discharge of any church officer; or business which is connected with the purchase of, or transfer of Church property will be announced in at least one regular Sunday Worship service prior to the called business meeting. ARTICLE V The Church s financial books shall be audited at least annually. ARTICLE VI Before any of these articles or sections can be altered, amended, or added to, notice thereof must be given in writing at a regular worship service of the church; and at the succeeding regular business meeting, two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast must be in favor of the proposed change. ARTICLE VII The number of Deacons needed to look after the Church s business will be determined by the church. The Deacon s are elected by the church to serve two year terms, unless otherwise

3 FBC Constitution & By-Laws, p. 3 stipulated. If a deacon cannot fulfill his job, he is honor bound to resign. Only when absolutely necessary will the Deacon board recommend to the church that a Deacon s job be declared open. Any deacon filling an unexpired term and serving over twelve months of the term cannot be re-elected until a year has elapsed after his term has been served. Section 8. The Chairman and Secretary of the Deacon Board will be voted on every year by the Deacons. The Chairman of the Deacons is the first right hand man to the Pastor. The pastor leaves the church in his charge when he is away. Deacons will be nominated by secret ballot by the active membership of the Church. These ballots will be tabulated by the active Deacon board. The Deacons and Pastor will review the nominees as to their qualifying Scripturally for service in the deaconship and then return twice the needed number of candidates names, if available, to the Church for their final election. No deacon can serve his term until he has been ordained. The Church s yearly budget must be passed on by the Deacon Board. There will be one regular Deacon s meeting held each month. The Church s Secretary will be under the Deacon s and Pastor s supervision. ARTICLE VIII The Finance Committee will be elected every year. It will elect its own chairman. The number of men on the elected committee will be set by the Church, and they, in turn select helpers to count offering. The Finance Committee will see that the Church s books are audited at least annually. The Church s annual budget will be made up by the Finance Committee and the Pastor, Pastor, and will be presented to the Deacons for approval and to the church for final acceptance. The Secretary will issue monthly financial statements for the finance committee, deacons, pastor and church members. Any two of the following may be co-signers of church checks: Members of the finance committee and chairman of the deacons. Changes in the church s budget must be approved by the church.

4 FBC Constitution & By-Laws, p. 4 ARTICLE IX The Nominating Committee will be elected by the Church in May of each year. The Deacons will recommend the new committee to the church. The nominating committee must be made up of church members who have been members of the church for two or more years. They must also be regularly attending members. The committee must nominate the General officers first, and then the Sunday School Superintendent, after their election by the church, will help the nominating committee in picking out various department heads. The committee must contact prospective workers and officers and determine whether the proposed nominee would be willing to serve if nominated and elected to that position. The nominee must be given time, if he so wishes, to consider prayerfully his answer. The department heads must be nominated after general officers, and their respective department teachers and workers must be approved by the department heads. The nominating committee should be reminded that their main task is to pick consecrated Christians for their general officer s positions, and to aid those officers in picking and replacing workers, and making other changes as may be necessary. ARTICLE X It is the desire of The Ferndale Baptist Church to welcome born-again Christians into our church fellowship. Prerequisites for church membership A. Profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; B. Testify to having been baptized by immersion after salvation; C. Attend Sunday worship services for at least one month before joining; D. Be interviewed and recommended by a Pastor or Deacon Chairman; E. Accept the church doctrinal statement; F. Not be living in a way that would warrant church discipline; G. Receive a positive vote from a majority of church members casting votes Removal from the active membership list A. A person will be removed from church membership when they die or join another church. B. A person will be put on an inactive membership list if they have not attended Sunday

5 FBC Constitution & By-Laws, p. 5 worship services over a six month period, unless they are physically unable to attend or are out of town for an extended time. A Pastor or Deacon will attempt to contact persons who start becoming inactive to find out about the situation and to encourage the person to attend again. C. To be put back on the active membership list, an inactive member must attend church services for one month and interview with the Pastor or Deacon Chairman. D. The active membership list shall be updated by the Pastor and Deacons together based upon this policy concerning church membership. E. Only persons on the current active membership roll may vote on church matters or hold a position in the church. It is the sincere and genuine goal of The Ferndale Baptist Church to Biblically restore those church members who undergo the process of church discipline. A. Biblical matters that could lead to church discipline if there is no repentance would include denying a fundamental doctrine in our doctrinal statement (Romans 16:17-18); an able bodied man refusing to work to support his family (2 Thess. 3:6-15); embracing a false religion (2 Cor. 6:14-18); stealing or drunkenness (I Cor. 5:1-2); sexual immorality of any kind (either heterosexual or homosexual) (I Cor. 5:1-2,13; 6:9-11); or, other matters that the Pastors and Deacons decide have Biblical warrant. B. The process of church discipline: The church will follow Biblical guidelines, prayer, and counsel (Matthew 18:15-17; Proverbs 15:22) and vote on dismissal in a discipline case if there is no repentance. Removal from membership by church discipline shall be by majority vote of church members casting votes. A person removed from membership by church discipline will no longer be eligible to partake of the Lord s Supper at our church, hold a position or serve in a ministry of the church, or vote in church matters. The person can be reinstated to church membership by an expression of repentance and an affirmative vote of the majority of church members casting votes. These By-Laws consist of Article I, Sections 1-7; Article II, Sections 1-6 (as amended 20 March 2011); Article III, Section 1; Article IV, Sections 1-3; Article V, Section 1; Article VI, Section 1; Article VII, Sections 1-8 (as amended 20 March 2011); Article VIII, Sections 1-7; Article IX, Sections 1-6 (as amended 24 March 1996); Article X, Sections 1-3 (as amended 26 February 2006). Updated 3/ 21/2011