Constitution and By-Laws
of the
Emmanuel Baptist Church
Rochester, Minnesota
Revised February 2010
Article II. Purpose and Objectives
Article III. Statement of Faith
Article V. Amendment Procedure
Section 2. Voting Rights of Membership
Article III. General Church Officers
Section 7. Assistant Treasurer
Article IV. Committees and Coordinating Groups
Section 1. General Guidelines for Church Committees
Section 3. Nominating Committee
Section 4. Church Ministry Team (CMT)
Article V. Program Organizations
Section 3. Women's Missionary Union
Section 3. Regular Business Meeting
Section 4. Special Business Meetings
Section 6. Parliamentary Rules
We declare and establish this constitution for the preservation and security of the principles of our faith, and that this body may be governed in an orderly manner. This constitution seeks to preserve the liberties of each individual member of this church and the freedom of action of this body in its relation to other churches.
This body shall be known as Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rochester, Minnesota, a religious corporation.
Believing that Christ is the head of the Church, we, being a body of baptized believers, seek through love to glorify God.
We endeavor
The Church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of the "Baptist Faith and Message" as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963. We pledge to use curriculum materials provided by the Southern Baptist Agencies and the Holy Bible as the basis of our teachings.
The government of this church is vested in its membership under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is subject to the control of no other body, but it recognizes and sustains the obligations of mutual counsel and cooperation which are common among Baptist churches. This church shall cooperate with the Pioneer Baptist Association, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Southern Baptist Fellowship (state convention when so formed), and with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Four weeks before voting on an amendment to this constitution, the proposed amendment will be posted in the church and mailed to every resident family. For the purpose of amending this constitution, a quorum will consist of 1/3 of the resident membership. Amendments to the constitution shall be made by approval of 2/3 members present.
Individuals may offer themselves as candidates for membership in this church. All such candidates shall be presented to the Church at any regular worship service for membership in any of the following ways:
New church members will be expected to participate in the Church's new member orientation plan as held.
Every active member of the Church, including members of its mission, is entitled to vote at all elections and upon all questions submitted to the Church in regular or special business meetings provided the member is present.
Members are expected to be faithful in all the duties essential to the Christian life, to attend habitually the services of this church, to give regularly for its support and its causes, and to share in its organized work.
Membership shall be terminated in the following ways: (1) by death, (2) transfer of membership to another Baptist church, (3) by erasure when a member joins another church, (4) upon request of member, and (5) exclusion by action of the church.
Letters of dismission to other churches may be voted upon at any regular meeting of the Church.
Believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God and this Assembly, enter into this covenant with one another, as one in the body of Christ.
In relation to each other, we agree: to respect and accept in the spirit of Christ and in Christian fellowship, differences of opinion in all matters pertaining to church affairs and to our individual lives; to be ready always to forgive others their trespasses in the spirit with which God continually forgives our trespasses; to watch over one another in prayer; and to aid one another in times of distress and illness.
Believing that our call to be members of the Church is a call to be living witnesses of God in the world, we commit our lives and destinies to Christ. Wherever people are separated by barriers of hostility and distrust, we shall be ministers of God's reconciling love. As we pledge our support to the work of our missionaries throughout the world, we commit ourselves to the mission to which God calls us.
We shall seek to be obedient to Christ in our daily living. In our homes, in our labor, and in our leisure we shall strive for attitudes and actions which will reflect God's Spirit working through us. Acknowledging our human frailties and ever seeking forgiveness, we confess our need of the Holy Spirit. We shall regard our bodies as the residence of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, we shall seek to refrain from any practices detrimental to our health and influence, and strive to live a transformed life consistent with Biblical principles in the midst of this world.
When we find it no longer possible to participate in the fellowship of this church, we will unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
The pastor is responsible for leading the Church in functioning as a New Testament church. The pastor will lead the congregation, the organizations, and the Church staff in performing their tasks. A major concern of the pastor is to perform pastoral responsibilities. The pastor is the leader of worship, proclamation, education, and pastoral ministries. He is an ex officio member of all committees.
A pastor shall be chosen and called by the Church whenever a vacancy occurs. A representative Pulpit Committee shall be nominated by the deacons and elected by the Church to seek out a suitable pastor. Their recommendation will constitute a nomination though any member has the privilege of making other nominations according to the policy established by the Church. The committee shall bring to the consideration of the Church only one person at a time. The selection shall proceed in the following order:
1st Sunday - Public notice given and notice mailed to all church families.
2nd Sunday - Public notice given.
3rd Sunday - Coming in view of a call.
4th Sunday - Voting after morning services.
Election shall be by secret ballot, an affirmative vote of three-fourths of those present and voting being necessary for a choice. The pastor, thus elected, shall serve until the relationship is terminated by his or the Church's request.
The pastor may be requested to resign at a special business meeting called by the personnel committee and approved by the deacons and written notice thereof given two weeks previous to the meeting. A majority vote of those present and voting shall be required for the pastor's dismissal. The vote will be taken by secret ballot. Prior to the calling of this business meeting, the personnel committee and the deacons shall give the pastor the opportunity to resign voluntarily. The pastor shall give or be given at least one month's notice at the time of terminating his responsibilities as pastor.
This church shall call or employ such paid staff members as the Church shall need. A job description shall be written when the need for staff members is determined. Vocational and bivocational staff members other than the pastor shall be recommended to the Church by the personnel committee and employed by church action. The personnel committee shall have the ability of dismissal of any non-professional person with two weeks' notice given or two weeks pay in lieu of notice. Any action concerning a professional staff member either vocational or bivocational would be brought before the Church with prior notice.
Any workers paid by the Church shall likewise be recommended to the Church by a personnel committee and employed by church action.
In accordance with the meaning of the work and the practice of the New Testament, deacons are to be servants of the Church. The task of the deacon is to serve with the pastor and staff in performing pastoral ministries tasks; proclaim the gospel to believers and unbelievers; care for church members and other persons in the community; lead the church to engage in a fellowship of worship, witness, education, ministry, and application; and lead the Church in performing its tasks.
Upon election, (and if necessary, ordination) a deacon shall be added to the active Deacon body and will serve on a continuous basis until such time that moving from the membership of the church, or inability to function as a deacon, would require the cessation of that relationship. Members of the congregation who have been ordained a deacon, but have not been elected by the church as an active deacon, will be carried on the "inactive" deacon list. There is no obligation on the part of the church to recognize as an active deacon a person who has served in the capacity in some other congregation.
In case of absence or inability of the pastor, subject to advice from and conference with him, the deacons will provide for pulpit supplies. In any period when the church is without a pastor, the deacons will recommend a Pulpit Supply Committee.
The moderator shall be the pastor. In the absence of the pastor, the chairman of the deacons shall preside; or in the absence of both, the clerk shall call the Church to order and a moderator pro tem shall be elected.
The Church shall elect annually a clerk who shall keep in a suitable book a record of all the actions of the Church, except as other wise herein provided. The clerk is responsible for keeping a register of the name of the members with dates of admission, dismission, or death, together with a record of baptisms. Upon application for membership by letter, the clerk shall request the letter from the designated church. The clerk shall issue letters of dismission voted by the Church and also shall keep on file written official reports and give legal notice of all meetings where such notice is necessary, as indicated by these Bylaws. All church records are church property and should be filed in the church office. The clerk shall fill out the annual church letter to the association.
The Church shall elect annually a church treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to keep at all times an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements. All funds received for denominational or other causes shall be remitted at least monthly by check. Payment of bills for local work and expenses shall be made promptly by check upon receipt of bills approved by the treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to render to the Church at each regular business meeting an itemized report of the receipts and disbursements for the preceding month. The treasurer's report shall be audited annually by an Auditing Committee or public accountant. The treasurer will be bonded for an amount commensurate with church finances. All books, records, and accounts kept by the treasurer shall be considered the property of the Church. The books shall be open to inspection for any member of the Church at any time. Upon rendering the annual account at the end of the each fiscal year, and its acceptance and approval by the Church, the records shall be delivered by the treasurer to the church clerk, who shall see that the account is kept and preserved as a part of the permanent records of the Church.
The assistant treasurer shall be elected by the Church annually. The assistant treasurer shall receive the empty collection envelopes after the money has been removed and counted and shall give donors individual credit. The assistant treasurer shall be responsible for preparing, making and mailing of quarterly or semiannual records of contributions to all contributing members.
Three trustees elected by the Church will hold in trust the church property. They shall have no power to buy, sell, mortgage, lease or transfer any property without a specific vote of the Church authorizing each action. It shall be the function of the trustees to affix their signatures to legal documents involving the sale, mortgaging, insuring, or purchase or rental of property or other legal documents where the signatures of trustees are required. Trustees shall serve on a rotating basis, with one new trustee being elected each year. In case of death, resignation, removal, or incapacity to serve, the Church shall elect a member to fill the unexpired term.
The historian is to preserve and use the historical records of the Church. The historian is especially concerned with gathering and preserving available church records, recording full and accurate records, and using the records to help members understand and appreciate their heritage and mission. The historian is recommended by the Nominating Committee and serves for an indefinite term.
Special committees may be elected by the Church as deemed necessary to carry on the activities of the Church. They shall serve as long as its necessary to carry out their particular function.
The committee will bring recommendations to the Church of members that have agreed to fill offices and committees as noted in the Bylaws and Committee Handbook. These committees and offices will run from September through August or as noted in the Bylaws.
The Nominating Committee is expected to fulfill its responsibilities by the July Business meeting and will be dismissed when finished, or when their report is accepted as complete. As Team Leader of the Church Ministry Team (CMT), the Senior Pastor will notify the chair of the Nominating Committee to reconvene the members, as necessary, to fill vacancies which occur on the CMT.
The CMT's purpose is to lead the Church in fulfilling its Vision by providing direction, strategy, planning, evaluation, and coordination for the total church ministry and mission.
* Editor's Note: When these changes to the Bylaws were originally brought to the Church Business Meeting by the Ad Hoc Bylaws Recommendations Committee, the committee also brought a suggested "organizational chart" containing "columns" with each column containing several Church Sub-Committees and represented by a CMT member. That suggested chart was not officially part of the Ad Hoc Bylaws Recommendations Committee's final report, but the approved language above still refers to "columns" as though the chart was part of the report.
The Sunday School shall be divided into departments and classes as needed for all ages and conducted under the direction of the Sunday School Director for the study of God's Word and for outreach toward new members. All teachers and officers shall be members of this church.
Three months before the close of the educational year, the Sunday School Director shall be elected upon nomination by the Nominating Committee. The teachers shall be elected by the Church upon recommendation of the director through the Nominating Committee.
There shall be Church Training for all ages and conducted under the direction of a general director. The Church Training shall serve as the training organization of the Church.
Three months before the close of the educational year, the Church Training Director shall be elected upon nomination by the Nominating Committee. The other leaders and workers shall be elected by the Church upon recommendation of the director through the Nominating Committee.
There shall be a Women's Missionary Union with such officers and organization as needed. The tasks of the Woman's Missionary Union shall be to teach missions; engage in mission action; support world missions through praying and giving; provide and interpret information regarding the work of the Church and the denomination.
The Women's Missionary Union shall select all WMU officers and leaders for the approval of the Church.
A person who has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by personal faith, who professes Him publicly at any worship service, and who indicates a commitment to follow Christ as Lord, shall be received for baptism.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby baptized believers, through partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine, commemorate the death of Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming.
The Church shall meet regularly each Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening for preaching, instruction, evangelism, and for the worship of Almighty God. These meetings will be open for the entire membership of the Church and for all people and shall be conducted under the direction of the pastor.
Revival services and/or any other church meetings which will be considered essential in the promotion of the objectives of the Church shall be placed on the church calendar.
Occasional religious meetings may be scheduled by the pastor at his discretion or by vote of the Church.
Regular business meetings shall be held quarterly on the second Sunday of the first month of each quarter (January, April, July, October). Financial statements will be prepared for disbursement to the congregation every month. It is to be understood that any church members may make a motion from the floor on any issue.
Ten percent of active roll of the membership shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, is the authority for parliamentary rules of procedure for all business meeting of the Church.
The fiscal year shall run January 1 through December 31.
Changes in these Bylaws may be made at any regular business meeting of the Church, provided such amendments shall have been presented publicly one week previous. Amendments to the Bylaws shall have a concurrence of a simple majority of the members present and voting.
| Date | Editor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/02/25 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the January, 2010 regular business meeting. Added item 9) to Subsection 2, Section 4 Church Ministry Team (CMT), regarding committee membership. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2009/01/19 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the April, 2009 regular business meeting. Two changes were made in Article IV Committees and Coordinating Groups, Section 3 Nominating Committee, and a change in Article I Membership, Section 4 Termination. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2009/01/23 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the January, 2009 regular business meeting. Under Article IV Committees and Coordinating Groups, Section 1 General Guidelines for Church Committees, numbered list item 8 was added to the list of guidelines. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2008/10/12 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the October, 2008 regular business meeting. All references (just 1) to the Church Council were replaced with Church Ministry Team. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2008/09/04 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the April, 2008 regular business meeting. The second bullet of the list under Article IV, section 4, subsection 2 was removed. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2007/04/15 | Jim Benson | Updates passed in the April 15th, 2007 regular business meeting. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2007/02/02 | Jim Benson | Formatting corrections recommended by David Sandifer to more accurately reflect the distinction between the Constitution, Preamble and By-Laws. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2006/10/29 | Jim Benson | Updates per recommendations presented by the Ad Hoc committee assigned to rewrite section 9. Prior version can be found here. |
| 2005/08/01 | Jim Benson | Fixed broken Table of Contents link. |
| 2005/05/07 | Jim Benson | Converted to HTML for distribution on the ebcrochester.org web site. |