ARTICLE I
NAME
The
name of this Church will be the Little Rock NetChurch,
an Arkansas Corporation, having its worship services primarily led from
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE
It
is the vision of Rev. Dr. James A. Brettell to take the teaching of God’s Holy
Word to the peoples of this world via the internet; therefore, it is the
purpose of the Little Rock NetChurch to take
advantage of modern technology to make the Word of God available to an
increasing number of people who have, are, or will be departing the traditional
church because it is not offering the type of spiritual help needed by a
morally depraved society. As human
history daily moves closer to the rapture of the Church, Divine pressure will
increase on the world’s population, and established church members will depart
the traditional church setting and its innocuous forms of worship that are
doing nothing more than applying a spiritual band-aid to a spiritual
hemorrhage. The Little Rock NetChurch will pave the way to meet the spiritual needs of
coming generations by going to the people via the internet rather than requiring
the people to come to it. An internet
church is not a “wild-idea.” In a recent
survey, researcher George Barna said, "By the end of the decade, 50 million
Americans will seek to have their spiritual experience solely through the
Internet, rather than at a church; and upwards of 100 million Americans will
rely upon the Internet to deliver some aspects of their religious
experience." Barna sees it right, and
there needs to be a church in place to meet these needs. It is for this reason that the Little Rock NetChurch is being organized.
This
internet church will provide isagogical, categorical
and exegetical Bible teaching, standing unequivocally for the fundamentals of
the faith as contained in the Holy Scriptures; and through the teaching of the
Word of God to prepare missionaries to be sent to the world, to ordain
Evangelists to present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ both at home and
abroad, and to ordain Pastor-Teachers to teach the Word of God both at home and
abroad.
The
thrust of this internet church is to make sound doctrine available to believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ to the end that each believer might become spiritually
self-sustaining; i.e., "until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and
of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the
stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children,
tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by
the trickery of men, by craftiness, in deceitful scheming." (Ephesians
4:13-14)
The
execution of the purpose of this internet church is the frequent teaching of
the Word of God streamed to the world through the use of the internet.
ARTICLE
III
DOCTRINE
AND TENETS
A. Statement of Doctrine
The following basic doctrines contained in the Holy Scriptures
are adopted:
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God,
authoritative, inerrant, and God-breathed.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13)
2. The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, existing in three persons, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and
glory and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
3. The Total Depravity of
Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of
God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature,
became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve his original
condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans
3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:12)
4. The Person and Work of
Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God,
became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem
sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross
as a substitutionary sacrifice; that our redemption
is made sure to us by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (John
1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-25; 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5); that the Lord Jesus
Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where as
the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative,
Intercessor and Advocate. (Hebrews 9:24;
7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
5. The Personality and
Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the
world of sin, indwells all believers in the present age, baptizes them into the
Body of Christ, seals them unto the day of redemption, and that it is the duty
of every believer to be filled by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14;
Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18)
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation in every dispensation is the gift of
God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians
2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7).
7. The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe that all believers are kept secure forever. (Romans 8:1, 38-39; John 10:27-30; 1
Corinthians 1:4-8)
8. The Church
We believe that the Church, which is now the Body and will be
the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again
believers of this Age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian
organizations. (Ephesians 1:22-23;
5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
9. The Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan, who is the open and
declared enemy of God and man. (Job
1:6-7; Matthew 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17)
10. The Blessed Hope
We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of
prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself
the dead in Christ and believers who are alive at His coming, otherwise known
as the Rapture and Translation of the Church.
(1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14)
11. The Tribulation
We believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by
the fulfillment of Daniel's seventieth week, the latter half of which is the
time of Jacob's trouble, the Great Tribulation.
(Daniel 9:27; Jeremiah 30:7; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 6:1-19; 21)
12. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe that the Great Tribulation will be climaxed by the Premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to
set up His kingdom. (Zechariah 14:4-11;
Matthew 24:15-25, 46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:6)
13. The
We believe that the human soul and human spirit of those who
have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately
pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the
resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul, human spirit and body
reunited will be Honoraryd with Him forever in the
glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery
until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the
millennium, when the soul and body reunited will be cast into the lake of fire,
not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8;
Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9;
Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
14. The Responsibility of Believers
We believe that all believers should seek to walk in such a
manner as to not bring reproach upon their Lord and Saviour,
that it is the obligation of every believer to witness by life and by word to
the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the
world (Acts 1:8); that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember
the work of the Lord in prayer and to support it with their means as the Lord
has prospered them. (1 Corinthians 16:2)
15. Church Ordinance
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances
of baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper to be observed until His
return. (Mt. 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians
11:23-26)
16. Sovereignty
We believe that God, existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is
sovereign, and exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part
of and consistent with the essence and attributes of deity. (1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Daniel 4:35; Psalm
24:1; Ephesians 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:15)
17. Spirituality
Spirituality is the condition of being saved,
clean before the Lord through confession of personal sins, yieldedness
to God the Holy Spirit, and walking in the light.
We believe that a believer becomes carnal
through an act of mental, verbal or overt sin and that fellowship with God is
restored by confession of sin and walking in the light. While confessed sin produces forgiveness and
cleansing of sins, fellowship with God requires walking in the light. (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 6:6,
11, 13; 1 Corinthians 11:30-31; 1 John 1:7, 9)
18. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God the Holy Spirit in grace and apart from human
merit sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to
believers in this dispensation. The
permanent spiritual gifts which exist today are Pastor-Teacher, evangelist,
governments, ruling, exhortation, teacher, ministry, helps, giving and mercy. We further believe that the temporary
spiritual gifts were apostle, prophet, tongues, interpretation of tongues, word
of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, faith, healings, and
miracles. Tongues and interpretation of
tongues ceased in 70 A.D. and the other eight temporary gifts ceased with the
completion of the Canon of Scripture.
(Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; 13:8; Ephesians 4:11)
B. Tenets
1. This Church will not at any time become a
member of, or sanction, or support the National Council of Churches of Christ
in
2 This Church will not solicit membership from anyone. Those who desire to affiliate with this
Church may do so by complying with the provision of Article V.
3. This Church will not knowingly accept gifts
from unbelievers or make individual solicitations of funds or pledges among
believers.
ARTICLE IV
AUTHORITY
A. Authority in this Church, under the leadership
of the Holy Spirit, is vested in the Pastor.
B. The authority of the Church Officers, Deacons,
Committee Members, Pastor's Council Members, and other Church Members is
derived from the Articles of this Constitution.
ARTICLE V
MEMBERSHIP
A. A person will qualify for membership under the
following conditions:
1. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal
Savior.
2. Agree to be governed in Church affiliation by
this Constitution and its duly adopted amendments.
B. Types of Membership
1. Active Membership: Any person who desires membership in this
Church and makes his/her request known by filling in the membership application
form on www.littlerocknetchurch.com
will be received as a member if he/she meets the qualifications of this
Article.
2. Honorary Membership: Any person who meets the qualifications of
this Article and holds a membership in another church. The purpose of Honorary Membership is to show support for the concept of an
internet church in what we believe to be a critical time in human history. Honorary members believe that innovative and
creative methods must be implemented to reach the increasing number of
un-churched peoples of this world with a message that is consistent with God’s
Holy Word, and they believe that an internet church is one of those means. Honorary Membership is not designed to proselyte
members from other churches, nor does it seek them for financial support,
although they are free to give if the Holy Spirit should lead them to
give. Its focus is support for the concept of an internet church.
C. Receiving Members
Any person who desires membership in this Church
and makes his/her request known by filling in the membership application form
on www.littlerocknetchurch.com
will be received as a member if he/she meets the qualifications of this
Article.
D. Membership Roll:
1. The Secretary (Church Officer) will be
responsible for keeping a current roster of all Church members.
2. The Pastor will review the membership roll or
cause the membership roll to be reviewed periodically to determine two things:
a. Are those on the membership roll participating
in the activities of this Church?
b. Should a members name remain on the membership
roll or should it be removed?
c. Before a name is removed from the membership
roll, the member will be notified.
ARTICLE VI
WORSHIP
MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERS
A. Worship services will be conducted over the
internet as often as the Pastor may determine.
B. The Lord's Supper will be observed over the
internet as often as the Pastor may determine.
C. Baptism will be conducted when necessary as the
Pastor deems reasonable since those desiring baptism will not be local to the
source of worship.
D. Bible studies are considered Worship Services.
ARTICLE
VII
BUSINESS
MEETINGS
A. Regularly Scheduled Business Meetings: There are no regularly scheduled Business
Meetings of this Church.
B. All business meetings will be conducted by the
Church Officers on behalf of church members.
ARTICLE
VIII
CHURCH
OFFICERS
A. Church Officers: The Church Officers will be Chairperson, Vice
Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
B. Special Functions of the Church Officers As a
Whole
1. The Church Officers, as
a whole, do not constitute a decision making body.
2. The Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer
will serve as a primary council group to the Pastor in his deliberations
regarding both the spiritual and business matters of this Church.
3. The Church Officers will be responsible to
expedite the business matters of this Church and for this Church.
C. Meetings of the Church Officers
1. The Chairperson will
call meetings of the Church Officers.
2. Any two of the four Church Officers can
request that the Chairperson call a meeting of the Church Officers. The agenda for this meeting will be stated in
the request.
3. The Secretary will be responsible for
recording the minutes of all Church Officer's Meetings.
D. Chairperson's Duties and Responsibilities
1. The Pastor is the permanent Chairperson of the
Church for as long as he remains the Pastor.
2. The Chairperson is responsible for making all
final decisions for the Church.
3. The Chairperson will appoint the following
Church Officers no later than December 31 each year: Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
4. The Chairperson will preside at all Church
Officer’s meetings and Pastor’s Council meetings.
5. The Chairperson will have general supervision
of the administrative affairs of this Church.
6. The Chairperson will sign all instruments of
this Church as authorized by this Constitution.
7. The Chairperson will be an ex-officio member
of all Church committees.
8. The Chairperson will cause the Church
membership roll to be reviewed periodically to determine as accurately as
possible that the membership roll reflects active members.
9. The
Chairperson possesses Church budget line-item veto power.
E. Vice-Chairperson's Duties and
Responsibilities
1. The Vice-Chairperson will assist the
Chairperson as directed by the Chairperson.
2. The Vice-Chairperson will perform the
administrative functions of the Chairperson in the Chairperson's absence.
3. The Vice-Chairperson is a member of the
Pastor's Council.
F. Secretary's Duties and Responsibilities
1. The Secretary will be responsible for keeping
the minutes of the Church Officers and Pastor's Council meetings.
2. The Secretary will receive and issue notice of
all Business Meetings.
3. The Secretary will be the custodian of Church
records.
4. The Secretary will be responsible for keeping a
current membership roll of all members.
5. The Secretary will maintain a record of
attendance at all meetings of the Church membership, Church Officers and
Pastor's Council.
6. The Secretary will sign instruments authorized
in a business meeting of the Church Officers or a meeting of the Pastor's
Council.
7. The Secretary is a member of the Pastor's
Council.
G. Treasurer's Duties and Responsibilities
1. The Treasurer will be responsible for the
receipt, deposit, and disbursement of all funds of this Church.
2. He will keep books of account.
3. He will render a current monthly financial
report to the Church Officers.
4. The Treasurer is a member of the Pastor's
Council.
H. The Annual Appointment of Church Officers.
1. The Pastor will appoint the Vice-Chairperson,
Secretary and Treasurer not later than December 31 each year.
2. The Chairperson will cause the names of those
appointed as Church Officers to be recorded in the minutes of a Church
Officer's Meeting.
3. The Chairperson will make an appointment to
fill an unexpired term when a Church Officer is replaced for any reason.
I. The Term of an Appointed Church Officer
1. The term of an
appointed Church Officer begins on January 1 of each year.
2. All appointed terms will expire no later than
11:59 p.m., December 31 each year.
3. If a Church Officer is being replaced for any
reason, the replaced Church Officer's term expires the moment he has been
replaced.
J. Special Authority to Acquire or Dispose of
Real Property and Contract for Loans:
the Church Officers will have the authority to acquire or to dispose of
real property or its fixtures and to contract for any loans on behalf of the
Church.
K. Removal of Certain Church Officers from
Office: Since the Chairperson annually
appoints the Vice-Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Church,
any of these three officers may be removed from office by the Chairperson for
the following reasons:
1. Resignation.
2. Refusal to serve.
3. Insubordination to the
Pastor/Chairperson.
4. Inadequate fulfillment
of responsibilities.
M. The Mechanics of the Removal of Church
Officers
1. Any Church Officer, except the Chairperson,
may be removed from his position in the following manner: Since Church Officers are appointed by the
Pastor, a Church Officer can be removed, with cause, at the Pastor's
discretion.
2. Recording the removal of Church Officers: If the Pastor removes a Church Officer, he will
cause the removal to be recorded in the minutes of the Church Officers.
N. Remuneration of Church Officers: No Church Officer will be remunerated for
service to the church as a Church Officer.
While the Pastor is also the Chairperson of the Church Officers, his
remuneration is related to his position of Pastor of the church, not
Chairperson of the Church Officers.
ARTICLE IX
PASTORS
A. Duties of Pastor
1. Pastor
a. The Pastor is the final authority in this
Church in all areas not specifically restricted by this Constitution.
b. The Pastor is the final authority in this
Church in all doctrinal matters.
c. The Pastor has the authority to make policy in
all areas not restricted by this Constitution.
d. The Pastor is the final authority in all areas
of administration not restricted by this Constitution.
e. The Pastor is the final authority in the
regulation of Worship Services.
f. Regulation of Worship Services includes their
conduct, format, music and all other considerations.
g. The Pastor will be responsible for any pulpit
supply during his absence from the pulpit.
h. The pulpit is the exclusive domain of the
Pastor for all Worship Services.
i. The Pastor is the Chairperson of this Church and the Chairperson
of the Pastor's Council.
2. Terminating the Pastor's Services: The Pastor's services may be not be
terminated without cause.
3. Pastor’s Compensation: The Pastor’s compensation will fall into
three categories: salary, housing
allowance, and transportation. His total
compensation consisting of all three categories will be reviewed annually at a
time during the last two weeks of the fiscal year. If compensation adjustments need to be made
to accommodate the Pastor for the coming year, they will be made at this
time. Since the Pastor is the only
person compensated by the church, a conflict of interest policy is not deemed
necessary. However, the Church Officers will approve by unanimous
consent compensation arrangements in advance of paying compensation. They will document in writing the date and terms
of approved compensation arrangements.
They will record in writing the decision made by each individual who
decided on compensation arrangements.
They will approve compensation arrangements based on information about
compensation paid by similarly situated tax
exempt organizations for similar services.
If a major adjustment is made in the Pastor’s compensation, the Church
Officers will record the information and the source relied upon to base their
decision.
ARTICLE X
PASTOR'S
COUNCIL
A. Membership
The Pastor's Council will be composed of the Church Officers
(Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer), the Chairperson of every
Church committee and any other person designated by the Church
constitution. In addition, the Pastor
will make appointments to this Council at his discretion.
B. Chairperson:
The Pastor is the Chairperson of the Pastor's Council.
C. Ministry defined: The word "ministry," hereinafter in
Article X, will be used for the function of any committee or the function of
any administrative area within the Church.
D. Pastor's Council Meetings
The Pastor is responsible for calling all Pastor's Council
Meetings. A meeting can be called at
anytime the Pastor deems necessary.
Council members may request that the Pastor call a meeting of the
Pastor's Council.
E. Pastor's Council Members Are Responsible to
the Pastor: Each member of the Pastor's
Council is directly responsible to the Pastor.
F. Purposes of the Pastor's Council
1. To make
no policy for the Church; to make no decisions for the Church.
2. To
assist the Pastor in evaluating the progress of the Church toward achieving the
Church's goals.
3. To
evaluate the orderly progress toward the achievement of Church goals.
4. To
cooperate with and to assist the Pastor in planning, preparing, and
coordinating the Church calendar of events.
7. To
hear reports from the various Church committee chairpersons and organizational
heads regarding plans, activities and progress toward goal achievement.
G. Responsibilities of Pastor's Council
Members: Each member of the Pastor's
Council will be responsible for the following:
1. To
become familiar with the Church calendar as it effects his/her area of
ministry.
2. To
personally maintain a current Church calendar.
3. To
discuss his/her area of ministry at Pastor's Council meetings as it relates to
the Church calendar of events.
4. To
make the Pastor aware of existing policies or procedures that adversely effect
the orderly function of his/her particular area of ministry.
5. To
present the details of his/her ministry's problems that are created by the lack
of a policy or procedure.
6. To
request that the Pastor establish a policy or procedure that will minimize or
eliminate his/her ministry's problems that result from a lack of written policy
or procedure. (Only the Pastor has the
authority to establish policy.)
7. To
carry out the policies that relate to his/her area of ministry.
8. To report
his/her ministry's progress toward the achievement of his/her ministry's goals,
purposes or projects.
9. To
discuss the Pastor's plans for the Church as those plans relate to his/her area
of ministry.
10. To coordinate his/her ministry's activities
through the Pastor's Council before placing his/her ministry's plans into
action.
11. To offer suggestions by which his/her area of
ministry can assist in effecting a more orderly fulfillment of all Church
activities and calendar events.
ARTICLE XI
DEACONS
A. The Number of Deacons
1. The number of Deacons is not an established
number.
2. The number of Deacons
will be determined by the needs of this Church.
3. The number of Deacons
may be diminished.
B. The Appointment of Deacons
1. All Deacons will be appointed by the Pastor
from among the male membership.
2. Deacons are not appointed or ordained for a
lifetime.
3. The Pastor will cause all appointments to the
position of Deacon to be recorded in the minutes of a Church Officer's Meeting.
4. Each Deacon will be appointed by the Pastor
for a term not to exceed three years.
5. A Deacon who has served a three year term will
be eligible for reappointment.
6. Appointments to fill vacancies will fill only
the unexpired portion of the term for which the appointment is being made.
C. Conditions for Considering a Deacon's
Position To Be Vacant
1. Death.
2. Resignation.
3. Refusal to serve.
4. Removal at a duly called meeting of the
members.
5. Absence from three consecutive meetings of the
Pastor's Council without an excuse satisfactory to the Pastor.
6. Terminated by the Pastor at a duly called
meeting of the Church Officers.
7. Term of appointment expires.
D. Filling Deaconship Vacancies
1. A deaconship vacancy will be filled by
Pastoral appointment from among the male membership.
2. The Pastor will cause the name of the
appointee to be recorded in the minutes of a Church Officer's Meeting.
2. A Deacon so appointed will serve only the
unexpired term of his predecessor.
E. Duties of Deacons
1. Deacons are servants of this Church, appointed
by the Pastor to serve in specific areas for a specified amount of time.
2. There are several things that are not Deacon's
duties:
a. The Deaconship of this Church does not
constitute a decision-making board.
b. The Deaconship of this Church is not the
Church's watch-dog.
3. All Deacons are responsible to the Pastor.
4. Under the Pastor's authority, each Deacon will
administer and supervise that portion of this Church's affairs specifically
assigned to him by the Pastor.
5. All Deacons under appointment, serving
unexpired terms, are members of the Pastor's Council.
6. Deacons will cooperate with the Pastor as he
shepherds the membership of this Church, "striving to present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus."
7. Deacons will fulfill all responsibilities
assigned by this Constitution.
8. Deacons will administer only that authority
delegated to them by the Pastor.
ARTICLE
XII
COMMITTEES
A. Purpose of Committees: The purpose of this Church's committees is to
perform specific assignments decently and in order.
B. Types of Committees:
1. Standing Committees.
2. Special Committees.
C. Standing Committees
1. The Standing Committees of this Church will be
determined by the needs of this Church and these committees will be activated
by the Pastor.
2. The Pastor will appoint a Church member as the
Chairperson of each Standing Committee, except those committees of which the
Pastor is Chairperson.
3. Each Standing Committee Chairperson will have
the following general functions and duties:
a. Appoint at least two other members to his/her
committee, unless this Constitution requires otherwise. Those appointed by the Committee Chairperson may
serve until a successor has been appointed.
b. Be directly responsible to and report to the
Pastor.
c. Lead his/her committee in its function.
d. Make reports at Pastor's Council Meetings.
e. Become familiar with the sphere of his/her
committee's activities.
f. Execute only such policy and procedure as is
approved by the Pastor.
4. The Standing Committee Chairperson is a member
of the Pastor's Council.
D. Special Committees
Special Committees will be appointed by the Pastor, as
necessary. A Special Committee will
report directly to the Pastor. The
Committee will be dissolved when it completes its special function.
ARTICLE
XIII
MISSIONARIES
A. Support
1. Support of a duly qualified missionary or
mission entity requires approval by the Pastor.
2. A Missionary Support Committee will be
appointed by the Pastor to review all requests for support.
3. The Missionary Support Committee will
interview the missionary or a representative of the mission entity, whenever
possible.
4. The Missionary Support Committee may recommend
support of a missionary or mission entity to the Pastor.
5. The amount of support will be recommended to
the Pastor by the Missionary Support Committee.
6. If the Pastor rejects the recommendation of
the Missionary Support Committee, the missionary or mission entity will receive
no support from the Church treasury.
7. Financial support of a missionary or mission
entity is never guaranteed from month-to-month.
Approved support will be a secondary expenditure to the primary needs of
the Church.
8. Financial support may be terminated by Pastor
discretion at any time in the best interest of the Church.
B. Doctrinal Position: A missionary or mission entity will ascribe
to and abide by the doctrinal statement of this Church before any support will
be approved and/or continued.
ARTICLE
XIV
DESIGNATED
CONTRIBUTIONS
A. Designated contributions will be used as
directed if the designation is consistent with the purpose and policies of this
Church.
B. Contributions designated for purposes which are
not consistent with the purpose and policies of this Church will be returned to
the donor, if possible.
ARTICLE XV
LICENSING
AND ORDINATION
A. License
1. Defined:
A license is the first step toward ordination. A license is a written statement from the
Church indicating that the Church acknowledges that an individual possesses the
spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher or Evangelist.
2. Liscensure does not
indicate the skill level or ability of the licensee.
3. A license might be issued to those in
training.
4. A license does not guarantee that the licensee
will be ordained at any future time.
5. A license may be revoked at any time.
6. A request for licensure must be made to the
Pastor.
7. The Pastor will appoint a special committee
called the Licensure/Ordination Committee to process license requests.
8. The special committee may recommend a
candidate for licensure.
9. A license will be issued only upon Pastor
approval.
B. Ordination
1. The Ordination Process
a. The candidate will make a written request to
the Pastor.
b. The Pastor will appoint a special committee
called the Licensure/Ordination Committee to process ordination requests.
c. The Licensure/Ordination Committee will
interview the candidate.
d. The Licensure/Ordination Committee will
thoroughly examine applicants as to personal salvation, spiritual gifts,
doctrine, ministry, education and character.
e. Licensure/Ordination Committee's options are
twofold:
1) Recommend the candidate
to the Pastor for ordination.
2) Recommend to the Pastor
that the candidate not be ordained.
f. The Pastor either approves or disapproves the
request for ordination.
g. The candidate is notified of the decision by
the Licensure/Ordination Committee Chairperson.
h. If either the Licensure/Ordination Committee
or the Pastor disapproves the request for ordination, the Licensure/Ordination
Committee may provide some guidelines for the candidate to follow that might
lead to future qualification for ordination from this Church.
i. A candidate may reapply for ordination if he thinks he meets the
requirements for ordination.
j. Re-application proceedings will be the same
as the application process.
k. Re-application is no guarantee of ordination.
2. An ordination service is optional at the
discretion of the Pastor.
C. Revocation
A license or ordination granted by this Church may be revoked by
Pastor discretion or by the Pastor upon recommendation from the
Licensure/Ordination Committee to the Pastor.
ARTICLE
XVI
FISCAL
YEAR
The
fiscal year of this Church will begin on the first day of January and end the
last day of December each year.
ARTICLE
XVII
AMENDMENTS
This Constitution may be
amended at a Church Officer's Meeting in the following manner:
A. The Pastor will submit proposed amendments to
the Church Officers.
B. A Church Officer's Meeting will be called for
the purpose of discussing the proposed amendments.
C. After discussing the proposed amendments, the
Pastor may either ratify the proposed amendments, change his proposed
amendments or disregard his proposed amendments.
D. Any amendments to the Constitution will be made
a matter of record in the minutes of a Church Officer's Meeting.