CONSTITUTION of the UNIONTOWN BIBLE CHURCH. Adopted December 31, 1967 Revised March 31, 2008

Transcription

1 CONSTITUTION of the UNIONTOWN BIBLE CHURCH Adopted December 31, 1967 Revised March 31, 2008 PREAMBLE We, the members of Uniontown Bible Church, do hereby establish the following articles to which we voluntarily submit ourselves. ARTICLE I - NAME This company of believers shall be called Uniontown Bible Church. We recognize that every bornagain person of all nations throughout the world makes up the Church Universal, which is the Body and Bride of Jesus Christ. According to the teachings of the Word of God, there are many Local Assemblies within the Church Universal with each Local Assembly being subjected to the direct headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The believers who gather to worship the Living God at Uniontown Bible Church shall thereby make up a Local Assembly. ARTICLE II - MISSION STATEMENT The mission of Uniontown Bible Church is to become a holy people of the holy God glorifying Him by imaging and proclaiming Jesus. ARTICLE III - CHURCH COVENANT Having been born again by the Word of God and the Spirit of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ according to the provisions of the abounding grace of God, and being forgiven on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and acknowledging our willingness to confess Him as our Savior before men, we do now in the presence of God, the Holy Angels, and this Assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into Covenant with one another as one body in Christ. We engage, therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this local assembly within the Body of Christ in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, disciplines, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully, scripturally, and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations by means of our missionaries and fundamental faith missions. We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and to seek the salvation of our kindred, our acquaintances, our enemies, and all children and adults within the area of this Assembly. 1

2 Through the provision God has made for victorious Christian living, it shall be our desire to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul, and to live a life of separation from sinful and worldly practices, with a desire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the love of Christ we will put away from us all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. We recognize that one of the outstanding evidences of Christianity is love, according to the words of our blessed Lord when He said: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, remember each other in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay. And this we do depending entirely upon the aid of our Heavenly Father, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for our salvation, and of Jesus Christ our Savior, who has redeemed us with His own precious blood, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, our Comforter, Teacher, and Guide. We band together as a people of God passionate about glorifying the holy God by imaging and proclaiming Jesus. We will do this by growing a family of biblically sound Christlike disciplemakers who shepherd others along the P.A.T.H. through evangelism, Sunday mornings, groups/teams, and the home. May our God enable us to keep our covenant so that we may be able to image Him well and thereby give Him the glory He is due. ARTICLE IV - STATEMENT OF FAITH - The Holy Scriptures We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, His Revelation to man, inerrant in the original writings, and that it is therefore the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and life. (II Timothy 3:16-17) - The Trinity of the God-Head We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19) Section 3 - The Pre-Existence, Deity and Incarnation of Jesus Christ We believe that Jesus Christ ever existed with the Father and Holy Spirit, and that in His incarnation was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. (John 1:1-19; I Timothy 3:16) Section 4 - The Creation and Fall of Man We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, are totally depraved and for those who reach moral responsibility, become 2

3 sinners in thought, word, and deed, and that they must be born again to be accepted of God. (Romans 5:12, 3:10, 23; John 3:1-21) Section 5 - The Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ We believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are saved on the basis of His shed blood. We believe that He arose bodily from the dead on the third day in the same body in which He suffered and died. We also believe that our Lord ascended into Heaven; that He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and is our High Priest and Divine Advocate with the Father. We believe that by His finished work of the Cross and His unceasing ministry of intercession in Glory, that Jesus Christ has procured for every believer Eternal Redemption, Eternal Salvation and Everlasting Life. (I Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 5:8; John 3:16, 20:27; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 5:9, 7:25, 8:1, 9:12; I John 2:1) Section 6 - The Personality and Ministry of the Holy Spirit We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, that He regenerates the sinner by the Word of God, that He permanently indwells the Church and each believer, that He seals, enlightens, instructs and guides every born-again person, and that He is the sufficient power for Godly living, Christian service and spiritual worship. (John 3:5-7, 14:16-17, 26, 16:7-15; I Peter 1:23; Ephesians 4:30) Section 7 - The Nature of the Church We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ was begun at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven and came into the church; that it is composed solely of born-again people who have been called out from among the Jews and Gentiles to become the Body and Bride of our Lord. Christ glorified in Heaven is its Head and the Holy Spirit on earth is the active agent of the God-Head who ever seeks to bring about within its ranks conformity and obedience to the Word of God and the Will of God. The one body unites believers to each other, and all to Christ; and its chief ministry is to proclaim the gospel to the world. (Acts 2, 15:14; Romans 1:16; Ephesians 5:23-24; I Corinthians 12:12-13; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8) Section 8 - Ordinances We believe that Christians are commanded to observe two ordinances: Water Baptism and the Lord's Supper. While recognizing that Water Baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, Baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer's union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. It is our conviction that the scriptural method of Water Baptism is immersion. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to commemorate His death till He come. We further believe that Water Baptism by immersion is observed but once, and is a sign of identification, and a testimony to newness of life; but the Lord's Supper is commemorative and is to be observed often as a memorial of the Broken Body and the Shed Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:13-17, 28:19; I Corinthians 11:23-33; Acts 8:31-38) Section 9 - Our Lord's Second Advent We believe in the Blessed Hope, the personal, Pre-millennial, Pre-tribulation, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is known as the Rapture of the Church. We also believe in the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ to the earth with his Saints at the end of the Great Tribulation. This phase of His coming is known as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. When He returns 3

4 to earth with His Saints, we believe that Jesus Christ will establish his Millennial Kingdom and will reign for one thousand years. (Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; John 14:3; Revelation 19:11-21, 20:1-6) 0 - Israel's Place in God's Program We believe that the "gifts and calling of God are without repentance," and that therefore His covenant people, Israel, now blind and scattered, shall be redeemed and regathered to the Land of Promise and under the personal and Millennial reign of Christ upon David's throne in Jerusalem, shall become the head of the nations and "the Gentiles shall come to their light and kings to the brightness of their rising." (Romans 11:25-29; Psalm 72; Isaiah 60:3) 1 - The Resurrection of the Dead We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just at the Rapture (I Thessalonians 4:16; I Corinthians 15:51-57) and of the unjust at the end of Christ's one-thousand year reign here on earth. (John 5:28-29; Revelations 20:11-15) 2 - The Eternal State of the Saved and the Lost We believe in Heaven and Hell: Heaven the place of eternal conscious joy for all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior; Hell, the place of conscious punishment for all who reject Jesus Christ and those dying in their sin, until the final judgment, at which time death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the place of eternal conscious punishment. (John 8:24, 14:1-6; Psalm 16:11, 9:17; Phillipians 1:21, 23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-15) 3 - The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, whose end is the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; II Corinthians 4:3-4; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10, 20:10; Matthew 25:41) 4 - Salvation We believe that salvation 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 on Calvary for the forgiveness of all confessed sin. (Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19) 5 - The Assurance of Believers We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (I John 5:11-13; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15) 6 - The Two Natures of the Believer We believe that every saved person possesses two natures with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:-5-9) 4

5 7 - Law and Grace We believe the grace of God to be sufficient for the maintenance of a godly walk and that grace and not the law is the believer's rule of life. (Galatians 3:11, 2:16; Romans 3:19-20, 28, 11:6; I John 1:9) 8 - Separation and Sanctification We believe that the Scriptures clearly teach non-conformity to the world for every believer; that bornagain people should be separated from the world unto Christ; that it is clearly commanded of God to all believers to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices and to be Holy as He is Holy. We believe that positional sanctification occurs at the moment of regeneration and that practical sanctification is to be progressive throughout the entire life span of a believer here on earth. God's provision for holy living is in the believer's identification with Christ in His death, resurrection and ascension; the indwelling person and power of the Holy Spirit and the believer's yieldedness to Him; and by the powerful Word of God. (Colossians 3:1-4, 1:13; II Corinthians 6:14-17, 7:1, 3:18; Titus 2:14; I Peter 1:14-16; Hebrews 10:1, 4, 4:12; II Peter 3:18; Romans 6:1-14; Ephesians 1:15-2:6, 5:25-27; John 17:17; I Corinthians 6:19-29; Galatians 5:16-23) ARTICLE V - GOVERNMENT This Local Assembly recognizes the Holy Scriptures (the Bible) as the unique and absolute authority for the conduct of its affairs (II Timothy 3:16). Under that authority, the government of the church shall be vested in its membership and shall be independent, absolutely self-governing in all matters, not under the direction or control of any denomination or federation. Within guidelines and limitations defined by this document, the membership entrusts the spiritual and material affairs of the church to the Elder Ministry Team, who, as the spiritual leaders, are obligated to see that Scripture is obeyed and are thus accountable to the congregation. ARTICLE VI - MEMBERSHIP Any person, age thirteen (13) or older, who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior is a gifted saint, priest, minister and servant with responsibilities and obligations that makes them necessary to the church's life and growth (I Corinthians 12:7, 25; I Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:1-6, 12-16). Such a person shall be received into membership after fulfilling the steps required in the membership process (see Membership Booklet, process of becoming a member for details). A. The Leadership will monitor the attendance of all members in an effort to care for their needs, to prevent them from slipping through the cracks, and to hold them accountable to their commitment to show up regularly at church. B. Two times per year (January and June) the membership rolls will be purged. C. Any member who has not attended regularly for the past six months (at least half of the Sundays) will be notified, reminded of the membership commitment, and asked if he or she desires to continue as a member. 5

6 D. The Leadership will meet with any member who wishes to continue his or her membership in an effort to understand their situation, to challenge them to consistent attendance, and to remind them of our procedure for membership removal. E. Any member who does not wish to continue his or her membership or does not respond to our notification (see point C) will be removed from the roll and given a letter to that effect. F. Any member who has been removed from our rolls will need to repeat the membership process should they desire to reinstate their membership. G. Inactive membership will be reserved only for those who ask for it and who, for extenuating circumstances (e.g., temporary move, health problems), cannot attend church regularly. H. The Leadership will contact inactive members at the same two times each year during which we purge our membership rolls. Their status of inactive will be reviewed and may be renewed at that time. I. The same process will remove inactive members whose membership is not renewed as nonattending members (see point E). ARTICLE VII - THE ELDER MINISTRY TEAM The Elder Ministry Team shall be composed of the Elders, in fulfillment of their biblical responsibility as overseers. In the event that there are less than two non-paid Elders the Deacons shall also temporarily serve as Elder Ministry Team members. Through shared oversight, the Elder Ministry Team shall jointly govern the church under Christ, the Chief Shepherd (I Peter 5:1-4). Meetings may be called at the request of any Elder Ministry Team member with adequate notice. A majority of the Elder Ministry Team membership, including not less than two non-paid members, shall constitute a quorum. In all decisions, a unity of consent shall be sought for approval, consistent with the spirit of Phillipians 2:2-8. Section 3 The Elder Ministry Team and Corporate officers of President and Vice-President shall be elected by the Elder Ministry Team from their number. The President shall preside over all Elder Ministry Team and Congregational Business meetings. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall perform his duties. - General ARTICLE VIII ELDERS AND DEACONS A) Number and Qualifications The number of elders and deacons shall be determined by the number of biblically qualified male members (I Timothy 2:1-3:15, 5:19-25; II Timothy 2:24-25; Titus 1:5-9; Acts 6:3-6) to whom the 6

7 Holy Spirit has given the desire to serve the church as an elder or deacon (I Timothy 3:1; I Peter 5:2; Acts 20:28) and by the needs of the church. This may include those members who are paid by the church. No church officer shall qualify to serve if he has been divorced without biblical grounds. B) Appointment The membership shall be responsible to identify and commend potential candidates for office to the Elder Ministry Team. If found qualified, the candidate(s) will be submitted to the membership, who shall have at least two weeks notice to present comments to the Elder Ministry Team (after following the commands of Matthew 18 to confront individually and with one or two witnesses) concerning the scriptural qualifications or disqualifications. After hearing from our congregation, the Elder Ministry Team will make final selections for leadership positions and will present the new leaders to the congregation during a worship service. There will not be a public vote on these leadership positions because: a. There is no Scriptural model for electing leaders by a public vote. b. The Bible makes it clear that confrontation should be given in a private fashion (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Timothy 5:19-20). c. A vote is not necessarily accurate. The majority is often wrong (e.g., the Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt). Two witnesses knowing a potential leader is in sin could be outvoted publicly at a congregational meeting, but by coming privately to our elders, these two witnesses could prevent us from making a big mistake. d. Formal votes lead to public divisiveness and someone always loses. e. By allowing our members to come directly to our Elder Ministry Team with their concerns, we will allow them not only to vote but more importantly to explain the reasoning behind their concerns. C) Term of Office and Removal Each elder or deacon shall serve as long as he is faithful to his calling. An elder or deacon may be removed from office at their own request (see Article XV), or if by consensus of the Elder Ministry Team he no longer qualify or ceases to function in the office. Any member of the church, after following the guidelines of Matthew 18, with the testimony of at least two witnesses, may bring scriptural reasons for an elder's or deacon's disqualification, or concern over an area of sin in an elder's or deacon's life to the attention of the Elder Ministry Team (I Timothy 5:19; Matthew 18:16) D) Characteristics of Service The elders and deacons are to be a humble, servant body of men who sacrificially and lovingly care for the family of God (Matthew 23:1-12; Mark 9:34-35, 10:32-45). E) Sabbaticals Each elder and deacon is eligible to take a sabbatical for a period of one (1) year, after having served three (3) consecutive years of active service in his term. After completion of his sabbatical year, the elder or deacon must return to active status for another three (3) year term or surrender his position on the Elder or Deacon Ministry Team. An elder or deacon who surrenders his position must be renominated and affirmed per the conditions of paragraph B) above. Special requests for sabbaticals prior to three (3) years of service can be granted by the approval of the Elder Ministry Team. 7

8 - Elders A) Collective Duties of All Elders The Elders' priority will be to give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4). It is their duty to ensure that all aspects of the Gospel ministry that are needed within this local church are performed and are done so in accordance with Scripture. B) Senior Pastor We believe that God calls men to devote their life's work to the ministry and that the Body of Christ recognizes this calling both by ordination and by a specific call to a given local church. A man so called by this church shall have the duty to perform all functions relative to the Gospel ministry. This includes a) the ministry of discipleship, in which, along with the other elders, he sees to the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, and b) the ministry of leadership, in which, along with the other elders, he casts and communicates God's vision for the church. Section 3 - Deacons Deacons serve as leaders alongside the elders and pastors by ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of members within the congregation who are assigned to their care. By fulfilling this vital role in the church, they free up the elders and pastors to give themselves more fully to the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6). ARTICLE IX - ELECTED OFFICERS - General According to the faith and discipline of this church as set forth in this document, all elected officers shall receive direction from and are accountable to the Elder Ministry Team. A) Eligibility A person shall be an active member of this church and in good standing one year before being eligible for office. B) Election The membership shall be responsible to identify and commend potential candidates for office to the Elder Ministry Team, who shall have the responsibility of determining the qualified candidates and preparing the election ballot. - Trustees Trustees shall be elected from among those who will serve on the Elder Ministry Team in the year following said election. No paid staff person on the Elder Ministry Team will serve as a Trustee. The office of Trustee is defined in the Incorporation Charter and Amendments thereto. Section 3 - Treasurer The Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term. The treasurer shall receive all money collected or otherwise received by the Church, pay all bills authorized by the Elder Ministry Team, and make a quarterly report to the Elder Ministry Team and a yearly report at the close of each fiscal year. 8

9 ARTICLE X - CONGREGATIONAL BUSINESS MEETINGS The membership of the Church shall meet once a year to vote on officers as required. Announcement of this meeting and presentation of the ballot shall be made at least two weeks prior to the date of this meeting. Special meetings shall be called by the Elder Ministry Team at the request of no less than twenty-five percent of the active members of the Church or by the Elder Ministry Team at their own option; such meetings shall not be held until two weeks' verbal and printed notice has been given to the Church. No business shall be transacted at a special meeting other than that for which the meeting was called. Section 3 At all meetings, all active members who are sixteen (16) years of age and older may have a voice and vote, except where otherwise defined in this document. The judgment of active membership (see Article VI, ) may be left largely to each member's own conscience. Section 4 Those members who are present at the properly called meeting shall constitute a quorum. All voting shall be done by ballot, except when otherwise designated. A majority of the votes cast are needed for approval, except where otherwise defined in this document. ARTICLE XI - ORDINATION AND LICENSE When in the judgment of the Elder Ministry Team a man in the membership of this Church is called to the Christian ministry, it shall be within the power of the Elder Ministry Team to call and conduct a Council of Ordination. This Council may consist of the Elders and other representatives of the Church or it may be a Council composed of ordained ministers and two representatives of the Church served by each minister. The Ordaining Council shall examine all applicants for ordination as to Christian experience, reputation, their call to the Christian ministry, their preparation, character, doctrinal belief, and demonstrated ability in Christian service. Upon written request, the Elder Ministry Team will interview an applicant for an annual ministerial license and after due consideration may grant the same. This license will be reviewed annually. Section 3 The following shall not be ordained to the Ministry: A) One who has not served two years as Pastor or Associate Pastor, Elder, or Deacon or in some definite Christian work in such manner as to convey reasonable evidence of God's call to the ministry. B) One who is addicted to the use of intoxicating beverages, drugs, or tobacco in any form, or one who has brought disrepute upon his Christian life and ministry through worldly practices and associations. 9

10 C) One who has been divorced without biblical grounds. D) No woman shall be ordained by this Church. Section 4 It shall be within the power of the Elder Ministry Team to call an Ordination Council for the purpose of ordaining a man who is not a member of this Church, but it shall not be a common practice to do so. Section 5 It shall be within the province of the Elder Ministry Team to discipline, even to revoking the ordination credentials of any minister ordained under this Constitution, if the said minister is found guilty of any of the practices named in Subdivision B), Section 3 of this Article after an impartial trial conducted by a Trial Board made up of at least three-fourths of the membership of the Elder Ministry Team. After a full hearing has been granted to the accused, the Trial Board shall express by vote their decision to either revoke the ordination credentials issued by this Church, or to permit the ordination credentials to continue in effect. The decision of this Trial Board shall be final. If any minister who is found guilty by the Trial Board can produce, within six months after his credentials have been revoked, evidence that had not entered into his trial that may establish his innocence, he shall have the right to declare that evidence to the Elder Ministry Team and if, in their opinion, it is valid they may order a retrial. ARTICLE XII - SELECTING A SENIOR PASTOR General procedure in the selection of a Senior Pastor upon his death, resignation or removal: The Elder Ministry Team shall appoint a committee that shall serve as a Pulpit Committee. It shall be the duty of this committee to arrange for all pulpit supplies until a successor in the office of the Senior Pastor has been selected. They shall prayerfully seek the leading of the Holy Spirit in their effort to contact the man, or men, who shall be a candidate for the office of Senior Pastor. The name or names of the candidate or candidates shall be submitted to the Elder Ministry Team for approval, after which the name or names shall be submitted to the congregation, who shall express their conviction by means of a ballot. A two-thirds vote of the members present must be received by any candidate before he shall be called as the Senior Pastor of the congregation. ARTICLE XIII - DISMISSAL OF A PASTOR The Pastor shall be free to resign as he feels led of the Holy Spirit, but out of Christian courtesy he should give a sixty (60) days written notice to the Elder Ministry Team. The Elder Ministry Team may through a two-thirds vote request the Pastor to resign. Out of Christian courtesy, the Elder Ministry Team should give a sixty (60) days written notice to the Pastor. 10

11 Section 3 Whenever dismissal proceedings may be in order against a Pastor on the grounds of proven immorality, heresy in doctrine, spiritual declension or apostasy, or failure to properly attend to his duties as Pastor of the Church, the accused shall be given the opportunity to appear before the Elder Ministry Team in his own defense. After a full hearing has been granted, the Elder Ministry Team shall cast their vote to indicate whether they are in favor, or not in favor, of the removal of the accused. Should two-thirds of the Elder Ministry Team present vote in favor of dismissal, the matter shall then be placed before the congregation. By means of a ballot, every member of the congregation in good standing from sixteen (16) years old and upward shall be given the opportunity to express their approval or disapproval of the decision of the Elder Ministry Team. If two-thirds of the vote of the congregation favors the dismissal proceedings instigated by the Elder Ministry Team, the Pastor shall immediately be removed from office. If the vote in favor of dismissal is less than two-thirds, the Pastor shall be retained, providing the charge of dismissal proceedings was for failure to properly attend to the duties of the church. However, if the charge in the proceedings was immorality, heresy in doctrine, spiritual declension or apostasy, the Elder Ministry Team may overrule the negative vote of the congregation by a majority vote of at least three-fourths of the Elder Ministry Team. The Elder Ministry Team by a majority vote may continue the support of the one dismissed for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days. ARTICLE XIV - DISCIPLINE If any member sins, it shall be the duty of the members of Uniontown to act as the Bible directs in Matthew 18. See the church membership booklet for a further explanation on the reasons and processes of church discipline. ARTICLE XV - VACANCIES Any officer resigning shall do so in writing to the President of the Elder Ministry Team to be acted upon by the Elder Ministry Team. All vacancies shall be filled by the Elder Ministry Team. ARTICLE XVI - LETTERS OF TRANSFER OR WITHDRAWAL Letters of transfer or withdrawal shall be granted only on written request, and shall be signed by the Pastor and Church Secretary. This Church shall accept members as stated in Article VI, and not by letter of transfer. 11

12 ARTICLE XVII - FINANCES Special collections or donations of money shall be solicited from the membership of the Church only as authorized or sanctioned by the Elder Ministry Team. The financial matters of the Church will operate under the faith system. No member will be told how much he should give. All gifts will be received as love gifts. The Church will not seek to supplement the income by selling food or merchandise. ARTICLE XVIII - OBSERVANCE OF ORDINANCES - Baptism Baptism as taught in the Scriptures shall be administered upon the approval of the candidates by the Pastors and Elders. - The Lord's Supper The ordinance of the Lord's Supper shall be observed at least quarterly at the direction of the Pastors and Elders. ARTICLE XIX - AMENDMENTS - Revisions This Constitution may be revised upon a two-thirds majority vote of the voting members present at any congregational meeting. - Amendments This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the voting members present at any proper congregational meetings. 12