Church Constitution and By-Laws
Revised – January 2020
Table of Contents
Section 2 – Admission of Members
Section 3 – Termination of Membership
ARTICLE V – OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMMITTEES
Section 2 – Corporate Officers
Section 3 – Standing Committees
Section 2 - Special Business Meetings
ARTICLE VII – ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS
Section 1 – Church Organizations
Section 2 – Election of leadership
BY-LAWS TO THE CHURCH CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE IV – STAFF, OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMITTEES
ARTICLE VI – USE OF BUILDING AND GROUNDS
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this church shall be “Valley Brook Baptist Church.” It shall be chartered as a corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia.
ARTICLE II – CHARACTER
Section 1 - Polity
The government of this church is vested in the body of believers who compose it. It shall be subject to the control of no other ecclesiastical body but shall recognize and sustain the obligations of mutual counsel and cooperation that are common among missionary Baptist churches.
Section 2 – Doctrine
- We believe in the triune personality of God; that is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
- We believe the Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction, that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without mixture of error, for its matter; and therefore is and shall remain, the true basis of all Christian union, faith, practice and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinion should be tried. The criterion by which the scriptures are to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
- We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, and that He lived a perfect, sinless life died a sacrificial death, and was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God.
- We believe that the atonement made by Jesus Christ is the only basis of salvation, the only means of reconciliation, the only ground of justification; that man is by nature a sinner, guilty, condemned, lost and but for the atonement made by Jesus Christ, helpless and hopeless.
- We believe that a church of Jesus Christ is a body of baptized believers associated together in one place to preach the gospel, to keep the ordinances and represent the interests of Christ’s Kingdom in the world.
- We believe that Jesus Christ appointed two ordinances in His church to be observed until His return, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that both ordinances are symbolic and hold no saving power in themselves.
- We believe that baptism is the immersion in water in the name of the Trinity of a believer, upon profession of faith, by one duly authorized by a church of Jesus Christ to perform such service.
- We believe in missions. Every Christian, in every legitimate way, all the time, everywhere, according to ability, ought to seek to spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the way of salvation.
ARTICLE III – CHURCH COVENANT
Being led, as we believe, by the Holy Spirit, and having been set free by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we do most solemnly enter into covenant with one another under God in order to use freedom responsibly. We covenant to be faithful in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord, in prayer, in the study of God’s word, the practice of Christian stewardship and the nurturing of the Christian fellowship.
We shall love, accept, affirm and pray for one another. There will be no cheap person among us and no friendless person in our midst. We want the doors of our church to be as wide as the love of Christ.
We shall be especially concerned about our families, that they are Christian, that a faithful love exists between husband and wife, and that our children be wanted, loved and cared for.
Conscious that the church is the body of Christ, we promise to be vitally connected with our church here and wherever we may live.
With the benediction on Sunday, we shall not leave the church within sacred walls; instead we shall be the church in the world. We shall go, all of us, into the world as ministers of Christ. We shall speak the reconciling word and do the reconciling deed.
We shall reach across barriers, keep open communication, and care for people in the same manner that Christ has cared for us.
We would live in such a way that people can see Jesus Christ in us, recognizing Him as the one who loves them, would save them, and cannot give them up. Amen.
ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 – Membership
The membership of this church shall consist of persons who have made a public profession of their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, have experienced New Testament baptism, and are in agreement with the doctrine and covenant of this church.
Section 2 – Admission of Members
Membership in this church shall be attained as follows:
a. By baptism
b. By transfer of letter
c. By statement
d. By restoration
Section 3 – Termination of Membership
Membership in this church shall be terminated as follows:
a. By request of the member.
b. By request of the church.
c. By death
ARTICLE V – OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMMITTEES
Section 1 – Officers
The officers of this church shall be a Pastor and ministerial staff, Deacons, Clerk, Treasurer, Sunday Bible School Director, Women’s Missionary Union Director, and any others that the church may choose to elect from time to time in order to carry out its New Testament program of work.
Section 2 – Corporate Officers
The Officers and Directors of Valley Brook Baptist Church, Incorporated shall be:
a. A Deacon Fellowship composed of the active deacons of the church.
b. A president, who shall be the regularly elected Chairman of the Deacon Fellowship.
c. A vice-president, who shall be the regularly elected Vice Chairman of the Deacon Fellowship.
d. A secretary, who shall be the regularly elected Clerk of the church.
Section 3 – Standing Committees
The Standing Committees of the church shall be Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Finance, Nominating, and any other committees that shall be provided for in the By-laws and authorized by the church.
Section 4 - Trustees
The church shall have three trustees to serve the church in legal and contractual matters. They shall serve on a rotation basis, with terms of three years each.
ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS
Section 1 – Regular Meetings
The regularly scheduled meetings of the church shall be as follows:
a. Worship. Worship services shall be held each Lord’s Day, both morning and evening.
b. Sunday Bible School.
c. Prayer Service. There shall be a mid-week prayer service unless omitted by the church on recommendation of the Pastor or the Deacon Fellowship.
d. Church Conference. The church shall conduct a monthly church business conference on the Wednesday following the second Sunday in the month, unless otherwise authorized by the church.
Section 2 - Special Business Meetings
The church may hold a special called business conference to consider an emergency situation or to consider special matters of significant importance to the work of the church. Guidelines for such special business conferences are stated in the By-laws.
ARTICLE VII – ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS
Section 1 – Elections
The annual and special election of officers and committees shall be held as set forth in the By-laws.
Section 2 – Nominations
No person shall be nominated for election to any office or committee in the church until the duties and responsibilities of the office or committee have been fully explained and the person has consented for his or her name to be presented to the church for election. Nomination for any office or committee may be made from the floor, but only with the consent of the person(s) nominated and provided that the duties and responsibilities of such position be or have been fully explained to such nominee(s).
Section 3 – Quorum
a. The quorum required for conducting the business of the church in all regular and specially called business conferences shall consist of no less than 17 active members.
b. The required quorum for meetings of the Deacon Fellowship and all church committees shall be a majority of the membership.
ARTICLE VIII – ORDINANCES
Section 1
The two ordinances of the church shall be Baptism and The Lord’s Supper
Section 2
The observance of the ordinance of baptism shall be by immersion.
Section 3
The Lord’s Supper shall be observed on the first Sunday of each quarter, unless the Pastor or the Deacon Fellowship change the date. A free will offering for benevolence purposes shall be taken at the doors at the conclusion of each observance of the Lord’s Supper and deposited to the Benevolence Fund.
ARTICLE IX – ORGANIZATIONS
Section 1 – Church Organizations
a. The church shall maintain a Sunday Bible School organization with appropriate age divisions to teach the Bible and to nurture the spiritual life of its members.
b. The church shall maintain a Women’s Missionary Union organization to teach missions and to promote support for missions around the world, consistent with the command of Jesus in Acts 1:8.
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