Northside Community Church

Our Bylaws

SECTION 1 - MEMBERSHIP
qualifications
  • Any person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior and is willing to sign the Membership Covenant of Northside Community Church shall be eligible for membership.
membership class
  • Each person who desires to become a member of this church must complete the membership class that will be taught periodically during the year. This class will explain the Constitution, Bylaws and Membership Covenant. One of the pastors will teach this class.
admission into membership
  1. Application for membership shall be made to the Board of Elders.
  2. Applicants shall meet with the Board of Elders to give their personal testimony with regard to their salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and their Christian experience.
  3. Upon the completion of all the steps above, including sections A and B, the Board of Elders shall recommend to the Church during a Sunday morning worship service that the person be received into membership in this body. A voice vote will be taken immediately upon the recommendation. A simple majority will be sufficient.
  4. All Pastors and their wives will automatically become members of this Church on date of hire.
discipline of members

Occasions for Discipline

  1. He/She commits offenses or transgressions that jeopardize the spiritual life, harmony and testimony of the church.
  2. He/She is guilty of immoral or other conduct unbecoming a follower Christ.
  3. He/She fails to abide by the Membership covenant.

Purpose of Discipline

  1. To secure the repentance and restoration to fellowship of the offending member.
  2. To encourage church members to resist temptation and to settle disputes scripturally.
  3. To maintain the church's purity and testimony.
  4. To exclude the unrepentant member from the membership of the church.

Procedures for Discipline

  • The Board of Elders will be responsible for investigating all allegations. They shall use kindness, consideration and Christian love; and shall follow the Scriptural guidelines of Matthew 18 with the intent to resolve the situation.

Restoration of Disciplined Member

  • One whom the church has disciplined may, upon repentance, be restored to full membership in the church.

Termination of Membership

  • Membership may be lost by any of the following means:
    • Death
    • Discipline
    • Letter of Transfer
    • Member’s Request

Transfer of Membership

  1. Members may be released from the Church at their own request. The church clerk will prepare and send a letter of transfer directly to the church with which they wish to unite.
  2. Applicants who have letters of transfer sent from their previous church will only be admitted into Membership as provided in Section C, Admission to Membership.
SECTION 2 - THE PASTOR
qualifications

He must meet the qualities expressed in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-10 and be discerned by others as having the spiritual gift of pastor/teacher. He will demonstrate in his life that he has been called of God. He will faithfully give himself to the fulfillment of the Purpose Statement and will adhere with conviction to the Doctrinal position stated in this constitution.

calling a pastor
  1. The Board of Elders will appoint a search committee to investigate and discern the qualifications of those who are available.
  2. After arriving at the man the search committee believes best meets the needs of the church, he will be invited to meet in person with the church to share his objectives and philosophy of ministry so the church may determine the compatibility of his gifts with their needs.
  3. The candidate will be invited for the weekend, will preach morning and evening on Sunday, and will answer questions from the people during an all-church meeting sometime during that weekend visit.
  4. A meeting with the Board of Elders will be required during this first weekend.
  5. After this first weekend visit, on the following Wednesday night a congregational business meeting will take place to decide if/when a second weekend visit should occur.
  6. After this second weekend visit, on the following Wednesday night a congregational business meeting will take place to vote on the prospective pastor. A ninety percent vote of members present will be necessary to issue a call.
responsibilities
  1. He will faithfully preach and teach the Word of God.
  2. He will personally shepherd the people with a heart that seeks God's wisdom and mercy.
  3. He will seek to equip the people to perform the ministry.
  4. He will by God's grace and strength faithfully seek to accomplish the purpose of the church.
  5. He will administer the two New Testament ordinances.
  6. He will be a voting member of the Board of Elders.
  7. He will be a voting member of all committees.
  8. He will visit the sick and give counsel when appropriate.
termination

The pastor will serve for an indeterminate term. The pastoral relationship may be dissolved by:

 

  1. Pastoral resignation. The pastor will give a one-month notice. A different period of notice may be arranged by mutual agreement.
  2. Death.
  3. A two-thirds majority vote of the members present at a special business meeting called for this purpose. The church will give at least a three-month severance to the pastor. A different period of notice may be arranged by mutual agreement.
immediate termination

If the pastor is guilty of heresy or immorality, he will be dismissed immediately by the action of the church with one month's salary and be relieved of all pulpit, pastoral and administrative duties. Any charge made against the Pastor must be submitted in writing to the Board of Elders.

SECTION 3 - THE BOARD OF ELDERS
qualifications

A man who desires to be an elder must meet the qualifications expressed in I Timothy 3:1-8 and Titus 1:6-10. He will demonstrate in his life a desire to be a servant to the body of Christ and a commitment to the fulfillment of the purpose of this church. He will adhere with conviction to the doctrinal position stated in this constitution. See also the document "Elder Standards and Expectations" at the end of this document.

duties

The Board of Elders already in place will recommend elders to the church for their approval during the Annual Church Business Meeting. The term of an Elder is to be for an indeterminate amount of time, as long as he is fulfilling the expectations of an Elder and abiding by the qualifications to become an Elder as stated in section A above.

The Board of Elders will organize themselves with a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. They are to meet a minimum of once a month to execute the purposes of the church, to plan for the spiritual development of the members and to hold each other accountable for their own spiritual growth and leadership. They are to pray for God's wisdom as they seek to give leadership to the body. They are to give pastoral care to the members and oversee all committees established within the church. They will be responsible for the judicious stewardship of all church finances, with the authority to spend up to 4% per occurrence on any given one-budgeted expenditure of the church's annual budget. Any amount over that percentage must gain approval of the congregation.

SECTION 4 - APPOINTED POSITIONS
treasurer

The Board of Elders will annually appoint a Treasurer. The treasurer will be responsible for the payment of bills. He will give a report of both receipts and expenditures to the Board of Elders each month and to the congregation during its business meetings.

financial secretary

The Board of Elders will annually appoint a Financial Secretary. The secretary will assist the treasurer by receiving funds, making deposits and keeping a record of all giving.

clerk

The Board of Elders will annually appoint a Clerk. The clerk will keep accurate minutes of all church business meetings. The clerk will also function as the record keeper of the membership list of the church.

church historian

The Board of Elders will annually appoint a Church Historian. The historian will keep a record of all activities of the church during that year.

auditors

At least two members appointed by the Board of Elders will audit the financial books annually and report to the Board of Elders.

moderator and vice-moderator

The Board of Elders will annually appoint a moderator and vice-moderator.

SECTION 5 - COMMITTEES

The Board of Elders must approve the appointment of all members of each committee. The term of each member is to be at least one year, but not limited in any other fashion unless they are no longer fulfilling the expectations of that committee. Each committee will appoint a chairperson and secretary and will meet regularly enough to take proper care of the business of their committee and to pray for all aspects overseen by their committee.

pulpit

This committee will consist of at least four members of the church, at least one being an Elder. The duties of this committee will be to seek out and investigate the spiritual, educational, pastoral and administrative qualifications of the candidates for Pastor. It is to keep the pulpit filled while there is no Pastor for the church.

nominating

This committee will consist of at least five members, one being the Pastor, one being an Elder and at least three lay members. The Board of Elders will appoint this committee annually. This committee is responsible for a nominating ballot to fill all the positions of the other committees.

budget

This committee will consist of at least six members, one being the Pastor, one being an Elder and at least four lay members. The Board of Elders will appoint this committee annually. This committee is responsible for all aspects of the proposed budget for the following year.

other

Other committees may be established as deemed necessary with the approval of the Board of Elders.

SECTION 6 - BUSINESS MEETINGS
  1. The church will have one required business meeting, the annual meeting in January. Interim business meetings may be called at any time with notice given in writing in the bulletin and announced from the pulpit the two Sundays prior to the meeting.
  2. A quorum of at least 33% of voting members will be necessary to conduct business with the minimum voting age being 18 years old.
  3. Membership Induction Meetings may be called at any time for the sole purpose of accepting new members into the church membership. A simple majority, affirmative, voice vote of eligible voting members present is required for acceptance.
  4. Robert's Rules of Order will be observed during all Business Meetings.
SECTION 7 - AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws can be amended only at the annual meeting of the congregation, a quorum of 50% of church members eligible to vote must be present, and a 2/3 majority vote of the members present and voting is needed to approve the amendment. The amendment must be posted in a visible location in the church building and the purpose of the meeting must be announced on two consecutive Sunday mornings in church prior to the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be presented for consideration.