Constitution and Bylaws

(Approved by two-thirds majority vote)

Revised 2009

SECTION I

PART 1: NAME.

The Bethesda Baptist Church, located at 1560 Bethesda Church Road, Union Point, Georgia, 30669, a Southern  Baptist Church in cooperation with the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention, Georgia Baptist Convention,      and The Georgia Baptist Association.

PART II: PURPOSE.

The purpose of this body is to preach and teach the whole Word of God; to seek to win the lost to a faith

in the living Christ and to cooperate with the other Southern Baptist Churches in sending the Gospel to

all the world. (Mathew 28:19-20)

SECTION II

PART I: MEMBERSHIP.

The membership of this church shall consist of such persons who confess Jesus Christ to be their Savior

and Lord and have followed Him in the ordinance of baptism.

Membership is achieved in the following ways:

1. Public confession of faith and baptism.

2. Under watch-care of the church until receiving a letter of good standing from a church of like faith. 

3. By statement, having previously been baptized into a church of like faith.

(Records lost, fire, etc., or church no longer active). Full membership is achieved after examination by

the church as to the convert's Christian experience and baptism, as letters of recommendation are

received from churches of like faith, or as a statement of Christian faith and baptism is publicly made.

This action must be by acclaimation of church members present.

SECTION III

PART 1: OFFICER

A. PASTOR

In order to qualify, the man must be:

1. Called of God.

2. Ordained by a Southern Baptist Church.

1

3. Willing to be a cooperating Southern and Georgia Baptist.

4. A tither in his local church.

The pastor shall be considered the spiritual leader by virtue of his office. The pastor shall serve as the preacher, counselor, moderator, administrator, and chief teacher by virtue of his call. It is expected that he will work in the programs of the Association. He will be considered as an ex-officio member of all committees.

He shall be elfcted for an indefinite period of time.

He may terminate his relationship to the church by a thirty-day notice or the church may terminate, said relationship,  by the same thirty-day notice. Should the resignation of the pastor be on Sunday, the matter will be considered by     the church in a special called conference to be presided over by the chairman of deacons the following Sunday. If a resignation is submitted on Wednesday night, the action of the church will be a special called conference on the following Sunday morning and no further consideration will be made of the matter following action of the church.

PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE

Search committee shall be five persons: two of them will be women. All five committee members will

be recommended and elected from the floor. There will not be two from the same family: there will be

two alternates one a woman and one a man. The first meeting will be called by the chairman of the

deacons; this shall be to elect the search committee chairman and others. The Search committee's main

objective is ito look for a new Pastor! The search committee shall consider the qualifications of potential

pastors. Upon the unanimous consent of the search committee, a recommendation shall be presented to

the church for approval or disapproval. Only one name will be considered at a time. Approval

establishes this man as the spiritual leader of the church. The Deacons will work together as to the day to

day functions of the church until a pastor is approved.

B. DEACONS.

1. 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 in performing pastoral

ministries tasks; proclaim the gospel to believers and community; lead the church to engage in a

fellowship of worship, witness, education, ministry and application; and lead the church in performing

its tasks.

2. All men selected to serve as Deacon shall meet the qualifications as set forth in I Timothy 3:8-13.

Also to be resolved are the matters of tithing and personal stewardship, faithful support of all programs

of the Church, and prayerful cooperation with fellow deacons and Pastor in carrying out the total

ministry of the Church.

3. At present the church has 8 active deacons serving, and can be more or less as church has need

and choose to do so. These 8 deacons shall serve on a rotational basis. Each year the term of one-fourth

of the number of deacons shall expire, and selection shall be held to fill the vacancies (This number

should change as the number of Deacons change). Those men rotating off the board shall remain

inactive for a period of not less than one year.

I

•Is

2

4. During the first 15 days of July each year, the Deacons will receive private nominations from

members for Deacon Candidates. These nominations should be in writing, and presented to the chairman

-of -Deacons. At the earliest possible time, the deacons shall be brought together for the purpose of

forming a presbytery to examine the Candidates as to doctrinal and faithfulness to Kingdom work. On

the second Sunday in Augist, the Deacons will present to the Church, a list of active (as defined in

section V part I of these by-laws) resident male members, who are 21 years of age or older and have

been a member of the Church for at least one full year, (excluding those who are rotating off).

5. On the second Sunday in September, the church will vote for two men to serve.as deacons from the

list, which was distributed on the second Sunday in August. The two men receiving the highest number

of votes will be contacted for the purpose of receiving each man's consent for service. They will also

discuss with each man Item I of this section. Should either man decline, the man with the next highest

number of votes will be contacted. The two men elected will serve as deacon for a four-year term

beginning on October 1.

6. In the event there is an unexpired term due to illness, moving away from the community, death, or for

whatever reason of one year or more, the term shall be filled with a special election, the election to be

held within 60 days from the day the vacancy occurred. When a full term is not served for any reason,

one full year must pass before that deacon is eligible for reelection to active status. For the special

election, a list of all eligible men (see Item 4 of this section) will be distributed to the church. On the

following Sunday each member will vote for one man. At the earliest possible time, the deacons shall be

brought together for the purpose of forming a presbytery and shall examine the elected as to doctrinal

and faithfulness to Kingdom work. The man receiving the greatest number of votes will be elected to fill

the unexpired term. The pastor and chairman of deacons will contact this man to receive his consent and

to discuss with him the qualifications as set forth in Item I of this section. If the response is negative, the

man with the next greatest number of votes will be contacted. If the deacon's unexpired term is one year

or less, no special election will be held, and the church will vote for three men, instead of two, at the

annual election. The man with the third greatest number of votes shall serve the unexpired term.

7. Deacons who have given significant service as a deacon for ten years or more, who by reason of age

or infirmities shall no longer be able to render active service, may be considered for election as Deacon

Emeritus. The procedure shall be that the deacons as they deem best shall nominate such Persons for

Deacon Emeritus to the church.

C. TREASURER

It shall be the duty of the treasurer to handle all money received by the church and to deposit said money

in the church accounts. The disbursement of all church money shall be in accordance with the budget as

voted and approved by the church. Any other disbursements in excess of $200.00 must be voted and

approved by the church. Any committee making the request under $50.00 will be approved by the

committee chairman. Should a committee make a request between $50.00 to $200.00 the committee

chairman must go to the Finance Committee for this approval. With one exception being, the body of

Deacon's may spend up to $200.00 without going to the Finance Committee! An audit of the treasurer's

books may be done annually. The treasurer shall serve as the chairman of the finance committee.

D. CLERK

3

It shall be the duty of the church clerk to record all minutes of conferences held by the Bethesda Baptist

Church. The writing and receiving of church letters shall be handled by the clerk. Also, the clerk shall

handle all matters of discipline in correspondence. All records such as associational minutes and others

not specified shall be handled by the clerk. All Church records and minutes will be in the church safe for

safe keeping no later than 90 days of Conference Date! Any member wishing to see the church records

may do so with the presence of one the following, (Treasurer, Chairman of the Deacons, or the Clerk).

The clerk will keep a list of all members of Bethesda Baptist Church, and may have a roll call, as called

for by the Pastor, the Chairman of the Deacons, and note all absentees.

PART 2: COMMITTEE

The nominating committee of the church shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be women,

plus the Sunday School Director and the Training Union Director. This committee shall be appointed by

the pastor and deacons and approved by the church during the March Conference. The first named

nominated person shall call the first meeting of the committee, at which time they shall elect their own

chairman and clerk. This committee shall be responsible for the nomination of all officers, teachers,

leaders, and other workers of the church in and through its various activities. 

The WMU and Brotherhood shall recommend their officers through the nominating committee. Standing committees

are to be nominated by the nominating committee. Special committees are chosen by the moderator as needs arise.

All committees will have a meeting at least once every three months for any up dates or other needs!

PART 3i: SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS.

The Sunday school teacher shall be chosen by the nominating committee and voted on by the church in

conference. The Sunday school teacher is to teach, using the material provided by the church, always

guided by the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit. The Sunday school teacher is not to take a class away

from the church grounds unless they have the approval of the church in conference; or where time does

not permit, pastor or deacons must approve (This rule applies to regular scheduled days of meeting.). All

active teachers will have a meeting at least once every three months for any up dates or other needs!

SECTION IV

PART 1: CONFERENCE

PART I; ORDER OF BUSINESS

Order of business shall be as follows:

1. Reading of minutes of the previous meeting and action on them.

2. Reports of departments and auxiliaries.

3. Reports on committees and other reports.

4. Granting and Receiving of letters.

5. Unfinished business.

6. New business.

I

4

7. Adjourn.

The church shall hold a regular business meeting on the second Sunday each month, following the

morning service.

Ten percent of the resident membership age eighteen and over shall constitute a quorum. No business shall be transacted when a quorum is not present.

Any regular business meeting may be postponed or omitted by a majority vote at any business meeting. In case of postponement, members shall be notified of the new date by bulletin, letter, or an announcement twice from the pulpit.

In case of a new expenditure involving an amount over $200.00, this shall be held over and carried to a

continued conference on the following Sunday.

The deacons shall have the authority to call a special business meeting to consider urgent business, in which case the membership shall be notified at least one week in advance stating the nature of business or an announcement twice from the pulpit shall be deemed sufficient notice. No other business shall be transacted at a special meeting other than that stated in the bulletin or announcements.

The pastor, by virtue of his office, shall be the moderator and shall  preside at all business meetings. In case of the absence or illness of the pastor, the chairman of the deacons shall preside. In case of his absence or illness, the members shall elect a temporary moderator.

All members of this church shall be eligible to vote. Those not voting shall not be counted for or against a motion. A majority of votes cast shall rule. A two-thirds vote shall be required to (a) discipline a member, (b) call a pastor,

(c) vacate the pulpit, or (d) change the bylaws.

A secret ballot shall be required to (a) discipline a member, (b) elect deacons, (c) any election in which

more than one candidate is involved for the same office, (d) calling a pastor or vacating the pulpit, or

{e} change the bylaws.

In case of a tie vote, the moderator may cast the deciding vote.

The moderator may suspend the regular order of business by consent of the members present.

A motion to be entertained by the church must be seconded. The one making the motion and the one seconding

it must be recognized by the chair.

Each member when speaking shall confine his remarks to the question under debate and shall direct his remarks

to the chair.

No member shall speak more than once on the same subject until all members desiring the floor have spoken;           not more than twice without unanimous consent or more than five minutes without consent of two-thirds majority.

Anything not covered by the bylaws shall be governed by standard parliamentary procedure, a copy which shall

be kept by the church clerk.

SECTION V

PART I: DEFINITION OF ACTIVE.

Attending church services at least once a week and all conferences unless providentially hindered.  It is expected

that members upon becoming a part of the congregation, assume the responsibility for the  work of the church. It is therefore, the member's responsibility to attend worship services, the training programs, ard to assist in the financial programs unless providentially hindered.

After prayerful and diligent effort has been made to restore any member who has not been active for a period of

one year, and they continue to be inactive, they shall be placed on the inactive list.

5

PART II: DISCIPLINE

Should any unhappy difference arise between members, the aggrieved member shall follow the rules

given by our Lord in Chapter 18 of Matthew.

Discipline includes the member's active participation in the church's programs.

Should a member become an offence to the church and its good name by reason of immoral or

unchristian conduct, or by persistent breach of his covenant vows, or non-support of the church, the

church may terminate his membership, but only after due notice and hearings, and after faithful efforts

have been made to bring such member to repentance and amendment.

A complaint against any member concerning immoral or unchristian conduct must be presented in

writing, to the pastor or cairman of the deacons, 30 days before such action of dismissal can be taken.

The member will be contacted by the deacons of such a breach of conduct or covenant so that it might

be resolved. If this fails, the member will be notified and hearing date will be set. The hearing will

proceed whether the member is present or not.

All such proceedings shall be undertaken in a spirit of Christian kindness and forbearance, but should an

adverse decision be reached, the church must proceed to admonish or declare the offender to be no

longer in the membership of the church.

SECTION VI

PART I: PULPIT SUPPLY.

The church shall pay a visiting minister while the pastor is on vacation. Vacation consists of two weeks

each year. The church shall pay for an evangelist for two revivals per year, according to the budget. The

pastor will ir obligated to pay for the supply pastor while out in a revival, unless the revival occurs

during his vacation. The church will pay for all revival help (preacher, singer, music director, musician,

etc.) in revival meetings. The pastor shall recommend the evangelist and /or appoint an evangelism

committee if he so desires.

SECTION VII

PART I: MAKING AMENDMENTS.

These bylaws may be amended at any regular church conference by two-thirds vote of the members

present, and voting, provided notice of such amendment is given 30 days in advance of such vote.

SECTION VIII

PART I: MISCELLANEOUS

The church shall not engage in any raffle. The church shall not sell dinners or any other commodity for

the purpose of raising money. The church shall not sponsor plays, sports, etc. and charge admission. Its

financial program shall be tithes and offerings.

Any organization of the church may hold fund raising events with these stipulations:

6

I

1. The events must have prior approval of the Deacons body.

2. The event must be advertised as being held by the organization for a specific purpose.

3. All proceeds from the event must be used for the purpose as advertised. None of the proceeds can go

into the general treasury.

The Lord's Supper shall be observed at least once a quarter. Also at any other time chosen by the pastor

and Deacons.

The use of the building and property of the church shall be restricted to Christian activities. The use of

the church property and/or buildings by other than organizations of the church shall be granted only after

approval of the pastor, deacons, and upon recommendation vote of the church.

The bylaws shall become effective after the close of the meeting at which they are adopted and shall

supersede all previous rules or motions pertaining to the bylaws of Bethesda Baptist church.

I

7