Refuge Bylaws

CHURCH COVENANT OF REFUGE CHURCH.

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God and this assembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, and holiness; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, doctrines, and disciplines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the widow and orphan, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions, to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealing, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to be Christlike in all our actions; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the teaching of our Savior to secure it without delay.

We moreover engage that when we remove ourselves from this place we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

1 CONSTITUTION OF REFUGE CHURCH

PREAMBLE

We, the members, declare and establish this constitution to preserve and secure the principles of our faith and to govern the Church in an orderly manner. This constitution seeks to preserve the liberties of each individual member and the freedom of action of this church in relation to other churches.

I. NAME

This congregation shall continue to be known as REFUGE CHURCH, located at 4865 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville Florida 32210, hereafter referred to as “The Church.”

The Church is incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida as a non-profit religious organization, and is recognized by the state and federal government as a Section 501(C)(3) organization.

II. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Church will be to fulfill the mission of a New Testament church as expressed in the following scripture:

Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Luke 24: 48-49: “You are my witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Jude’s and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In order to accomplish our biblical mission, the Church hereby establishes the following mission statements:

A.
To see the Lost Saved, the Saved Transformed and the Transformed Sent.

To be a dynamic spiritual body empowered by the Holy Spirit to share Christ with the people of our church, community, state, and the world.

To be a worshipping fellowship, experiencing an awareness of God, recognizing His person, and responding in obedience to His leadership.

To experience an increasingly meaningful fellowship with God and fellow believers through prayer the study of scripture and the corporate gathering.

To help people experience a growing knowledge of God and man.
To be a church which ministers to persons in the community and the world.

To be a church whose purpose is to be Christ-like in our daily living by emphasizing total commitment of life, personality, and possessions to the lordship of Christ.

To be a diverse body of believers, that reflects God’s Eternal Church as seen in Revelation 5. To be a Sending Church that seeks to Go not grow.
III. STATEMENT OF BASIC BELIEFS

We affirm the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God and the written basis for our beliefs. This church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of the Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. We voluntarily band ourselves together as a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation with all nations. The ordinances of the Church are Believer’s Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.

IV. POLITY AND RELATIONSHIPS

The government of the Church is vested in the Members of the Church, who are placed into positions by the congregation. Therefore we are an Elder lead, congregation-ally ruled church.

Elders will serve 3 year terms, and roll off 1, needing to be reaffirmed by the Church to become an Elder again. The Church will always retain a minimum of 5 Elders. If too many Elders are rolling off to maintain a 5 Elder minimum, an additional year may be added to an Elder’s service as affirmed by the Members of the Church.

The government of the Church is vested in the members of the Church. All Elders and teams are empowered by the Church shall report to and be accountable to the Church, unless otherwise instructed by Church action or the Church Bylaws.

This church is subject to the control of no other ecclesiastical body, but it recognizes and sustains the obligations of mutual counsel and cooperation which are common among Southern Baptist churches. Insofar as is practical, the Church will cooperate with and support the Jacksonville Baptist Association, the Florida Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention.

V. Amendment

Changes to this Constitution shall require a super-majority vote of seventy-five percent (75%) of the church members present and voting upon such changes.

3 BYLAWS OF REFUGE CHURCH ARTICLE I: CHURCH MEMBERSHIP Section 1: General

This is a sovereign and democratic Southern Baptist Church under the lordship of Jesus Christ. The membership retains unto itself the exclusive right of self-government in all phases of the spiritual and temporal life of the Church.

The membership reserves the exclusive right to determine who shall be members of the Church and the condition of such membership as outlined in this document.

Section 2: Candidacy

Any person may present himself/herself for membership at any Church service. All persons presenting themselves for membership will be the subject to the simple majority vote (i.e., 50% plus 1) of the congregation in a Member’s Meeting (except as provided in section E. below). Persons may be accepted into the full fellowship and privileges of membership when the following criteria are met:

By profession of faith and believer’s baptism by immersion.

Upon review of a letter of recommendation from another Southern Baptist church.

By statement of prior conversion experience in a church that practices believer’s baptism by immersion; or by statement that records of a prior membership in a Southern Baptist church have been lost or destroyed.

Application for membership under circumstances other than those in paragraph (A) and (C) will be submitted to the Pastor and/or other persons he may designate for review and recommendation to the Church.

Should there be any dissent as to any candidate, such dissent shall be referred to the Pastor and/or others as he may designate for review and a recommendation to the Church within thirty (30) days. A three-fourths vote of the membership present shall be required to elect such a candidate to membership.

Section 3: Duties of Church Members

Each member shall be expected to be in harmony with the purpose and beliefs of the Church (See Articles II & III of the Constitution).

All new members shall be expected to attend “Discover Refuge/Membership Class” as provided by the Church.

Members shall be expected to grow spiritually using the following goals: -Meet God daily in a set time of prayer.
-Let God confront them daily through the Scriptures.

-Grow in love for the Christian community and all people, remembering the command, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
-Worship weekly
-Be a vital participating member of one of the Church’s ministries

-Give proportionally, with the tithe as the minimum giving goal for each member.
-Share their faith individually by word and deed with those whom they meet daily.

-Live SENT lives (Members are missionaries.)

Members are expected to attend worship services and other ministry offerings of the Church. Members who fail to regularly attend worship gatherings and other ministry opportunities—or who fail to achieve the goals set forth in section C above—may be subject to losing their rights to vote and otherwise participate in church business.

Section 4: Rights of Church Members

Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, each member over the age of 16 shall have the right to vote in all Church business matters. Each member (family) will be given access to the Constitution and Bylaws. Regardless of the members’ choice to review such documents, the terms and provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws shall be binding upon all church members.

Section 5: Termination of Membership
Membership shall automatically terminate should the member:
Die.
Request a transfer of their letter to another Southern Baptist church. Request termination.
Join another church.
Be excluded by action of the Church/Church Discipline.

5 Section 6: Church Discipline

It shall be the practice of the Church to make every reasonable effort to assist any troubled member. The Pastor and Elders shall be available for counsel and guidance. The intent of Church discipline shall be to effect reconciliation.

In all cases of personal difficulty between members of the Church, the parties involved shall endeavor to bring about reconciliation in the manner prescribed by our Lord as recorded in Matthew 5:23-24:
[23] So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Also, Matthew 18:15-16:
[15] “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. [16] But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If any member(s) is formally charged with a specific offense which is determined to be against the best interest and general welfare of the Church, the Pastor and Elders shall seek to counsel with all parties involved and take every reasonable measure to resolve the charge. All such proceedings shall be guided by a spirit of Christian love and fairness.

In every case in which a member is charged with an offense not resolved under the provisions of paragraphs (A) and (B) above, the Pastor and Elders shall invite all concerned parties to meet and review the charges and offer such explanation and evidence as may be appropriate. After careful review and prayer, the Pastor and Elders shall decide the recommendations to be made to the Church. All parties shall be duly notified of the proposed course of action. The Church shall adopt or reject the recommendation without discussion through a secret ballot. If the Pastor or Elders are involved in the alleged offense, their role (as set forth above) shall be performed by those Elders not involved in the offense .

Restoration. Any person whose membership has been terminated for any reason, which has made it necessary for the Church to exclude him or her may, upon his or her request, be restored to membership by a vote of the Church upon evidence of his or her repentance and reformation.

If any member disseminates any view of doctrine not in harmony with the statement in Paragraph III of this Constitution (Statement of Beliefs) and shall persist in the practice after

proper effort to reclaim him/her, it shall be considered an offense subject to disciplinary actions.

6 Section 7: Dispute Resolution Understanding that church congregations are made up of human beings—each of whom was born with a sinful, self-centered nature—the church recognizes that disputes among members (as well as disputes between members and the church staff) are inevitable. All church members will use their best efforts to resolve such disputes, claims, questions, or disagreement in a manner that befits Christians, and they shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith; recognizing their mutual interests not to disgrace the name of Christ and seeking to reach a just and equitable solution.

To that end, all disputes, claims, questions, or disagreements arising out of or relating to these bylaws—or any other matter— shall be subject to the dispute resolution framework laid out in these bylaws. Moreover, the members of this church expressly waive any and all rights in law and equity to bring any civil disagreement involving this church or any of its members before a court of law, except that any judgment upon an award rendered by an arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

In an effort to follow the scripture’s mandates regarding legal actions against fellow-believers while simultaneously preserving the right to have one’s dispute heard and decided—the membership of this church agrees (to the extent possible) to handle all disputes in the following manner:

A. B.

Personal Attempts - When any dispute arises between one or more members of this church, the involved member(s) will take time to pray about the basis for the dispute as well as the other members involved. After such prayer, the member(s) will approach the other member(s) with whom they have the disagreement and attempt to work through the dispute in a spirit of love and understanding as described in Section 6, Paragraph A. If the attempt to address the dispute directly does not result in a resolution, one or more of the members involved will approach the most senior member of the church staff (seniority determined by position) not involved in the dispute (or—if the entire staff is involved—the most senior member of the Elder body (seniority determined by tenure) not involved in the dispute), and explain the dispute. The person(s) approached will select an appropriate church leader to meet with the disputing members separately. If this effort does not result in a resolution of the dispute, the members involved will proceed to follow the formal dispute resolution procedure set forth in sections B. through G. below

Submission to Mediation - Should the dispute resolution steps found in section A. above not lead to a full and complete resolution of the issues in dispute, the parties shall submit any remaining dispute to mediation. The mediation (i.e., where a neutral third person acts to encourage the resolution of a dispute) is an informal, non-adversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually-acceptable and voluntary agreement. Such mediation shall take place within thirty (30) days from the date any member involved in the dispute submits a written request for mediation (but not before the procedure set forth in section A. has been completed). The mediation shall be conducted and

7 facilitated by a neutral third-party, chosen by the parties to the dispute. Should the parties not be able to agree upon a mediator, the Pastor—provided he is not a party to the dispute—

shall pick a mediator to facilitate the resolution. Should the Pastor be a party to the dispute, the person to select a mediator will be the first in the following list not to be involved in the dispute: Executive Pastor, Worship Pastor, Adult Pastor, Student Pastor, Chairman of the Deacons, and then each deacon (such deacons listed in reverse order of seniority). The basic process for conducting the mediation shall be as adopted by the pastor and the body of deacons.

Notice of Arbitration - If the dispute is not resolved through the procedure set forth above within a period of sixty (60) days from the date mediation is requested, then either party may notify the other party(ies) of their desire to submit the disputes, claims, questions, or differences to binding arbitration. Arbitration, as used here, means a process by which a dispute is heard by an impartial third person (or several persons), chosen by the parties, whose decision the parties have agreed to accept.

Limitations on Arbitration Decisions - Should any dispute involve matters of church discipline, the arbitrators shall be limited to determining whether the procedures for church discipline were followed. Should any dispute involve the removal from office of the pastor or any church staff member or officer, the arbitrators shall be limited to determining whether the appropriate procedures as outlines in these Bylaws were followed.

Arbitration Procedures - The Procedures for Arbitration shall be as adopted by the Pastor and the Deacons.

Disputes Involving Parties Who Are Not Members - The church and its members hereby agree that the dispute resolution procedure outlined above is the way in which the Holy Scriptures would have Christians resolve disputes. Therefore, the church and its members all agree to endeavor to employ these procedures in every situation in which a dispute arises—regardless of who or what may be the adverse party. While it is possible that non-members may refuse to abide by some or all of these procedures, the church and its members will make every effort to encourage the use of these procedures. In no event will a member refuse any non-member’s offer to follow the framework set forth above.

Disputes Involving Former Members - The church and its members hereby agree that the dispute resolution procedure outlined above shall apply to all members and shall survive the termination of their membership in the church. Specifically, all members of the church recognize and acknowledge that, should they resign their membership—or be removed from membership – such resignation or removal shall not negate that member’s obligation to follow the dispute resolution framework set forth above for any and all disputes arising out of their membership in the church.

8 ARTICLE II: GENERAL CHURCH OFFICERS AND ORGANIZATION LEADERSHIP

The officers of this church shall be the Pastor, Elder and Deacons. All officers of the Church shall be members of this church except when elected for interim or part-time positions. The church shall have a Policy Manual separate and distinct from these Bylaws which contains Church policies, rules, regulations, operating procedures, committee functional statements, etc. that are not set forth in these Bylaws. While all effort will be made to keep such Policy Manual consistent with these Bylaws, should any conflict arise between the Manual and these Bylaws, the Bylaws will prevail.

Section 1: Pastor A.
B.

Duties 1.
2.
3.

The Pastor is responsible for leading the Church to function as a New Testament Baptist church. The Pastor will lead the congregation, Elders, and the Church staff to perform their assigned ministry tasks.

The Pastor is the leader of pastoral ministries in the Church. As such, he oversees and works with the Elders to:

lead the Church in achievement of its mission

lead the Church to engage in worship, fellowship, witness, education, and ministry

proclaim the Gospel to believers and non-believers

care for members and other persons in the community

To lead the Church in multiplying, sending and church planting efforts

The Pastor will be the chief administrative officer of the Church. As such, he will:

a.

Oversee all administrative functions of the Church

Procedures for Selection

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

A pastor shall be chosen and called by the Church whenever a vacancy occurs. The election shall take place at a business meeting called for that purpose.

a. b. c. d.

e.

A Pastor Search Committee, consisting of at least 5 members from the Church at large and 2 elders consisting of 7 total people, shall be selected by the Elders, and elected by the Church. If the slate is not approved by the, a new slate shall be presented by Elders for approval.

The Search Committee shall seek out only those candidates for the position of pastor who are scripturally qualified, and are exemplary in their daily life.

The Pastor Search Committee shall prayerfully seek a minister who will be interviewed by the Elders before presentation to the Church for consideration. The Committee shall bring only one candidate at a time for the consideration of the Church.

Any member has the privilege of making recommendations to the Pastor Search Committee.

Election shall be by secret ballot with an affirmative vote of threefourths of those present and voting to issue a call. Before a vote, all Elders must affirm of the candidate.

The Pastor Search Committee will be assisted by the Elders in that the salary and benefits, moving and miscellaneous expenses associated with calling a pastor will be set by the Elders prior to the bringing of a candidate for consideration.

The Pastor is called for an indefinite period of time. The office of the Pastor will be vacated by:
a.
b.

c.

death of the Pastor

resignation of the Pastor

termination of the Pastor by action of the Church in a member meeting called for that purpose by the Elders of the Church

The office of Pastor will be temporarily vacated:

10 a.

b.

In the event of long term illness or the disability of the Pastor. The Elders will make interim recommendations to the Church at a called member meeting.

In the event a leave of absence is recommended by the Elders and approved by Church action. 6.

In the event of the death of the Pastor, continuing compensation and benefits for the family shall be recommended by the ELDERS prior to presentation to the Church in a called business meeting. Upon the resignation or dismissal of the Pastor, compensation and benefits will ordinarily be continued for a maximum of 60 days from the date of announced resignation/ dismissal. In the event the Church dismisses the Pastor, his responsibilities will terminate upon dismissal. The compensation moving forward will be considered with the family of the resigned pastor in mind.

Section 2: Interim Pastor – Procedures for Selection

The Interim Pastor Search Committee shall consist of a committee selected from the Elders. This committee shall prayerfully seek a suitable minister as Interim Pastor. He will be interviewed by the Elders before presentation to the Church for consideration. Provided the Elders approve of the candidate, he will be presented to the membership of the Church. The Church will consider one minister at a time. The Interim Pastor shall be scripturally qualified and exemplary in his life.

Pastor Sabbaticals

For the Ordained Pastors of the Church, Sabbaticals are to take place every 4 years. Sabbaticals must be a minimum of 30 days and can be up to 90 days with approval by the Elder board. In addition, the Pastor(s) will be given an additional monetary amount, beyond their salary, and up to their monthly salary, to assist in helping them to get away and be refreshed. To be used for spiritual enrichment, travel, leisure, marriage enrichment, family time, etc..

Section 3: Other Ministerial Staff Members A.
B.
Duties

1. The duties of the ministerial staff shall be formulated by the Elders and the Pastor and approved by the Church. A copy of their job descriptions shall be in the church Personnel Policy Manual and/or Employee Handbook.

2. The ministerial staff is directly responsible to the Pastor and Elders. They are expected to effectively perform their work according to their job descriptions, and to lead the Church in the achievement of its mission.

3. Oversight of the Church staff may be delegated by the Pastor, and the Pastor may seek the counsel of the Elders when making staffing decisions.

Procedures for Selection

1. When vacancies in the ministerial staff occur, the Pastor and the Elders shall search out qualified ministerial staff replacements. Each candidate shall be scripturally qualified, and exemplary in his life. Each candidate shall be interviewed by the Elders and Leadership team with whom he will work. Upon such review and affirmation the candidate may then the candidate will be brought to a called member meeting for a vote.

2. Ministerial Staff shall have the following designations:

a. Associate Pastor or Executive Pastor, for all ordained men

b. Director, for all others.

3. Ministerial Staff are called for an indefinite period of time.

4. Vacancies will occur by:

a. death of a staff member

b. resignation of the staff member

c. termination of the staff member by action of the Elders and the Church

5. Temporary Vacancies will occur:

a. Due to a long-term illness or the disability of the staff member. The Elders will make recommendations(s) to the Church.

b. Through a leave of absence as recommended by the Elders and approved by the Church.

6. In the event of the death of a ministerial staff member, continued compensation and benefits for the family shall be determined by the Elders. Upon the resignation or dismissal of a ministerial staff member, compensation and benefits will ordinarily be continued for a minimum of ninety days from the date of the announced resignation/dismissal. In the event the Church dismisses a ministerial staff member, his/her responsibilities will terminate upon dismissal.

Section 4: Deacons – Procedure for Election, Duties and Term of Office A.
B.
C.

The Deacons shall serve a three (3) year term. They may be re-elected after a lapse of one (1) year following active service. Candidates to fill Deacon vacancies shall be filled by the Pastor and the Elders from a pool of Church members who have previously served the church in some manner of leadership. Such members shall be presented to the church for its approval at the next business meeting.

Process for Selection of Deacons. 1.

Active Deacons and the pastoral staff are charged with identifying potential deacons (i.e., members who may, in time, become deacons).

12 meet the qualifications for Deacon as set forth in the Scripture (e.g., I Timothy 3:8-13 “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubled tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”). Once selected, Yokefellows will come alongside active Deacons and take on only such responsibilities as given them by the active Deacons. After a period of no less than one (1) year, Yokefellows may be submitted to the church for election as a Deacon, followed by ordination (if necessary) and appointment to serve a three year term.

Duties. In accordance with the meaning of the work and practices of the New Testament, deacons are to be servants of the Church. The task of the Deacon is to assist the Pastor and ministerial staff in performing ministry tasks for and with the membership.
Meeting. The Deacons will ordinarily meet monthly.

The Church shall elect a Finance Team for a term of three years, after which they must remain inactive for one year. The Finance Team will report to the Elders of the Church. The Finance team will also have 1 Elder (non-Pastor,) who functions as a member of the finance team. Elders will serve 1 year at a time on the finance team.

It shall be the duty of the Finance Team to oversee the Church budget and all money, or things of value paid or given to the Church. The Treasurer will be responsible for ensuring an itemized account of all receipts, designations and disbursements is kept. Some of the above duties may be assigned to office staff to be performed under the direction of the Elders.

The Finance Team shall render to the Church at each member meeting a report of receipts and disbursements for the period since the last report.

In order to assume timely payment of budgeted accounts payable, one Finance team member, Pastor and one Elder will be authorized to sign checks. Two signatures are required for any checks written.

Specific guidelines shall be contained in the Operations Procedure Manual.

Upon rendering the annual account at the end of each fiscal year (December 31) and its acceptance and approval by the Church, this annual statement shall be delivered by the Finance Team to the Church Bookkeeper, who shall keep and preserve the account as part of the permanent records of the Church.

a finite or indefinite period of time.
ARTICLE III: CHURCH MINISTRY ORGANIZATIONS

The Church will create organizations and programs as needed to support and facilitate its ministry efforts. Such organizations may include, but are not limited to, Sunday School and other church training organizations, ministries targeting specific age groups, Women’s ministry organizations, the Music Ministry, etc.

ARTICLE V: CHURCH MEETINGS

Section 1: Worship A.
B.
D.

The Church shall meet regularly for the worship of Almighty God.
Special worship services shall be scheduled in the church calendar of activities.

Cancellation of these services will ordinarily require Church action except in case of emergency (hurricane, tornado, fire, etc.).

Section 2: Business

A.

B.

The regular members meeting of the Church shall be held a minimum of twice per year.

Special meetings of the Church for transactions of business may be called by the Pastor or Elders.

C. D.

Members present and voting shall constitute a quorum to transact any Church business. Unless otherwise noted, a simple majority vote is necessary to pass a motion. There shall be no absentee or proxy voting. Members must be present during the meeting to vote on the business being handled during that meeting. However, members wishing to participate in the voting, but who are serving elsewhere on the church campus during any meeting (e.g., serving in the nursery, children’s services, etc.), shall be given the chance to register their vote before the meeting is concluded and the votes are tallied.

Section 3: Ordinances A.
B.
Believers Baptism

A person who receives Jesus Christ as Savior by personal faith; who professes Him publicly at a worship service; and who indicated a commitment to follow Christ as Lord, shall be received for baptism.

1.

2.
3.
4.
Baptism shall be immersion in water.
Baptism shall be administered by the Pastor, Elder or whomever the Church shall authorize. Baptism shall be administered as an act of worship during any worship service.

A person professing Christ and failing to be baptized after a reasonable length of time shall be counseled by the Pastor and/or ministerial staff. If negative interest is ascertained, his or her name shall be deleted from the list of those awaiting baptism.

The Lord’s Supper

20 The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby Christians, through partaking of the bread and the cup, commemorate the saving death of Jesus Christ and anticipate His Second Coming.

1.

2.

3.

4.

The Lord’s Supper shall normally be observed quarterly; or more often, as the Pastor may deem appropriate.

The Pastor, Associate Pastor(s), and Elders shall administer the Lord’s Supper.

Incapacitated members may request the Pastor; Associate Pastor(s), and Elders to administer the Lord’s Supper at their residence.

Anyone deeming himself or herself eligible according to Biblical standards may partake of the Lord’s Supper.

ARTICLE VI: MISCELLANEOUS A.
B.
C.

Indemnification

Should any member(s) of the Church Staff or leadership be faced with actual or threatened litigation as a result of the performance of his or her proper and normal duties, the Church will provide a sufficient and appropriate legal defense and/or indemnify such staff member(s) for

costs and expenses relating to such actual or threatened litigation. This obligation to indemnify and/or provide a defense shall cease if at any time it is discovered that the staff member(s) in question acted contrary to Holy Scripture, in violation of law or otherwise acted in any way that was dishonest or lacking complete candor.

Use of Church Facilities

The Church staff and other appropriate leadership shall oversee implementation of a church facilities use policy. Such policy will ensure that the facilities of the Church are used in a manner which is consistent with the Holy Scriptures and the Baptist Faith & Message, 2000. The policy shall be drafted to ensure that any use of all or part of the church grounds or facilities (whether by members or by outside interests or entities) will be done in a manner consistent with our beliefs as a Church. Moreover, any and all use of church property shall be sufficiently documented and memorialized so as to protect the church from unnecessary exposure to liability.

Inspection of Records, Reports and Documentation

In accordance with Florida law, every member of the Church shall have the right to inspect certain records, reports, documents and the physical properties of the Church. Such inspection shall be accomplished in accordance with applicable Florida Statutes.

21 In accordance with existing law, the Church may restrict and limit the number of inspections or establish an orderly manner for such to be conducted.

D.

E.

Designated Gifts

The Church will not be in the habit of receiving Designated Gifts. Any gifts given to the Church will be used towards the ministry of the Church in areas that the Members and Elders see fit.

Existence of Reversionary Interest

Subject to the concept of the autonomy of the local church (which is an integral part of Southern Baptist polity), this Church hereby establishes that it will not allow its property and other assets to be usurped or otherwise taken from it by other individuals or denominations. Thus, the true and rightful members of this church shall be comprised of individuals who adhere to maintain and propagate the traditional and historical doctrines, faith and practices of the Southern Baptist denomination (such doctrine, faith and practices set forth in the Baptist Faith and message 2000)—even though such members may comprise only a minority of the overall membership. To the extent that this church votes to cease cooperating with a Baptist Convention that adheres to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, or the church otherwise refuses to adhere to, maintain and propagate the doctrines, faith and practices of the Southern Baptist denomination (as such are defined in the Baptist Faith and message 2000), the equitable and legal title to the church’s property and fixed assets shall vest in and be used for the benefit of the minority who remain true to the teachings and beliefs of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. A Reverter clause exists in the chain of title to all church property to protect this provision from dilution or omission in future versions of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS

The Church officers shall periodically appoint a Constitution and Bylaws Review Committee to review the Constitution and Bylaws, recommending to the Church any modifications or revisions for Church action.

Changes in the Constitution and Bylaws may be made at any regular business meeting of the Church provided each amendment shall have been presented in writing at a previous business meeting and copies furnished to each member present at the earlier meeting. Amendments to the Constitution shall be made in accordance with the current Constitution. Amendments to the Bylaws shall require a super-majority vote of sixty-six percent (66%) of the members present and voting.