Constitution of the Chinchilla Church of Christ Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. (Matthew 28:19a CEV) 2 CONSTITUTION ADOPTED 1972 REVISED - 1975 1977 1988 1996 2008 2009 2011 2025 3 CONTENTS 1. PRINCIPLES 4 1.1 Name 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Authority 2. MEMBERSHIP & VOTING MEMBERSHIP 4 3. BOARD OF OFFICERS 5 3.1 Board 3.2 Chairman and Deputy Chairman 3.3 Secretary and Assistant Secretary 3.4 Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer 3.5 Executive Committee 4. MINISTRY 7 5. ELDERS 8 6. DEACONS 8 7. ELECTIONS 8 7.1 Nomination and Election of Board and other Church Representatives 7.2 Nomination and Election of Elders 7.3 Vacancies on the Board 7.4 Term of Office 7.5 Conference Delegates 8. BUSINESS MEETINGS 11 8.1 Annual Meetings 8.2 Special Meetings 8.3 Notice of Meetings 8.4 Chairman 8.5 Quorum 9. CHURCH AUXILIARIES 13 10. REPORTS 13 11. CHURCH YEAR 14 12. APPENDIX 14 12.1 Alterations to the Constitution 12.2 Interpretation of the Constitution 12.3 Adoption of the Constitution 4 1. PRINCIPLES 1.1 NAME The church shall be known as the Chinchilla Church of Christ. 1.2 OBJECTIVES The “Church of Christ” stands for New Testament Christianity in faith, doctrine and practice, and the unity of all Christians as revealed in the New Testament; and that, as a Church, we have an outreach that is both evangelistic and missionary. 1.3 AUTHORITY The Authority of the church is Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18) The Board of Officers shall have all necessary authority, subject to the general jurisdiction of the church, to act on behalf of the church for all purposes covered by this constitution and for all purposes connected with the normal conduct of the church’s affairs. The Elders shall have such particular authority as the Scriptures vest in them by virtue of their office, and in particular, matters of spiritual oversight shall be referred to them. Emergency action may be taken by the Executive Committee of the Board of Officers, subject to subsequent ratification by the Board of Officers. 2. MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING MEMBERSHIP The church shall consist of those persons whose names appear on the Roll of Members, being persons who have made a personal response to Jesus Christ as Saviour and 5 Lord through faith, repentance, confession of that faith and baptism by immersion, and who are endeavouring to live a life inconformity with the commands and teachings of the Bible. The Roll of Members shall classify each member as one of: (a) ACTIVE – being a member who regularly attends at the Lord’s Table at the Chinchilla Church of Christ. (b) ISOLATED – being a member who has not attended the Lord’s Table only by reason of distance or disability. (c) SUPPLEMENTARY – being a member who has been absent from the Lord’s Table without sufficient reason for a period of three (3) months. 3. BOARD OF OFFICERS 3.1 BOARD (a) The composition of the Board shall be on the basis of a maximum of one representative for each seven (7), members of the church based on active and isolated members, up to a maximum of ten (10) Board members (b) So far as possible, the Board shall meet monthly and at such other times as the Chairman may require. (c) A majority shall be deemed to be a quorum, but a major decision shall require no more than three (3) to be absent. (d) The Board shall attend to the following: (i) Appointment to the Ministry (as indicated in Clause 4). (ii) The current financial and business affairs of the church, and determine the distribution of Budget percentages. Special appeals shall be allowed only at the discretion of the Board. 6 (iii) The maintenance of the church property. (iv) Matters of the church Roll of Members (v) Giving a lead and direction in evangelistic and missionary outreach (e) The Board shall exercise control over and have the oversight over all services and meetings of the church and auxiliaries. (f) The Executive Committee of the Board shall consist of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Deputy Chairman, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer; any four (4) of these to constitute a quorum of the Executive, or alternately, the Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer to constitute a quorum of the Executive 3.2 CHAIRMAN AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN (a) The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Board shall be elected annually by the church from the elected representatives to the Board; such election shall be by secret ballot. (b) The Chairman has complete control of all Board meetings. 3.3 SECRETARY AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY (a) The Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Board shall be elected annually by the church from the elected representatives to the Board; such election shall be by secret ballot. (b) The Secretary’s duties shall include the keeping of all proper record of all church business, correspondence, church attendance and church roll. The Secretary shall draft the annual report for consideration by the Board. (c) The Secretary shall prepare the agenda for all business meetings including Board meetings. 3.4 TREASURER AND ASSISTANT TREASURER 7 (a) The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer of the Board shall be elected annually by the church from amongst the elected representatives to the Board; such election shall be by secret ballot. (b) The Treasurer shall be responsible for executing the financial transactions of the church and shall keep a proper record of such transactions. Should the Treasurer not have the necessary expertise, then professional assistance approved by the Board may be sought. (c) The Treasurer shall present a current financial statement at each monthly Board meeting and shall submit audited annual statements of “Receipts and Payments” and of any “Investments”. (d) The church account shall be operated by any two (2) of the Executive. (e) All payments shall be made by cheque or electronically. (f) Copies of the monthly Balance Sheet shall be made available to the Board meetings and also displayed on the notice board in the church; total monthly offerings and expenditures to be printed in the church bulletin 3.5 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Executive Committee (as per Clause 3.1 (f)) shall act to make decisions of an immediate and minor nature, except for temporary decisions, all such Executive decisions shall be referred to the next meeting of the Board for approval. 4. MINISTRY (a) Should a vacancy occur in the Ministry, the Board shall negotiate for an appointment thereto. (b) The Board shall make its recommendations to the Church regarding re-engagement to the Ministry. 8 (c) A majority of votes polled at a duly constituted meeting of the church shall decide any reappointment to the Ministry. (d) Termination of service shall be subject to three (3) months’ notice by either party, except that it may be shortened by mutual consent of both parties. (e) The Minister shall be ex-officio at all Executive and other Committee meetings. 5. ELDERS (a) The number of elders to be elected annually shall, as far as possible, be not less than two (2) (b) The Minister shall not be an appointed Elder of the church but shall act with the duly appointed Elders jointly for the purposes of exercising the Eldership of the church. (c) The Elders shall meet when necessary to discuss spiritual matters and arbitrate on any complaint and contentions. 6. DEACONS Those elected as the representatives to the Board and not elected as Elders shall be deemed to be Deacons. 7. ELECTIONS 7.1 NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF BOARD AND OTHER CHURCH REPRESENTATIVES (a) Nominations shall be signed by the nominator and the nominee, both of whom shall be active members. (b) Nomination forms shall be handed in to the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary by 1:00pm on the Sunday four (4) weeks prior to the Annual Meeting of the church. Names of those nominated shall be printed on a Ballot Paper and distributed to those eligible to vote (as per Clause 20 as from the Sunday three (3) weeks to the Annual Meeting. 9 (c) Positions for Election are: (i) Representatives to the Board (ii) Bible School Superintendent (iii) Music Convenor (iv) Property Supervisor (v) Church Reporter (vi) Bible society Representatives (vii) Senior Youth Superintendents (viii) Hospitality Convenors (ix) Usher Convenor (x) Representatives to the Service and Advisory Team (Child Care) (d) The number of church representatives to the Service and Advisory Team shall be in accordance with the Rules of Administrative Procedure of that Committee. (e) Election shall be by secret ballot cast in a ballot box provided in the church, such ballot to close at 1:00pm on the Sunday prior to the Annual Meeting. (f) Two (2) scrutineers appointed by the Board shall count the ballot papers and supply a list of the successful candidates to the Chairman for the Annual Meeting as soon as practicable after the ballot is counted. (g) Any disputed returns or tied votes shall be resolved by the Chairman at the Annual Meeting. (h) In the event of there being no nominations or insufficient nominations for the various positions, then nominations may be received from the floor of the Annual Meeting and dealt with by secret ballot. (i) A candidate, to be elected, shall poll at least fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast 7.2 NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF ELDERS Next >