West Franklin Baptist Church

CHURCH BYLAWS
MEMBERSHIP
CANDIDACY / The membership of this church shall consist of persons who confess faith on the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior, who agree with the views of faith, doctrine and practice of this Church, who have been baptized by immersion, and who have been received into membership according to the bylaws of West Franklin Baptist Church.
Candidacy for membership may be received in one of the following ways:
Bypublic confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord followed by baptism by immersion;
By transfer of membership from another church where believers are baptized as a confession of faith by immersion; or,
By a candidate’s statement of faith and affirmation of having been baptized by immersion.
All who ask for membership are required to meet with a membership counselor who will ask the applicant to share his orher testimony of repentance and faith. Candidates recommended by the membership counselor, who have given credible testimony as to their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior,and have received Believer's Baptism by immersion, will be presented during general church conference for membership confirmation. Upon receiving membership confirmation, the candidate will be granted all membership privileges.
In those cases when the above course cannot be pursued, the Senior Pastor, and those he may consult, shall act in a manner that preserves the welfare of the church and exemplifies the compassions of Christ.
ASSOCIATE
MEMBERSHIP / A person who is temporarily residing in the area and who is a member of anotherchurch may apply for associate membership status at West Franklin Baptist Church. Qualifications are identical to those for full membership candidacy as set out above, except that associate member’s home church membership must be retained. A letter of commendation will be sought from the candidate’s home church.
While residing in the area, membership responsibilities and privileges of an associate member is the same as other members of West Franklin Baptist Church.
MEMBERSHIP
RESPONSIBILITIES
AND
PRIVILEGES / Membership requires the following commitments:
To participate regularly in the services of worship, Bible study, prayer and ministry;
To cooperate with other members in building a fellowship of love, unity, mutual accountability and support;
To honor the leaders established in the church in accordance with I Peter 5:5 and I Timothy 5:17.
To seek and accept opportunities for service in keeping with one’s spiritual gifts;
To be a faithful steward of time, talent, and financial resources in support of the church and its mission;
To help guard and maintain the missionary nature of the church by praying for and reaching out to the unsaved with the gospel wherever they are; and
To walk worthy of one’s calling in the world, honoring the Name of Jesus in all one’s spheres of influence.
Membership privileges shall include:
Eligibility to be chosen to serve for any position of service for which he or she is qualified;
Eligibility to participate in discussions and raise new motions for consideration during church conferences; and,
Eligibility to vote on any decision being made by the congregation.
Voting by proxy is not a privilege extended to the membership at West Franklin Baptist Church. Absentee voting will be extended only to those members who are shut in and only upon the member’s request. The member’s Deacon shall ensure the absentee ballot is properly counted.It is strongly urged that members under 18 years of age be counseled by their parents as to the solemn nature of this responsibility and to individual items of consideration.
TERMINATION
OF
MEMBERSHIP / Membership may be terminated in the following ways:
By the death of the member;
By the transfer of a member to another church;
As an outcome of church discipline; or,
By request of the member.
Members in good standing, who desire to unite with another Baptist Church, shall upon request be entitled to a letter of transfer. Such letter of transfer shall be sent to the Pastor or the Clerk of the church the member desires to join. Members in good standing and who desire to unite with a church of another denomination shall, upon request, be entitled to receive a letter of character. Such letter of character shall be sent to the church the member desires to join. Members who permanently move from the area are encouraged to transfer their membership to a church in their local area.
CHURCH
DISCIPLINE / It shall be the responsibility of the congregation of West Franklin Baptist Church to discipline a member who persists in the practice of a particular sin. Repentance and restoration of the individual’s relationship with Christ is the Biblical goal of church discipline. Church discipline may include expulsion of the member from fellowship of the church and the removal of all rights of membership from the individual. Church discipline may only be conducted in accordance with Scripture as explained in Matthew 18:15-17 and Titus 2:11-15. A member may only be dismissed by a seventy-five percent vote of those members attending a special church conference called for this purpose. In the same manner, a majority vote shall be required to restore a person’s church membership.
CHURCH
ORDINANCES / West Franklin Baptist Church shall routinely observe two New Testament prescribed practices established by our Lord Jesus Christ. Those ordinances are:
Baptism of a confessing believer by immersion in water; and,
The Lord’s Supper
The Senior Pastor shall determine the scheduling of the church’s observance of these ordinances. These particular ordinances shall be observed by the church until the dissolution of West Franklin Baptist Church or the return of Christ Jesus to the earth.
ELDER
LEADERSHIP
TEAM / West Franklin Baptist Church shall appoint an Elder Leadership Team comprised of no less than four ordained, qualified men who are members of West Franklin Baptist Church. The Elders shall lead the church according to the principles and responsibilities established in the New Testament. Each member of this team shall meet the qualifications of an Elderas described in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. By virtue of his position, the Senior Pastor shall be a member of the Elder Leadership Team. Elders of the Leadership Team shall yoke together in mutual accountability allowing for private prayer, encouragement, entreaties, admonishments, and corrections.
ELDER SELECTION / Notwithstanding any of the above, the Elder Leadership Team shall determine the number of Elders needed to lead West Franklin Baptist Church. When a determination has been made to fill a vacant position or add a position to the Leadership Team, the Elders shall select a candidate who is a man of orthodox theology as defined by Article V of the West Franklin Baptist Church Constitution. The candidate shall examine himself before God concerning his calling to leadership in the church and he shall submit himself to examination by the Elders. Upon receiving a satisfactory examination, the Elder Leadership Team shall place a motion before the church to accept the candidate to the Elder Leadership Team. The candidate must receive a seventy-five percent vote of affirmation from the members attending the special church conference called for this purpose.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF
THE ELDER
LEADERSHIP TEAM / The Elders shall endeavor together to ensure West Franklin Baptist Church is always able to continue in its purpose according to Article III of the West Franklin Baptist Church Constitution. Responsibilities and functions of the Elder Leadership Team shall include:
Identifying and addressing any spiritual need of the church as it relates to the church’s purpose described in Article III of the West Franklin Baptist Church’s constitution.
Praying for the sick and giving spiritual comfort to those who are facing spiritual trials and difficult life events;
Providing biblical instruction within the church for the purpose of increasing character, faith, love, and knowledge in Jesus Christ;
Mentoring, developing, and training other potential leaders within the church;
Being attentive to the preaching and teachings within the church, guarding the truth, protecting against false teachers, and providing gentle correction to any church member who may hold an incorrect or an incomplete understanding of scripture and/or church doctrine and application thereof;
Overseeing the church membership candidacy process;
Creating Sunday Bible study classes and other short term instructional training classes as the Elders identify spiritual needswithin the church;
Overseeing the selection ofqualified teachers to lead the teaching in the church;
Overseeing the teaching curriculum in the church;
Arbitrating disagreements that may, from time to time, arise among individual members or groups of members within the church;
Offering objective, biblical direction through conflicts and/or difficult decisions which may face the church and help with achieving consensus among the church membership;
Initiating church discipline when congregational action becomes necessary; and,
Advising the Senior Pastor and Deacon Service Team on matters concerning the church.
Most importantly, the Elders shall at all times demonstrate to the rest of the church an example of maturity in Christ.
ELDER LEADERSHIP TEAM DECISIONS / The Elder Leadership Team shall have the authority to assemble the congregation and bring forward any motion before the church for a vote on any matter as it deems is necessary. The Elder Leadership Team may not bring a motion before the church unless there is first unanimous agreement among the Elders regarding the motion. A quorum of the Elder Leadership Team shall be considered constituted when 100% of the Elders are present - except in matters where an Elder’s tenure is under consideration. AnEldershall not be allowed to vote in matters before the Elder Leadership Team concerning his own tenure.
ELDER TENURE / An Eldershall lead at West Franklin Baptist Church until his leadership of the church is terminated by his death, by his resignation or by congregational action. Only the Elder Leadership Team may place a motion before the church to act against the tenure of an Elder. An accusation against an Elder may only be received by the Elder Leadership Team in accordance with scripture as specified in Matthew 18:15-17 and I Timothy 5:17-21. An Elder’s leadership may only be dismissed by a seventy-five percent vote of the members attending a special church conference called for this purpose.
SENIOR PASTOR / The Senior Pastor shall be called by West Franklin Baptist Church to lead the church in understanding, embracing, and accomplishing its missionas defined by Article IV, through the primary biblical functions of worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. He shall be a man who gives evidence of being called by God into the gospel ministry. The Senior Pastor shall be a man of orthodox theology as defined in Article V of the West Franklin Baptist Church Constitution and he shall also agree with the Church’s Polity as stated in Article VII. As a member of the Elder Leadership Team, the Senior Pastor shall meet all qualifications of an Elder and he shall be afforded all the rights described herein as a member of the Elder Leadership Team.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF
THE SENIOR
PASTOR /  / Responsibilities and functions of the Senior Pastor shall include:
Preacher and Teacher - As preacher and teacher, the Senior Pastor is a principal communicator of God’s Word in public worship and ensures that the church is growing to maturity in Christ through the Spirit-anointed teaching of sound doctrine;
Shepherd - As shepherd, the Senior Pastor models the heart of the Chief Shepherd and ensures that the church is well led, spiritually nourished, and protected;
Evangelist- As evangelist, the Senior Pastor models the practice of personal evangelism incumbent upon every believer and ensures that the Church is challenged and equipped to be obedient to the command of the Lord Jesus to make disciples both locally and globally;
Overseer - In this role, he directs the ministerial and non-ministerial staff in their functions within the church and gives guidance to the planning, coordination, and functions of the various ministries in the church which are under his care;
Counselor – as counselor, the Senior Pastor gives personal guidance to members facing decisions in the areas of various spiritual matters; and,
Equipper and Encourager –In this role, the Senior Pastor partners with other leaders to empower, equip and encourage maturing members for significant service and ministry by discovering, developing, and deploying their spiritual gifts.
To further aid him in carrying out the Mission of West Franklin Baptist Church, the Senior Pastor may createand oversee new church team charters as needs arise or become apparent within the church.
Most importantly, the Senior Pastor shall at all times demonstrate to the rest of the church an example of Christ-likeness that is worthy of emulation.
SENIOR PASTOR
SELECTION
PROCESS / In the selection of a Senior Pastor, a Pastoral Search Team, representing a cross-section of the membership, shall be nominated by the Elder Leadership Team.The Elder Leadership Team shall place a motion before the church to appoint the Pastoral Search Team to the task of selecting a suitable pastoral candidate. The nominated Pastoral Search Team must receive a majority vote of affirmation from the members attending the general church conference.
Upon receiving its appointment from the church, the team shall proceed with due diligence to review prospects and select a candidate, according to the qualifications found herein, to serve as the Senior Pastor of the church. Once the committee has selected a candidate, and before this man is presented to the church for consideration, interviews shall be conducted between the candidate and the entire Pastoral Search Team, Elder Leadership Team and the Ministerial staff. Upon satisfactory completion of these interviews, the Pastoral Search Team shall then seek the advice of and input from the Elder Leadership Team and Ministerial staff in regards to the candidate’s qualifications and ability to accomplish the Mission of West Franklin Baptist Church. Once the Pastoral Search Team is ready to make a recommendation to the church, the candidate will be invited by the Elder Leadership Team to meet with the Deacon Service Team and preach from the pulpit before the entire attending membership.
After these things, the church shall be called together in special conference by the Elder Leadership Team for the purpose of electing a Senior Pastor. The election of the Senior Pastor shall be accomplished under the following stipulations:
No other name than the one brought by the Pastoral Search Team may be considered by the church;
The election of the Senior Pastor shall be conducted by private ballot;
Ballots will be distributed to members by the active Deacons;
The ballots shall be counted by three active Deacons who shall be designated for this task by the Chairman of the Deacons; and,
There must be a seventy-five percent majority vote for approval of the candidate under consideration before the church may extend a call to the candidate.
Upon the successful completion of the selection process as described herein, the Elder Leadership Team, on behalf of West Franklin Baptist Church, shall extend a call to the candidate to become its Senior Pastor.
SENIOR PASTOR
TENURE / The Senior Pastor shall lead and serve West Franklin Baptist Church until his commitment to the church is terminated either by his death, by his resignation, or by congregational action. Only the Elder Leadership Team may place a motion before the church to act against the tenure of the Senior Pastor. An accusation against the Senior Pastor may only be received by the Elder Leadership Team in accordance with scripture as specified in Matthew 18:15-17 and I Timothy 5:17-21. Once a motion has been placed before the church for a vote, the Senior Pastor’s service may only be dismissed by a seventy-five percent vote of the members attending a special church conference called for this purpose. The Elder Leadership Team shall initiate the Senior Pastor selection process according to the process described herein within thirty days of the Senior Pastor position being vacated.
INTERIM
PASTOR / In the event the Senior Pastor is unable to perform his duties or there is a vacancy in the position of Senior Pastor, the Elder Leadership Team shall assume the responsibility of ensuring the duties and functions of the Senior Pastor are fulfilled. The Elders may either perform the functions directly or nominate a candidate to fill the position of Interim Pastor until such time as a Senior Pastor is selected according to the process described herein. The nominated Interim Pastoral candidate must receive a majority vote of affirmation from the members attending the general church conference.
DEACON
SERVICE
TEAM / West Franklin Baptist Church shall appoint a Deacon Service Team comprised of no less than seven ordained men who are members of West Franklin Baptist Church. The Deacon Service Team shall serve the church according to the principles and responsibilities established in the New Testament. Each member of this team shall meet the qualifications of a Deaconas described in I Timothy 3: 8-13. The members of the Deacon Service Team shall yoke together in mutual accountability allowing for private prayer, encouragement, entreaties, admonishments, and corrections.