Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, and looking to the inerrant, infallible Word of God as our sole authority in all areas of which it speaks as well as the perfect rule in faith and practice, we therefore voluntarily band ourselves together as a body of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
–Amendments & Ratification –
These By-Laws may be amended at any regular or special business meeting of Providence Family Baptist Church provided notice of the amendment is given from the pulpit on two successive Sundays in advance and copies of the amended document are posted and easily available to church members. This amended and restated constitution shall be effective upon the affirmative vote of three-fourths of a quorum of the voting membership present.
Article I – Definitions
A. The terms “Providence Family Baptist Church,” “PFBC,” “corporation” and “church” are synonymous and shall refer at all times to the corporation of Providence Family Baptist Church.
B. The term “Council of Elders” shall be used in this document in place of “Board of Directors.” The Council of Elders shall fulfill all the roles and responsibilities of a Board of Directors as defined in RCW 24.03.005 of the Washington State Legislator. (See Article IX for further description of the Council of Elders.)
C. The terms “member” and “church member” refer to those individuals who have agreed to join this church fellowship under the conditions stated in Article VI.
D. The term “regular attendee” shall refer to any person who has attended this church on a consistent basis, which is defined as attending at least 75% of the scheduled Church services or meetings for a period of one year or more. Procedures for taking attendance shall be defined in the PFBC Policies and Procedures Manual.
E. “Member in absentia” shall refer to any church member who is unable to attend regularly, but who maintains contact with the church. This would include students, service personnel, retirement home residents, shut-ins, missionaries, and others as recognized by the Council of Elders.
F. “Inactive member” is a church member who is not considered to be a “member in absentia” and who has been absent from the church for a period of six months since attending and/or manifesting interest in the church. He shall continue to be considered an “inactive member” for an additional six months at the conclusion of which, after having been contacted by an elder or a representative designated by the Council of Elders, he shall no longer be considered a church member.
Article II – Name, Organization, & Location
The name of this corporation is Providence Family Baptist Church and its duration shall be perpetual.This church was organized and incorporated on December 4, 1958. The registered office of this church shall be 17125 Spruce Way, Lynnwood, WA 98037.
Article III – Purpose
A. This corporation is organized for exclusively religious purposes: to establish and maintain a church.
B. Our commission is summarized as follows: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).
C. The vision of PFBC is to raise up godly generations of believers, ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ by Biblical preaching and teaching, by building godly, virtuous men and women, loving husbands and respectful wives, caring fathers and mothers, and by assisting today’s families to spend spiritual and joyful time together so that we can reach our community and beyond with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Article IV – Statements of Faith PFBC is in substantial agreement with the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message and the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.
Article V – Government
A. This church acknowledges only the Lord Jesus Christ as its Head and receives the Holy Scriptures as the only infallible and inerrant guide in matters of faith, church order, and discipline.
PFBC is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (National), the Northwest Baptist Convention (State), and the Puget Sound Baptist Association (Regional).
PFBC is an autonomous church not owned or governed in any way by its affiliates.
B. The government of this church, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, is vested jointly in the body of believers who compose its membership and the Council of Elders who shall have the authority to direct the daily affairs of the church. (For further information on membership and the Council of Elders refer to Articles VI and IX, respectively.)
Article VI – Church Membership and Qualifications for Membership
A. Qualifications for Membership
A person qualified for membership must have been attending for at least six months, must be at least twenty (20) years of age (Exodus 30:14; Numbers 1:1-3, 18; 1 Chronicles 23:24), and:
1. One who has professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, having thereupon been baptized by immersion, and holding views of faith and practice in substantial agreement with those of this church.
2. And, one who desires to willingly submit to the spiritual authority and leadership of the pastor(s) and Council of Elders of this church.
3. And, one who sees it as their duty to encourage, support, maintain fellowship with, contribute to and preserve the unity of this church.
B. Becoming a Member 1. An individual desiring to become a member of this church must first make his or her desire known to the pastor(s) of the Church. Such request may be made at any time.
2. The pastor(s) of the church will engage in the process of membership with each person desiring membership as defined in the Policies and Procedures Manual for 44th ABC.
C. Denial of Membership
Membership will be denied if, after meeting with a prospective member, it is determined that:
1. The applicant does not confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
2. The applicant does not otherwise meet the qualifications for membership as defined in Article VI (a).
3. There is lack of evidence of a godly lifestyle.The applicant is found to be under the restorative discipline of another church.
D. Responsibilities of Membership
1. Every member acknowledges only the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and receives the Holy Scriptures as the only infallible and inerrant guide in matters of faith, discipline, and lifestyle. (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; 1 John 2:3-6)
2. Every member of the church is responsible to willingly submit to the leadership of the Council of Elders, to regularly attend church assemblies, to work for the spiritual growth of the church, to fittingly represent the Lord and the church in the community, and to contribute regularly for the work of the church both locally and in its outreach ministry.
3. Members shall hold their pastors, elders, and deacons in high esteem, pray for them and the other officers of the church, and assist them in properly carrying out the ministry and outreach of the church (1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 6:19-20).
4. Members shall endeavor to preserve the unity of the church and, if at any time they find themselves opposed to the fundamental doctrines and/or practices of this church they shall not seek to disrupt its unity and fellowship. They shall seek resolution of such differences by private discussion with only the Council of Elders, and if the differences are irresolvable, they shall quietly withdraw from its membership. (Ephesians 4:3-6)
5. Members of this church have no property rights and upon termination of membership shall be entitled to no interest in the assets.
Article VII – Church Discipline Any member or regular attender of the church (referred to in this article as “the individual”) who shall be found in purposeful and unrepentant sin shall be subject to dismissal according to Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.
Before such dismissal occurs the process leading to restoration should be followed:
1. A fellow believer in the church who has personal and confirmed knowledge of the individual’s sin shall go privately to him and confront him with his sin. He shall urge the individual to repent of his sin so that he might be restored spiritually.
2. If the fellow believer sees that the individual has not repented and continues in his sin, then the fellow believer shall again go to the individual in private bringing with him two or three witnesses to confirm his words. In front of the witnesses he shall again confront the individual with his sin and urge him to repent so that he might be restored spiritually.
3. If the fellow believer sees that the individual refuses even this warning to repent and continues in his sin, then he shall take the matter before the Council of Elders so that they might work to bring the individual to repentance and restoration.
4. If the individual persists in his sin beyond the involvement of the Council of Elders then the pastor shall publicly rebuke the individual and place him under church discipline. The individual shall be dismissed from church fellowship, shall no longer enjoy voting or other benefits of church membership, and shall remain so until he repents of his sin and seeks to be restored spiritually.
Since the goal and purpose of church discipline is repentance and spiritual restoration (2 Corinthians 2:5-11), the individual may return to the church if at any time he repents of his sin, seeks proper restoration, and submits himself again to the authority of God and the Council of Elders. The process of restoration of a disciplined church member or regular attender shall be the responsibility of the Council of Elders.
Article VIII – Senior Pastor A. Calling of the Senior Pastor.
1. The Council of Elders shall bear responsibility for identifying a candidate for the position of senior pastor.
2. The Council of Elders may seek the aid or advice of members concerning the process or may request that selected members serve on a pastoral search committee.
3. The prospective senior pastor must meet the biblical qualifications of an elder as defined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
4. No more than one man at a time may be presented to the church as a candidate for senior pastor.
5. An affirmative vote of three-fourths of a quorum of the membership present at a special member meeting shall be required to call the senior pastor.
B. Requirements of the senior pastor:
1. He will serve for an indefinite period of time.
2. He will be an active member of the Council of Elders and shall serve as the moderator of that council.
3. He will bear responsibility for the oversight of all paid and volunteer staff.
4. He is responsible to preach and to teach in the regular meetings of the church; and with the Council of Elders, will work diligently to guard the doctrinal integrity and unity of the church.
Article IX – Council of Elders A. Requirements of the Council of Elders
1. The Council of Elders shall be comprised of the senior pastor and a minimum of two other elders. In the event that there are fewer than three members of the Council of Elders due to disability, death, resignation, or removal of an elder, the remaining members of the Council of Elders will carry out the process of selecting addtional elders as defined in SEction C of this Article.
2. Provided there are qualified men, there shall always be at least one elder for every additional fifty members or regular attendees.
3. As often as possible, the Council of Elders shall meet twice monthly to discuss church business.
4. The Council of Elders shall bear responsibility for the hiring and termination of all paid and volunteer staff members.
5. All resolutions of the Council of Elders must be passed unanimously by a quorum present at a meeting. Seventy-five percent of the members of the Council of Elders shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of Church business at any meeting of the Council of Elders.
6. The elders will maintain confidentiality with regard to the subjects discussed during meetings unless dissemination of specific information to others is approved by an act of the Council of Elders in advance.
B. Qualifications of an Elder
1. An elder, other than the senior pastor, must be a member of the church for at least 1 year.
2. An elder must meet the qualifications described in both 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9
C. Appointment of an Elder
1. Church members will be notified as to how many additional elders are needed. During a designated two week period, members may submit nominations for elder(s) in writing to the Council of Elders. The number of nominations submitted by an individual member should not exceed the number of additional elders required.
2. The Council of Elders will prayerfully consider which candidate(s) should fill the need according to God’s leading.
3. The Council of Elders shall then interview the selected candidate(s) concerning the possibility of serving as elder(s).
4. When the required number of elder positions has been filled by consenting candidate(s), the candidate(s) will be presented to the church.
5. Church members will be given two weeks to express any concern regarding the newly selected elder(s). All concerns will be handled prayerfully, quickly, discreetly, and appropriately by the Council of Elders.
6. After the two week period, and after having resolved any concerns, the new elder(s) having been affirmed by a three-quarters vote of the congregation will become active members of the Council of Elders but will serve in a probationary status for six months.
7. Elders shall serve for an indefinite period of time.
D. Removal of an Elder
An elder may be removed from the Council of Elders if:
1. He resigns his position.
2. He withdraws his membership from the church.
3. He is in the process of being disciplined by the church as defined in Article VII above.
Article X – Church Business Meetings
A. Business Meetings
1. The senior pastor shall serve as the moderator. In the event the senior pastor is unavailable or otherwise unable to serve as moderator, the Council of Elders shall appoint an elder to serve in that role.
2. Roberts Rules of Order will be used as a guide in business meetings, but the moderator may make such rulings as necessary to expedite a meeting.
3. At all meetings of the members, whether regular or special, the members present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
4. The Council of Elders shall ask a church clerk to take the minutes of business meetings.
5. Each year a business meeting shall be held on the first or second Sunday in December. Reports on business and activities of the past year shall be presented as well as a budget report for the current year. The budget for the upcoming year shall be presented and voted on by the church members.
6. The Council of Elders may call for a special business meeting any time an issue requires the approval of the church members.
a. Members may request by verbal petition to the Council of Elders at a regularly scheduled Elders’ meeting that a special business meeting be conducted. The decision to conduct such a meeting will be at the discretion of the Council of Elders.
b. Members must be given two weeks notice prior to this meeting.
B. Issues requiring special meetings are as follows:
1. Changes and/or amendments made to these by-laws. At the time of notice regarding the special business meeting to amend this document, copies must be made available to the church members for their review.
2. The call or dismissal of the senior pastor.
3. The affirmation or dismissal of an elder.
4. Property purchase, sale, or building expansion.
C. Voting 1. Only members may vote at church business meetings.
2. Inactive members shall have no voting privileges.
3. Members removed from fellowship for restorative discipline shall have no voting privileges.
4. Votes shall be taken verbally unless a member calls for a stand-up vote to be taken. Stand-up votes shall be counted by two elders.
5. A three-quarters majority rule of members present is required to pass each proposal at a church business meeting.
6. Each member entitled to vote with respect to the subject matter of an issue submitted to the members shall be entitled to one vote upon each such issue.
Article XI – Finances A. Finances necessary for supporting the vision of PFBC shall be obtained through voluntary offerings and from income derived from church owned investments and/or capital reserves.
Additional appeals for funds, budgeted or non-budgeted, may be made as deemed advisable by the Council of Elders. Church-approved programs will be financed out of the treasury of the church.
B. This church shall have the power to buy, sell, receive, acquire, hold, possess, manage, dispose of, and convey such real and personal property which it has now or may hereafter acquire for the use and benefit of the church or institutions which the church may own, maintain, or operate. 44th Avenue Baptist Church shall trust God to supply its needs and will therefore never borrow, mortgage, or in any way accumulate financial debt. (Philippians 4:19; Romans 13:8; Exodus 25:1-9; Exodus 35:4-29; 2 Chronicles 24:8-14)
Article XII – Ordaining and Licensing It is the privilege of the church to ordain qualified men to the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ordination shall be granted by approval of the Council of Elders upon recommendation of the Ordination Council (appointed by the Council of Elders) following the careful examination of the candidate.
License to preach shall be granted to any man who is qualified to preach, recognized by the congregation, and approved by the Council of Elders.
Article XIII – Officers
A. Number and Qualifications: The officers of the church shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Moderator, each of whom, with the exception of the Moderator, shall be elected by the Council of Elders. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer will be selected from among the members of the Council of Elders. Other officers and assistant officers may be elected or appointed by the Council of Elders, such officers and assistant officers to hold office for such period, have such authority and perform such duties as are provided in these Bylaws or as may be provided by resolution of the Council of Elders. These additional officers may or may not be Elders. Any officer may be assigned by the Council of Elders any additional title that the Council of Elders deems appropriate. Any two (2) or more offices may be held by the same person, and may be held by an Elder, except the offices of President and Secretary which must be held by separate individuals.
B. Election and Term of Office: With the exception of the Moderator who shall serve without annual election until unable to serve according to the terms of either Article IX.A.1 or Article IX.D above, the officers of the church shall be elected at an annual meeting of the Council of Elders at a regularly scheduled meeting for such purpose. Unless an officer dies, resigns, or is removed from office, he shall hold office until the next annual meeting of the Council of Elders or until his successor is elected.
C. Resignation: Any officer may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the President, the Vice President, the Secretary or the Council of Elders, or by giving oral or written notice at any time to the Council of Elders. Any such resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, or if the time is not specified, upon delivery thereof and, unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
D. Removal: Any officer or agent elected or appointed by the Council of Elders may be removed from office by the Council of Elders whenever in its judgment the best interests of the church would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.
E. Vacancies: A vacancy in any office created by the death, resignation, removal, disqualification, creation of a new office or any other cause may be filled by the Council of Elders for the unexpired portion of the term or for a new term established by the Council of Elders.
F. President: The President shall be the chief executive officer of the church, and, subject to the Council of Elder’s control, shall supervise and control all of the assets, business and affairs of the church. The President may sign deeds, contracts, or other instruments, except when the signing and execution thereof have been expressly delegated by the Council of Elders or these Bylaws to some other officer or agent of the church or are required by law to be otherwise signed or executed by some other officer or in some other manner. In general, the President shall perform all duties incident to the office of President and such other duties as are assigned to him by the Council of Elders from time to time.
G. Vice President: In the event of the death of the President or his inability to act, the Vice President shall perform the duties of the President, except as may be limited by resolution of the Council of Elders, with all the powers of and subject to all restrictions upon the President. The Vice President shall have, to the extent authorized by the President or the Council of Elders, the same powers as the President to sign deeds, contracts or other instruments. The Vice President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by the President or the Council of Elders.
H. Secretary: The Secretary shall: (a) keep the minutes of meetings of the members and the Council of Elders, and minutes which may be maintained by committees of the Council of Elders; (b) see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws or as required by law; (c) be custodian of the corporate records of the church; (d) keep records of the post office address of each officer; (e) sign with the President, or other officer authorized by the President or the Council of Elders, deeds, contracts, or other instruments; and (f) in general perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by the President or the Council of Elders.
I. Treasurer: If requested by the Council of Elders, the Treasurer shall give a bond for the faithful discharge of his duties in such amount and with such surety or sureties as the Council of Elders may determine. The Treasurer shall have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the church; receive and give receipts for moneys due and payable to the church from any source whatsoever, and deposit all such moneys in the name of the church in banks, trust companies or other depositories selected in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws; and in general perform all of the duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by the President or the Council of Elders.
J. Moderator: The Senior Pastor shall be the Moderator of the Church. The Moderator shall preside over the meetings of the Council of Elders as specified in Article VIII B.2. above and over Business Meetings as specified in Article X.A.1 above. In the event that the position of Senior Pastor is vacant, or the Senior Pastor is not available to serve as Moderator, or the Senior Pastor is the subject of Article IX.D.3 above, the Council of Elders will appoint an elder to serve as Moderator.
Article XIV – Administrative Provisions
A. Books and Records: The church shall keep at its principal or registered office copies of its current Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws; correct and adequate records of accounts and finances; minutes of the proceedings of its members and Council of Elders, and any minutes which may be maintained by committees of the Council of Elders; records of the name and address and class, if applicable, of each member and Elder, and of the name and post office address of each officer; and such other records as may be necessary or advisable. All books and records of the church shall be open at any reasonable time to inspection by any member of at least three months standing or to a representative of more than five percent of the church membership.
B. Accounting Year: The accounting year of the church shall be twelve months ending December 31st.
