Article I. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION A. Lead Pastor
The Lead Pastor shall be considered as the spiritual overseer of the church and shall direct all its activities. He shall be the president of the corporation and shall act as chairman of all the business meetings of the church and of the Official Board. He shall be an ex officio member of all committees or departments. He shall provide for all the services of the church and shall arrange for all special meetings, conventions, or revival campaigns. No person shall be invited to speak or preach in the church without his approval. The Lead Pastor shall also be responsible for the hiring and dismissal of Senior/Administrative Personnel with approval from the Official Board as it relates to finances.
SECTION B. Official Board
a. The Official Board shall receive, examine, and act on applications for partnership as submitted by the Lead Pastor and in the administration of the discipline of partners.
b. It shall serve the church in carrying out the details of its business, compiling an annual budget, an annual financial statement to partners, authorizing payment of bills submitted to it, and providing for an audit of the books annually.
c. It shall perform any other duties specified in the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws or as are normally required of the Official Board.
d. If the church is temporarily without a Lead Pastor, the Official Board shall be empowered to transact the business of the church under the acting chairmanship of the Vice Chairman.
e. A majority present at any meeting of the Official Board shall constitute a quorum, provided all partners have been duly notified.
f. The Official Board shall oversee the development and maintenance of a written set of policies and procedures for orderly operation of the church which shall be reviewed and revised on a regular basis.
SECTION C. The Secretary
The Secretary shall keep or be responsible for the minutes of the official meetings of the Official Board and of the annual and special business meetings of the church. The Secretary shall be in possession of the corporate seal.
Article II. ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES
SECTION A. Lead Pastor
The Lead Pastor shall be elected to serve for an indefinite period of time. Election shall be by secret ballot and a two-thirds majority vote of all votes cast shall be required to constitute an election.
SECTION B. President
The Lead Pastor shall serve the corporation as President.
SECTION C. Other Officers
The Secretary, and the Treasurer shall be selected annually by the Official Board from its partnership.
SECTION D. The Official Board
a. The Official Board shall be chosen from the Partnership of the church. A committee composed of three persons from the continuing members of the Official Board and no less than three Partners, appointed by the Official Board, shall meet at the conclusion of the nominating period and compile a list of nominees. Opportunity shall be given by the congregation to submit names to the nominating committee. Nominations will be closed four weeks prior to the annual business meeting. The committee shall present a list of names approved by the Lead Pastor as nominees to the church at the annual business meeting. The members of the Official Board shall be elected by a majority vote on a secret ballot.
b. Nominees for the Official Board shall be persons who meet the Scriptural requirements recorded in Romans 12:3-8 and I Samuel 16:7. They shall be twenty-one or more years of age and shall be Partners of the church for two or more years.
c. Limitations: No person shall be eligible to serve as a Church Board Member while serving as a Celebration Church staff member or while another immediate family member (defined as parent, child, sibling, grandparent and grandchild, and shall also include such relationships through marriage) is serving as a Church Board Member.
d. The Official Board shall be elected for a three-year term and shall be eligible for re-election for a second three-year term. After serving 2 consecutive terms, the Board member shall be ineligible for re-election for a period of one year. Terms of Office shall be rotated so that not more than one-third of the Board partners are elected in a given year.
SECTION E. Vacancies
a. When there is a vacancy in the Lead Pastorate, the Official Board, in consultation with the Minnesota District Superintendent, shall serve as the Pulpit Committee. They shall interview candidates and present one candidate to the congregation for election.
b. The Lead Pastor. Should serious charges be brought against the Lead Pastor, or should his ministry cease to be effective, power is vested in the Official Board to ask for his resignation at any of its business meetings. If resignation is refused, the Pastorate will not be considered vacant until the action of the Official Board has been confirmed by majority vote of partners present at a meeting called for that purpose; such meeting will be presided over by Minnesota District Officials. When a vacancy in the Lead Pastorate occurs, the Official Board will arrange for an interim Lead Pastor until a Lead Pastor is chosen. If a Lead Pastor is removed from office, a report of such action will be made to the Minnesota District Office.
c. Other Offices. Any other Official Board office may be declared vacant by majority vote of the Official Board at any of its business meetings. Grounds for such action may be unscriptural conduct, departure from the Tenets of Faith, incompetency in office, or any good and sufficient cause. Any person removed from office shall have opportunity for a fair and impartial hearing of their case before the full Official Board, if they so desire.
d. In the event a vacancy shall occur within the Official Board (other than that of the Lead Pastor), by reason of resignation, removal from office, or for any other cause, the Official Board shall be empowered to choose a replacement who shall serve until the next annual business meeting.
Article III. PARTNERSHIP (MEMBERSHIP)
SECTION A. Standards of Partners
All persons who have attained at least eighteen (18) years of age and comply with the following standards shall be considered Partners of Celebration Church:
a. Believer - Profession of a genuine experience in regeneration (new birth) (Romans 10:9-10).
b. Attender - Regular and consistent attendance of a Celebration Church corporate worship service. (Hebrews 10:25)
c. Giver - A Biblical tithe and support of ministries through offerings. (Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 23:23)
d. Server - Every believer is a minister and every minister must have a ministry. (Matthew 25:14-30; Romans 12:1; I Corinthians 12)
SECTION B. Reception of Partners
a. Persons desiring to become Partners of the church shall complete and sign an authorized Partnership application card. This card may be submitted to any pastor or the church office who will forward it to the office of the Lead Pastor. The Lead Pastor or his designee shall have the applicant and/or application examined for adherence to the standards of Partnership.
b. All persons who shall have met the Partnership requirements shall be received into the church publicly at any of the regular Sunday services and their names inscribed on the roster.
SECTION C. Partnership Classification
a. Active Voting Partner. Active Voting Partnership in this church shall be open to all those who meet the standards of Partnership specified in Article III, Section A.
b. Pastor and Spouse. By virtue of office, a Pastor shall be considered an Active Voting Partner of the church during their tenure. The Pastor’s Spouse shall become an active voting partner simultaneously with the Pastor subject to Article III, Section I.
c. Transfer Partners. A member in good standing of another Assemblies of God Church, who satisfies the standards for Partnership specified in Article III, Section A, may apply for Partnership by submitting a letter of transfer from the Pastor of the church, upon the approval of a majority of the Official Board.
d. Inactive Partnership. Active Voting Partners who shall without good cause cease to comply with the Standards of Partnership as defined under Article III, Section A for a period of three consecutive months, may be declared inactive Partners or removed from Partnership by a majority vote of the Official Board, and thereupon shall lose their voting privileges or Partnership until they are restored to the fellowship, their standing to be settled by the action of the church through the Official Board.
SECTION D. Meetings
a. The annual business meeting shall be held no later than April 30 each year at such time and place as the Church Board shall decide, for the selection of officers as well as other matters pertaining to the business of the church. Notice of the date, time, and place of the annual business meeting shall be made during regular worship services for two (2) consecutive weeks directly preceding such meeting.
b. Special business meetings may be called by the Pastor, the Church Board, or at least fifty (50) Partners with voting rights or ten percent (10%) of the Partners with voting rights, whichever is less, who sign a petition and place it in the hands of the Pastor, Treasurer or Secretary of the Church Board. Special meetings called by petition must be conducted no later than ninety (90) days from its receipt. Notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the special business meeting shall be made during regular worship services for two (2) consecutive weeks directly preceding such meeting. No business other than that specified in the notice of the meeting shall be transacted at any special business meeting of the church. No more than one petition on a given subject shall be recognized in any twelve (12) month period.
c. Quorum. The active voting partners of the church present at a business meeting shall constitute a quorum.
d. The business of the church shall be decided by a majority of the voting partners present and voting at any of its regular or special meetings except as specified herein.
e. Business meetings of the church shall be governed by the acceptable rules of parliamentary procedure in keeping with the spirit of Christian love and fellowship.
SECTION E. Discipline
a. Grounds. Ongoing sin in the life of a believer obstructs his/her walk with the Lord, threatens the unity and fellowship within the body, and ultimately weakens the witness of the church among non-believers (II Corinthians 6: 3; I John 1: 7). Scripture therefore encourages believers to be concerned with each other’s spiritual well-being, and teaches them to confront, in love, where there is evidence of sin (Luke 17: 3). Discipline is an exercise of spiritual responsibility and authority of the church (Matthew 16: 19; 18: 15-20; Luke 17: 3; John 20: 23; Acts 16: 4; Ephesians 5: 11; 1 Timothy 5: 20; 2 Timothy 4: 2; Hebrews 13: 17). The purpose of discipline is to promote repentance and restoration through exposing sinful behavior. It is to be redemptive in nature as well as corrective. Any partner of the church is subject to discipline on the basis of unscriptural conduct or doctrinal departure from the Tenets of Faith of this assembly, as determined in the sole discretion of the Church Board.
b. Procedure. Scripture teaches that confrontation should be approached and carried out with an attitude of love, concern and humility, and should be motivated by the sincere desire to see repentance and restoration of fellowship. Reflecting God’s grace and forgiveness, believers are taught to be quick to forgive when there is the genuine expression of repentance on the part of a fellow believer. (Matthew 6: 14, 15; Matthew 18: 21ff; Luke 17: 3; Galatians 6: 1; Ephesians 4: 32)
1. Matthew 18: 15-17 provides us with a template of how to handle spiritual discipline:
(a) If one has knowledge of ongoing sin in the life of a fellow believer, he should go promptly and confront the individual in private (Matthew 18: 15).
(b) If there is no expression of repentance, he should reprove the individual in the presence of two or three witnesses (Matthew 18: 16).
(c) If there is still no repentance, Scripture teaches that the matter should be brought before the church. In our church structure, the matter should at this point be
brought before the Church Board as representatives of the church (Matthew 18: 17).
(d) If there is no evidence of genuine repentance after confrontation by the Church Board, the Pastor shall inform the congregation (Matthew 18: 17; II John 7-11).
(e) If there is still no evidence of repentance, Scripture teaches that the individual should be removed from the body and believers should break fellowship with them, until such time as there is genuine repentance (I Corinthians 5: 11; II Thessalonians 3: 6; II Thessalonians 3: 14-15; Titus 3: 10, 11).
There are cases where the actions of a person under discipline can cause harm to other people. When, in the opinion of the Board, this type of situation exists, disciplinary action does not cease even if a person withdraws his/her Partnership or attendance at this church. In those cases, the Pastor and Board have a moral
responsibility to the Church of Jesus Christ at large. As a result of that moral responsibility, the Board may authorize the Pastor to inform the Partners of this church, as well as other pastors and church leaders of the nature of the disciplinary actions in an attempt to protect others from harm.
Lesser disciplinary sanctions may be imposed as appropriate, depending on the circumstances of each case.
NOTE: The same Biblical principles and procedure for confrontation apply in attempting to resolve relational conflicts within the body. In such cases Scripture indicates that it is the responsibility of the believer to go promptly to his/her brother/sister when he has been offended, or when he has reason to believe that he may have done the offending. (Matthew 5: 23, 24; Ephesians 4: 26, 27)
2. Notification of Action by the Church Board. The Board shall notify any Partner being removed in compliance Minnesota Statute 317A.411 which requires:
(a) not less than 15 days' prior written notice of the removal and the reasons for it; and
(b) the Partner shall be given an opportunity to be heard by the Church Board not less than five days before the effective date of the removal. At the discretion of the Church Board this appeal may be made orally or in writing.
3. These Scriptural confrontation principles and procedures may also be applied to non-partners attending the church, at the discretion of the Church Board.
SECTION F.
Partners in good standing, who may wish to sever their relationship with the church, or who may desire to be transferred to some other congregation, may apply to the Lead Pastor for a letter. This letter is to be signed by the Lead Pastor.
Article IV. PROPERTY RIGHTS
SECTION A.
All property, real or personal, shall be taken, held, sold, transferred, or conveyed in the corporate name of the church.
SECTION B. Real Property.
Real property that has been donated to the church may be sold, leased, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of by approval of at least two thirds vote of the Official Board. No other real property of the church shall be sold, leased or mortgaged or otherwise disposed of without the same shall have first been approved by a vote of at least two thirds of the voting Partnership present and voting at a regular meeting or special meeting of the church which has been called for the consideration of the proposal. The Lead Pastor and the Secretary of the church shall certify in such conveyance, lease or mortgage, that the same has been duly authorized and approved by a vote as prescribed above. Such certificate shall be held to be conclusive evidence thereof.
SECTION C. Personal Property.
The Official Board, serving as Trustees, shall on behalf of the church, have the right, power, and authority to acquire personal property by purchase, gift, demise, devise, bequest, or otherwise, and to sell, convey, or otherwise dispose of any personal property.
SECTION D.
The Lead Pastor and the Secretary of the church shall certify in such conveyance, lease, or mortgage, that the same has been duly authorized by the vote of the partnership. Such certificates shall be held to be conclusive evidence thereof.
SECTION E.
In the event that this church ceases to function as a church body, then the said property, real or personal, shall revert to the Minnesota District Of the Assemblies of God, Inc., whose headquarters are located at Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota District Council of the Assemblies of God shall forthwith have full authority to use or dispose of the property at their discretion. In the event of the sale of the property by the Minnesota District Council of the Assemblies of God, the proceeds derived there from, shall be used by the said District Council in the furtherance of the gospel of Christ.
SECTION F.
In the event there shall be a division of the church, all church property shall remain with those who remain with the property.
Article V. AMENDMENTS
The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of Partners present and voting at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose, provided due notice of such proposed change shall have been made at all the services on at least two consecutive Sundays immediately prior to the time of such meeting. It shall be understood that this does not apply to the Tenets of Faith, which stands regardless of majority.
