I. MEMBERSHIP

1. General: Membership of this church shall consist of all persons who have met the qualifications for membership and received affirmation by the attending members at the time of their presentation.

2. Qualifications for Membership
Individuals presenting for church membership must meet the following qualifications:
(1) A personal commitment of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
(2) Baptism by immersion as a testimony of salvation.
(3) Completion of the Church's New Members Orientation.
(4) Commitment to the membership covenant and responsibilities.

Those individuals presenting for baptism shall be scheduled as soon as possible.Adult Membership Orientation is held primarily during Sunday morning Bible study, but may be held at other times as necessary.The Membership Orientation will be tailored by the pastoral staff for group or individual experience.Children and youth Membership Orientation will be held as determined by pastoral staff policy.

3. Membership Presentation
Candidates shall be presented to the Church for membership at any regularly scheduled worship service in one of the following ways:
(1) By profession of faith and for baptism.
(2) By promise of letter of recommendation from another Baptist Church.
(3) Upon statement of prior conversion experience and baptism in a church of like faith and order.

Should there be any dissent as to any candidate, such dissent shall be referred to the senior pastor and the deacons for investigation.The deacons and the senior pastor shall make a recommendation to the church within thirty days.

4. Responsibilities of Membership

(1) Responsibilities of Members are described in the Membership Covenant as follows:
Having received Christ as my Lord and Savior, having been baptized, and being in agreement with the mission of this church, I now feel led to unite with the First Baptist Church family. In doing so, I dedicate myself to GROW as a believer and church member by doing the following:

I will support and encourage the Growth of the church by praying for its expansion, by inviting the unchurched to attend, by warmly welcoming those who visit. (1 Thessalonians 1: 1-2; Luke 14:23; Romans 15:7)

I will support and encourage the Reputation of the Church by attending faithfully, by living a godly life, by giving regularly. (Hebrews 10:25; Philippians 1:27, Corinthians 16:2, Leviticus 27:30)

I will support and encourage the Oneness of the Church by acting in love towards other members, by refusing to gossip, and by supporting the leaders. (1 Peter 1:22; Ephesians 4:9; Hebrews 13:17)

I will support and encourage the Work of the church by discovering my gifts and talents, by being equipped to serve and developing a servant's heart. (1 Peter 4:10, Ephesians 4:11-12, Philippians 2:3, 7)

Study God's word through the Sunday School (Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:42; II Timothy 3:16)
Establish a daily time alone with God (1 Corinthians 1:9; Joshua 1:8, Mark 1:35)
Recognize my spiritual gifts for ministry (I Peter 4:10; Romans 12:6-8; II Corinthians 12:9)
Volunteer my service to a ministry team (Mark 10:45; Colossians 3:23-24; Mark 6:7)
Equip myself for effective ministry (Psalm 143:10, 1 Timothy 4:7-8; 11 Timothy 3:16-17)

5. Voting Privileges
Members 16 years or older that have completed requirements for membership shall have the right to vote in all elections and upon all matters presented to the church in conference provided the member is present.

6.Church Discipline
Church discipline will be done in love with the goal of restoring and not condemning members.The first step of church discipline is to approach the individual directly concerning the issue.If the individual is not restored, the next step is to ask deacon leadership for assistance approaching the individual a second time.Additional steps in accordance with Matthew 18:15-17 will be handled by the deacon leadership.

7. Termination of Membership
Members shall be removed from the church roll for the following reasons:
(1) Death
(2) Transfer of membership to another church.
(3) By personal request of the member or legal guardian of the member.
(4) By church discipline according to the following conditions:
            (a) The member's life and conduct is not in accordance with the membership covenant in such a way that it hinders the ministry and influence of the church in the community
            (b) Every reasonable measure has been taken through counsel and guidance to assist the troubled member.
            (c) Procedures for the dismissal of a member shall be according to Matthew 18:15-17.

This church is a staff-led church.The purpose of the pastoral staff is to equip the saints. The responsibility of church leaders is to assist the staff to help the church fulfill the great commission.

Church leaders include pastoral staff and all elected positions and deacons, Ministry Support Council members, standing committee members, ministry team leaders and bible study leaders.All Church leaders shall be church members and at least 18 years old. Members may not serve in any of the two simultaneously:active deacon, an at large Ministry Support Council member or standing committee member.

Ministry Team leaders include leaders of church-wide ministries, including but not limited to women’s ministry team leader, men’s ministry team leader, Sunday School Director, AWANA Commander and other church-wide ministries.

The responsibilities of a church leader are described in the Leadership Covenant as follows:

Having made the commitment to GROW and to SERVE First Baptist Church, I dedicate myself to LEAD those believers to whom I have been entrusted for the building up of God's kingdom through the accomplishment of His purposes for our Church, relying on Christ's strength in me, I commit to:

Live under the Lordship of Christ: In purpose (Matthew 27:19-20), in faith (John 14:12), and in humility (Mark 10: 35-45).
Equip others/or life and ministry: Through encouragement (1 Thessalonians 5:11), through instruction (Titus 2:7-8), through intercession (Ephesians 6:18). 
Attend ministry planning meetings: For direction (Proverbs 19:18), for planning (Ephesians 4:16), for training {II Timothy 3:17).
Demonstrate Christian commitment: By my attendance (II Thessalonians 3:7-9), by my witness (Acts 1:8), by my giving (Malachi 3:10).

III. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

1. General
The Chairperson of the Ministry Support Council shall act as moderator of all membership meetings. In the absence of the Ministry Support Council Chairperson, the Vice-chairperson of the Ministry Support Council shall preside. In his absence, the Chairperson shall appoint a substitute to preside. The Ministry Support Council Secretary shall keep, in a suitable book, a record of all the actions of the Church.The current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order will be used to guide church parliamentary procedure.

2. Regular Membership Meetings
A regular meeting of members will be conducted monthly. Regular membership meetings may be canceled or postponed if necessary by the decision of the Senior Pastor (or acting Senior Pastor) and the Ministry Support Council or the Ministry Support Council alone if the Senior Pastor position is vacant.Regular meetings shall occur during or after Sunday evening worship services.

The Finance Secretary shall submit a report of receipts and disbursements to the Finance Committee for presentation at each regular membership meeting. An annual audit of the church’s financial records shall be conducted by an independent agency and a report made to the church.

3. Special Membership Meetings
A special membership meeting may be held to consider special matters of a significant nature. It may be called only by the Senior Pastor or the Ministry Support Council.A one-week notice for the subject, date, time, and location must be given for the meeting.A called meeting shall primarily occur during or after Sunday evening worship services.The Ministry Support Council may call a special membership meeting at other times in exceptional or urgent circumstances.

4. Quorum
The members present and voting at a meeting duly notified and called shall constitute a quorum of membership for the transaction of business.

5.Voting Procedures
Each church vote will be by hand vote, ballot or verbal affirmation.If by ballot, members must stand to affirm their membership and receive a ballot.Each vote will be preceded by a statement indicating the requirements of membership and voting privileges.Any member may request a hand vote count or ballot vote if a verbal affirmation vote is in question.

IV. CHURCH OFFICERS

1. Senior and Associate Pastors

The Senior Pastor is responsible for leading the church to fulfill its mission and accomplish its purposes. He shall serve as leader of the Church and be a non-voting staff advisor to the Ministry Support Council, each Church committee and deacons.

If the Senior Pastor position becomes vacant, a pastor search committee shall be nominated by the Ministry Support Council and approved by the Church. The committee shall bring to the consideration of the Church only one prospective Senior Pastor at a time.

The Associate Pastors are responsible by assignment from the Senior Pastor to assist in leading the Church to fulfill its mission and accomplish its purposes.

An Associate Pastor shall be chosen or called by the church whenever a vacancy occurs.A new Associate Pastor position is created by the recommendation of the Senior Pastor, Ministry Support Council and the Staff Support Committee.To fill a vacancy for an established position or for a new position, a search committee shall be nominated by the Ministry Support Council and approved by the Church.The committee shall bring to the consideration of the Church only one prospective Associate Pastor at a time.

All elections for pastors shall be by ballot, an affirmative vote of three-fourths of votes cast being necessary for a call.

A pastor shall serve until the relationship is terminated by his request or by that of the Church.

2. Deacons

Active Deacons are responsible for assisting the Senior Pastor in leading the church to fulfill its mission and accomplish its purposes. They will assume specific responsibilities as recommended by the Senior Pastor and approved by majority of the active deacons.

There shall be a specified number of active deacons such as determined by the Church, and they shall serve on a rotation basis. Each year the term of office of one-third of the number of deacons shall expire and election shall be held to fill the vacancies. Upon serving a term of three years, a deacon shall be eligible for re-election only after the lapse of at least one year.

4. Trustees
Three trustees shall be affirmed annually by the church, upon recommendation of the Ministry Support Council.The trustees shall hold in trust the church property. They shall have no power to buy, sell, mortgage, lease or transfer any real estate without specific vote of the Church authorizing such action. It shall be the function of the trustees to affix their signatures to legal documents involving the sale, mortgage, purchase or rental of property or legal documents where trustee signatures are required.

5. Administrative Leadership and Committees
Overall administrative leadership is provided by the Ministry Support Council.In addition, there shall be four standing committees:

(1) Staff Support Committee
(2) Financial Stewardship Committee
(3) Church Properties Committee.
(4) Nominating Committee.

The general responsibility of the four standing committees is to assist the Senior Pastor and Associate Pastor appointed by the senior pastor in the administration of the Church. Their specific duties and responsibilities are outlined in the Committee Handbook.

The financial stewardship committee and the nominating committee shall have six members. The church properties committee and staff support commit shall have nine members.Each year the term of office of one-third of the number of committee members shall expire and an election shall be held to fill the vacancies. Upon serving a term of three years, a committee member shall be eligible for re-election only after the lapse of one year.

V. ELECTION PROCESS

1.Frequency and Administration
Each year the members of First Baptist Church of Cabot have the opportunity to elect members to serve as deacons, Ministry Support Council members and church committee members. This will be carried out by church members completing an election form. The Nominating Committee oversees the election of church leaders.

3.Vote Counting Procedure
The Nominating Committee will rank those individuals receiving the most votes, indicating a willingness to serve and meeting qualifications of the position, from highest to lowest.Those individuals with the highest ranking are elected and presented to the church for affirmation.If a member receives one of the highest rankings for more than one church leadership position, the Nominating Committee will consult with the individual concerning his or her wishes and consider the individual’s gifts/talents/qualifications to determine where the individual will serve.

4.Qualifications
Qualifications will be verified by survey answers and personal knowledge presented to the Nominating Committee concerning candidate qualifications.Qualifications for the at large Ministry Support Council and committee members will be on the election form. Qualifications for Deacons are found in 1Timothy 3: 8-13. Members must be in good standing for one year before being eligible to serve on the Ministry Support Council, any committees, or as active deacons.

5.Replacement Procedures
In cases of death, resignation, or removal, the Nominating committee will present a new committee member, deacon or Ministry Support Council member to the church for affirmation to serve the remainder of the term.The Nominating committee will use the most recent election and qualification forms to determine Ministry Support Council members, committee members or deacons presented to serve the remainder of the term.

VI. POSITIONS OF TRUST
The Finance Secretary and any staff member appointed to a position of fiscal trust shall be bonded by the Church as decided by the Ministry Support Council.

VII. AMENDMENTS
Changes in this constitution and by-laws may be made at any regular membership meeting of the church, provided each amendment shall have been presented in writing at a previous membership meeting, and copies of the proposed amendment be furnished to each member present. A proposed amendment must be submitted to a vote not later than the third subsequent regular membership meeting or it will expire and must be resubmitted.Amendments to the Constitution shall be by two-thirds vote of all members present and entitled to vote; amendments to the by-laws shall have a concurrence of a majority of the Members present and voting.