BYLAWS
OF
GLORY CHINESE BAPTIST CHURCH, INC.
A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

PREAMBLE

 

　　We declare and establish this bylaws to preserve and secure the principles of our faith, and to govern the body in an orderly manner, so that our church Will stand firm in truth, unwavering in our direction, always be the people of faith, hope, and love, for the glory of God and the benefit of men.

ARTICLE   I NAME

 

　　The corporation shall be known as the Glory Chinese Baptist Church, located in the city of Fort Worth, county of Tarrant, state of Texas, the United States of America.

ARTICLE   II OBJECTIVES

 

　　The main objectives of the corporation are as follow:

1. Worship: To be a worshipping fellowship, experiencing the presence of God, and responding in obedience to his, leadership.

2. Missions: To fulfill The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19, 20) given by our Lord Jesus, to bring the gospel to our community as well as to the end of the world, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

3. Edification: To help people experience a growing knowledge of God, to be maturing in his grace, to be a Church whose purpose is to be Christlike in our daily living.

4. Ministry: To be a Church that cares about each other in love and ministers to each other, as well as to our community and society in Jesus’ name.

ARTICLE   III STATEMENT OF FAITH

 

1. The Lord God is a holy trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in glory, the only Creator and Master of the universe.

2. Jesus Christ is the Son in the holy trinity, the Savior of mankind, born of virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit, bore the sin of the world, was crucified and died on the cross, rose up from the dead in three days, ascended to heaven, will return to judge the world.

3. The Holy Spirit is the Counselor to believers, dwells inside them, to inspire, edify, empower, guide and help them.

4. The Holy Bible, all sixty-six books, is the inspired Word of God, without any error, is the basis of Christian faith and living.

5. A person is saved by grace, through faith. Any person who confesses his/her sins, repents, and accepts Jesus as his/her Savior will be saved.

6. The Church is made of a body of baptized, born-again believers.

7. The Church has two ordinances. Baptism and the Lord Supper.

8. Our church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of the“Baptist Faith and Message” as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963.

ARTICLE   IV RELATIONSHIPS

　　The government of this Church is vested in the body of believers who compose it. It is autonomous, subjected to the control of no other ecclesiastical body, but it recognizes and sustains the obligations of mutual counsel and cooperation which are common among Baptist churches. Insofar as practical, this church will cooperate with and support the Southern Baptist Convention.

ARTICLE   V MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. General

　　This is a sovereign and democratic Baptist church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The membership retains unto itself the exclusive right of self-government in all phases of the spiritual and temporal life of this church.

 

　　The membership reserves the exclusive right to determine who shall be members of this church and the conditions of such membership.

 

Section 2. Candidacy

　　Any person may offer himself/herself as a candidate for membership in this church. All such candidates shall be presented to the church at any regular church service for membership in any of the following ways:

 

(1) By profession of faith and for baptism according to the policies of this church.

(2) By promise of a letter of recommendation from another Baptist church.

(3) By restoration upon a statement of prior conversion experience and baptism when no letter is obtainable.

 

　　Should there be any dissent as to any candidate, such dissent shall be referred to the pastor and the deacons for investigation and the making of recommendation to the church within 30 days. A three-fourth vote of those church members present and voting Shall be required to elect such candidates to membership.

 

Section 3. New Member Orientation

　　New church members will be expected to participate in the church’s new member orientation plan.

 

Section 4. Voting Rights of Members

　　Every member of the church is entitled to vote at election and on all questions submitted to the church in conference, provided the member is present in the meeting.

 

Section 5. Termination of Membership

　　Membership shall be terminated in the following ways: (1) death, (2) dismission to another Christian church, (3) exclusion by action of this church.

 

Section 6. Discipline

(1) It shall be the basic purpose of the Glory Chinese Baptist Church to emphasize to its members that every reasonable measure will be taken to assist any troubled member. The pastor and other church leaders are available for counsel and guidance. Redemption rather than punishment should be the guideline which governs the attitude of one member toward another.

(2) Should some serious condition exist which would cause a member to become a liability to the general welfare of the church, every reasonable measure will be taken by the pastor and by other church leaders to resolve the problem. All such proceedings shall be pervaded by a spirit of Christian kindness and forbearance. But, finding that the welfare of the church will be best served by the exclusion of the member, the church may take this action by two-thirds vote of the members present at a meeting called for this purpose; and the church may proceed to declare the offender to be no longer in the membership of the church.

(3) Any person whose membership has been terminated for any condition which has made it necessary for the church to exclude him may upon his request be restored to membership by two-thirds vote of the church upon evidence of his repentance and reformation.

ARTICLE   VI CHURCH OFFICERS

 

　　All church officers must be members of the church. The officers of this church shall be as follows:

 

Section 1. Pastor

　　The pastor is responsible for leading the church to function as a New Testament church. The pastor will lead the congregation, the organizations, and the church staff to perform their tasks.

　　The pastor is leader of pastoral ministries in a church. As such he works with the deacons and the church staff to: (1) lead the church in the achievement of its mission, (2) proclaim the gospel to believers and unbelievers, and (3) care for the church’s members and other persons in the community.

　　A pastor shall be chosen and called by the church whenever a vacancy occurs. His election shall take place at a meeting called for that purpose, of which at least one week’s public notice has been given.

　　A pastor selection committee shall be appointed by the church to seek out a pastor, and its recommendations will constitute a nomination. The committee shall bring to the consideration of the church only one name at a time. Election shall be by ballot, an affirmative vote of three-fourths of those present being necessary for a choice. The pastor, thus elected, shall serve until the relationship is terminated by his request or the church’s request. He shall preside a meetings of the church. The pastor shall give at least two weeks notice at the time of resignation before terminating his responsibilities as pastor.

 

Section 2. Church Staff

　　This church shall call or employ such staff members as the church shall need. A Job description shall be written when the need for staff members is determined. Vocational staff members other than the pastor shall be recommended to the church by the personnel committee and employed by church action. At least two weeks notice at this time of registration be given.

 

Section 3. Deacons

(1) There shall be one deacon for every fifteen church families. Deacons shall be nominated by the pastor and elected at business meetings of the church by ballot.

　　The deacons 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. In case of death or removal or incapacity to serve, the church may elect a deacon to fill the unexpired term.  After serving a term of three years, a deacon shall be eligible for reelection only after the lapse of at least one year. There is no obligation to constitute as an active deacon a person who comes to the church from another church where he has served as deacon.

(2) In accordance With the meaning of the work and the practice of the New Testament, deacons are to be servant of the church. The task of the deacon is to serve with the pastor in performing pastoral ministries tasks: proclaim the gospel to believers and unbelievers; care for church members and other persons in the community; lead the church to achieve its mission.

 

Section 4. Moderator

　　The pastor shall serve as moderator. In the absence of the moderator, the chairman of deacons shall preside; or in the absence of both, the clerk shall call the church to order and an acting moderator shall be elected.

 

Section 5. Clerk

　　The church-elected clerk of the church shall keep in a suitable book a record of all the actions of the church, except as otherwise herein provided. He is responsible for keeping a register of the names of members, with dates of admission, dismission, or death, together with a record of baptism. He shall issue letters of dismission voted by the church, preserve on file all communications of written official reports, and give legal notice of all meetings where such notice is necessary, as indicated in these bylaws. The church may delegate some of the clerical responsibilities to a church secretary. All church record are church property, and should be filed in the church office when an office is maintained.

 

Section 6. Treasurer

　　The church shall elect annually a church treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive, preserve, and pay out, upon receipt of vouchers approved and signed by authorized personnel, all money, or things of value paid or given to the church, keeping at all time an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to render to the church council at each regular church council meeting an itemized report of the receipts and disbursements for the preceding month. The treasurer’s report shall be audited annually by an auditing committee or public accountant.

　　Upon rendering the annual account at the end of each fiscal year, and its acceptance and approval by the church, the records shall be delivered by the treasurer to the church clerk, who shall keep and preserve the account as a part of the permanent records of the church.

 

Section 7. Trustees

　　Three trustees elected by the church will hold in trust the church property. They shall have no power to buy, sell, mortgage, lease, or transfer any property without a specific vote of the church authorizing each 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 other legal documents where the signatures of trustees are required. Trustees shall serve on a rotating basis, with one new trustee being elected every three years.

ARTICLE   VII COMMITTEES AND COORDINATING GROUPS

 

Section 1. General

　　All church committee members shall be recommended by the nominating committee and elected by the church unless Otherwise indicated in the description below. The committee members shall be members of the church with regular standing.

 

Section 2. Church Council

(1) The primary functions of the council shall be to recommend to the congregation suggested objectives and church goals; to review and coordinate program plans recommended by church officers, organizations, and committees; to recommend to the congregation the use of leadership, calendar time, and other resources according to program priorities; and to evaluate program achievements in terms of church goals and objectives.

(2) The council, unless otherwise determined by vote of the church, shall have as regular members the pastor, youth minister, children minister, Sunday school director, and chairman of deacons. Committee chairmen and church-elected officers shall serve as ex-officio members.

(3) All church matters shall be determined by a majority vote of the council, unless otherwise deemed by the church that a members’ meeting needs to be called to determine the issue on hand. The members’ meeting has the final authority to approve or disapprove all church matters.

(4) The council shall meet monthly on a predetermined date.

 

Section 3. Nominating Committee

　　The nominating committee coordinates the staffing of all church leadership positions that are filled by volunteers. The nominating committee recommend persons for all volunteer positions to be elected by the church.

 

Section 4. Personnel Committee

　　The personnel committee assist the church in matters related to personnel administration. Its work includes such areas as determining staff needs, employment, salaries, benefits, and personnel services.

 

Section 5. Properties and Space Committee

　　The properties committee assist the church in matters related to properties administration. Its work includes such area as maintaining all church properties for ready use, recommending policies regarding use of properties, recommending employment of maintenance personnel, and assigning responsibility to appropriate personnel for supervision.

 

Section 6. Stewardship Committee

　　The stewardship committee develops and recommends an overall stewardship information plan and administers the gifts of church members, using sound principles of financial management.

 

Section 7. Missions Committee

　　The missions committee seeks to discover possibilities for local and overseas missions projects, shares findings with church, and serves the church in establishing and conducting such missions projects as may be assigned to it.

 

Section 8. Meal Committee

　　The meal committee is responsible for formulating and maintaining a church lunch program that takes place regularly on each Sunday and other special occasions meal programs.

 

Section 9. Church Ushers

　　The ushers are to greet people as they enter and leave the church, seat people at the proper time, provide bulletins and/or other materials at the time of seating. The ushers will be attentive to the needs of the congregation and the pastor.

ARTICLE   VIII PROGRAM ORGANIZATIONS

 

Section 1. General

　　All organizations of the church shall be under church control, all officers being elected by the church and reporting regularly to the church.

 

Section 2. Sunday School

　　There Shall be a Sunday School, divided into departments and classes for all ages and conducted under the direction of the Sunday School director for the study of God’s Word.

　　The task of the Sunday School shall be to teach the biblical revelation: reach persons for Christ and church membership; perform the functions of the church within its constituency; provide and interpret information regarding the work of the church.

 

Section 3. Church Music Program

　　There shall be a church music program under the direction of the music director. The music tasks shall be to teach music; train persons to lead, sing and play music; provide music in the church and community; provide and interprets information regarding the work of the church.

ARTICLE   IX ORDINANCES

 

Section 1. Baptism

　　A person who receives Jesus Christ as Savior by personal faith; who professes him publicly at any worship service; and who indicates a commitment to follow Christ as Lord, shall be received for baptism.

(1)  Baptism shall be by immersion in water.

(2)  Baptism shall be administered by the pastor or whomever the church shall authorize. The deacons shall assist in the preparation for, and observance of baptism.

(3)  Baptism shall be administered as an act of worship during any worship service.

Section 2. The Lord’s Supper

　　The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine, commemorate the death of Jesus Christ and anticipate his second coming.

(1) The Lord’s Supper shall be observed monthly, preferably the first Sunday of the month, or as otherwise scheduled.

(2) The pastor shall be responsible for the administration of the Lord’s Supper.

(3) The deacons shall be responsible for the physical preparations of the Lord’s Supper.

ARTICLE   X CHURCH MEETINGS

 

Section 1. Worship Services

　　The church shall meet regularly each Sunday morning for preaching, instruction, evangelism, and for the worship of Almighty God. These meetings will be open for the entire membership of the church and for all people and shall be conducted under the direction of the pastor.

 

Section 2. Special Services

　　Prayer meetings, revival services and any other church meetings which will be essential in the promotion of the objectives of the church shall be placed on the church calendar.

 

Section 3. Regular Members’ Meeting

　　Regular member’s meetings shall be held quarterly on a designated Sunday afternoon.

 

Section 4. Special members’ Meetings

　　A specially called member’s meeting may be held to consider special matters of significant nature. A one-week notice of the subject, date, time, and location must be given for the specially called member’s meeting unless extreme urgency renders such notice impracticable.

 

Section 5. Quorum

　　The quorum consists those who attend the member’s meeting, provided it is a stated meeting or one that has been properly called.

 

Section 6. Parliamentary Rules

　　Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, is the authority for parliamentary rules of procedure for all member’s meetings of the church.

 

ARTICLE   XI CHURCH FINANCE

 

Section 1. Budget

　　The Stewardship committee, in consolation with the church council shall prepare and submit to the church for approval an inclusive budget, indicating by items the amount needed and sought for all local and worldwide expenses.

　　It is understood that membership in this church involves financial obligation to support the church and its causes with regular, proportionate gifts. Each new member shall, therefore, be immediately approached by a representative of the church for a pledge to the church’s unified budget; and at least annually, plans shall be put into operation for securing a worthy subscription from each member of the church.

 

Section 2. Accounting Procedures

　　All funds for any and all purposes Shall pass through the hands of the church treasurer, or financial secretary, and be properly recorded on the books of the church.

　　A system of accounting that will adequately provide for the handling of all funds shall be the responsibility of the stewardship committee.

Section 3. Fiscal Year

　　The fiscal year of the church shall run concurrently with the calendar year.

 

ARTICLE   XII AMENDMENTS

 

　　Changes in this bylaws may be made at any regular members’ meeting of the church, provided each amendment shall have been presented in writing one month earlier, and copies of the proposed amendment are made available to each member. Amendments to the constitution shall be by two-thirds vote of all members of the church present entitled to vote; amendments to the bylaws shall have a concurrence of a majority of the members present and voting.

AMENDMENT I (2015)

　　Marriage — Marriage is a biblical institution established by God as described by Scripture.  We believe biblical marriage can only occur between one man and one woman.  This church recognizes that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.  Accordingly, this church’s pastors and staff will not officiate in same-sex unions or same-sex marriages, nor will its property or resources be used for such purposes. ( 婚姻乃上帝設立，為聖經明示所必須恪守的律例。我們相信經訓的婚姻只能存在於一個男人與一個女人之間。本教會確認婚姻是一個男人與一個女人終生信守的聖約。故此，本教會牧師與教牧同工不得主禮同性別婚姻，教會堂產與資源也不得作此用途。 ) ( Amended by Members Meeting on September 20^th, 2015 )

To download PDF file.

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The Church Bylaws was adopted on November 16, 1999
and readopted on February 24, 2013