Statement of Faith
(Included for the guidance of Church Members but not as part of the
Constitution)
Orchard Baptist Church is a member of the Baptist Union, and supports its basis
of faith and practice, which is:
1.
That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the
sole and absolute authority in all matters to do with faith and practice, as
revealed in the Bible, and that each Church has liberty, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2.
That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed
repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for
our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third
day'.
3.
That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
Orchard Baptist Church is affiliated to the Evangelical Alliance and supports its
basis of faith which is:
1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling,
redeeming and judging the world.
3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament
Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith
and conduct.
4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be
holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath
and judgement.
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
CONSTITUTION OF THE ORCHARD BAPTIST CHURCH
5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the
Virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
1.
Name
1.1
The name of the church shall be ‘Orchard’, and the church shall be
affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain, to the Eastern Baptist
Association and to the Evangelical Alliance.
7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his
ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of
the world.
1.2
The trustees of the church buildings and property shall be the Baptist
Union Corporation Ltd.
8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
2
9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us
with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our
witness.
2.1 Membership shall be open to all who have professed repentance toward God,
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour and who have been baptised
as a confession of their faith. Exceptionally, baptism may be waived if in the
opinion of the Pastor/Elders there are good reasons. In such cases a special
report will be submitted to the members. It is expected however that any
applicant will accept the principle of baptism as defined in the statement of
faith appended to the Constitution.
6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the
price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all
believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to
worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God,
who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and
eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.
Notes:
The following should be available from the Church Secretary on request:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Co-ordinators – Areas of Responsibility
The role of the Treasurer and Secretary
The Trust Deeds
Contract of Employment of the Pastor
Membership
2.2 Application for Membership shall be made in the first instance to the
Pastor/Elders. Applicants may be required to attend membership classes
depending upon circumstances which will be taken into account at the time
of application. Following a visit by appointed representatives from the
fellowship a report will be made at the next available Church Meeting, at
which time members will be asked to make a decision. If the application is
accepted, membership will be deemed to commence from the date of that
meeting and will be confirmed publicly at the next available communion
service.
2.3 Responsibilities of Church Members – Church members will endeavour, with
God’s help:
a. To seek to live in a manner consistent with the teaching of Scripture.
Amdt 1 – July 2007
Amdt 2 – March 2009
Amdt 3 – September 2009
b. To place a high priority on cultivating a personal walk with the Lord
which will include prayer, reading God’s Word and witnessing to
others.
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
c. To make attendance at church services, church prayer and business
meetings a priority commitment. To participate regularly in
communion, practical giving, use of gifts and mutual love, seeking to
follow the example of the early church who ‘devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and to prayer’ (Acts 2:42).
d. To pray for and support all who have been called into a position of
leadership (within the fellowship).
2.4 Review of Church Membership
a.
b.
3
3.1 The Pastor(s) and Elders will be responsible for the spiritual oversight of the
fellowship.
3.2 A church council which shall consist of Pastor(s), Elders, Secretary,
Treasurer and others appointed by the church. Their collective responsibility
is the practical and spiritual leadership of the fellowship.
3.3 Co-ordinators appointed to lead specific areas of the work within the
fellowship, as agreed by the members.
The membership list will be regularly reviewed in an effort to ensure
that those included are both able and willing to continue in their
commitment to the fellowship. Any amendment will be subject to a
recommendation to the church meeting.
Members who persistently fail to fulfil the responsibility of their
membership are deemed to have thereby invalidated their
membership and may, after six months, be removed from the
membership roll by the Church Meeting.
3.4 Those who shall be appointed by the Pastor(s) and Elders to lead Home
Groups.
Note: Numbers required under these sections shall be determined by the Church
Meeting, taking into account any relevant factors. In each and every case the
holders of these positions will be church members and should live according to
scriptural principles as laid down in 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9 and 2 Tim 1:6-7.
4
c.
Members who are unable to fully express commitment to the
fellowship as in 2.1c above may, if agreed at the Church Meeting, be
placed on an Associate Members list. Associate Members will not
be able to exercise voting rights. Inclusion on this list will normally
be considered for one of the following reasons although there may
be exceptions:
(1) Infirmity
(2) Long term illness
(3) Residence elsewhere (i.e. missionaries abroad, students at
university).
d.
Leadership Structure – The leadership of the fellowship will be as follows:
4.1
Leadership – Appointments and Qualifications
Pastors
a.
Pastors may be salaried but shall in all cases fulfil the qualifications
required by the Trust Deeds. If the appointee is not on the
accredited list of the BU of Great Britain a waiver from the BU must
be sought prior to appointment.
b.
The nomination for appointment of a Pastor shall be considered by
members upon the recommendation of the church council. Pastors
shall be appointed by the Church Meeting provided that at least 75%
of the members voting in a secret ballot support the nominee. This
appointment shall be without time limit, unless specified in an
individual’s terms and conditions of employment.
c.
A Pastor may be removed from office only if at a Special Church Meeting
at least 75% of the members voting in a secret ballot support the
recommendation. Such removal shall be subject to the Terms and
Conditions contained within the contract of employment issued at the
commencement of the term of office.
Amdt 3 –Sep 2009
The Associate Members List will be reviewed regularly by the
Church Meeting and inclusions/deletions made as appropriate.
e. In cases of discipline the Church Meeting shall receive the
recommendation of the Pastor(s) and Elders without requiring
detailed explanation and discussion.
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
4.2
Elders
d.
a.
Elders must have been church members for at least one year.
b.
Nominations for Eldership shall be made initially by or to the
Pastor(s)/Elders for consideration.
c.
Nominations of new Elders shall be made and announced with at
least two preceding Sundays notice before the Special Church
Meeting at which the vote will be taken by secret ballot.
a.
Elders shall be appointed by the church meeting provided that at
least 75% of the members voting in a secret ballot support the
nominee. Elders shall not remain in office for more than five
years unless reconfirmed by a vote of at least 75% normally at
the Annual General Meeting.
Co-ordinators shall be appointed to be responsible for an area of
ministry which has been identified by the Church Meeting. They
may act singly or may be appointed to head a team dedicated to
the particular ministry.
b.
Co-ordinators should normally have been Church Members for at
least 1 year.
c.
Names of candidates willing to be considered for election to a
Co-ordinator post should be forwarded in writing to the Pastor(s)
and Church Elders, with the name of the nominator and a
seconder, at least one month prior to the date of election. The
Elders will consider each nomination and decide whether to
allow the nomination to go forward to the Church Meeting.
d.
Co-ordinators may be co-opted by the Pastor(s) and Elders as the
need arises. The appointment must, however, be confirmed at
the next available Church Meeting.
e.
Co-ordinators shall be appointed by the Church Meeting
provided that at least 75% of the members voting in a secret
ballot support the nominee. Co-ordinators shall not remain in
office for more than three years unless reconfirmed by a vote of
at least 75%, normally at the Annual General Meeting.
f.
A Co-ordinator shall be removed from office, other than by
resignation, if at a Special Church Meeting convened for the
purpose, at least 75% of the members voting in a secret ballot
support the recommendation.
4.4
d.
e.
4.3
A church council member shall be removed from office, other
than by resignation, if at a Special Church Meeting convened for
the purpose at least 75% of the members voting in a secret ballot
support a motion requiring the individual to be removed from
office.
Co-ordinators
An Elder shall be removed from office, other than by resignation,
if at a Special Church Meeting convened for the purpose at least
75% of the members voting in a secret ballot support the
recommendation.
Church Council/Leadership Team
a.
All church council members must have been Church Members
for at least one year.
b.
Church council members may be co-opted by the Pastor(s) and
Elders as the need arises. The appointment must, however, be
confirmed at the next available Church Meeting. Nominations
should be received at least fourteen days before the next
available Church Meeting as and when a vacancy arises.
Appointments may be for variable terms but not longer than
three years.
c.
Church council members shall be appointed by the Church
Meeting provided that they gain the support of at least 75% of
the members voting in a secret ballot. They shall not remain in
office for more than three years unless reconfirmed by a vote of
at least 75% normally at the Annual General Meeting.
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
5.
Church Meetings
6.
Organisations and Groups within the Church
5.1
Members of the church will convene for Church Meetings to seek
prayerfully to discern the will of the Lord in matters of church policy,
strategy and membership.
6.1
The Pastor(s) and Elders are entitled to attend any meeting of the
organisations and groups of the church.
5.2
Church meetings shall be convened not less than four times in each year.
One of these shall be the Annual General Meeting. An agenda shall be
available no later than the Sunday preceding the church meeting. Unless
otherwise stated church meetings shall be open to members and nonmembers alike. Minutes shall be kept and be approved at the next
ordinary Church Meeting.
6.2
The organisations and groups shall submit annual accounts to the church
for any money used.
6.3
The organisations and groups are accountable to the Church Meeting.
5.3
Special Church Meetings may be called at any time by the Pastor(s) and
Elders giving at least two preceding Sundays’ notice, and may also be
called within one month of the receipt by the Pastor(s) and Elders of a
written request signed by 10% of the members and/or at least 12
members, which ever is the greater. Special church meetings may form
part of an ordinary church meeting.
5.4
Special Church Meetings shall always occur on: the call, dismissal or
resignation of a Pastor; recognition or removal from office of an Elder,
Church Council member or Co-ordinator; alterations or additions to this
Constitution; large financial transactions above 20% of the budget (not
including personnel costs) involving the existing or new church owned
buildings or property.
5.5
Voting at a church meeting shall be confined to those members present at
the meeting.
5.6
A resolution, in order to be carried, shall require 55% of the vote at an
ordinary church meeting and 67% of the vote at a special church
meeting, except for the call, appointment or removal from office of
pastors, elders, church council members and co-ordinators, where 75% of
the vote will be required. Abstentions and spoilt papers shall not count.
5.7
Votes shall be taken by secret ballot if requested by at least 3 members
present at the meeting.
5.8
A Church Meeting can only be considered as constituted if a quorum is
present. The quorum is 25% of the membership at the commencement of
the meeting.
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009
Amdt 3 – Sep 2009