CHURCH CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SANTA MARIA

of

2970 Santa Maria Way Santa Maria, CA 93455

805-937-8405 fbcsantamaria.com

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06/15

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CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

ARTICLE 1—NAME AND PURPOSE

I. Name

This congregation of believers shall be known as The First Baptist Church of Santa Maria, California.

II. Purpose A. The First Baptist Church of Santa Maria, California, shall

have as its primary purpose the fulfillment of the Great

Commission given in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…Teaching them to observe all things

whatsoever I have commanded you:”

B. This congregation is organized as a church exclusively for charitable, religious, and educational purposes within the

meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Revenue Law), including, but not limited to

the establishing and maintaining of religious worship, the

building of churches, parsonages, schools, chapels, radio stations, television stations, rescue missions, print shops,

daycare centers, and camps; the evangelizing of the

unsaved by the proclaiming of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus

Christ (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8); the educating of believers in a manner consistent with the requirements of Holy Scrip-

ture (Ephesians 4:11-12), both in Sunday and weekday

schools of Christian education; and the maintaining of mis-sionary activities in the United States and any foreign coun-

try.

C. In the event a decision is made to dissolve this corporation, provision will be made by vote of the church previous to

the dissolution of the corporation to assign all of the assets

to one or more fundamental, Bible-believing, Baptistic, non-profit organizations such as churches, missions, schools,

camps, or associations.

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ARTICLE 2—STATEMENT OF FAITH & COVENANT

I. Beliefs on the Authority of Scripture

A. The Holy Scriptures shall be accepted as the final authority on

all matters of faith and practice. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21

B. The will of God shall be determined by the clear statement of

Scripture, when possible, or by the leadership of the pastors under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Decisions, both spiri-

tual and temporal, will be made “in one accord”; not self-

willed, but seeking God’s will. When there has been genuine discernment of God’s will and sufficient teaching of God’s

Word, there will be one accord among the pastors and a ma-

jority of the assembly. Philippians 2:1-5; Colossians 3:15-16

C. The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our be-

liefs, but accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and

therefore, is binding for the public and private teaching of this church and its ministries.

II. Beliefs on Doctrine

First Baptist Church of Santa Maria is an independent, funda-mental Baptist church. Our members and ministry leaders are

instructed upon uniting with our church and are expected to sup-

port this doctrinal statement. The Scripture verses used are rep-resentative and not to be considered exhaustive.

A. The Bible We believe the Holy Scriptures, composed of the thirty-nine

books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of

the New Testament, are the verbally inspired Word and

Revelation of God. The Bible is inerrant, infallible—God-breathed. We believe that God has providentially preserved

His Word so that we can unashamedly say, “Thus saith the

Lord.” Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Luke

24:13-28; John 16:12-16; Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 138:2

B. The Trinity We believe in the Triune God—God the Father, God the

Son, and God the Holy Spirit—coequal and coeternal. Each

has His individual identity and separate responsibilities for the purposes of redemption, yet they are perfectly united as

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three Persons in One. 1 John 5:1-8; John 16:7-18; Matthew 28:19;

Genesis 1:26

C. The Deity and Virgin Birth of Christ

We believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ. He is the only be-

gotten, virgin-born Son of God, truly God and truly man. He is the second Person in the Trinity, God the Son, God mani-

fest in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:1-14; John 14:9; Isaiah

7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 10:36

D. The Blood Atonement

We believe in the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Je-

sus Christ. He, by the grace of God, tasted death for every

man, and all must be born again or be forever lost. Hebrews

2:9; John 6:44-69; John 3:1-18; Romans 3:25; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18-19

The Lord’s atonement is not limited with respect to whom

God’s salvation is offered, i.e., His shed blood is sufficient

for all sin and, therefore, “whosoever will” may believe and be saved to the uttermost. 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 7:22-25; Revela-

tion 22:17

E. The Resurrection

We believe in the physical resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He ascended bodily into the heavens and is now at

the right hand of God as our Mediator, Priest, and Advocate. Acts 3:12-26; John 20; Hebrews 9:24; 1 Corinthians 15:12-28; 1 John 2:1

F. The Rapture and the Second Coming

We believe in the Rapture—the personal, premillennial, pre-

tribulational and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Je-

sus Christ “in the air.” This has been the “Blessed Hope” of every born-again believer in the Church Age. At that time

He will receive to Himself the resurrected bodies of those

who have “died in Christ” and also all those who are pres-ently alive and “in Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:6-10; 1

Corinthians 15:50-55; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13

After the Tribulation, He will come “with His saints”. . . to

execute judgment upon the ungodly nations before the inau-guration of His earthly millennial reign at His second coming

to the earth. Jude 14,15; Matthew 25:31-46

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The Lord will cast the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire, send Satan into the abyss and establish His

earthly kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign one

thousand years, thus literally fulfilling the covenant prom-ises made to a believing remnant of Israel through the Patri-

archs of the Old Testament. Isaiah 11:1-16; Revelation 19:19-

20; 20:1-6

After the earthly reign of one thousand years, Christ will bring all the unsaved dead to the judgment of the Great

White Throne, and all who stand before that Throne will be

cast into the lake of fire forever. Revelation 20:11-15; Matthew

7:21-23 Satan will also be cast into the lake of fire. Reve-

lation 20:10

G. The Personality of Satan

We believe in the personality of Satan, “that old serpent,

called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole

world.” He is actively opposing the cause of Christ on every hand and is the archenemy of every true believer.

His warfare incorporates the deception of mixing error and

truth as well as promoting that which is flagrantly vile and evil. 2 Corinthians 11:1-15; 2 Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 12:9-10; Mat-

thew 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17; John 8:24

H. Heaven and Hell

We believe that Heaven is a real place of eternal blessed-ness prepared by God for those whose garments have been

“made white” through faith in the shed “blood of the

Lamb.” Hell is a real place of eternal suffering for those whose names are not written in the “book of life.” There is

no intermediate state like purgatory in which the unsaved

person can atone for his own sins. John 14:1-6; Revelation 7:13

-17; 20:11-15; 21:22-27; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Luke 16:19-31 I. Creation and Man’s Fall

We believe God created all things in six literal, twenty-four

hour days. We believe in the universality and exceeding sinfulness of sin. In Adam all have sinned and, therefore,

all are guilty before God by nature as well as by deed. Man

was created by a direct act of God and subsequently fell

into sin in the Garden of Eden. Romans 5:12-21; Ezekiel 18:4;

Romans 3:10-26, 6:23; Psalm 51:5; Genesis 1-3

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J. Justification by Faith We believe that man is justified on the single ground of faith

in the shed blood and bodily resurrection of our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9

The all-sufficient and completed work of redemption accom-

plished through Jesus’ death and resurrection is fully appro-

priated to the sinner at the moment he responds in faith to the free gift of salvation offered in the one true Gospel. The add-

ing of works, baptism, sacraments, or any other condition

placed upon man in order to obtain God’s gift of salvation results in “another gospel” that is under God’s curse. Gala-

tians 1:6-10; Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 5:24; Ephesians

5:8

K. Eternal Security

We believe in the eternal security of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Once a lost sinner has become a “new creature

in Christ,” he can never lose his new position in the family of

God which is based upon Christ’s imputed righteousness and not his own. The life that God imparts to the believing sin-

ner is “eternal life” and cannot ever be terminated. 2 Corin-

thians 5:14-21; John 10:25-29

Sin in the life of the believer affects his fellowship with the

Father, but not his sonship. All who are truly born of the

Spirit and who continue in sin will be dealt with by the chas-tening hand of God. 1 John 1:5-10; Hebrews 12:6-13; 1 Corinthians

3:11-15

All who are in Christ are sealed unto the day of redemption

and will be glorified. We are to “work out” our salvation, not “work for” our salvation. Philippians 2:12; 1 Corinthians

3:8-15; 2 John 8; Revelation 3:11; Romans 8:29-30; 1 Timothy 1:12;

Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30

L. The Holy Spirit and Body of Christ

We believe all regenerated people are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit the moment they receive Christ

as their Savior. 1 Corinthians 12:13, 10:32; Ephesians 2:13-18

The Holy Spirit indwells all who have been born again. Also, the baptism of the Spirit happens at the moment of sal-

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vation and is not a separate event that happens sometime later. Acts 15:6-11; Galatians 3:2,14; Romans 10:13-17; Romans

8:9

The Church, which is Christ’s Body, consists of all Spirit-baptized believers from the time of Pentecost until the Rap-

ture. Romans 8:14-27; James 1:18; John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 1:2;

Matthew 16:16-18

M. Separation

We believe that all Christians are first to be separated wholly unto the Lord, and as a necessary result, they must be:

1. Separated from worldly and sinful practices. They are to

be holy, even as He is holy; and this desired behavior will

always be diametrically opposed to the course of this pre-sent age. 1 Peter 1: 13-16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 12:1-2; 1

John 2:15-17

2. Separated from apostasy and unbelief. A believer must

not be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” thereby being identified with unbelief by association,

whether in ministry, worship, or by joint religious activi-

ties. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; I Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:19-22, 3:1

-5; Amos 3:3

3. Separated from disobedient brethren and doctrinal com-

promise with respect to all ministry and service. A be-

liever is identified with the doctrinal positions and prac-tices of those he is in fellowship with, both before God

and man. Separation from those who are not walking ac-

cording to truth deters the leavening effect of compromise and gives a faithful warning to the erring brother. Romans

16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; 2 John 10-11; Galatians 2:9-11; 1

Corinthians 15:33

N. The Local Church and Its Mission

We believe God has ordained local churches as independent, indigenous assemblies of believers to accomplish His work.

The church’s membership is to be composed of regenerated,

baptized believers. The two ordinances of the local church

are believer’s baptism by immersion, and the memorial of the Lord’s supper until He returns. The church is to be mis-

sionary-minded and evangelistic in spreading the Gospel into

all the world. It is not the mission of the church to “bring in

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the Kingdom,” work for political or economic justice, major on social improvement, or “Christianize” society. It is to

strive together for the faith of the Gospel, proclaim and

maintain purity of doctrine and practice, and worship and serve the Lord in “spirit and truth.” Acts 2:41-47, 20:17-32;

Matthew 28:16-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

O. Good Works

We believe that all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ should

maintain good works. A “good work” is that which is done in obedience to the will of God, out of love for God and faith

in God and His Word. Works will determine the reward or

loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ before which

every Christian will stand. Every believer must realize that he is responsible before God to “maintain good works,” i.e.,

walk in the light of the Word of God. The Bible is the be-

liever’s absolute Standard of faith and practice, his perfect Counsel. The Word provides him with “all things that pertain

unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus

2:11-14, 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-29, 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11

III. Beliefs on Cultural Issues A. Marriage and Sexuality

1. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one, legiti-

mate meaning. Marriage, sanctioned by God, joins one

man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as delineated by Scripture. Marriage ceremonies performed

by our pastors or in any facility owned, leased or rented

by this church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as their gen-

der was determined at birth. Whenever there is a conflict

between the church’s position and any new legal stan-dard for marriage, the church’s statement of faith, doc-

trines and biblical positions will govern. Genesis 2:24;

Ephesians 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; I Corinthians 7:1-9

2. We believe that God has commanded that no sexual ac-tivity be engaged in outside of marriage as defined in (1.)

above. We believe that any other type of sexual activity,

identity or expression that lies outside of this definition

of marriage, including those that are becoming more ac-cepted in the culture and the courts, are sinful perver-

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sions of and contradictory to God’s natural design and purpose for sexual activity. Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5; Leviti-

cus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9-10; 1 Thessalo-

nians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4

B. Family Relationships

1. We believe that men and women are equal before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate functions

for men and women in the home and the church. The

husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders of the church. Galatians 3:28; Colossians

3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 3:4-5, 12

2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foun-

dational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to

submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband

as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children

are a gift and heritage from the Lord. Parents are re-sponsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral

values through consistent lifestyle example and appropri-

ate training and discipline. Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12;

Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14, Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7

C. Divorce and Remarriage

We believe God hates divorce and intends marriage to last

until one of the spouses dies. We believe that God’s legal guidelines for divorce were given only because of man’s

sinful nature. Although divorced and remarried persons or

divorced persons may hold positions of service in the

church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, we believe Scripture prohibits them from holding the office of

pastor or deacon. Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:11-

12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; I Corinthians 7:10-16

D. Abortion We believe that human life begins at conception and that

the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion is mur-

der and constitutes the unjustified, inexcusable taking of human life. Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5, 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1,

5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:36, 44

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E. Euthanasia

We believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by

intention, facilitates premature death, is assuming a decision that is to be reserved for God. We do not believe that dis-

continuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or dis-

proportionate to the expected outcome is euthanasia. Exo-

dus 20:13, 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28 F. Love

We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not

only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage

in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us

graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the

stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or

obtaining personal justice.

Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are

to love and pray for any person who engages in such ac-

tions. Leviticus 19:18; Isaiah 5:20; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31;

John 13:34-35; Romans 12:9-10, 17-21, 13:8-10; Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; I Peter 3:8-9; 1 John 3:17-18

G. Lawsuits Within the Church

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing

civil lawsuits within the Church. We do believe, however,

that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim

is pursued without malice or slander. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8;

Ephesians 4:31-32 H. Protection of Children

We believe that children are a heritage from the Lord and

must be absolutely protected within the church from any

form of abuse or molestation. The church has zero tolerance for any abuse of a child. Psalm 127:3-5; Matthew 18:6; Matthew

19:14; Mark 10:14

IV. Church Covenant

Having been led by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus

Christ through faith as our Savior, having professed our faith,

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and having been baptized in the name of our Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God,

angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into

covenant with one another, as one body in Christ. Romans 12:5;

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk to-

gether in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this

church in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote its pros-perity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, disci-

pline and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all insti-

tutions of human origin; and to contribute cheerfully and regu-larly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church,

the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all

nations. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to re-

ligiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kin-

dred, acquaintances, and all others; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful to our engagements, and

exemplary in our deportment. “For the grace of God that

bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,

righteously, and godly, in this present world.” “Having there-

fore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from

all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” We will be zealous in our efforts to advance the King-

dom of our Savior. 2 Corinthians 7:1; Titus 2:11-14

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love;

to remember each other in prayer; to discern our spiritual gifts

and employ them in this local church; to aid each other in sick-

ness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy of speech; to be slow to take offense; to be mindful of

the teachings of our Savior; to be ready for reconciliation; and to

secure reconciliation without delay. Philippians 2:1-5

We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we

will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of

God’s Word. Hebrews 10:25

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ARTICLE 3—MEMBERSHIP

I. Qualifications for Membership

All prospective members must meet with a pastor or his delegate

(or a deacon if the office of pastor is vacant) to determine that they have had a genuine experience of regeneration through faith

in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior, that

they have been baptized by immersion (Acts 2:41), that they fully support the Statement of Faith of First Baptist Church, and that

they agree to submit to the authority of the Word of God. Pro-

spective members who have been removed from membership for discipline may be considered for membership again if they have

evidenced true biblical repentance and have confessed the sin

publically before the church members.

II. Acceptance into Membership

Upon the recommendation of a pastor (or a deacon if the office of

pastor is vacant), membership shall be extended by a majority vote of the church members.

III. Duties of Membership

Members have the responsibility to follow the church covenant, to cherish a brotherly love for all members of the church, to at-

tend church services regularly, to serve the Lord through the

church’s ministries and outreaches, to pray for the church, and to support the church financially.

IV. Privileges of Membership Although the church does not function as a pure democracy, all

members of the church in full fellowship have the opportunity to

express their opinions without fear of intimidation or coercion.

Members who are at least eighteen years of age may exercise voting privileges only in those areas that are defined and limited

by these bylaws.

V. Restrictions on Membership

Membership in this church does not afford the members with any

property, contractual, or civil rights based on principles of de-mocratic government. Although the general public is invited to

all of the church’s worship services, the church property remains

private property. There shall be no proxy or absentee voting.

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Members may not vote to initiate any church action. Determina-tions of the internal affairs of this church are ecclesiastical mat-

ters and shall be determined exclusively by the church’s own

rules and procedures.

VI. Discipline of Members

Since accountability within the context of loving relationships is

a vital part of God’s plan for spiritual growth, members of First Baptist Church are expected to demonstrate their love for one

another through mutual exhortation and encouragement

(Hebrews 3:13; Romans 15:14; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Timothy 5:19). When a member becomes aware of a sin pattern that is

hindering another member’s spiritual growth and testimony for

Christ, he should first examine his own heart (Matthew 7:5) and then go alone to that person seeking to restore him in a spirit of

gentleness (Galatians 6:1).

If the sinning member refuses to listen to admonition and contin-ues in his pattern of disobedience, then two or three members

should meet with him in order to confront him with the need to

be restored to a place of obedience (Matthew 18:16). If the sin-ning member still refuses to repent of his sin, then the confront-

ing members should bring the matter to the attention of the spiri-

tual leaders of the church. Since the senior pastor is chiefly re-sponsible for the spiritual welfare of the church (Hebrews 13:17)

and has been chosen by the congregation to provide this spiritual

leadership, the matter should be brought to his attention first. In

keeping with the pattern of Acts 6, the deacons will assist the pastors in dealing with discipline problems.

The pastors and deacons shall have sole authority in determining heretical deviations from the Statement of Faith and violations of

the church Covenant. If a pastor or a deacon is the subject of a

disciplinary matter, he shall not sit as a member at any meetings

of the pastors and deacons and shall have no voting privileges. Pastors and deacons are subject to the same discipline process as

other church members. A member of the board may be removed

from office while he is the subject of a disciplinary matter, as recommended by the pastors and deacons, upon a majority vote

of the Board of Directors.

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Upon the recommendation of the pastor and deacons, the situa-tion will be brought to the attention of the church body in obe-

dience to Matthew 18:17. The purpose for this announcement is

that the whole body will, having first examined themselves, seek to restore the unrepentant member to obedience. If the dis-

obedient member refuses to listen to the church, then he is to be

excluded from the membership by a majority vote of the mem-

bership present at a voting-members-only meeting called for the purpose of considering disciplinary action. Even removal from

membership is intended to bring the person once again to a

place of obedience and to the full fellowship of the church. All contact by church members with the excluded person should be

for the purpose of restoration (Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians

5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:15).

Only matters that have followed this biblical pattern will be

brought to the attention of the church family except matters of

public sin that require public repentance and confession. No member may be excluded when there is genuine evidence of

repentance, and no information regarding private matters will

be brought to the congregation’s attention when those who are involved have shown evidence of genuine repentance (Matthew

18:15-17a). VII. Transfer of Membership

Members in good standing may request that letters of transfer

be sent to another church.

VIII. Termination of Membership

A. The membership of any individual member shall auto-

matically terminate without notice if the member in question has not attended a regular worship service of

the church in the preceding six months. The provision

may be waived at the discretion of the senior pastor and

the deacons upon the showing of good cause.

B. The membership of any individual member shall auto-

matically terminate without notice if the member in question unites in membership with another church or

requests to be removed from membership.

C. The membership of any individual member shall auto-

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matically terminate without notice if the member in question files a lawsuit against and/or within the

church.

D. The membership of any individual member shall auto-matically terminate upon his death.

E. The membership of any unrepentant member having

gone through the stated discipline process of Article 3,

VI, may be terminated by a majority vote of the church

members.

ARTICLE 4—OFFICERS

We believe that there are two offices of the local church: pas-

tor (also called “elder” and “bishop”) and deacon. Although

these are the only two offices discussed in Scripture, other offices shall be authorized, as necessary, for the proper ad-

ministration of church business. The pastors have the spiri-

tual authority and responsibility of the church.

I. Pastor

While the Bible does not command a plurality of elders for the

local church, it is permissible and advisable for the leadership of a larger local church to be provided by more than one pastor

(elder). The qualifications for pastors are given in 1 Timothy

3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4. There shall be a senior pastor and, as necessary, assistant pastors. Although the con-

gregation shall have opportunity to express their opinions on

any issue and to vote on certain issues, the leadership of this

assembly shall be provided by the pastors.

A. Call

1. The senior pastor’s relationship to the church will be constituted by the vote of the church at any regular or

special meeting. Notice from the pulpit must be given

two consecutive Sundays prior to the vote; an eighty-

five percent majority of the written, secret ballots cast being necessary to call a senior pastor.

2. The senior pastor will continue in office until he re-

signs or until his resignation is requested at a special

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meeting called for that purpose. 3. Assistant pastors will be ratified by a majority vote of

the congregation at any meeting of the church. Termi-

nation or reassignment of assistant pastors shall follow the same procedures as all other employees of the

church.

B. Dismissal 1. The relationship between the senior pastor and the

church shall be permanent unless dissolved at the op-

tion of either party by the giving of one month’s notice, or less by mutual consent.

2. The severance of the relationship between the senior

pastor and the church may be considered at any church business meeting, provided notice to that effect shall

have been given from the pulpit to the church for two

Sundays prior to said church business meeting.

3. A majority vote shall be required to sever the relation-ship between the senior pastor and the church.

4. Disciplinary removal of a pastor from membership, as

stated in Article 3, Section VI, of the Bylaws, automati-cally terminates his office.

C. Authority and Responsibilities 1. The senior pastor shall be a preacher and teacher of the

Word, a shepherd, and shall have the oversight of the

church. He shall preside over the gatherings of the

church and act as the leader of the congregation. He shall moderate all business meetings or choose a mod-

erator at his discretion.

2. All appointments for public worship and Bible study and the arrangements thereof, including time and place

and the use of the property belonging to the church for

purposes other than the stated appointments, shall be

under the direction of the senior pastor. 3. The senior pastor has the responsibility for hiring and

assigning all First Baptist Church employees whose

positions have been approved by the Board of Direc-tors.

4. The senior pastor may not terminate, reassign, or de-

cline to renew the contract of any employee without a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

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D. Interim Pastor

In the event that the church is without a senior pastor, an in-

terim pastor may be called. The interim pastor shall not be a chairman of the board, or president of the corporation. He will

be considered and recommended to the body of the church by

the deacons. A seventy-five percent majority vote of the dea-

cons and membership will be necessary for his call. His term will end either by his resignation or by a majority vote of the

deacons.

II. Deacons

A. Qualifications

1. Spiritual—A deacon must possess the spiritual qualifica-tions listed in the Word of God in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. He

must be a man full of the Holy Spirit and pure and godly in

conduct and habit. A deacon must be an example to the

flock in daily Christian living and faithfulness in atten-dance at all regular services of the church and must sup-

port the various programs of the church.

2. Physical—In order to serve effectively, a deacon must be in good health. Therefore, no deacon may continue to

serve as deacon when illness or other physical ailment pre-

vents him from performing the duties of his office. If a deacon ceases to fulfill the qualifications of his office for

any reason, the senior pastor and the deacons may require

his resignation upon a two-thirds majority vote of the dea-

cons.

B. Duties

1. The deacons shall assist the senior pastor, in such manner as he shall request, in promoting the spiritual welfare of

the church, in conducting the religious services, and in per-

forming all other work of the church.

2. They shall make provision for the observance of the ordi-nances of the church.

3. They shall, if requested by the senior pastor, consider ap-

plications for church membership. 4. They shall, in cooperation with the senior pastor, disburse

the benevolence fund.

5. They shall assist the senior pastor in the watch care of the membership, visitation, and all evangelistic efforts of the

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church. 6. The deacons shall assist the senior pastor in caring for the

administrative needs of the church’s various ministries as

requested by the senior pastor. 7. They shall provide the pulpit supply and choose a mod-

erator for church business meetings if the office of senior

pastor is vacant. Upon the death, resignation, or dismissal

of the senior pastor, the deacons shall appoint a pulpit committee.

C. Election

1. The nomination of the deacons will come from the pre-sent deacons and the pastoral staff. The list of nominees

will be posted at least two Sundays prior to the election.

2. Deacons will be individually elected upon a two-thirds majority vote of the members at the annual business meet-

ing and will serve for a term of two years. If a need arises

to replace vacancies or add new deacons to serve the re-

mainder of the current two-year term, a special business meeting may be called with the same majority needed to

elect required.

3. Terms will be arranged to end alternately, half in odd years and the remainder in even years, so that at no time

will all the deacons be retired.

III. Board of Directors

The Board of Directors consists of the directors and the corpo-

rate officers of the corporation. The activities and affairs of the

corporation shall be conducted and all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction of the board. Directors who

serve as officers will have only one vote on any matter. The

directors will choose from their own by a majority vote, a chair-man and a secretary for the board. All officers and directors of

First Baptist Church must be members of the church.

IV. Directors The pastors and deacons shall serve as the directors of the cor-

poration.

V. Corporate Officers

The senior pastor shall serve as president of the corporation

and shall manage the activities and affairs of the corporation in accordance to the policies and procedures of the Board of Di-

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rectors; the secretary of the deacons shall serve as secretary of the corporation; the financial director shall be appointed by the

Board of Directors and shall serve as the chief financial officer

of the corporation. Although these are the only officers re-quired, other officers may be added with titles and duties as

determined necessary by the Board of Directors.

VI. Participation in Meetings

Any one or more board members may participate in a meeting

of the board by means of a conference telephone, web-based

conference, or similar communications equipment or device, by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can

hear each other at the same time. Participating by such means

shall constitute presence in person at a meeting for purposes of determining if a quorum is present. A quorum shall be two-

thirds of the board members present with a majority vote

needed to take any action.

VII. Board in the Event of a Pastoral Vacancy

In the event of a senior pastoral vacancy, the Board of Direc-

tors shall select, by a majority vote, a president to serve until such time as a new senior pastor is called. The temporary

president shall have all the powers and responsibilities of the

original president until such time as the new senior pastor is called.

VIII. Adherence to the Statement of Faith

The church shall not install or retain an officer or director who

fails to adhere to or expresses disagreement with the Statement

of Faith. All church officers and directors upon request of the

Board of Directors shall affirm their agreement with the State-

ment of Faith.

ARTICLE 5—DESIGNATED CONTRIBUTIONS

From time to time, the church, in the exercise of its religious, edu-cational, and charitable purposes, may establish various funds to

accomplish specific goals. Contributors may suggest uses for

their contributions, but all suggestions shall be deemed advisory rather than mandatory in nature. All contributions made to spe-

cific funds or otherwise designated shall remain subject to the ex-

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clusive control and discretion of the board.

ARTICLE 6—COMMITTEES

I. The senior pastor and the Board of Directors, on behalf of the

church, may designate or form any committees and may appoint members and/or chairpersons of said committees as considered by

the senior pastor and the board to be in the best interests of the

church. These committees may be standing or temporary (special) committees.

II. Actions of Committees Committees, whether standing or special, have no authority to act on behalf of the corporation. Their primary function is to research

and recommend. Committees shall make available upon request

all records and materials to the senior pastor and the board, who shall have the right to overrule any plans or decisions made by the

committee. Each committee shall have a secretary that keeps

minutes of each meeting and shall timely submit the minutes to

the senior pastor and church secretary to be filed with church re-cords. If deemed appropriate by the senior pastor and board, the

committee secretary, in conjunction with the chairman, shall sub-

mit an annual report to the church of the decisions and plans of the committee.

ARTICLE 7—MEETINGS

I. Worship Unless otherwise determined by the senior pastor, the church shall

meet each Sunday for public worship both morning and evening

and at least once during the week for Bible study and prayer, ex-

cept when circumstances forbid it.

II. Business

A. The annual business meeting of the church will be held on a date determined by the senior pastor at the earliest possible

time after the close of the preceding fiscal year (July 1-June

30).

B. The church will have quarterly business meetings to discuss old

and new business.

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C. The annual business meeting, quarterly business meetings, and

all other regular business meetings must have notice from the

pulpit for two Sundays prior to the meeting. Twenty percent of the voting members shall constitute a quorum.

D. All church business meetings shall be opened and closed with

prayer for divine guidance and blessing.

E. The moderator shall determine the rules of procedure according

to his sense of fairness and common sense, giving all members a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a matter. The modera-

tor is the final authority on questions of procedure, and his de-

cision is final and controlling. For any meeting under this arti-cle, the moderator, in his sole discretion, shall have full and

unilateral authority to require nonmembers to leave the meet-

ing room. The moderator shall have the authority to suspend

the meeting until a person who is deemed by the moderator to be causing a disruption has left the meeting or is no longer be-

ing a disruption. The moderator shall have full authority to

order the removal of all children (ages to be determined by the moderator) if the moderator determines, in his sole discretion,

that circumstances so warrant.

F. The business of all deacon, Board of Directors, and committee

meetings will use rules of procedure determined in the policy

and procedures manual.

III. Special

A. The senior pastor (or deacons if the office of senior pastor is

vacant or the senior pastor is the subject of possible discipli-nary action) may call special meetings.

B. Such a meeting may only be called by giving the church notice

of the meeting and the purpose for which it is called. The no-tice and purpose must be announced from the pulpit at least

one Sunday and not less than one week prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE 8—MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

I. Purpose

First Baptist Church believes that the home and church are respon-

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sible before God for providing a Christian education. The purpose of this Christian education is to assist the church’s families with

their obligation to Biblically train their children and to assist the

church in fulfilling the Great Commission of evangelism. Educa-tion at First Baptist Church shall be accomplished in the following

manner:

A. Teaching from the pulpit: The pulpit ministry of the church

shall be aimed at the goal of teaching the whole counsel of God through Bible exposition, topical emphasis, evangelism, and

Bible content studies. Practical application shall be an impor-

tant aspect of the preaching. B. Teaching through Sunday school, Valley Christian Preschool,

Valley Christian Academy, First Baptist Christian School (ISP),

children’s ministries, youth ministries, and other ministries of First Baptist Church.

To this end, the church shall engage in ministries in education in

keeping with the following dictates.

II. Statement of Faith Accord

All educational programs or courses of instruction shall be taught and presented in full accord with the Statement of Faith of First

Baptist Church. The church shall not hire, appoint, or retain any

employee or volunteer for its educational programs who fails to adhere to or expresses disagreement with the Statement of Faith. It

is the responsibility of every instructor or teacher to present the

inerrant Word of God as the sole infallible source of knowledge

and wisdom.

III. Unity

A. All educational programs or courses of instruction shall be con-ducted as an integral and inseparable ministry of the church.

B. In the English language, we believe the King James Version is

accurate and gives the Bible an integrity so that we can un-

ashamedly say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

IV. Valley Christian Academy

The First Baptist Church of Santa Maria, California, will operate a Christian school known as Valley Christian Academy, including

Preschool through grade 12.

A. Purpose

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Valley Christian Academy was founded by the congregation of First Baptist Church to make available to their children a com-

prehensive program that includes spiritual, moral, mental, and

physical education. Valley Christian Academy through open enrollment is also designed to provide a missionary outreach in

Christian education to qualified students within the commu-

nity.

B. Relationship to First Baptist Church

Valley Christian Academy is an educational and mission arm

of First Baptist Church. It is wholly owned by the church and operated within the rules and scope of the bylaws of First Bap-

tist Church.

C. All faculty and staff of Valley Christian Academy will be un-

der the immediate supervision of the school administrator. The

administrator will be under the supervision of the senior pastor

of First Baptist Church.

D. Policies and procedures of Valley Christian Academy will be

approved by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE 9—ARMS OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

I. Definition and Control

The church regards as integral the parts of itself all auxiliaries and organizations formed for the purpose of ministration, which use

the facilities of the church property or the name of First Baptist

Church of Santa Maria, California, or Valley Christian Academy

of Santa Maria, California. The senior pastor will have general oversight of all such auxiliaries and organizations.

II. Regulations A. No auxiliary or organization will hold any meeting of any kind

at any time that might in any way conflict with the services of

the church, either as to members or place.

B. No auxiliary or organization of First Baptist Church may join

or withdraw from any organization or association without first

having the approval of the senior pastor.

C. No auxiliary or organization of First Baptist Church may en-

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gage an outside speaker without the approval of the senior pas-tor or his assistants, or the deacons in the event of the absence

of the senior pastor and his assistants.

ARTICLE 10—AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS

Each board member shall review the bylaws annually, and shall

bring suggested changes to a meeting of the board that has been designated for the purpose of reviewing the bylaws.

These bylaws may be revised or amended at a meeting of the church called for that purpose. A proposed revision or amend-

ment to the bylaws must be made available to voting members

for review at least two consecutive Sundays prior to the meeting.

A two-thirds majority vote will be necessary to ratify the amend-ment.

These bylaws were duly approved by the Board of Directors and adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present

and voting at a duly called meeting of the church in which a quo-

rum was present.

These bylaws supersede any other bylaws of First Baptist Church.

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