Constitution
Grace Bible Church, Amended July 30, 2006
Preamble
As members of this church, united in our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out His calling, we establish this Constitution, effective June 1, 1987.
Article I: Corporate Name
Section 1---Church: This body was duly incorporated in 1957 and amended in 1977 under the laws of the State of California as The First Baptist Church of Oxnard, Ventura County, and State of California. We will now and henceforth be known as "Grace Bible Church of Oxnard".
Section 2---Day School: The Day Nursery School will continue to be known as "OFB Day Nursery School".
Article II: Statement of Faith
A more complete and expansive statement is found in our "What We Teach" document.
A. We believe in the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God and our absolute authority in matters of doctrine and Christian living.
B. We believe there is one true interpretation of Scripture found by using the literal, grammatical, historical method of study.
C. We believe in God eternally existent in three persons; God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
D. We believe that God came in Jesus Christ, died on the cross to redeem man from the guilt and penalty of sin, and rose from the grave to guarantee eternal life to all believers.
E. We believe that regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given. It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of God's Word. It is a gift of God to the elect in the form of grace, faith and salvation. Once granted it allows the individual to respond to the gospel with their newly acquired faith. Overwhelming grace freely compels them to repent of their sins and to trust and obey (believe) in the life and work of Jesus Christ.
F. We believe that a Christian should be baptized by immersion according to the New Testament, and should be an active member and regular attendee of the local Church, which is a part of the Church Spiritual, the "Body of Christ."
G. We believe in the literal and bodily coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of this age, to take His people, the Church, to be with Him for eternity.
H. We believe the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, and to those that God sovereignly saves, to disciple them in God's Word and their commitment to Him.
Article III: Purpose
The purpose of Grace Bible Church shall be the advancement of the causes of Jesus Christ through corporately and individually living out the above statement of faith. To this end the church shall faithfully preach the Gospel to everyone, disciple the saved in their spiritual lives to follow Christ, and prepare them for works of service through public worship, prayer, individual study of the Word, personal evangelism, missionary endeavor, community outreach, Christian education, consistent Christian living, and giving by its members. Additionally, this church may conduct a formal educational program consisting of Christian schools, as it may deem appropriate.
Article IV: Polity
The government of this church is vested in the members who compose it, under the authority of the Board of Elders. It will be henceforth known as an independent community church. It is subject to the control of no other ecclesiastical body.
Article V: Church Government
Authority: Final authority for any matter of church government or business, except as stipulated below, rests with the Board of Elders. It shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining the basic policies and practices of the church, church discipline, fiscal direction, and may review, revise, or reverse the decisions of any lower committees, officers, or staff members, as it deems appropriate. Elder qualification and selection are as covered in the By-Laws. The congregation shall be responsible for decisions regarding the dismissal of the Senior Pastor, and disposition of the proceeds of any real property or assets upon dissolution of the church. The congregation shall be responsible for all the decisions relating to the purchase of sale of all real property and other capital items of $25,000 or more, as well as all decisions relative to creating all indebtedness leading to a contract pay schedule beyond the above limit.
Article VI: Membership
This church shall consist of baptized believers who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and are manifesting a true Christian life based on God's Holy Word, the Bible. All applicants must be in agreement with the church's Statement of Faith, as found in the "What We Teach" document and comply with all procedures, and meet all prerequisites for admission to membership as covered in the By-Laws.
Article VII: Fiscal Year and Business Meetings
Section 1-Fiscal Year: The church fiscal year shall be from July to June. Annually, the church budget shall be presented to the congregation for review at the annual business meeting.
Section 2-Annual Business Meeting: An Annual Business Meeting of the congregation shall be held to announce the current/new officers. As well as presenting the new budget for review, committee and staff reports shall be presented, and necessary business shall be transacted.
Section 3-Special Business Meetings: Special business meetings may be called by the Board of Elders for particular or urgent items of church business. Announcement of such a meeting shall be made from the pulpit on no less than two consecutive Sundays prior to said meeting.
Section 4-Quorum: The attendance of at least 20 percent of the church membership eligible to vote shall be necessary for a quorum at an Annual or Special Business Meeting requiring a congregational vote.
An exception to this shall be any business meeting convened for the purpose of dismissing the Senior Pastor, which shall require the attendance of at least 35 percent of the church membership eligible to vote. Other requirements regarding voting and membership are found in the By-Laws.
Article VIII: Trustees
There shall be six elders serving as Trustees of the corporation as called for in the Articles of Incorporation. These shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Secretary, and Vice-Treasurer of the corporation. Any one individual can occupy two offices at a time.
Article IX: Rules of Order
Robert's Rules of Order as last revised shall be the parliamentary manual for this church.
Article X: Amendments
Amendments will be proposed by the Board of Elders and presented to the congregation for review for two consecutive Sundays prior to their adoption. After consideration of the member's views and any subsequent changes, adoption will be by a unanimous decision of the Board of Elders.
