Statement of Belief

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BAPTIST

FAITH COMMUNITY

STATEMENT OF BELIEF,

COVENANT AND GUIDELINES

Date Adopted ______

A Ministry of Queensland Baptists

FAITH COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

This Faith Community consists of Christians who join together

to worship the living God

to communicate God’s Word

to reach out to a lost society

to nurture God’s people

to serve the church and the world in Christ’s Name,

to work towards recognition as a constituted Baptist Church within Queensland Baptists.

DOCTRINE

The Faith Community holds as an essential part of its belief, what are commonly known as Evangelical Doctrines, as set forth in the Declaration of Principle of Queensland Baptists,

The Divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments.
The existence of one God in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Deity and incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the Second Person in the Holy Trinity.
The fallen, sinful and lost estate of all mankind.
The salvation of men from penal consequences and the power of sin, through the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His unchanging Priesthood.
The immediate work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of men, in their sanctification and in their preservation to the Heavenly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The necessity, in order to salvation, of repentance towards God and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of the dead and the final judgement of all men by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, namely, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are of perpetual obligation, Baptism being the immersion of Believers upon the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a symbol of the fellowship of the regenerate in His death, burial and resurrection; the Lord’s Supper being a memorial until He comes of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

LIST OF THOSE IN COVENANT

Until such time as thisFaithCommunity is constituted as a Baptist Church within Queensland Baptists, a list of those in covenant with the Community will be maintained.

A person whose baptismal practice differs from the doctrinal statement will be welcome to be part of the Community, provided that he/she accepts the right of the Community to hold as an essential part of its religious belief the doctrine of baptism as defined in Statement nine (9).

ORDINANCES

Baptism as defined in Statement nine (9). The Pastor may baptise any believer upon application and satisfactory interview. In the event of there being no pastor, another believer (who has been baptized by emersion) appointed by a sponsoring church or Mission to Queensland may be invited to conduct the Baptismal Service.

The Lord’s Supper shall be observed regularly as determined by the Fellowship and should be led by the Pastor or one of the Fellowship leaders.

BUSINESS MEETINGS

Regular business meetings will be held at least quarterly. One of these will be the Annual General Meeting. Only those in covenant will be entitled to vote.

The purpose of these meetings will be to collectively determine the mind of Christ for the Community. Decisions made will be binding on all Covenant members.

LEADERSHIP

The Community will operate under a “team leadership” model (see diagram below). Only those in covenant will be eligible for the Leadership team.

Ministries will be added as the Lord provides leadership and as the Community grows.

The Leader of each Ministry Area joins with the Pastor to form the Leadership Team.

Leaders will be appointed annually at a business meeting (preferably the AGM). The congregation by their vote affirms the character, giftedness and proven ability as demonstrated in the life of the Community.

The leadership team meets each month for the following purposes:

a)each leader reports on their ministry area

b)the leadership attends to all routine matters

Leadership decisions are communicated back to the church by the appropriate leader.

This leadership shall cease to hold office when the church is constituted. The leadership will appoint a chairman from the leadership team. Normally this will be the pastor. The chairman will chair Leadership and business meeting.

PROCEDURES

Records will be kept of all meetings and correspondence.

The Treasurer or Book Keeper will receive and record all monies for the Community and present a financial statement for each Leadership Team meeting, and business meeting and an audited statement for the Annual General Meeting.

A Budget will be prepared as soon as the church is receiving regular offerings and meeting expenses. Expenses should include an amount towards the Co-operative Budget of Queensland Baptists.

Copies of Annual Statements and Reports are to be sent to the Sponsoring Church or Mission to Queensland.

The vote of a Faith Community will ordinarily require a simple majority indicated by a show of hands or secret ballot if required.

Only pastors accredited by Queensland Baptists are eligible to be considered for pastoral appointment. The calling of a pastor is a joint exercise between the Faith Community and the sponsoring church or Mission to Queensland. The Faith Community input into this process is by discussion and then a two thirds majority of those listed in covenant with the Faith Community.

Removal of a pastor will only be effected by the sponsoring church or MTQ, after consultation with the pastor, and with the covenant members at a special meeting.

A two thirds majority may be required on other major issues as the Faith Community may consider advisable.

In the event of a controversy it is the role of Mission to Queensland or the sponsoring church to arbitrate and its decisions will be final.

PROPERTY

The purchase or sale of property must have the approval of Mission to Queensland or the sponsoring church.

DESIGNATED DONATIONS

Until the Faith Community approves otherwise, all gifts, whether designated for a particular purpose or not, will be treated as available for use in any activities of the Community in any way and free of any obligation to use or apply the gift in a particular matter or for a particular purpose.

DISSOLUTIONS CLAUSE

In the event of the Faith Community being dissolved, all property, assets and monies which remain after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be vested in Queensland Baptists.

Notwithstanding any provision which may be recorded elsewhere within this constitution, this section shall not be rescinded or amended without the express approval of Queensland Baptists.

ALTERATION TO CONSTITUTION

Alterations to this Constitution may only occur with the approval of Queensland Baptists.

COVENANT OF BELONGING

Having received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and being in agreement with the following statements, I am willing to commit myself publicly to covenant together with others in this place

to worship the living God

to communicate God’s Word

to reach out to a lost society

to nurture God’s people

to serve the church and the world in Christ’s Name

as we journey together towards recognition as a constituted Baptist Church within Queensland Baptists.

In doing so, I commit myself to God and to those in covenant with me, to do the following:

I will seek to protect the unity of this Faith Community

by acting in love and loyalty toward those in covenant with me

by refusing to gossip

by following the leaders

I will share the responsibility of this Faith Community

by praying for its growth

by inviting other people to attend church functions

by warmly welcoming those who visit our activities

I will serve this Faith Community

by discovering and using my gifts and abilities

by being equipped by my pastor/s and leaders to serve

by developing a servant’s heart

I will support this Faith Community

by faithfully attending the Fellowship’s activities

by seeking to live a godly life

by giving regularly to the Lord through this Fellowship

I agree with those in covenant with me that this Faith Community shall hold as an essential part of its religious belief, what are commonly known as Evangelical Doctrines, that is:

The Divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments.
The existence of one God in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Deity and Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the Second Person in the Holy Trinity.
The fallen, sinful and lost estate of all mankind.
The salvation of men from penal consequences and the power of sin, through the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His unchanging Priesthood.
The immediate work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of men, in their sanctification and in their preservation to the Heavenly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The necessity, in order to salvation, of repentance towards God and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of the dead and the final judgement of all men by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ namely, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are of perpetual obligation, Baptism being the immersion of Believers upon the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a symbol of the fellowship of the regenerate in His death, burial and resurrection; the Lord’s Supper being a memorial, until He comes, of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have also read and accept the Baptist Faith Community Guidelines document.

EITHER:

a) I accept, without reservation, points 1 to 9 of these Evangelical Doctrines

Yes ____ No ____

b)I accept, without reservation, points 1 to 8 of these Evangelical Doctrines. However, at this time I hold a different view of baptism, although I accept the right of the Faith Community to hold as an essential part of its religious belief the doctrine of baptism as defined in point 9. Further, I will not seek to influence any person to accept my differing view.

Yes ____ No ____

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______