CONSTITUTION OF THE GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
The church is duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Missouri, under the corporate name of Grace Bible Church, with the decree of Incorporation Number N00067469, dated August 29, 2001, and recorded in the office of the Secretary of State, in the state of Missouri.
We
establish this Constitution for the purpose of orderly church administration,
to fulfill the call to make and mature disciples by the faithful proclamation
of the gospel and the consistent teaching of the Word of God to the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).
Our mission statement is:
“Grace Bible Church exists to glorify God by loving
and enjoying Him and to love the people He has created. We show that love through our commitment to
Scripture and prayer; to providing an environment where people can know Jesus
Christ, worship, grow, serve and be accountable to God and each other; and by
reaching out into our community and world, offering hope in the name of our
Lord and Savior.”
We
believe in one God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, who is infinite in
being and absolute in perfection. He
exists eternally in three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- who are of
one essence and equal in attributes and nature.
Deuteronomy 6:4;
John 6:27; Hebrews 1:8; Acts 5:3-4;
2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew
28:19; Mark 12:29; John
1:1-4, 14; Luke 3:21-22
We
believe that God the Son became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He is fully God and fully man, the eternal
and only begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin,
sinless in His life, making atonement for the sins of the world by His
death. He was bodily resurrected, ascended
into heaven and now serves as high priest, intercessor and advocate on behalf
of all believers.
John 1:1-2, 14,
8:56-59, 10:30-33; Matthew 1:18-25; Hebrews 4:15, 9:12; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 1:4; John 20:25-27; Hebrews 7:25; Acts 1:9-11
We
believe that God the Holy Spirit is a person.
He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and draws men
to personal faith in Christ. At
salvation, He imparts to the believer new life, baptizes him into the body of
Christ, and comes to indwell him permanently, sealing him until the day of
redemption. The Holy Spirit guides,
teaches, and strengthens, the believer and empowers him to manifest the
character of Christ. He gives spiritual
gifts to believers for mutual edification.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11; Psalm 139:7; John 16:8-11, 14:16, 3:5-7;
Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians
12:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13; John 14:26, 16:13; Acts 1:8;
Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
The
Bible
We
believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in
the original manuscripts. That every
portion of the Bible is infallible as to its truth and final as to its divine
authority. It is the final authority in
all matters about which it speaks, and is sufficient as our only infallible
rule of faith and practice.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 10:35; Matthew
5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:13; John 5:39
We
believe that the first man and woman were created in the image of God, free as
to choice and responsible to their Creator.
But man, tempted by Satan, willfully sinned and consequently experienced
separation from God. The consequences
of this sin affect the entire human race.
Since that time, all human beings have been born with a sinful nature,
which means we are spiritually dead in sins and trespasses (Total Depravity),
we commit acts of sin, and are lost apart from the atoning work of Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all
men. Believers are resurrected to enjoy
eternal life with God. Unbelievers are
resurrected to experience judgment and eternal suffering apart from God’s glory
and love.
Genesis 1:26-27, 2:16-17,
3:1-24; Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:17-19; Romans
3:23; Acts 4:12; 1
Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians
4:16; Revelation 20:4-6, 12-15;
John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; Revelation
21:1-8
We
believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin. He died as a substitutionary sacrifice for
sin and all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed
blood and resurrection.
2 Corinthians 5:14; Mark 10:45;
Romans 3:24-26; 1 Peter
3:18; Romans 4:8-9
We
believe that whoever trusts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord becomes a child of
God. This salvation is not achieved by
any human effort or merit, but rather is wrought by God alone by grace through
faith. In becoming a Christian a person
acknowledges his total inability to meet the righteous demands of a holy God and
places his complete trust for salvation in Jesus Christ who died in his place,
paying the penalty for his sin.
John 1:12, 3:16;
Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts
16:31; Romans 3:28
We
believe that all true believers are kept eternally secure by the power of God
through the new birth, the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit, and the
intercession of Christ.
John 10:28-30, 14:16-17;
1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians
4:30; 1 John 2:1; Romans 8:38-39
We
believe that all Christians still encounter personal sin (from within) and
spiritual warfare (from without) in this life, but that from the moment of
salvation God has made provision for believers to overcome these through
understanding their new identity in Christ, knowing and applying the Word of
God, fellowshipping with other Christians, and living by the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. We believe that
no one who continues to live a lifestyle of sin has been born of God (i.e.
“saved”) for God’s Spirit frees us from sin (a habitual lifestyle of sin).
Galatians 5:17-21; Ephesians 6:10-19; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Romans
6-8; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16- 17; Galatians
6:1-2, 5:16, 22-24; 1 John 3:6-10
We
believe that all who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit belong to the one
true church, the body of Christ. This
church is seen in the world through local assemblies of believers who are
joined together for the purpose of glorifying God, edifying one another, and
evangelizing the world. The church is a
theocratic organization served by elders and deacons. The two church ordinances are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s
Supper. Baptism is a public testimony
of conversion to Christ and the Lord’s Supper is a memorial symbolizing His
body given for us and His blood shed for the remissions of sins.
Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13;
Romans 16:5; Ephesians 1:3-14; Romans 15:5-6; 1 Corinthians 10:31;
Colossians 3:14-16; Matthew
28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Isaiah 45:22, 49:6; John 17:18-20; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus
1:5-9; Acts 2:38; Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26
We
believe in the personal, imminent return of Christ to earth in sovereign power
and glory to establish His righteous rule, and in a “new heaven and a new
earth” in which righteousness dwells.
Matthew 24; Luke 21;
Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28; 2 Peter 3:3-13; Revelation 20:1-6, 21-22
We believe
that at death every believer passes into the presence of Christ and there
awaits the resurrection, after which he will be judged by Christ for his
works.
1 Corinthians 3:9-13, 15:51-54;
2 Corinthians 5:8, 10; Romans
14:10
We
believe that the unsaved will remain under condemnation, and in misery, until
the judgment of the Great White Throne where they will be united with their
body to be cast into the eternal lake of fire.
We believe that Satan and the fallen angels also will be cast into the
lake of fire to be tormented forever.
Revelation 20:1-15
This
church acknowledges only the Lord Jesus Christ as its Head; the Holy Scriptures
as the only infallible guide in matters of faith, church order, and discipline;
the Holy Spirit as its Teacher; and is neither accountable to nor under the
jurisdiction or supervision of any other ecclesiastical body. However, as is the biblical model, under the
leading of the Holy Spirit, this church will partner with like-minded believers
and/or congregations and/or denominations, who seek as we do to glorify the
Lord Jesus by obedience to His Word, in
order to further the gospel and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like-minded is defined as those who are wholly
committed to the obedience of all of God’s Word.
The
government of this church, under the Head of Jesus Christ (as revealed in the
Bible by the illumination of the Holy Spirit), will be carried out by His
chosen Elders, who will be responsible for final decisions. These men will lead the church by unanimous
agreement as they discern the will of Christ through bible study, mutual
exhortation, prayer, and communication with the entire church body. As God supplies biblically-qualified leaders
(per the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1), the church will have two
or more men who function as Elders (they may also be called Pastors or
Overseers). Other biblically qualified men may be selected to serve the church
as deacons, handling practical responsibilities delegated to them by the
elders.
The
pastoral leaders (Elders) are to shepherd (feed and lead) the church as well as
equip believers for their various God-appointed ministries. They are to function as “player-coaches” who
have as their aim the training and engagement in ministry of individual
believers.
Preaching
and teaching responsibilities are not to be restricted to any one man, but will
be shared by all the Elders, as led by the Holy Spirit. Those elders who rule well, especially those
who work hard at preaching and teaching, shall be considered worthy of
financial support. Such support will
not imply inequality among the elders.
Participation
in the membership of the church is by those who give evidence of personal faith
in Christ, obedience in baptism and the leadership of the Holy Spirit to this
particular church body. Applicants for
membership will be accepted on recommendation by the Elders and confirmation by
the membership body.
The
church must have a oneness of mind, heart, spirit, and purpose in essential
matters of belief and practice. In all
major decisions the elders will seek the consensus of the whole church
regarding the will of Christ. Serious
attention will be given to making sure that the church remains united and pure,
with the prayerful application of scriptural standards concerning church
discipline.
Since
God’s Word is unique in presenting changeless patterns of church life
(absolutes), we must not treat human traditions as if they too were
changeless. Where the Bible is silent,
the church is to remain flexible and prayerful, evaluating its actions by the
goals which God has laid down for the church and by the specific leading of the
Holy Spirit for our time and place. But
in every area the Bible presents patterns and commands for church life, we must
obey God’s Word without reservation or compromise.
The
essential activities of the church when gathered are preaching/teaching, edification
through mutual ministries, and worship through the Lord’s Supper, singing, and
prayer. Various committees and ministry
teams will be established at the discretion of the Elders for carrying out certain functions, activities, and
ministries. (See the attached list,
titled “Officers, Committees and Ministry Teams,” for an up to date list of the
officers, committees and teams).
Elders
(also called Pastors or Overseers) must ultimately be chosen, appointed, or
called by God. The elders will
prayerfully appoint men who meet the qualifications of elder as detailed in 1
Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These men will
be presented to the entire church body for affirmation.
An
elder must be discharged (resign/step down) if he fails to meet the
qualifications at any time during his service as elder. As stated in scripture (1 Timothy 5:19-20),
an accusation against an elder must not be entertained unless it is brought by
two or three witnesses and those that sin must be rebuked publicly (i.e.
rebuked in front of the entire church body).
If the sin is of such a nature that it disqualifies him, he must step
down from the office of elder. Any
elder who refuses to step down of his own accord can be required to step down
at the unanimous agreement of the remainder of the elders and the consensus of
the church body.
The Church or fiscal year, the terms being synonymous,
shall be January 1 through December 31.