BY-LAWS
OF
THE FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
ARTICLE I-NAME
The name of this Fellowship shall be known as the
FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN
CHURCH.
ARTICLE II - AFFILIATION
This fellowship is a
voluntary full member church of the Missionary Church Inc.,
ARTICLE III - PURPOSES
FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL
CHRISTIAN CHURCH believes it has been called into existence by God for all of the following
purposes.
A. To reach
out to our God by:
1. honoring Him in our lives through personal faith
and commitment in Jesus
Christ;
2.
praising our God as we meet
together as a family;
3.
obeying our God through the teaching and application of
the truths of His
words into our lives.
B. To reach
out to those in the fellowship by:
1. encouraging and building one another;
2.
loving and caring for each
other's needs;
3.
serving one another.
C. To reach
out to our community by offering:
1.
unconditional love and
acceptance;
2.
the message of God's love,
forgiveness of sin and gift of eternal life that i
ours through personal faith in Jesus Christ;
3.
services and ministry
activities that help guest feel welcome, comfortable
and able to understand the message of the
Fellowship's purpose;
4. special assistance in our community as mandated by God.
D. To reach
out to the world by:
1.
being actively involved in
sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with our
community, our nation and the world;
2.
supporting missionaries called by God to serve.
ARTICLE IV - THE STATEMENT
OF FAITH
We Believe In:
A.
The Authority of the Word of God - the Bible
1. The Bible is the inspired Word of God (2
Tim.3:16-17)
2.
The Bible is the final
authority for Christian faith and living
(Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; John 8:31,32)
B. God
1. God exists in three persons, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit
(I Tim. 1:17; Matthew 28: 19; 2 Corr. 3-14)
2.
Revealed Himself in Perfect
love (I John 4:8, 10-16)
3.
Righteous in all His ways
(Psalm 145:17; Thessalonians 1:19)
4.
Creator of all things
(Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17)
5.
Has the total knowledge of
all things (Psalm 147:5)
C. Jesus Christ, the Son of God
1. Jesus is true God and true man (John 1: 1-4,14)
2.
He was born as the son a
virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-23)
3.
He lived a sinless life (2
Corinthians 5:21)
4.
He died on the cross to
give life and forgiveness of sin to those who put
their faith in Him (Titus 2:14; I John 1:19; I
John 2:2)
5.
He arose from the dead to
authenticate His power and message
(I Corinthians 15:2-22)
6.
He ascended into heaven to
prepare an eternal place for those who trusted
in Him (John 14:1-6)
7.
He is now in heaven and
takes care of us through His spirit
(Romans 8:31-39)
D. Holy Spirit
1. He persuades individuals to repent of their sins
and confess Jesus as Lord
(John 16:7-13)
2.
He enters into the life of
the believer the moment the person believes in
Jesus (John 3: 6-8; Ephesians 1:13-14; I
Corinthians 12:13)
3.
He teaches and guides the
believer (John 16:13-14)
4. He enables us to live a godly and holy lives
(Romans 8:1-14;
Ephesians 5:17-21)
E. Man's
need of salvation
1. All men and women were created in the image of
God (Genesis 1:26; 2-27)
2.
Through the fall of Adam
into sin, all people are sinners (Romans 5:12,
3:23)
a. Because of sin, people are eternally separated from God apart
from the salvation that comes through faith and grace in Jesus
Christ (Romans 6:23)
b. We are spiritually born into eternal family through repentance of
our sin (I Peter 3:9,1 John 1:9) and heartily believe
in Jesus Chrisi
(Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10)
F. The
Gift of Salvation
1. Jesus Christ is the only basis for our being
able to stand before God
(John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
2.
Through faith in Christ, we
receive forgiveness of our sin (Romans 6:23)
3.
This salvation comes to us
by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
4.
The believer in Christ can
rest in the assurance of their eternal relationship
with God because of the power of God's love and
grace (Romans 6:23;
8:35-39; I John 5:10-13)
G. The
1. Jesus Christ is the Head of the
"Church" (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23)
2.
All those who have
experienced God's salvation through faith in Christ are
a part of God's "eternal family" (John
1:12) referred to in the Bible as the
"Church" (Ephesians 3:15, 21)
3.
The Filipino International
Christian Church is then known as a "local"
church of the greater "body" of the
"Church", just as were many churches
that the apostle Paul wrote to in his letters
(Romans 16:16;
I Corinthians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:4)
4.
The focus of the
"church" is always on the people as the church, not a
building or organization (2 Corinthians 1:1;
Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1)
5.
All believers (members of
the spiritual body or church) are directed in
scripture to associate together with other
believers in the local assembly
(Hebrew 10:25)
6.
Pastors are called to be
Shepherds of the local church, responsible for its
oversight (I Peter 5:1-2; Acts 20:17-28)
7.
The Management Council of
the Filipino International Christian Church is
the governing body (Acts 15:2) responsible for the care of its people (Acts
20:28) and the oversight of its ministries (I Timothy 5:17-18; I Peter 5:1-2)
8. The people of the Filipino International
Christian Church are called to be
"ministers" to accomplish the work of
God through their own unique
spiritual gifts and personal abilities (Romans 12:4-8; I Corinthians 12:23-31)
H. Baptism and the Lord's Supper
1. Baptism, following an individual's spiritual decision to put their faith
in
Jesus Christ, and receiving the Lord's supper
(communion), are
commanded by Christ Himself for the believer to observe
(Matthew 28:19-20)
2.
Baptism is an outward sign
of what the Holy Spirit has spiritually
performed in the heart of the believer (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12).
Baptism by immersion is observed by the Filipino
International Christian
Church.
3.
The Lord's Supper is
observed by the believer in memory of the sacrifice ol
Christ's body and the shedding of His blood to
redeem us from our sinful
nature (Matthew 26:26-29)
4.
Neither of these is to be
regarded as a part of our salvation or for the
forgiveness of sin. They are representative
symbols of spiritual truths
accomplished for us by Christ Himself when on
earth (Ephesians 2:8-9;
(I John 1:7)
I. Satan
1. Satan exists today as a real spiritual being (I
Peter 5:8)
2.
Satan is the enemy of God
and all believers in Christ (I John 3:7-10)
3.
He is the source of all that
is untrue in our world (John 8:44)
4.
Satan will suffer his doom
in the everlasting lake of fire along with all who
have not chosen to put their faith in Jesus Christ and receive His salvation
(Revelation 20:10,15)
J. The
Return of Christ
1. Jesus Christ will return personally at some
future date for all believers
(Actsl:ll)
2.
The return of Christ is a
source of expectant hope and encouragement for
all believers (I Thessalonians 4:18; Titus 2:12-13)
ARTICLE V - MEMBERSHIP
1. The Filipino International Christian Church family consist of individuals who
attend the Fellowship services on a regular
basis. The church recognizes that
these may be individuals who are new in their
spiritual journey with God and
those who have known Jesus as saviour for many years.
2.
A "membership" in
the Filipino International Christian Church is granted to an
individual upon their personal acceptance of
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and
to a covenant to Filipino International Christian
Church as their local church.
3.
Anyone desiring membership
shall submit a signed statement acknowledging
his/her commitment to Christ and to the church. Membership is affirmed by the
council of elders upon receipt of a signed application.
The elders may initiate
interviews with candidates for membership to
clarify any questions concerning
the applicants before the membership is
affirmed.
4.
All members are considered
"active" upon their affirmation by the elders and are
afforded the rights, responsibilities and
relationship to the Filipino International
Christian Church.
5.
A member shall be an
individual who is 16 years old or older. All voting
members must be 18 years of age or older.
6.
A member may be removed from
the membership of the Filipino International
Christian Church by the Council of Elders under
any of the following conditions:
a. A written
request from the member to transfer to another church.
b. Receipt of a written notice that the member has relocated
permanent residence out of the area
of this church.
c. Written request from the member to be released from membership
in the Filipino International
Christian Church.
d. Failure by the member to faithfully fulfill the membership
covenant including regular attendance.
e. Unresponsive
behavior to church discipline.
f. Death.
7. All members and church leaders are encouraged with the help of the Holy
Spirit
to conduct their lives according to principles and standards set forth in the
Word
of God. Such conduct includes moral
purity (I Corinthians 6:9-10), personal
honesty (Ephesians 4:25) and biblical
fidelity (2 Timothy 3:14-17; Romans 16:
17-18). Members are to live
consistent examples of authentic Christianity as they
seek to pattern the character of
Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit
(Romans 8: 28-29; Galatians 5: 22-23; Ephesians 5:18). Furthermore, members
shall seek the harmony and unity of the Filipino International Christian Church
(Ephesians 4:3) rather than seeking
to divide it (Titus 3: 10-11). Thus, every
person who is accepted as a member or into the
leadership of the Filipino International Christian Church explicitly consents
to the process of church discipline.
ARTICLE VI - MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
The ultimate authority of the church rests in
Jesus Christ and the Word of God. The leadership of the Filipino International
Christian Church resides in the Management Council which is composed of the
pastoral staff, body of elders, the deacons and the deaconesses. The Senior
pastor is the primary pastor-teacher of the body and is one of the elders.
1. Qualifications:
Members of the Management Council are persons
who are full of faith, sensitive to
the Holy Spirit, and who have gifts necessary to lead and teach. Their qualifications are given in I
Timothy 3:1-7, 8-13 and Titus 1: 5-9.
2. Selection:
Annually, the body will submit the names of the
people they believed are qualified to be considered
as candidate for the Management Council. The Management Council will prayerfully consider each person suggested and discerned which person should become candidate.
Following a period of instruction and
preparation, the Senior Pastor will present the final candidates to the body
for confirmation.
3. Functions:
a. The Management Council shall appoint officers from among their
members: Chairman, Vice Chairman,
Secretary and Treasurer.
b. They are to appoint all persons necessary to carry out the functions and
ministries of the church according
to standard given in the Word of God,
only the persons who are qualified to
minister.
c. They are to seek to make all decisions according to biblical principle
and
the church's biblical purposes, and
shall be by unanimous consent.
d. They are
to oversee the physical and spiritual welfare of the church.
e. They are
to care for the needs of the body as a Shepherd cares for his floe]
f. They are to counsel and discipline the people in the body in accordance
with the Word of God.
g. They are
to equip the body for personal ministries.
h. They
shall adopt a yearly budget of the church.
i. They shall meet
regularly at a specified time and place.
4. Terms and Evaluation:
1. The Senior Pastor will serve for an indefinite
period of time. Other members
of the Management Council will serve for a
staggered two-year term
beginning in January. Members of the Management
Council may serve as
long as they serve well.
2.
Management Council members
are to be personally evaluated annually by
other members who will express themselves on the
faithfulness and
effectiveness of each member's service.
3.
Management Council members may be removed from office by the other
members of the Council if there is biblical cause or if he/she fails to fulfill
his/her functions.
VII - AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be amended provided 30-days
notice is given in writing; the body is given opportunity to express itself
concerning the proposed amendment, and by approval of the Management Council.
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