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CORPORATE BYLAWS OF THE

                                  KANSAS CITY KANSAS BAPTIST ASSOCIATION

 

 

ARTICLE I       NAME

The name of this corporate body is Kansas City Kansas Baptist Association (a not-for-profit corporation).  References herein to "Association" will be to this corporate body.

                                                                                                                                                           

ARTICLE II      PURPOSE

The purpose of this Association will be to extend the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ by:

Sec. 1     Providing a means of cooperative effort by the churches in the areas of missions, evangelism, education, stewardship, and community ministries.

 

Sec. 2     Promoting a fellowship of the churches, and encouraging unity in faith and practice. 

              

Sec. 3     Aiding in the establishment of new churches, missions, and other ministries.

 

ARTICLE III    SUBSIDIARY BOARDS

The Association may establish from time to time such subsidiary boards, as it deems appropriate.  Directors of such subsidiary boards will be elected by the Association and may be dismissed by the Association.  The Executive Director of Missions shall serve such subsidiary boards as secretary-treasurer.

 

ARTICLE IV    MEETINGS

Sec. 1     The Association will meet annually in the Fall.  The Fall meeting of the Association will be the annual meeting of the corporation and will serve as final authority of the Association.

Sec. 2     The Executive Board may call a meeting of the Association at any time.  All churches in the Association must be notified at least two (2) weeks in advance.

 

Sec. 3     At the annual meeting and all called meetings of the Association, each church will be entitled to three (3) messengers for the first 50 resident members, and one (1) messenger for each additional 50 resident members.  No church will have more than twelve (12) messengers.  Additionally, each church-type mission will be entitled to one (1) messenger in addition to any messengers authorized for the sponsoring church.  ▲The Executive Board will be responsible for certifying messengers to the Annual Meeting.

Sec. 4     Quorum - Those messengers present for the annual meeting constitute a quorum.  Representation from twenty-five percent (25%) of the churches is required for all called meetings of the Association. 

 

 ARTICLE V     MEMBERSHIP

Sec. 1     This Association will be composed of such Baptist churches that subscribe to these bylaws and ▲(any) the Baptist Faith and Message adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963 or 1998.

Sec. 2     Any church desiring membership in the Association will be at least one year old as a mission or a church, and give evidence of soundness of faith and practice.  Application for membership will be made in the form of a petitionary letter and presented to the ▲ (Executive Board) Administrative Work Group at least one month prior to the annual meeting of the Association.  They may be admitted upon recommendation of the ▲ (Executive Board) Administrative Work Group and by three-fourths majority votes of the messengers present and voting.

Sec. 3     Every church is an autonomous body.  Any church desiring to terminate its membership with this Association will notify the Association in writing and provide the Association a copy of the minutes of the business meeting in which such action was taken.  The Association may vote to withdraw fellowship from any church it deems scripturally unsound in faith and in practice.  Upon recommendation from the▲ (Executive Board), Administrative Work Group the Association, in its annual meeting, may vote to remove the church from membership.  A three-fourths majority of the messengers present and voting is necessary for removal.

Sec. 4     Participation is the basis for membership in the Association.  Participation includes the submission of an Annual Church Profile and attendance of messengers at the annual meeting of the Association.  Participating churches are expected to give a minimum of $300 annually to the budget of the Association.  Mission churches will be considered with their sponsoring church.

 

If a church ceases to participate in the Association, the E.D.O.M and ▲ (Executive Board) Administrative Work Group are charged with seeking to reactivate such a church through a dialogue with its leadership.  Continuing non-participation may be grounds for withdrawal of fellowship.

 

Sec. 5     In situations where messengers from a church are contested, the matter will be referred to the ▲ (Executive Board) Administrative Work Group of the Executive Board for recommendation.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI    OFFICERS

Sec. 1     The officers of this Association will be: Moderator, Moderator-elect, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, and Executive Director of Missions/ Treasurer.

The corporate officers of this Association will be:

Chief Executive Officer:          Executive Director/Treasurer

President:                                  Moderator

Vice-President:                         Moderator-elect

Secretary:                                 Clerk

Assistant Secretary:                 Assistant Clerk

 

Sec. 2     All officers, except the Executive Director/Treasurer and the Clerk, will be nominated, by the Administrative Work Group, ▲ (and) approved by the Executive Board, and elected by the Association.  The Administrative Assistant of the Executive Director of Missions will serve as Clerk of the Association.  The Moderator, Moderator-elect, Assistant Clerk, and Treasurer will be presented for confirmation during the annual meeting for a one-year term effective immediately.  No person will serve successive terms as Moderator or Moderator-elect.  If the office of Moderator is vacated, the Moderator-elect will immediately become Moderator and the Executive Board will elect new Moderator-elect.  The Executive Board will elect replacements for all other vacancies of officers.

 

Sec. 3     The duties of the officers are as follows:

Moderator                   Preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board.  ; chair the work of the Administrative Work Group.  The Moderator or his designee will serve on all subunits of the Association.

Moderator-Elect          Act in Moderator's absence or at his request; serve as Moderator the following year.  ; chair the work of the Services to Churches Work Group

Clerk                           Take minutes; keep official records

Asst. Clerk                  Assist Clerk as needed

 

                         Treasurer         Review financial records; make financial reports to the Executive Board and Association; serve on Administrative Work Group

 

These officers will be responsible for all official and legal transactions authorized by the Association, and for all matters related to the day-to-day operations.  This may include, but is not limited to, signing legal documents, entering into contracts and the authority to act for the Association in lawsuits.

 

 

Sec. 4     The following will be authorized to sign checks:

Moderator, Moderator-elect, and the Executive Director/Treasurer.  The Association may elect additional person (s) to sign checks.  Any two (2) of the (authorized signers) four (4) are required for each check.  These persons will be bonded (revised 11-9-04). 

 

ARTICLE VII          EXECUTIVE BOARD

Sec. 1     Function.  The Executive Board will function for the Association between annual meetings. ▲Specifically, the Executive Board will:

1.  Approve an Annual Budget for the Association and present it for

                                   approval at the Annual Associational Meeting.

2.  Serve in an advisory capacity, as needed, for the Executive Director                            in Associational Staff personnel related issues. 

3.  As necessary, recommend changes for the By-laws of the Association to the Annual Meeting of the Association.

4.  Serve as the Search Committee for a new Executive Director in the event of a vacancy.  

 

Sec. 2     Organization.  The Executive Board will be composed of at least ▲(ten)

               thirty-three and not more than ▲(fifteen)  sixty-three members.  Two members will be the Moderator, Moderator-elect.  The other members will be nominated by the participating churches (as outlined in Article VII, Sec. 5) and the Administrative Work Group▲ (Executive Board) to be elected by the Association.  It will be the responsibility of the ▲(Executive Board) Administrative Work Group to propose the number of persons and the length of each nominee’s term.          

 

Sec. 3     Terms.  The regular length of service will be three-year rotating terms.  No Board member may succeed himself/herself after having served at least two years.  Any Board member who misses two consecutive Board meetings, without adequate excuse, will be considered to have resigned and will be replaced.  When a member resigns, the ▲(Executive Board) Administrative Work Group will first seek a nominee from the same participating church to fulfill the unexpired term.  If such a nominee cannot be found the ▲ (Executive Board) shall be free to select from other participating churches as needed in order to maintain a minimum of ten members.  Per work group.  When resignations occur between annual sessions the Executive Board shall elect the replacement.

 

Sec. 4     Composition.  Members of the Board will be elected from all the churches following the process described in section 5 below.  No congregation may have more than two elected members (exclusive of officers elected by the Association serving on the Board at any point in time.  However, each church that submits a nominee shall have at least one person on the Board.  The Clerk will maintain a record reflecting the historical make-up of the Executive Board by Church.  The ▲(Executive Board) Administrative Work Group will seek to include church staff and laity, as well as both men and women.

 

Sec. 5     Process.  The process for nomination of Executive Board Members will be as follows: In July each year the Executive Director/Treasurer shall write the churches inviting them to nominate up to two persons who are willing to serve a three-year term to represent their church.  All nominations received by August 15 will be considered by the ▲(Executive Board) Administrative Work Group as they prepare a slate of nominees to be presented to the Fall Annual Meeting.  If there are not a sufficient number of nominees from the churches, the ▲ (Executive Board) Administrative Work Group may either reduce the number (in no case shall it be reduced below ▲ (ten) thirty-three persons) or propose other nominees to fill out the Board.

 

Sec. 6     The full Executive Board will have at least ▲(two) one regular meeting(s) annually, as scheduled in the Associational calendar, printed as a part of such and approved by the Executive Board.

 

All other meetings of the Executive Board will be termed called meetings.  They may be called by the Moderator, or by two (2) of the officers, by notifying the members of the Executive Board in writing at least two (2) weeks in advance.

 

Sec. 7     Rapid Response.  The moderator or two of the officers can poll any Work Group or the full Board by mail, e-mail, facsimile, or similar electronic communication equipment to ascertain the will of the group on any emergency action (see Quorum below).  Such action will then be entered in the minutes of the subsequent full Board meeting to give permanent record of the decision.

Sec. 8     Quorum.  Sixty percent (60%) of the elected Board members will constitute a quorum at any meeting or poll.

 

Sec. 9     ▲(Sub) Work Groups.  ▲The Executive Board may appoint task forces, work groups, teams, for a specific purpose as needed to assist the Executive Board and Association for planning, special studies, and special projects.  The Executive Board must approve any actions of any sub groups.  Each member of the Executive Board will serve on one of three work groups:  Missions, Services to Churches, and Administrative.  The Moderator in consultation with the Executive Director will designate the work group on which each new Executive Board member will serve prior to the first meeting of the Board.  In the interest of continuity, it is anticipated that this assignment to the work group will be for the entire term.  The work groups and their responsibilities will be as indicated in the appropriate article below, and shall have authority to act on behalf of the Executive Board within these and budgetary limitations.  Prior to each meeting of the full Executive Board, each work group will provide a written report of actions to the staff liaison to be presented to the Executive Board.  

 

1.       Meetings.  Meeting dates of the Work Groups shall be determined by each work group.  All meetings of each Work group and of the full Executive Board shall be open to anyone from the participating churches to attend, unless there is a need to call an Executive Session to discuss a sensitive issue (such as a personnel issue.)

               2.       Agenda Process.  Any church desiring to place an item on the agenda of ▲ (the Executive Board) any work group shall present that item in writing at the Association’s office to be considered at the next meeting of the appropriate work group.  (?)

 

ARTICLE VIII MISSIONS WORK GROUP

Sec. 1     The Missions Work Group will be chaired by a member designated by the Moderator, in consultation with the E. D.O.M.  He will chair the work group for the year the Moderator serves.  Staff liaison for this work group will be the E.D.O.M.

Sec. 2     The Missions Work Group will:

1.       Relate to the establishment and encouragement of new churches, both Anglo and ethnic.

1.                 Establish priorities for new church sites and correlate these with the Baptist Foundation of Kansas City.

3.       Determine the need of and arrange opportunities for Partnership Missions with other entities.

4.       Provide the structure for involvement and interaction with other Southern Baptist Agencies within the Metropolitan Kansas City area.

5.       Aid in providing financial assistance for mission work from KNCSB and NAMB.

6.       Establish necessary task forces to accomplish special projects.

 

ARTICLE IX    SERVICES TO CHURCHES WORK GROUP

Sec. 1     The Services to Churches Work Group will be chaired by a member designated by the Moderator, in consultation with the E.D.O.M.  He will chair the work group for the year the Moderator serves (revised 11-12-02).  The staff liaison for this work group shall be the Director of Church Services.

 

Sec. 2     The primary function of this work group will be to provide assistance to the churches in their accomplishment of ongoing ministry services.  Specifically, the Services to Churches Work Group will:

1.       Prepare a calendar of events for the ensuing year and present it to the Executive Board for approval,

2.       Work with Program Leaders to set goals, and evaluate progress toward goals,

3.       Recommend to the Executive Board a slate of volunteers to lead the ongoing program ministries of the Association.

4.       Establish necessary task forces to accomplish special projects.

5.       Promote events and emphases in the calendar of events.

6.          Plan the program for the annual meeting of the Association.

 

ARTICLE X      ADMINISTRATIVE WORK GROUP

Sec. 1     The Administrative Work Group will be chaired by the Moderator.  The staff liaison for this work group shall be the E.D.O.M.

Sec. 2     The primary function of this work group will be to provide for the ongoing administration of the Association.  Specifically, the Administrative Work Group will:

1.               Serve as the personnel committee for the Association.

2.               Prepare an annual budget for the Association and present it for approval to the Association at the annual meeting.  After adoption of the budget, ensure that it is expended appropriately and in good order.

3.               As necessary, recommend changes in the Bylaws of the Association to the annual meeting of the Association.

4.               Be responsible for maintaining the Policy and Procedure Manual which will include, but not be limited to, the following:

1.               A detailed description of the function, duties and membership of any standing committees of the Association.

(b)      Personnel policies including duties, salaries and benefits. 

As necessary, recommend changes in the Policy and Procedure Manual to the full Executive Board.

                                             i.Be responsible for certifying messengers to the annual meeting.

                                           ii.Receive Petitionary letters and making recommendations to the annual meeting about the same.

                                          iii.Deal with any problems related to the relationship of a particular church with the Association, including the matter of participation (Article V, Section 4).

                                         iv.Work with the E.D.O.M. to provide strategic planning for the future of the Association and its work.

                                           v.Nominate the members of the Executive Board, Moderator, Moderator-elect, and Treasurer

                          10.    Establish necessary task forces to accomplish special projects.

 

ARTICLE XI    GIFTS

Sec. 1     All designated gifts must be given to standing accounts or be approved by the Executive Board as to their designated purpose.

 

ARTICLE XII   AMENDMENTS

Sec. 1     Upon recommendation of the Executive Board, these bylaws may be amended in the annual meeting of the Association or a meeting of the Association called by the Executive Board for that purpose.  A two-thirds majority vote of the messengers present and voting will be required.  The amendment will become effective immediately.

 

Sec. 2     The proposed amendment must:

1.        Be ▲(available) printed in the official publication of the Association at least 30 days prior to consideration by the Executive Board.

2.        Be sent by ▲(electric communication and/or) letter to each Executive Board member, and

3.        Be presented to the Clerk and be available to each messenger present at the annual meeting prior to its public reading.

                          

Sec. 3     The Association will be governed by the current edition of Robert’s Rules         of Order in all matters of parliamentary procedure.