All officers and boards shall serve subject to the will of God as discerned by the entire membership assembled in a properly warned meeting.  Final human authority and accountability rests with the membership as a whole.
 
Article 1.    Only members of the church are eligible to serve as officers and members of the boards of the church with the exception of the Board of Christian Education, which may include non-members.

Article 2.    All officers and boards shall prepare written reports for the annual meeting and be ready at that time to give an accounting of their ministries.

Article 3.    The Board of Deacons shall serve as an oversight board for the ministry of the church including evangelism, missions service and support, discipleship and spiritual guidance, Christian education, worship, visitation, and other ministries God raises up.  The board may authorize and disband positions or committees to do Christ's work.  The work of the Board of Christian Education will be evaluated and encouraged by the Deacons in conjunction with the Pastor.

            The duties of the Board of Deacons shall include:

• To assist the Pastor in providing leadership in worship, and in services of communion and baptism.
• To interview candidates for membership as outlined in Section I.
• To administer a Deacons' Fund to assist those in need. A treasurer chosen from the Board will make monthly reports at regularly scheduled Deacons' meetings about expenditures and the current balance in the Fund. The chair of the Board of Deacons will confirm the balance of the Fund prior to the regular monthly meeting.
• To serve as a Pastoral Relations Committee by supporting and evaluating the Pastor's ministry.  This includes oversight of the leave and use of time policies relative to the Pastor.  If it is agreeable to the Pastor, a subcommittee of the Board of Deacons may be designated to perform this task.  If a sub-committee is named, the congregation will be notified at quarterly meeting and in the bulletin.
• To arrange for preaching in the Pastor's absence.
• The Board of Deacons shall appoint a Head Usher who may appoint a committee of Ushers to facilitate orderly and reverent worship.  The Head Usher need not be a Deacon, but must be a church member.  Ushers need not be members of the church. 

                    
The Board shall elect a chairperson at the first meeting after the annual meeting of the church.

Article 4. The Board  of Trustees shall hold in trust all property, assets, and funds belonging to the church and take all necessary measures for their maintenance and upkeep.  Their specific duties shall be:

• To establish policies for the use of church property by groups inside and outside the church.
• To prepare an annual budget for the church and submit this budget for a vote in December.
• To superintend the raising of funds for church expenses.
• To assist in the accurate counting of offerings.
• To supervise all paid non-pastoral staff.

 
The Trustees have no authority to loan or invest funds without authorization at a properly warned church meeting.

The Trustees shall make no expenditure not found in the budget in excess of $1,000 without authorization at a properly warned church meeting.  Emergency repairs are excepted from this stipulation.

The Board shall elect a chairperson at the first meeting after the annual meeting.

Article 5.  The Co-Treasurers shall maintain the accounts held by the church and pay all bills as authorized by the annual church budget, by order of the church after a duly warned meeting, or by the Board of Trustees in keeping with stated policies found in these by-laws.  The directives given by the church in August 1993 are to be complied with unless these are modified by vote of the church at a properly warned meeting.  These directives shall be attached as an appendix to these by-laws.

The Co-Treasurers shall be ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees and shall have monthly reports available for their meetings.  These reports will be accurate and audited by the Auditors before every quarterly meeting of the church.

The Co-Treasurers will share their duties in a way deemed  agreeable to both, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees.

Article 6.  The Financial Secretaries will collect, count, and deposit all monies contributed to the church and keep an accurate account thereof.  They will inform the Co-Treasurers of deposits made.  They will provide offering envelopes to all who request them and shall keep an accurate record of individual giving and provide receipts of such giving as required by law or requested by contributors.

There will be three Financial Secretaries.  One of these will be designated by the Financial Secretaries as the Head Financial Secretary.  At least one Financial Secretary will join a member of the Board of Trustees to count each offering including Deacons' Fund offerings.  Two of the counters must not live in the same household.

Article 7.   The Clerk shall keep a record of all official business transacted by the church. 

The Clerk shall keep a chronological list of the members with the date of admission, dismissal, or death.

The Clerk shall receive and send all documents and letters pertaining to transfer of membership from another Christian Church.

The  Clerk  shall  fill  out  and  mail  all  denominational  forms, all  forms  required by governmental authorities, and shall file all communication and written reports of the church.

The Clerk  shall  make certain that  all official  meetings of  the church as  a body (as stipulated in Section V, Article 5), are properly warned and that accurate minutes of the proceedings are kept.

The Clerk shall preserve the lists of signatures of members who have signed The Purpose, Covenant, and By-laws of Memorial Baptist Church and keep a current list of all active and inactive members.

The Assistant Clerk shall perform the Clerk's duties in his or her absence as well as any other duties mutually agreeable to the Clerk and the Board of Deacons.

Article 8.  The Board of Christian Education shall consist of no fewer than 3 Church members and shall be responsible for the educational ministries of the church. This includes:

• Church ministries and summer ministries.
• Selection of curriculum in consultation with the Pastor and the Board of Deacons.
• Purchase of supplies.

The Board of Christian Education will designate one of its members as chairperson.  The chair will preside over the Board meetings and act as primary liaison person with the members and friends of the church.

The Board of Christian Education shall work in collaboration with the Pastor and the Board of Deacons.

The Board of Christian Education will be appointed by the Board of Deacons and confirmed by the congregation at the April quarterly meeting of the church.  Terms of service will begin in July.  Board members will be appointed for one-year terms and may serve for up to three consecutive terms before taking a retirement year.  It is recommended that at least one member should continue for the next year to maintain continuity on the board.

Article 9.   The Moderator shall preside over all properly warned meetings of the church body.  The Moderator shall ascertain if a quorum is present and shall assure that meetings are conducted decently, clearly, and in good order.  The Moderator, in collaboration with the Pastor, shall solicit items for the agendas of the annual and quarterly meetings of the church and formulate the agenda items for church meetings.

In the absence of the Moderator, the Pastor shall preside at properly warned meetings of the church body.  If the Pastor is unavailable, the Chair of the Board of Deacons shall preside.

Article 10.   Two Auditors shall be called at the annual meeting for the purpose of conducting a thorough audit of all receipts, expenditures, and financial records of the church before every quarterly meeting.  The church's auditing standards adopted in August 1993 will be followed unless they are modified by a majority vote of the members at a properly warned meeting of the church body.  An appendix of these standards will be attached to these by-laws.

Article 11.   A Nominating Committee shall present a slate of Officer nominees at the annual meeting of the church.  All nominees on this slate must have been contacted and agree to serve.  This committee will also meet to choose nominees to fill any vacancies that occur during the year.

The Nominating Committee will consist of four persons.  The Pastor will serve in an ex-officio capacity.  One member who will carry over for an additional year and serve as chair of the next year's committee.  The other three will serve one year.

Article 12.   Officers and boards shall submit budget proposals to fund their ministries to the Board of Trustees and shall be accountable for expenditures of relevant line items in the church budget.