Blue Ridge Baptist Association

Constitution and Bylaws

A Religious Nonprofit Organization

 

Article I. Our Name

The name of this organization under the laws of the state of North Carolina is the “Blue Ridge Baptist Association, Incorporated” operating simply as the Blue Ridge Baptist Association or (BRBA).

 

Section 1.  Our Alignment

The Blue Ridge Baptist Association is in alignment with the Baptist State Convention of NC, and the Southern Baptist Convention, and the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.  Our primary purpose is to promote the advancement of Christianity locally, domestically and globally.    

 

Article II. Our Mission

The mission of the Blue Ridge Baptist Association is to equip our churches to fulfill the Great Commission by:

  • Communicating and leading churches to cooperate together.
  • Assisting churches to impact lostness.
  • Connecting churches to local, regional, and global mission involvement.

 

Section 1.  Mission Statement

The Blue Ridge Baptist Association exists to glorify God by sending, serving, and supporting churches in their cooperative work of fulfilling the Great Commission.

 

 

Article III. Our Values

  • We value the historical fact that the association was created by and for the churches.
  • We value and respect the autonomy and diversity of each individual church.
  • We value innovation by seeking to create an environment where creative thinking and continuous learning is possible.
  • We value cooperation, believing that we can and must learn from one another under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We seek to build stronger relationships among the churches through networking.
  • We value the support and participation provided by each individual church.
  • We value the privilege of individual churches to cooperate in mission support endeavors beyond the Blue Ridge Baptist Association.
  • We value The greatest need in our world is lostness, and the only remedy to lostness is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • We value the Holy Bible as the Word of God, the source of life, and our direction. In matters of interpretation, it is our final and ultimate authority.
  • We value our Baptist heritage and who we are as Baptists in our faith, beliefs and practices.

 

 

Article IV. Membership

Our membership shall consist of Baptist churches who are in alignment with what we believe and value, and have been accepted into the Blue Ridge Baptist Association, and who have made regular financial contributions to the Blue Ridge Baptist Association.  If a member church strays from our values and beliefs, it will be discussed at length by the Associational Leadership Team.  If the Leadership Team deems necessary, that church could be brought before the association during any business session and removed as a member church by a majority vote of the association.    

 

 

Article V. Meetings

The Blue Ridge Baptist Association shall hold its annual meeting in the Fall (September) of each year.  Each member church can elect or bring up to (7) messengers plus the pastor to the annual meeting for voting purposes.  However, our churches are not limited to bringing just (7) messengers to our annual meeting.  The (7) messengers plus the pastor will be registered at the annual meeting for voting purposes only.  We shall also have a (Special) Spring meeting in March.  These meetings shall be called “Gatherings.”  The Spring Gathering will be a time for our churches to come together for fellowship, worship, missions education, information and celebration.   At each Gathering we shall conduct our business, hear from our Mission Strategist, and entertain special reports and recommendations from the BRBA Leadership Team.  The pastor from each member church should promote our gatherings and bring as many people as will come from his church to our gatherings.  We believe in togetherness, and we believe that together we can impact the kingdom of God.

 

 

Article VI. The Leadership Team

Our Leadership Team shall come from within the active members of the churches who are affiliated with the Blue Ridge Baptist Association.  The Leadership Team shall consist of fourteen (14) members.  The Leadership Team shall be presented and voted upon by the association at the (Fall) September Gathering.  The 14 members will be as following:

  • The Mission Strategist—–Ex-officio member (Voting if Needed)
  • (1) The Associational Secretary—–Ex-officio member (Non-voting)
  • (6) Pastors From Within Our Churches
  • (6) Lay Leaders From Within Our Churches

 

Section 1. Leadership Team Appointments

The Leadership Team shall appoint other ministry teams to serve the Association as they deem necessary.  Such teams will be presented to the Association for the approval of the Association at any regular or special called business session.

 

Section 2. Leadership Team Influence

The Blue Ridge Baptist Association grants the Leadership Team to make decisions and to carry out the overall work for the Association in between the two scheduled “Gathering” meetings as they deem necessary.  Note: The Leadership Team shall now function as the formerly known Executive Committee for the Association.  The Leadership Team shall annually elect a President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Corporation from among the Leadership Team.  These three officers of the Corporation may only act in legal matters (including the purchase or sale of property) upon the express consent of a majority of the Board of Directors.  The Leadership Team shall serve as the Board of Directors for the Corporation. 

 

Section 3. Leadership Team Structure

The Leadership Team along with the Mission Strategist shall seek out pastors and lay leaders each year to serve on the Leadership Team.  Six (6) leaders will rotate off each year with Six (6) new leaders rotating on each year.  The Mission Strategist will serve as the Moderator for the Leadership Team meetings.  The Leadership Team will appoint a Moderator and a Vice-Moderator from the team to serve at our two (2) Gatherings.  The Associational Secretary shall take and record minutes of our Spring and Fall Gathering meetings.

 

 

Section 4. Leadership Team Breakdown

Our Leadership Team will be broken down into three (3) groups of (4) members which coincide with the three distinct ministry sections laid out in our annual budget.  (The Serving Section, The Sending Section, and The Supporting Section).  Each team shall appoint a chairperson for their team.  The chairperson will work closely with the Mission Strategist in planning dates, times, and places for their team meetings.  The (3) groups will be broken down as follows:

 

  • The Leadership Serving Team—The leadership serving team will meet with the Mission Strategist and the Associational Secretary to plan, organize, and implement the serving ministries as outlined in our budget for that particular year.

 

 

  • The Leadership Sending Team—The leadership sending team will meet with the Mission Strategist and the Associational Secretary to plan, organize, and implement the sending ministries as outlined in our budget for that particular year.

 

 

  • The Leadership Supporting Team—The leadership supporting team will meet with the Mission Strategist and our Associational Secretary to put together our annual budget that will be voted on during our fall gathering each year. The associational budgeted year will be Jan. 1–Dec. 31.  The supporting team will also meet with the Mission Strategist to plan, organize, and implement our Spring and Fall Gatherings.

 

 

Article VII.  The Mission Strategist—-The Leadership Team shall seek out and bring to the association a Mission Strategist when the position is vacant.  Our Mission Strategist is the chief director of the Association.  He shall work closely with the three (3) Leadership Teams to plan, coordinate, supervise and evaluate the ministries, programs, training, conferences, budget and work as outlined within the budget of the Association.  The Mission Strategist shall be accountable to the Leadership Team of the Blue Ridge Baptist Association.

 

Section 1. The Secretary

The Secretary shall work closely with the Mission Strategist in carrying out the ministries of the Association.  She shall be accountable to the Leadership Team of the Blue Ridge Baptist Association.  If the position becomes vacant, the Leadership Team will seek to fulfill it with the oversight of the Mission Strategist.

 

 

Section 2.  Staff

If the need arises for additional staff within the Blue Ridge Baptist Association, the Leadership Team shall seek to fulfill it with the oversight of the Mission Strategist.

 

 

Article VIII.  Our Beliefs

We believe that the greatest problem in the world today is lostness, and God has given His church the power and provisions to impact lostness in our county, in our state, in our country and around the world. 

 

We believe the Bible was written by divine inspiration and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind.  It is our authority for knowing God, obeying God and is our ultimate authority on matters of faith and practice.  Through it, the Spirit of God reveals the Living Word, Jesus Christ. 

 

We believe there is One true and living God who is revealed in three persons:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  God alone is worthy of worship.

 

 

We believe God loves every person in the world regardless of race, color, age, nationality, religious beliefs and sexual orientation.  Therefore, we are commanded to love them too. 

 

We believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God almighty, fully God and fully man.  Born of a virgin, Jesus lived a life without sin and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world on the cross.  On the third day, God raised Him from the dead and He ever lives to save us from our sins.  As He promised, He will come again in power and great glory.

 

We believe that although we are sinners by nature and by choice, God offers the gift of eternal life and salvation by His grace through faith to anyone who will repent and believe the Gospel.

 

We believe the Holy Spirit is present in the world to convict of sin and judgment to come.  He reveals the need and the way of salvation.  He also lives within every true born-again believer, comforting, encouraging and empowering them to know and follow the will of God.  He gifts every true believer with spiritual gifts for His glory and for the common good.

 

We believe that God created mankind in His image as male and female.  Therefore, every human life is sacred from conception unto death.    

 

We believe the New Testament church is a community of disciples commissioned by Jesus to carry out the Great Commission on this earth.

 

We believe that Heaven is the eternal destination for true believers and Hell is the place of eternal separation and torment for those who do not know God nor obey the Gospel.

 

 

Article IX.  Rules of Order

The Association shall always be governed by a simple majority vote during our business sessions at our gatherings or at any other special called meeting of the Association by the Mission Strategist or the Leadership Team.  The Moderator or Vice Moderator shall preside over the business of the Association and be guided to the best of their ability by Robert’s Rules of Order.  Our intent will always be to carry out our business “in a spirit of cooperation” more so than precise protocol.  The Moderator and Vice Moderator shall be elected annually in and through the Leadership Team.

  

Section 1.  Changes to the Constitution and Bylaws

Our Constitution and Bylaws can be altered or amended by a majority vote of the Association at any meeting.  Any recommended changes shall be given to the Association at either the Spring or Fall gathering and then voted upon at the following gathering.