Thank you for sharing your insight and offering your feedback. Please note the following:
Transition Team Update
Overview of what has happened over the last year…
At the October 2015 Business Meeting, the church passed a motion to change the church leadership structure of
First Baptist Church to an Elder Led Model. As a result, the Constitution Rewrite Committee has spent the last 10 months drafting changes to the church Constitution & By-Laws to reflect this direction. The first draft of the Constitution & By-Laws rewrite were made available to the church membership starting on August 21st for 4 weeks. This time period allowed the church to examine the draft and to provide questions and feedback to the Rewrite Committee.
Additionally, over the last 12 months 20 men completed an Elder Training class conducted by Pastor Stanley. As part of this process, the church membership was divided among the men into what was termed “shepherding groups.” Though not elders, the men committed to assisting the Pastors by being a contact and resource to the congregation. This is consistent with Pastor Stanley’s effort to fulfill Eph 4:11-12 by “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Both the trainees and Pastor Stanley thought this was an appropriate activity, regardless of the leadership structure of FBC Ark City.
Overview of upcoming events…
On or before October 2nd, after taking into consideration the feedback from the congregation, the Rewrite Committee will make available to the congregation the final draft of the Constitution & By-Laws. The adoption of the final draft will be on the agenda at the October 12th Business Meeting. The congregation will vote on a motion, Yes or No, to accept the Rewrite Committee’s work. With an affirmative vote, the Cabinet will select a Nominating Committee who in turn will nominate 8 men from the elder training class who will be presented for affirmation by the congregation. Upon congregational approval, the newly elected Elder Board will begin the task of working toward a January 1, 2017 implementation.
Thank You
Members of the Constitution Rewrite Committee are Jason Brewer, Keith Broce, Helen Czaplinksi, Devin Graves, and Trudy Masingale. The Transition Team would like to acknowledge and thank the Constitutional Rewrite Committee for the prayerful consideration of the task and the many sacrificial hours of work that went into this process.
Please Participate
As it concerns the current, ongoing, and future ministry of FBC and our commitment to glorify God in all that we do
(1 Cor. 10:31), it is important that as many members of our congregation as possible participate in the October 12th business meeting and let your voice (and vote) be heard. We encourage you to make your best effort to join us there!
Transition Team – Jake Giger, Calvin Herrill, Mark McGuigan, Terry Ramsey, Sylvia Riggs
First B Church Family
We are excited to share that our church now has access to an extensive, new video library called RightNow Media!
It’s like the “Netflix of Video Bible Studies” and has a HUGE library of faith-based videos that you can access
whenever and wherever you want—on your phone, iPad, computer, or at home on your TV. Check out the
informational video below and check your emails and bulletins for more info in the coming weeks!
