Our AGNCN District Constitution
and Bylaws
WHEREAS, it is the express purpose of God our Heavenly Father to call out of the world a saved people who shall constitute the Body or Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, built and established upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone; and,
WHEREAS, God having ordained that His Universal Church should find its expression in and through local churches, enjoining them to assemble together for worship, fellowship, counsel and instruction in the Word of God, and for the work of the ministry, and for the exercise of those spiritual gifts and offices provided for in the New Testament,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this corporation is formed exclusively for religious purposes, to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the Holy Bible, in customs and traditions of Evangelical Pentecostal Christianity, as an administrative unit of and a constituent division amenable to The General Council of the Assemblies of God, a Missouri Nonprofit Corporation, and, in these premises, the following Constitution and Bylaws are adopted:
Recommended Bylaws for General Council Churches
Most churches don’t think much about their bylaws …. until a crisis arises! In such cases church leaders turn to their bylaws to find a way through the crisis. Hopefully these leaders find their bylaws to be incredibly helpful. But sometimes, they find them to be a useless ornament (if they fail to anticipate the issue the church is currently facing).
Unfortunately, the time to amend and update the bylaws is long before such a crisis arises. Once the crisis appears, it’s too late.
The bylaws linked to below are recommended by the District Presbytery. The Presbytery reviews these documents on a regular basis, to ensure that they comply with all current laws, that they embody best-practices, and are consistent with the theology, policies, and principles of the Assemblies of God. If your church has not updated your bylaws in ten years or more, it is our recommendation that the church adopt these by “substitution” rather than a line-by-line amendment process. Please contact the District Secretary-Treasurer for some counsel on how your church can easily update your bylaws.
These bylaws were updated by the Presbytery in January of 2023.
> How to Adopt New Bylaws
Adopting new bylaws does not have to be difficult. Here is a process that we’d recommend:
The Board should make a formal decision to amend/adopt new bylaws:
a. Board needs to decide whether to amend old bylaws (phrase by phrase, with strikeout and inserts), or simply replacing them with an entirely new document. If the church’s bylaws have not been updated in many years, then the recommended changes may be substantial, in which case it would be easier and less complicated to do a substitution. The rest of this instruction assumes that a substitution is being done.
b. Board should set a timeline for the process.
c. Board should announce the decision and timeline to the members.
Board will need to decide on the changes that they want to recommend. This may involve phrase by phrase amendments to the old document, or wholesale substitution with a new document.
a. Warning 1: Bylaws are a legal document, please be careful not to delete critical language. It may not seem important at the moment, but someday the language might become very important.!
b. Warning 2. Please be careful about deviating from the bylaws that the district recommends—certain changes could put the church out of compliance with the District Council or General Council. Other changes could result in internal inconsistency. And the wise Board does not want to lose the sense of security that comes in being able to say, “These are the bylaws recommended by the District.”
Board conducts an “Informational Meeting” to answer questions and get feedback from the members. This is not a voting meeting.
Provide a copy of the proposed bylaws to each member in advance.
During the informational meeting, ask the members for feedback. Answer any questions that may be raised.
Amending and adopting bylaws can get complicated, and so the Board will want to reduce and alleviate any confusion by having good “Informational Meetings” beforehand.
After the informational meeting, the board should decide whether the document can be presented as is, or whether some additional changes need to be made (based on the feedback from the meeting.) Please remember that the members will have the ability to propose amendments to the bylaws on the floor at the business meeting, so it’s best to anticipate any concerns and plan for them.
Final copies are provided to each members and a business meeting to consider to adopt them is called.
Board may wish to request a Presbyter or District Officer to chair the meeting where this matter will be considered.
Rules of Order for District-Affiliated Churches
District Presbytery Approved March 2009
Herein are the Rules of Order designed to govern a District Affiliated church. A District Affiliated church is established to the Bylaws of this District, Article Eight, Section Ten.
All District Affiliated church pastors and members of the local Advisory Committee are expected to read and abide by the document in all applicable matters. These Rules of Order are to be made available to members of the local church upon request. These Rules of Order may be revised from time to time by the action of the District Presbytery.
For a copy of the Rules of Order, please call or email Natalie Aspenlind at naspenlind@agncn.org.