About Our Constitution and Bylaws

Our current Constitution and Bylaws were adopted in 1999.  No changes have been made since then.  As Pastor Spike retires and a new leader comes on board, we want to update these documents to align with the church we are now (a multisite church of over 1700 people with many ministries, staff, and missions).  

• The Constitution is a statement of our beliefs and priorities. 

• The Bylaws form a binding document as to how we carry out our purpose as a church, what a member is, how the church is governed, etc. 

• These documents are not meant to detail how the church operates day-to-day, but to provide direction and guardrails for keeping the us aligned in our mission.  

Several years ago, we began the process of reviewing and updating these documents.  Over the last 6 months, we finished the revisions.  During this process we sought input from other churches, the Florida Baptist Convention, Bob Bumgarner (Lead Missional Strategist of First Coast Churches), and Gary Yeldell (our church attorney at Wise Counsel Legal Services).  The final revision has been reviewed and approved by our Executive Staff and Lead Team, the Advisory Team, and the Pastor Search Team.  It is now ready to present to the entire church membership for approval.  

A Summary of the changes in our Constitution and Bylaws

• Constitution:  Only substantial change is an expanded and clarified section on beliefs on Marriage, the Family, Sexuality and Gender

• Bylaws:

  • Article 1:  Church Membership—no substantial changes

  • Article 2:  Church Governance

    • Defines and clarifies responsibilities of Senior Pastor, Lead Team, Executive Team, Advisory Team, and Board of Trustees

    • Board of Trustees—creates new team elected by Congregation

      • 3 ex officio members:  Lead Pastor, Executive Pastor, Business Administrator

      • 6 non-staff elected members:  Chairman, Vice-Chairman, 4 Trustees.  Trustees serve for 3 years, then may be re-elected for 3 years, then must rotate off for 1 year.  Can serve unlimited back-to-back 3 year terms if separated by 1 year rotating off

      • Governance, not management—works with the Lead Pastor to keep the church aligned to the mission and vision of Chets, does not manage the day-to-day affairs of the church, selects Church Treasurer.

      • Differences between Board of Trustees and Advisory Team

        • Advisory Team--appointed by the Lead Pastor, serves as a sounding board for him, serve indefinitely  

        • Board of Trustees—elected by the church, Lead Pastor is a member, serves as check and balance, provides governance for vacancy in Lead Pastor position, serve 3 year terms

    • Defines matters requiring congregational voting.

    • Defines Lead Pastor selection and termination processes.

  • Article 3:  Church Finances—clarifies handling of designated gifts

  • Article 4:  Church Records—no substantial changes

  • Article 5:  Church Ordinances and Ordination—no substantial changes

  • Article 6:  Multisite—new, broadly defines structure of multisite model

  • Article 7:  Conflict Resolution—creates Scriptural dispute resolution process

  • Article 8:  Miscellaneous Items--clarifies use of facilities, updates legal items

  • Article 9:  Amendments to Bylaws—no substantial changes

How do we make these changes to the Constitution and Bylaws?

On Sunday, March 22, church members over the age of 16 may vote across all of our campuses on these changes during the worship service.  A 75% affirmative majority of the members voting is required to pass.  

According to our current Bylaws, members are those individuals who have:

• Accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

• Given evidence of their salvation by baptism by immersion either at Chets or a previous church. 

• Completed the membership class (also called CLASS 101, Chets 101, or Starting Point).

  Turned in their signed membership covenant (provided in the membership class).

• If you have questions about your membership status, please contact the church office at 904-223-5954 or info@chetscreek.com

If you have any questions about the proposed changes, feel free to contact Eddie Hastings, Executive Pastor, at eddie@chetscreek.com or Ronnie Hawthorne, Business Administrator, at ronnie@chetscreek.com