Deacon Nomination 2023

Background for Deacons’ Elections – Bylaw excerpt

III. BOARD OF DEACONS

12.  DEFINITION AND NUMBER
The Board is an operational committee of between seven (7) and fifteen (15) male Church members, who serve without remuneration, elected to carry out the spiritual, administrative and temporal determinations of the Church membership and provide recommendations and guidance thereto. For corporation purposes, the Board of Deacons is also the Board of Directors. At least two (2) of the Deacons must not be Officers or employees of the Church.

13.  QUALIFICATIONS
A Church member in good standing may be nominated for election to the Board if the member fulfils all of the following qualifications, as determined by the Board.  The member must:
           (a) be giving evidence of a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and be in full agreement with the Church Articles and By-laws;
           (b) be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
           (c) have active, positive, past and present involvement within the Church;
           (d) fulfill Deacon qualifications in I Timothy 3:8 -12 and Acts 6:2-4;
           (e) recognize that the role of Deacon is that of a servant of the  people, requiring commitment to humble service, and that it includes not only administrative service, but active participation in and leadership of ministries of the Church;
           (f) not be, or be directly related to [cf. 1(1)] the senior pastor, associate pastor(s), the principal of Central Baptist Academy or Auditor.
           (g) notwithstanding the above, 75 per cent of Board members shall not be employees of Central Baptist Church Brantford.

14.  ELECTION
Step 1
The Board shall compile a slate of nominees which includes all members qualified for the position of Deacon, as determined by the Board and as per 13 above. No member may be eliminated from the slate unless there is just cause, reviewed “in camera” and supported by a majority of the Board.

Step 2
Said slate shall be posted at least two (2) weeks in advance of the election of Deacons (at the Annual Members’ Meeting in February), so that nominees may decide whether or not to accept the nomination.

Step 3
The final slate of nominees accepting nomination shall be presented to the Church membership by the Board Chair at the Annual Meeting, for a term as per Section 15 below.

Optional Step
Pursuant to the Act, one or more additional nominations may be made if the nominee meets the qualifications as per 13 above (as determined by the Board) and has agreed to accept the nomination.
The nominator may:
            i. send a written Proposal [cf. 11.01(e)] to the Board at least one month in advance of the election, along with the written agreement of the nominee(s) to accept the nomination, or
            ii. make a motion from the floor.

15.  TERM OF OFFICE
15.01 Basic Term:
An elected Deacon shall hold office for a term of three (3) consecutive years, beginning March 01, except when completing a term in a new or previously-vacated, mid-term position.

15.02 Rotation:
Each year, one-third (1/3) of the Deacons (who have served for three (3) years) shall retire from the Board and elections will be held, as per 14 above, to fill those positions.

15.03 Maximum Term:
There is no limit to the number of terms for which a qualified Member may be re-elected.