Why a Church Constitution?

In a word, “unity”.  All families need to make decisions, and God’s family is no different.  Some family decisions are difficult (such as finances or where to go on vacation!) and individual family members may differ as to the best course of action.  However, it’s usually not the decisions, but how the decisions are made, that causes strife and destroys unity.  If a family has clear rules and follows those rules when making decisions, family members can operate “in good faith” with one another and unity can be maintained despite differing opinions regarding the best course of action in a given situation.

Also, just as individual members (father, mother, brother, sister) within a natural family have different responsibilities and exercise authority in different areas, the same is true of God’s family.  The Bible establishes qualifications, responsibilities, and authority in specific areas for certain family members (pastors and deacons) while at the same time reserving other responsibilities and authority for the whole church family.  For example, did you know that responsibility and authority for the removal of an unrepentant member from the church family (the most serious decision a church can make) was not given to pastors and deacons but to the church family as a whole? (Matthew 18:17; I Corinthians 5:4-5)

A written constitution seeks to unify God’s family by providing clarity on how decisions will be made and who has what authority in accordance with our understanding of the scriptures.