FBCG Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles First Baptist Church of Geneva

MISSION PRINCIPLES MO1 Comprehensive Mission Statement Our Mission: The mission of FBCG is to honor God by making more disciples for Jesus Christ.

We will seek to accomplish this mission by: Reaching the people and families of our local communities.

Connecting people to Christ, to FBCG, and to each other.

Equipping believers for spiritual maturity and ministry, and Serving others in the name of Christ.

As of April 15, 2014

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BOUNDARY PRINCIPLES The senior pastor shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision, or organizational circumstance that is unlawful, imprudent, unethical, or unbiblical.

BP1

Biblical and Moral Integrity The senior pastor shall not fail to uphold high standards of biblical teaching and morality in all areas.

BP2

Financial Planning and Budgeting Financial planning for any fiscal year or the remaining part of any fiscal year shall not deviate materially from the Executive Council’s Goals, increase financial risk or fail to be derived from the long-range plan.

BP3

BP.2.1

Sufficient Information The senior pastor shall not allow funding or budgeting that contains too little information to enable credible projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items, relation of expenditures to Ministry Goals, and disclosure of multiyear planning assumptions.

BP2.2

Expenditures within Projected Funds The senior pastor shall not allow funding or budgeting that plans the expenditure, in any fiscal year, of more funds than are reasonably projected to be received in that period.

BP2.3

Asset and Cash Margins The senior pastor shall not allow cash in the unrestricted reserves to drop below one month’s expenses unless expressly authorized by the Executive Council.

Financial Condition and Activities With respect to the actual, ongoing financial conditions and activities, the senior pastor shall not allow increased financial risk or a material deviation of actual expenditures from Executive Council priorities established in Ministry Goals.

BP3.1

Expenditures The senior pastor shall not expend more funds than have been received in the fiscal year to date unless the amount has been budgeted.

The senior pastor shall not expend an amount greater than forecast fiscal year revenues.

BP3.2

As of April 15, 2014

Debt The senior pastor shall not indebt the church in a manner that is inconsistent with the church bylaws.

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BP4

As of April 15, 2014

BP3.3

Long-Term Reserves The senior pastor shall not use any long-term reserves unless the use is consistent with the long range plan.

BP3.4

Inter-fund Shifting The senior pastor shall not conduct inter-fund shifting without the approval of the Executive Council.

BP3.5

Payroll and Debt Settlement The senior pastor shall not fail to settle payroll and debts in a timely manner.

BP3.6

Government Payments and Filings The senior pastor shall not allow tax payments or other governmentordered payments or filings to be overdue or inaccurately filed.

BP3.7

Purchase Cap The senior pastor shall not make a single, unbudgeted purchase of greater than 1% of the annual budget in the General Fund and shall not exceed the available unencumbered funds in any other fund.

BP3.8

Real Property The senior pastor shall not acquire, encumber, or dispose of real property in a manner that is inconsistent with church bylaws.

Asset Protection The senior pastor shall not allow the assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained, or unnecessarily risked.

BP4.1

Insurance The senior pastor shall not fail to insure against theft and casualty losses to at least 80 percent of replacement value and against liability losses to Executive Council members, staff, and the church itself in an amount less than $6,000,000.

BP4.2

Insurance for Financial Improprieties The senior pastor shall not allow financial operations without a reasonable level of insurance coverage to protect against employee and volunteer misconduct.

BP4.3

Facilities and Equipment The senior pastor shall not subject facilities and equipment to improper wear and tear or insufficient maintenance.

BP4.4

Liability The senior pastor shall not unnecessarily expose the organization, the Executive Council, or its staff to claims of liability.

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BP4.5

Independent Financial Review The senior pastor shall not receive, process, or disburse funds under controls that are insufficient to meet the Executive Council-appointed independent financial reviewer’s standards.

BP4.6

Secure Instruments The senior pastor shall not invest or hold operating capital in insecure instruments, including uninsured checking accounts. Investments in Converge’s (Baptist General Conference’s) Cornerstone Funds above $250,000 require the approval of the Executive Council.

BP4.7

Public Reputation The senior pastor shall not endanger the organization’s public image or credibility, particularly in ways that would hinder its accomplishment of mission.

BP5

Treatment of Constituents With respect to interactions with constituents or potential constituents, the senior pastor shall not cause or allow conditions, policies, procedures, or decisions that are unsafe, undignified, unnecessarily intrusive, or that fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy.

BP6

Compensation and Benefits With respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers, and volunteers, the senior pastor shall not cause or jeopardize the integrity or public image of the church.

As of April 15, 2014

BP6.1

Senior Pastor Compensation The senior pastor shall not change his own compensation and benefits.

BP6.2

Promise of Employment The senior pastor shall not promise or imply permanent or guaranteed employment.

BP6.3

Market Value The senior pastor shall not establish current compensation and benefits that deviate materially from the geographic or professional market for the skills employed.

BP6.4

Fairness of Benefits The senior pastor shall not establish or change health or pension benefits that conflict with government regulations or provide benefits that are discriminatory.

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BP7

Treatment of Staff With respect to the treatment of paid and volunteer staff, the senior pastor may not cause or allow conditions that are unfair or undignified.

BP7.1

Personnel Policies The senior pastor shall not operate without concise personnel policies that clarify rules for staff, provide for effective handling of grievances, and comply with government regulations.

BP7.2

Grievance The senior pastor shall not prevent staff from expressing a grievance to the Executive Council when (1) internal procedures have been exhausted, and (2) the employee alleges either that the Executive Council’s Guiding Principles have been violated to his or her detriment or that the principles do not adequately protect his or her legal rights.

BP7.3

Staff Evaluation The senior pastor shall not fail to at least annually evaluate staff performance using a valid and fair system that includes clear categories and scales of measurement.

BP8

Communication and Support to the Executive Council The senior pastor shall not permit the Executive Council to be uninformed or unsupported in its work.

BP9

Emergency Senior Pastor Succession In order to protect the Executive Council from the sudden loss of senior pastor services, the senior pastor will have at least one other ministry staff member familiar with Executive Council and senior pastor issues and processes.

As of April 15, 2014

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ACCOUNTABILITY PRINCIPLES The responsibility of the Executive Council before God, on behalf of people in Geneva, the surrounding region and the world who need to know Christ and grow to be like Him, is to see that First Baptist Church, through the leadership of its senior pastor, (1) achieves the fulfillment of its Ministry Goals, and (2) avoids violation of its Boundary Principles.

AP1

AP2

As of April 15, 2014

Stewardship to Christ for Those He Calls Us to Serve The Executive Council shall maintain an active connection with the attendees of the church, Christ and the community he has called this church to serve.

AP1.1

Seek Guidance Through Prayer and the Word of God Under the teaching and guidance of God’s Word, the Executive Council will continually seek the wisdom and leading of Christ as the Lord of the church.

AP1.2

Community Research and Public Relations The Executive Council will continually enhance its understanding of the needs of people in the community and to enhance the church’s reputation of service to the community.

AP1.3

Church Feedback and Assessment The Executive Council will monitor feedback from attendees, to better understand their needs. Annually the Executive Council will conduct a minimum of two town hall meetings. Every five years or less the Executive Council will arrange a full church assessment by a competent consulting group.

Executive Council Conduct The Executive Council shall conduct itself with discipline and integrity with regard to its own process of governance.

AP2.1

Executive Council Style The Executive Council will govern with an emphasis on 1. Outward vision rather than internal preoccupation 2. Encouragement of diversity in viewpoints 3. Strategic leadership more than administrative detail 4. Clear distinction of council and staff roles 5. Collective rather than individual decisions 6. Future focus rather than past or present 7. Proactive rather than reactive

AP2.2

The Work of the Executive Council The essential responsibilities of the Executive Council are: 1. Serve as representatives of the congregation 2. Establish policy in the form of Guiding Principles 3. Review By-laws & Guiding Principles regularly 6

4. Achieve executive accountability by monitoring senior pastor performance 5. Empower and resource the senior pastor for success in achieving the annual Ministry Goals 6. Join the senior pastor in planning for the future of the church and ensure that mission drive all actions and decisions 7. Recommend the annual budget of the church 8. Fulfill fiduciary and all other legal responsibilities as required by state and federal law 9. Ensure yearly financial audit or review 10. Develop leaders for future Executive Council service 11. Develop current Executive Council members for more effective service 12. Conduct self-evaluation based on adherence to the Accountability Principles and Ministry Goals 13. Establish a minimum of two goals specific to the Executive Council 14. Ensure appropriate financial planning to achieve the long range plan and Executive Council goals 15. Provide avenues of care for the senior pastor including conflict resolution, discipline, and restoration.

As of April 15, 2014

AP2.3

Executive Council Member Code of Conduct The Executive Council commits itself and its members to the following code of conduct: a. A member must disclose any conflict of interest and withdraw from any decision-making affected by it. b. Executive Council members will meet and hold to the standards outlined in the Executive Council Qualifications and will sign and abide by the requirements of the Executive Council Leadership Covenant

AP2.4

Responsibility of the Chairperson for Integrity of Process The chairperson enforces the integrity and fulfillment of the Executive Council’s process including the monitoring of senior pastor performance. The chairperson is authorized to use any reasonable interpretation of the Accountability Principles as he acts to ensure the integrity of the Executive Council’s process.

AP2.5

Responsibility of the Senior Pastor for Visionary Leadership The senior pastor has the responsibility, authority, and accountability to serve as the primary leader of the church. With respect to the Executive Council, the senior pastor will engage and collaborate with the Executive Council on all actions, except for the monitoring of senior pastor performance. If a question of process arises with regard to the bylaws or guiding principles of the church, the senior pastor will defer to the judgment of the Executive Council chairperson.

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AP3

AP2.6

Use of Executive Council Task Forces/Committees Executive Council task forces and committees, if used, will be assigned to reinforce the wholeness of the council’s job and never to interfere with the delegation from the Executive Council to the senior pastor or with the work of the staff.

AP2.7

Governance Commitment The Executive Council will invest in its own governance capacity through training, outside expertise, and research mechanisms.

Monitoring the Performance of the Senior Pastor The Executive Council’s connection to the operating organization of the church, its achievement, and conduct shall be through the senior pastor.

AP3.1

Unity of Control Only formal, documented decisions of the Executive Council are binding on the senior pastor.

AP3.2

Accountability of the Senior Pastor The senior pastor is the Executive Council’s link to operational achievement and conduct, so that all authority and accountability of staff, as far as the Executive Council is concerned, is considered the authority and accountability of the senior pastor.

AP3.3

Delegation to the Senior Pastor The Executive Council will instruct the senior pastor through written principles that prescribe the mission to be achieved and establish the boundaries to be avoided, allowing the senior pastor to use any reasonable interpretation of these principles.

AP3.4

Performance Review of the Senior Pastor The Executive Council will at least annually, systematically review the senior pastor’s job performance. The measure of his performance will be limited to: 1. The accomplishment of the Ministry Goals.

2. Operation within the Executive Council’s Boundary Principles.

A raise or corrective action shall be determined based on the current financial position of the church, the market compensation for similar positions, and the degree to which he has or has not achieved specific objectives.

AP3.5

As of April 15, 2014

Annual Goals of the Senior Pastor The senior pastor will be required to write measurable goals each year which correspond to each of the Executive Council’s Ministry Goals.

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AP3.7 Absence of the Senior Pastor In the absence of the senior pastor the Executive Council shall delegate senior pastor responsibilities to one or more existing staff members and/or pastors for the interim. The designee(s) and Executive Council will abide within the authorities and restrictions of this document.

As of April 15, 2014

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