CROSSROADS CHURCH PO BOX 576, 2205 ROUTE 16, WEST OSSIPEE, NH 03890

603-539-4805

ARTICLE I – NAME AND AFFILIATION This church shall be called: Crossroads Church and shall be affiliated with the Advent Christian General Conference of America, the Eastern Regional Association of Advent Christian Churches and the Maranatha Conference of Advent Christian Churches. ARTICLE II - MISSION The mission of Crossroads Church is to make and mature disciples together. ARTICLE III – LEADERSHIP “Jesus Christ is the head of the church, the apostle who plants a church, the leader who builds the church, and the senior pastor and Chief Shepherd who rules the church. It is ultimately Jesus who closes down churches when they have become faithless or fruitless. Therefore, it is absolutely vital that a church loves Jesus, obeys Jesus, imitates Jesus, and follows Jesus at all times and in all ways, according to the teaching of his Word.” –Mark Driscoll The human leadership of the church, in submission to Jesus, shall be a Council of Elders assisted by Deacons. SECTION 1: ELDERS Elders (Overseers/Bishops/Pastors used interchangeably) shall be men qualified according to the biblical requirements of 1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and appointed for this ministry after a season of testing by the existing council of elders. The elders shall serve as a plurality of leaders as a safeguard for the church and for the individual elders. The council of elders may also include pastors/elders from sister churches if deemed necessary or beneficial by the council of elders. When there are no men called and qualified to serve as local elders the Preaching Elder (Pastor) will be the local elder and assistance should be sought from sister churches to provide biblical leadership until God raises up local elders. All local elders, that is, members of the council of elders that are not from sister churches, shall be members of Crossroads Church. 1a: Selection of Elders If and when a man is qualified according to 1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and called by God, having a personal desire to accept the work and responsibility of eldership he must nominate himself or be recommended by a member of the church body to the council of elders as a candidate for eldership consideration. Upon nominating himself or being recommended as an elder candidate, a formal process of testing his calling must be undertaken. This process should include examining: his family, financial giving to the church, performance at work, relationship with people outside of the church, service in the church, spiritual gifts (of which shepherding, teaching and leadership are of primary concern), ministry passions, attitude toward authority, work ethic, humility, and anything relating to his conversion, calling, character, courage, and competency. He shall be then brought before the church publicly so that the people in the church have an opportunity to raise any concerns or questions they may have about the man’s eldership nomination. Our rule of thumb shall be to appoint slowly and terminate quickly. If the man is unanimously confirmed as a called and qualified elder by the council of elders, and if there is no disqualifying opposition, then he shall be set apart for service and installed as an elder by the laying on of hands by the other elders at a public service.

1b: Duties of Elders The duties of the elders, according to Scripture are: Praying and studying Scripture, Ruling/leading the church, managing the affairs of the church, caring for people in the church, giving an account to God for the church, living exemplary lives, rightly using the authority that God has given them, preaching, praying over the sick, teaching sound doctrine, refuting those who oppose sound doctrine and protecting the church from false teachers, working hard, rightly using power and money, disciplining unrepentant Christians, obeying secular laws as the legal ruling body of the corporation, and developing other leaders and teachers. Concerns against any elder must be presented in writing to the council of elders and must meet the Biblical guidelines found in Matthew 18 and 1Timothy 5:19-21. The elders will review all concerns in detail and if any elder is deemed unable to fulfill his role because he no longer meets the Biblical qualifications, the council of elders will require him to step down. Reinstatement of an elder will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the council of elders. 1c: Preaching Elder (Pastor) The Preaching Elder (Pastor) shall serve as “first among equals” on the council of elders and will be responsible for being the primary preaching pastor. He shall be supported financially as finances allow according to 1Timothy 5:17 and given the use of the Parsonage or an equivalent financial housing allowance. The Preaching Elder shall be called by the council of elders for an indefinite period of service. Any Preaching Elder wishing to terminate his service may do so by giving the council of elders at least two months notice of such termination. If it becomes necessary to terminate the service of any Preaching Elder the council of elders shall give him a two months notice of such termination. These rules may be dissolved by mutual consent of both parties. 1d: Pastoral Sabbatical The Preaching Elder (Pastor) shall be eligible for a three month (90 day) sabbatical after the completion of every 5 to 7 years of ministry. At the Pastor’s discretion and sense of need, the timing of such sabbatical shall be at the completion of every fifth year. A sabbatical becomes mandatory at the end of the seventh year if a sabbatical has not been requested after the completion of the fifth year. Full pay and benefits will be provided during the Pastor’s sabbatical. The council of elders may decide to cover any additional sabbatical-related expenses to provide the pastor with opportunities for personal enrichment (i.e. seminars, conferences, travel, etc.). SECTION 2: DEACONS Deacons are men and women who are church members, called and qualified, according to 1Timothy 3:8-13, to serve as pastoral assistants to the elders. While the duties of the elders are primarily those of spiritual oversight and leadership the deacons are to assist the elders in matters of temporal or physical leadership in the church. The council of elders may appoint deacons to assist with, but are not limited to, church finances (treasurer and assistant treasurer), church property, Sunday school or equivalent, and worship leading. After being examined by the council of elders according to the character qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and found to be called and qualified for service as a deacon they shall be set apart for service and installed as an deacon by the laying on of hands by the council of elders at a public service. ARTICLE IV – MEMBERS For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. –Romans 12:4-5 Any individual who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, has been baptized as a believer, (preferably by immersion but exceptions may be made at the discretion of the council of elders), has received membership instruction, and who has signed the Church Membership Covenant shall be eligible for membership. Application

for membership may be presented to the council of elders, orally or in writing, and must be approved by the council of elders for the applicant to be received into membership at a public service. Members may be removed from the membership list by the council of elders due to death, transfer of membership, Church discipline according to Matthew 18, personal request, or inactivity. Members may also be reinstated at the discretion of the council of elders. ARTICLE V – MEETINGS SECTION 1: MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERSHIP As the council of elders serves as the governing body of the church any meetings of the membership shall be informational in nature and called at the discretion of the elders. Informational meetings must be announced from the pulpit two weeks prior to the meeting. Any non-members who wish to address the membership must be given special permission to do so by the council of elders prior to the meeting. SECTION 2: MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS Meetings of the council of elders shall be generally open to any member by request unless the subject matter of the meeting is of a sensitive nature and can be made private at the discretion of the council of elders. The council of elders shall also meet with the deacons to provide continuity of leadership. ARTICLE VI – FINANCES The finances of this church shall be met by the free will offerings and gifts of the people and managed by the council of elders or by two deacons the elders appoint to serve as treasurer and assistant treasurer, as we believe this method is in accordance with the way of Christ and His Apostles prescribed in the New Testament. Any capital expenditures, or purchases or sales of property must be approved by the council of elders. ARTICLE VII – AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS All organizations connected to this church (i.e. Sunday school, youth groups, etc.) shall be auxiliary to the church and subject to the direction and care of the council of elders. ARTICLE VIII – DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS In the event that this church should disband, dissolve, or cease to function as an Advent Christian church as officially defined by the Eastern Regional Association of the Advent Christian General Conference of America, then title to its property, whether real, personal or mixed, shall be assigned to the Maranatha Conference of Advent Christian Churches. ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENTS These articles may be amended by the council of elders provided the proposed changes have been read from the pulpit on the two preceding Sundays, the new articles including the changes are published and an informational meeting of the membership has been held.

Adopted September 27, 2012