The constitution

Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one Spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to all. Ephesians 4: 3-4

1. Name

The name shall be Churches Together in Billericay.

2. Membersip

Churches Together in Billericay shall consist of all the Christian churches whose main centre of life and worship lies within the district of Billericay** who confess faith in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and who, acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, wish to join together in pursuit of our objectives.

Associate membership is available to other Christian groups working in Billericay at the discretion of the annual general meeting of Churches Together in Billericay.

3. Objectives

Guided by the Holy Spirit and under the headship of Christ, our overall objective is to build the Kingdom of God and share the good news of Jesus with all the people of Billericay. We will seek to provide a Christian presence in Billericay where all churches have the opportunity to participate in, and all residents have the opportunity to engage with, a vibrant Christian community.

4. Shared Worship and Prayer

Churches Together will aim to meet together in January, March, May, July, September and November for worship and prayer; and to seek God’s will as we discuss our future work and witness together. Such acts of worship, may be led by any people who are authorized by their local church, and will be overseen by the Church Leaders' Meeting.

Whilst there will be no formal voting procedure at these services, it may be helpful to gauge the level of support for what is proposed during these gatherings as we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit .

5. Other meetings

a. Church Leaders' Meeting: The church leaders of all member churches will aim to meet together monthly for prayer and mutual support and to oversee the ongoing work of Churches Together. When any leader is not able to be present for any reason, an appointed substitute may be sent.

b. Task groups for Churches Together activities:Ad-hoc task groups involving both church leaders and lay people will be appointed to arrange individual events. The leader of the group may be a church leader or lay person.

6. Annual general meeting

We shall meet together for an annual general meeting each January to review the past year, receive audited accounts, elect officers, share a vision for the coming year, agree a budget and church contributions, begin to establish any task groups that are already seen to be needed and make any changes to the constitution.

All are welcome to attend this meeting, but those entitled to vote shall be the church leaders (or their nominated substitute) and up to three named lay representatives (or their nominated substitutes) of each member church . Decisions shall be made by a simple majority vote of those present, holding voting rights.

7. Officers

The officers of Churches Together shall be a chairperson, vice-chairperson, honorary secretary and honorary treasurer, who once elected by the annual general meeting will meet toger as necessary to conduct the business of Churches Together as directed by the annual general meeting , and as appropriate, by other formal meetings of Churches Together.

8. Quorum at all meetings of Churches Together

This shall consist of the church leaders or lay representatives, from at least three denominations of member churches.

9. Finance

Each member church shall be asked to contribute financially to Churches Together on an annual basis. The amount will be decided at the annual general meeting. Associate members shall not be asked to make a financial contribution.

10. Other Christian Organisations in Billericay

Churches Together has pioneered ventures such as Schools Ministry and Billericay Street Pastors, which continue as separate entities supported by the member churches. Churches Together aims to provide a platform for information from these entities, particularly through the annual general meeting and worship & praise services.

11. Member churches

Baptist	Billericay Baptist Church (meeting at Perry Street, South Green & Sunnymead)
Church of England	Billericay & Lt Burstead Team Ministry:
	. Emmanuel Church, Billericay
	. Christ Church, Billericay
	. St John the Divine, Outwood Common
	. St Mary Magdalen, Billericay
	. St Mary the Virgin, Lt Burstead
	St Mary Magdalene, Gt Burstead
Christian Growth Intl	Revival Church Billericay
Methodist	Billericay Methodist Church (meeting at Western Road & Queens Park)
Roman Catholic	The Most Holy Redeemer, Billericay
United Reformed	Billericay United Reformed Church.
Associated member church:
Baptist	Ramsden Bellouse Baptist Church.

** The district of Billericay is defined as the electoral wards of Basildon District Council known as Billericay East, Billericay West and Burstead.

 

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This constitution was updated in May 2018