This church shall be known as the Harvest Baptist Church (Independent) located in Blacksburg, Virginia.


The church shall have as its objective full obedience to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Founder and Head of the Church.


Membership in this church shall be open to all who are true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and who have been born again by the Word of God, through receiving Him as personal Savior. They must also have been baptized by full immersion in water, after believing in Christ for salvation, the ordinance of baptism being a symbolic public testimony representing the death of the individual to the old life through the death of Christ, and a resurrection to a new life in Him (Romans 6:3-6).

A person received into membership in the church must also be in substantial agreement with the Statement of Faith and with the Church Covenant, as set forth in Articles V and VI. In particular, he must believe fully in the doctrines of plenary verbal inspiration of Scripture, the Trinity, the unique deity of Christ, the atoning death and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ and His finished work, the personal return of Jesus Christ at the end of this age, eternal life with Christ for the saved, and eternal existence in hell for the unsaved. Uncertainty or doubt in mind of the candidate concerning other points will be permitted provided he will respect the full Statement of Faith as the official position of the church and will in no way seek to oppose or undermine any portion of it. In addition, his professed faith in Christ should be evidenced by a manifest desire to live in a manner that will "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things" (Titus 2:10). Upon examination and recommendation by the pastor and deacons, or deacons, he shall then be received into the church through the majority vote at a regular meeting of the church in which a quorum is present.

College students and other temporary residents of the community may, upon request and after satisfying the above conditions of membership, be accepted as associate members while retaining regular membership in their home churches, and while temporarily residing in the community. Associate members shall have the same rights and responsibilities as members, except that they shall be ineligible for the offices of deacon, trustee, clerk, treasurer, or assistant treasurer. Associate membership may be brought to full membership upon majority vote at a regular meeting of the church in which a quorum is present.


During the last quarter of the church year the pastor and deacons, or deacons, shall review the membership roll. A member to whom the church meetings are accessible, who absents himself from all meetings for the period for three months or more, shall be placed on an inactive roll. The individual shall be informed of this action. This section shall be implemented only after faithful efforts to reclaim the member. Such inactive members by faithful attendance at regular services of the church for a period of three months may be restored to active membership by pastor and deacons, or deacons.

During the first quarter of the church year the pastor and deacons, or deacons, shall review the inactive membership roll. An inactive member to whom the church meetings are accessible, who has been inactive for one year, shall, upon recommendation of the pastor and deacons, or deacons, and vote of the church, be removed from the church roll. A member thus removed may be restored to full membership upon making satisfactory explanation to the church membership.

No person on the inactive membership list shall be entitled to hold office, vote, or have a voice in church business. Members who move to another locality shall be given one year to change their membership. After the year they shall be, by church vote, dropped from membership unless the members specifically requests to remain on the roll.


This church shall be fully autonomous in the government of its own affairs, exercising and retaining sole and complete control of all property, which shall be held in its name by trustees elected by the voting membership of the church and duly appointed by the court under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. True Christian fellowship with all genuine believers and congregations of believers shall be diligently sought and cherished. However, control of the affairs or property of the church must never be surrendered to any other church, association, or organization.


All members and associate members of the church 16 years of age and above shall have an equal voice in its government, exercised through vote at regular business meetings held at least once each quarter. Such meetings can be called by the pastor or board of deacons when needed. Meetings must be announced and publicized in such a way that all members may reasonably be expected to know of them in time to make the necessary arrangements to participate. If any member is unable to be present, but desires to vote on some question to be considered at the meeting, he may cast a proxy ballot by so informing the pastor or one of the deacons in writing at any time prior to the meeting.

A quorum shall consist of either 10 voting members or 20 percent of the voting members present, whichever number is larger. The pastor shall preside as moderator at business meetings; in his absence, the chairman of the board of deacons shall preside, or another deacon designated by the chairman of the board of deacons. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the parliamentary procedures set forth in "Robert's Rules of Order." Unless otherwise specified, all questions and elections are to be decided by majority vote, after seeking the Lord's will in prayer.

In general, only the election of officers, appointment of employees, establishment or modification of major policies, and other questions of major interest and importance, need be decided at a congregational meeting in the manner described above. Matters of lesser importance may be handled by the pastor, deacons or other officers in accordance with their prescribed responsibilities. However, in event of doubt arising concerning the proper disposition of such matters, the congregation shall have the right to review and rescind any such decision, unless it has previously specifically delegated responsibility for such decision to the official or board concerned.

It must always be recognized that these rules and procedures are not ends in themselves. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and it is or pre-eminent importance to ascertain and obey His will in all decisions. Each question should therefore be considered carefully in the light of pertinent Scriptures and prayer.


The regular officers of the church shall be the pastor, deacons, trustees, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and clerk. These officers shall be chosen and shall have the chief functions as outlined below:

1. Pastor The pastor is responsible for the spiritual leadership of the church, serving under the Chief Shepherd (I Peter 5:1-4). He shall plan the worship, teaching, evangelistic, and prayer services of the church as led by the Holy Spirit, and shall seek to provide spiritual help and counsel to all in need of such, as the Lord leads and enables. The pastor shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and church-related organizations. The pastor shall be called by the congregation by a two-thirds vote at a duly-called meeting. He must evidence the Biblical pastoral qualifications (Titus 1:6-9; I Timothy 3:1-7), heartily agree with the Articles of this Constitution, including especially the full Statement of Faith, and believe that God has truly led him to accept this office. The pastor shall continue in this office indefinitely, either until his resignation (30 days notice must be given), or death, or until the congregation, by two-thirds vote at a duly-called meeting for this specific purpose only, remove him from office (30 days notice must be given). Such a meeting may be called by the pastor, by the board of deacons, or upon written petition of one-third of the voting members.

2. Deacons There shall be three or more deacons, as needed, each to be chosen by the congregation from among the active members of the church. A deacon must be a man of mature Christian character and witness, fulfilling the Biblical qualifications (I Timothy 3:8-13), with an exemplary moral life and reputation in the community. The term of office shall be three years; however, deacons may be nominated for terms of one or two years so that, as nearly as possible, one third of the deacons shall rotate off each year. A deacon may be re-elected to office only after an expiration of one year after completion of his previous term. The board of deacons shall elect a chairman annually, and shall meet at least monthly, with other meetings as called by the chairman or by the pastor, who shall be an ex-officio member. The duties of the deacons shall be to assist the pastor in the spiritual ministries of the church, supervising its charitable and mission activities, serving the Lord's Supper, visiting the members and prospective members, making provisions for the services when the church is without a pastor, and other similar activities.

3. Trustees There shall be three or more trustees, as needed, whose responsibility it is to represent the church in all legal matters and to serve as legal holders of all church property. In addition to meeting the qualifications for deacons, the trustees must also be property owners. The term of office shall be three years, on a rotating basis, with immediate re-election possible. It is understood that all decisions involving the legal matters are actually to be made by the congregation, with the trustees serving only as legal representatives.

4. Treasurer The treasurer shall be responsible for keeping a careful record of all church receipts and for making regular deposits in the appropriate church bank accounts. The qualifications for this position shall be the same as those for the deacons. The treasurer shall be elected annually and may be re-elected.

5. Assistant Treasurer The assistant treasurer shall be responsible for keeping a careful record of and for making payment of the legal financial obligations of the church. He shall also prepare quarterly and annual reports of the receipts, disbursements, and financial position of the church. The qualifications for this position shall be the same as those for the deacons. The assistant treasurer shall be elected annually and may be re-elected.

6. Clerk The clerk shall be elected annually from among the members of the church, with re-election possible, and shall be responsible for keeping a careful and complete set of minutes for all congregational business meetings, as well as other clerical functions prescribed by the church.

The above officers shall be elected annually by majority vote at a regular business meeting, except where otherwise specified above. A list of nominees, one or more for each position, shall be presented by a nominating committee appointed by the board of deacons. In addition, other nominations may be presented for each position by any member. Officers so elected shall serve until the expiration of their terms, except in the event of death, resignation, or recall. Officers may be recalled from office at any time by two-thirds vote at a duly-called business meeting.


This church shall follow "faith" principles with reference to funds needed for the support of its ministries, looking to the Lord to supply the needs through His people in the church. No financial pledges will be asked from the members, this being a matter of private conscience before God, nor will the amount of any individual's contributions be disclosed to other members. However, the treasurer will keep a record of individual contributions, insofar as identifiable when made, and furnish statements of total contributions to each person upon request at the end of each calendar year.

Money received shall be disbursed by the assistant treasurer in accordance with an annual, line-item budget, which shall be prepared annually by a finance committee and approved by the congregation in regular business meeting. The finance committee shall consist of the chairman of the board of deacons, chairman of the board of trustees, Sunday School superintendent, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and at least two others elected by the church, with the pastor serving as ex-officio member. The budget may be modified during the year at any time, if so recommended by the finance committee and approved by the church. The budget should include all items of anticipated expense, including pastor's salary, payment on building and furnishings, etc., as well as approved mission projects. As large a portion of the total income as practically possible shall be budgeted for missions. The board of deacons shall annually appoint an audit committee to review the church financial records and report to the congregation. This audit committee shall consist of at least two members of the finance committee, excepting the treasurer and assistant treasurer.

Contributions may be designated by donors for a particular cause and will be forwarded in the name of the church for that purpose, unless that cause be adjudged by the pastor or deacons to be unsound in doctrine or practice, in which case the contributions will be returned to the donors. Designated contributions will not be credited against budgeted items. Special offerings may be taken for designated purposes if approved by the pastor and/or the board of deacons.


The church shall sponsor such supplementary organizations and committees as decided by the church to be helpful in its ministry. In particular, these shall include a Sunday school for teaching the Word of God. The Sunday school superintendent, together with the necessary officers and teachers, shall be nominated annually by the pastor and confirmed by the church. Other organizations and committees and their officers shall be established as determined by the church in regular business meetings from time to time. In general, all such organizations and committees must be directly contributory to the purpose of the church, and their officers must be chosen with the goal of most effectively contributing thereto.


Members who become opposed o the Statement of Faith or to the Church Covenant in any substantial or open way, or who engage in conduct obviously unbecoming to a Christian, are subject to expulsion from membership. They are first to be approached by the pastor and/or two deacons with a view to prayerful correction of the situation. If this is unavailing, they shall be given opportunity to appear before the church in a business meeting. They may be removed from membership status thereafter by two-thirds vote in the meeting, and shall be so notified either in person or by registered mail. Restoration to membership shall be only after public confession and repentance, in either a regular worship service or business meeting.


Articles of this Constitution, or a portion thereof, may be amended only by a tree-fourths vote in a duly-called business meeting, and that only after careful consideration of all viewpoints, and much prayer. Such amendments shall first be proposed by majority vote at a regular business meeting, then duly publicized before formal action is taken, as described above, at a subsequent business meeting.


No part of the net earnings of the church shall ever inure to the benefit of any donor, member, director, or officer of the church or any individual. No donor, member, director, or officer of the church, or any private individual shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the church assets. Upon dissolution, any assets of the church must be distributed to the Appalachian Bible College of Bradley, West Virginia if it then exists, is exempt from federal income tax, and is in substantial agreement with the Statement of Faith (Article V). Otherwise the assets must be distributed to one or more organizations recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as one organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes and which is in substantial agreement with the Statement of Faith (Article V).