BCM Constitution Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Georgia Southern University Constitution (Ratified, August 19, 2007/ re ratified April 11, 2011) Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) at Georgia Southern University is the Christ centered, student led, and campus minister directed ministry of Georgia Baptists. 1. ARTICLE I Objectives of BCM, both locally and statewide: a. To motivate students and faculty members to commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. b. To involve them in responsible church membership and in denominational understanding and participation. c. To guide them in worship and devotional experience. d. To involve them in the study of the Biblical faith and Christian life. e. To guide them in Christian witness. f. To involve them in experience of Christian community. g. To involve them in Christian social life and recreation. h. To lead them to participate in Christian World missions and ministries. i. To lead them to accept and practice the principles of Christian stewardship. j. To lead them to examine academic disciplines from a Christian perspective. k. To enlist and train them for a life of Christian service in their vocation. 2. ARTICLE II BCM MEMBERSHIP a. A BCM member shall be defined as any regularly enrolled student at Georgia Southern University who shows a desire to participate in the BCM and its purposes and who fills out an information form. b. This organization will not discriminate against any otherwise qualified individual on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, veteran status, political affiliation, or disability. c. This organization will not initiate, participate in, or be witness to any act that inflicts or intends to inflict physical or mental harm or discomfort or which may demean, disgrace, or degrade any person, regardless of location, intent, or consent of participant(s). Hazing is defined in the Georgia Southern University Student Conduct Code as: an act which endangers the emotional, mental, or physical health or safety of a student, with or without their expressed permission, or which destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a group or organization. Hazing includes acts that are intended to or actually cause physical discomfort, embarrassment and/or ridicule of another person for the purposes mentioned above or are violations of the Student Conduct Code. 3. ARTICLE III BCM COUNCILS a. The BCM Leadership Council (Council) will be composed of the president, vice presidents, and other council members. i. The Executive Council will be composed of the president and vice presidents.
ii. Council positions will be evaluated at least once each year by the Executive Council (as part of the nomination and election process). Additional changes may be suggested by the Nominating Committee. iii. Council positions may be created, eliminated or modified as needed by the Executive Council and campus ministers. iv. In the event that a council member is unable to fulfill council obligations and a position becomes open (either by their own decision or by the judgment of the executive council), the president (or Executive Council, in case of a president s withdrawal) will see that the position is announced to the BCM as a whole for at least one week in order to allow any BCM member to apply for that position (by filling out a Council application form). The Executive Council and Campus Ministers will interview each of the applicants and fill the open position. b. General Responsibilities of the Executive Council: i. To lead the BCM in carrying out its objectives. ii. To make decisions for the BCM during Executive Council Meetings. iii. To compile and present business matters to the BCM in business meetings. c. General Requirements of all Council Members: i. Maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. ii. Plan to attend two semesters during school year. iii. Regularly meet with your council, team, Vice President, and Campus Minister. iv. Have a good understanding of the philosophy and goals of the BCM. v. Maintain a consistent Christian walk with specific emphasis on the disciplines of the Christian life (including prayer, Bible Study, personal witness, and ministry to others). vi. Support a local church through prayer, attendance, and active participation. vii. Seek to keep before the BCM, the campus and community the aims, ideals and standards of the BCM. viii. Attend State wide BCM Conferences. ix. Other Requirements as designated by the Executive Council. d. Duties of Executive Council (in addition to above): i. Attend weekly Executive Council Members. ii. Plan and promote, implement, and evaluate the total ministry of the BCM. iii. Meet regularly with a campus minister to share plans and discuss specific responsibilities. iv. Lead, disciple, and assist council members assigned to them. v. Encourage Christian community among members of the BCM. vi. Each of the Council members specific duties and requirements are outlined in a separate document entitled BCM Council Job Descriptions. These may be updated and modified yearly by the Executive Council in keeping with the constitution. e. The duties of the President(in addition to above): i. Strives to maintain and remind council of long range goals for the BCM program. ii. Takes responsibility for ensuring that the duties and responsibilities of council
members are accomplished. iii. Maintains creative unity with the council through motivation and encouragement of individual offices. iv. Contributes to the spiritual life, leadership development and personal growth of each council member. v. Acts as a resource for all council members. vi. Leads in planning and maintaining a balanced BCM ministry involving growth and outreach. vii. Leads in systematic and regular evaluation of the ministry. viii. Leads the BCM to establish, maintain, and coordinate good working relations and activities with the churches in the area. ix. Seeks to keep before the entire campus and community the aims, ideals, and standards of the BCM. x. Works cooperatively with the campus ministers. xi. Presides at Executive Council meetings. xii. Represents the BCM at State BCM events and committees. xiii. Maintains contact and cooperates with the BCM State President and BCM State Council. xiv. Relates to the University Administration as needed. xv. Leads in BCM business meetings, elections, and other general meetings. xvi. The President must be an active member of a Southern Baptist Church or a National Baptist Church. 4. ARTICLE IV ELECTION OF BCM COUNCIL a. Nominating Committee: i. The president, in consultation with the senior campus minister, will appoint four members for the Nominating Committee. ii. Preference for those serving on the Nominating Committee will be given to those graduating or transferring for the following school year. iii. The Nominating Committee will consist of the President, the four appointees, and the Campus Ministers. b. Election of President and Executive Council i. The job descriptions and applications for the positions of president and vice presidents, along with other council positions, along with the Nominating Procedure, will be posted for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the Executive Council cutoff date, determined by the Nominating Committee. ii. The Nominating Committee will review all applications and interview all applicants for Executive Council. They will nominate one person for each of the positions of president and vice presidents. These nominations will be posted and presented at the BCM weekly meeting. Anyone wishing to run from the floor for one of these positions must have already gone through the application and interview process for Executive Council. They must contact the senior campus minister within two days of the nominating committee report. Beginning the following week at the BCM weekly meeting, a secret ballot election will be held
and overseen by the current Executive Council. Only active BCM members may vote. Those running against other candidates will be elected by the majority vote. If a candidate running unopposed fails to receive the necessary votes (50% of votes plus 1), then the nominating committee will repeat the voting process. c. Election of Leadership Council i. The Nominating Committee, along with the newly elected Executive Council, will follow same process as described in Article IV Section B to elect the remaining members of the Leadership Council. d. A special installation service will be held in the Spring Semester for the newly elected council. e. The Council will serve for the following school year. 5. ARTICLE V ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCES a. The day to day administration of the BCM will be overseen by the following: i. Campus Ministers. ii. Campus Minister Intern. iii. BCM Secretary. iv. Associational Student Work Committee. b. Administrative responsibilities include the following i. Keeping financial records of the BCM. ii. Formulate annual budget of the BCM. iii. Paying bills and assuring fiscal responsibility and accountability. c. All financial decisions and reporting concerns are the final responsibility of the senior campus minister. 6. ARTICLE VI AFFILIATIONS a. The BCM is a fully affiliated Georgia Southern University student organization. The BCM shall also be affiliated and cooperate fully with the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries department of the Georgia Baptist Convention. The BCM is a ministry of the Executive Committee of the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia (Georgia Baptist Convention). The local ministry of the BCM is supported and directed by the finances and leadership of the Georgia Baptist Convention and the local association of Baptist Churches. 7. ARTICLE VII BUILDING AND STAFF a. The operation of the local BCM Center, finances, and supervision of the staff, both ministerial and secretarial, are the responsibility of the senior campus minister, appointed by the Georgia Baptist Convention. All guidelines established by the Georgia Baptist Convention shall be followed in these areas. 8. ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENTS a. Amendments will be submitted to the senior campus minister and Executive Council for discussion and final drafting of proposed changes. b. No article or amendment shall conflict with the policies of the university or those of the State BCM Program or the Georgia Baptist Convention. c. In the event of any conflict with other Executive Council decisions, by laws, articles, and other rules of order, this constitution will reign supreme.
9. ARTICLE IX RATIFICATION a. Changes and ratifications of the constitution must be posted for at least one week and announced during one meeting of the BCM in which there is open discussion and questions, prior to its vote. Changes and ratifications of this constitution will become effective upon its ratification by a three fourths vote at a general meeting of the BCM called for this purpose.