CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
ADOPTED at the 152nd ANNUAL SESSION; JULY 21, 2022
ARTICLE I
This Body shall be known as The New Hope Missionary Baptist Association.
ARTICLE II
The purpose of the Body shall be to:
1. Promote unity among the churches, ministers, and deacons associated with this Body.
2. Promote efforts of Christian evangelism among the associated churches.
3. Promote Christian Education, Church Training in Baptist Doctrine and Polity.
4. Promote holistic human well-being within the associated church fellowships.
ARTICLE III
Meeting and Membership
Section 1. This Association shall meet annually with auxiliaries in a Regular Session after the
third (3rd) Sunday in July. The opening session day will be determined by the Executive Board
with “The Lord’s Supper” held on the last night of the Session. A One-Day Session shall be held
the first (1st) Saturday in December. Special Sessions may be called at such place and time
approved by the Executive Board.
Section 2. This Association shall be composed of associate Missionary Baptist Churches in
good and regular standing, both in representation and financial assessment, and in full
practice of Baptist doctrine, polity, faith, discipline and ordinances of the denomination and
Missionary Baptist Associations.
Section 3. Any church of this Association failing to represent in accordance with Article III,
Section 2, for two consecutive Annual Sessions shall be contacted by a committee
recommended by the Moderator and approved by the Association (Executive Board) to share
said concern with the Pastor and church and report to the Association its findings.
Section 4. The Association assumes the authority to withdraw from any church that knowingly
and willingly departs from the orthodox teachings of the Bible, held by Missionary Baptists and
infractions on the Constitution after careful study, fact gathering and deliberation.
Section 5. Missionary Baptist Churches, upon application for admission to associate, shall be
reviewed and if found satisfactory, shall be approved for association and their messengers
shall be seated.
Section 6. No church internal difficulties or between churches shall be heard by the Association
until every effort has been made to settle outside the Body. The Association must be invited by
formal missive (official letter) to enter into difficulty and only in an advisory position. The
Moderator shall act as the only official representative of the Association in such matters.
ARTICLE IV
General and Auxiliary Officers
Section 1. The Officers of this Association shall be as follows: Moderator, Vice-Moderator At-
Large, four (4) district Vice-Moderators, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Coordinator, Chairperson of Ordaining Council/Catechist, Parliamentarian, Auditor, Statistician, Historian.
Section 2. Officers of the Auxiliaries shall be as follows: President, 1st Vice-President,
2nd Vice-President, 3rd Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Parliamentarian, Statistician, Historian.
Section 3. Persons shall serve one term of office for Moderator and Auxiliary President, and no
one shall serve consecutively in more than one office nor of the same office in the Association.
Section 4. The duties of the General Officers shall be as follows:
Moderator
The Moderator shall (1) Preside; (2) set meeting agenda; (3) maintain order;
(4) appoint/recommend committees with the Body’s approval, (5) preside at Executive
Board Meetings, (6) represent the Association at all designated meetings except when
the Body makes appointments, with their expenses compensated by the Body,
(7) appoint committees as necessary for the Association, (8) project and offer
recommendations to promote, develop and improve the Association.
Vice- Moderator At-Large
a. Shall serve at the discretion of the Moderator.
b. Shall be appointed by the Moderator and presented to the Association at the
Annual Session election year and shall serve as Moderator should the office
become vacant.
Vice-Moderator, District 1
a. Shall preside as appointed by the Moderator.
b. Shall serve as chairperson of District 1 of the Association.
Vice-Moderator, District 2
a. Shall preside as appointed by the Moderator.
b. Shall serve as chairperson of District 2 of the Association.
Vice-Moderator, District 3
a. Shall preside as appointed by the Moderator.
b. Shall serve as chairperson of District 3 of the Association.
Vice-Moderator, District 4
a. Shall preside as appointed by the Moderator.
b. Shall serve as chairperson of District 4 of the Association.
Secretary of the Association
a. Shall record minutes of the Annual and One-Day sessions and submit in typed
form a copy to the Moderator and Auxiliary Presidents within ninety (90) days.
b. Shall be responsible for all correspondence.
c. Shall record minutes of the Executive Board.
d. Shall work with the Moderator in planning all programs and agenda.
e. Shall receive an annual report of all Auxiliaries in July.
Assistant Secretary
a. Shall assist the Secretary when requested.
b. Shall be responsible for enrollment at the Annual and One-Day Session.
Treasurer
a. Shall receive all money collected by the Association and Auxiliaries.
b. Shall deposit all money received into the Association’s Account.
c. Shall provide a voucher for approved fund disbursement when requested from
the Moderator (Parent Body) or Auxiliary Presidents (Respective Auxiliary).
d. Shall sign all checks of the Association and Auxiliaries with the Moderator.
e. Shall pay all bills of the Association and Auxiliaries ten (10) days after receiving
bill invoice.
f. Shall prepare an annual financial report.
g. Shall, along with the Moderator, open and close all financial accounts approved
by the Association.
h. The Treasurer shall be bonded by the Association.
Auditor
a. Shall audit the financial books of the Association.
b. Shall provide a report at the Annual Session in July.
Coordinator
a. Shall assist in providing a District Event Calendar for the Association.
b. Shall assist the Auxiliary Presidents in coordinating the auxiliary
announcements.
c. Shall assist with enrollment at the Annual and One-Day Sessions.
Chairperson of the Ordaining Council/Catechist
a. Shall examine candidates submitted by associate churches professing the “call”
to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. Shall report at the Annual and One-Day Session as necessary.
Parliamentarian
a. Shall give direction for Parliamentary procedure.
b. Shall give instructions (opinion) in policy when requested by the Moderator.
Statistician
a. Shall receive all letters sent by messengers from associate Churches.
b. Shall compile all data including Church Report and Registration Forms of
Churches and present to the Association Secretary to list in the annual minutes.
Historian
a. Shall add each years’ events and significance to the history of the Association as
needed.
Section 5. The duties of Auxiliary Officers shall be as follows:
President(s)
Shall (1) preside; (2) set auxiliary meeting and agenda; (3) maintain order; (4) appoint
committees for auxiliary work and support; (5) preside at the Auxiliary Board;
(6) represent the auxiliary at approved meetings, except when the auxiliary (Association)
makes appointments, with expenses compensated; (7) be in cooperation and support of
the Moderator’s leadership and vision for the Association; (8) project and offer support
to promote, develop and improve the auxiliary to the benefit of the Association.
Vice-President(s)
a. Shall preside in the absence of the President.
b. Shall promote the work of the auxiliary in cooperation with the President for the
benefit of the Association.
Secretary
a. Shall be responsible for all correspondence of the auxiliary.
b. Shall record the minutes of the Auxiliary Board.
c. Shall work with the President in planning all programs and agenda of the
Auxiliary.
d. Shall submit an annual report of the auxiliary’s work at the July Annual Session.
Assistant Secretary
a. Shall assist the Secretary when requested.
b. Shall be responsible for enrollment at each auxiliary session.
Parliamentarian
a. Shall give direction for Parliamentary procedure.
b. Shall give instruction (opinion) in policy when requested by the President of
the auxiliary.
Statistician
a. Shall receive all letters, etc. sent by messengers from churches attending
auxiliary sessions.
b. Shall submit such data to the Association Secretary for listing in the annual
minutes.
Historian
a. Shall keep significant history unique to the auxiliary and submit for filing as
needed.
Section 6. Election of all Officers of the Association
a. All officers shall be elected for a term of four (4) years at the Annual Session of
the Association, with a one (1) term interval before qualifying as a candidate for
election.
b. Candidates for election shall be those listed in Article IV, sections 1 and 2 of this
Constitution under the heading “General and Auxiliary Officers.”
c. District Vice-Moderators shall be elected by the churches of each district and
presented to the Association for installation at the Annual Session of the
election year. Districts having no Vice-Moderator elected shall be appointed by
the Moderator.
d. Office positions by appointment do not qualify.
ARTICLE V
The Executive Board and Auxiliary Boards
Section 1. The New Hope Missionary Baptist Association and its Auxiliaries shall have one
Executive Board.
Section 2. The Executive Board shall be composed as follows: All General Officers, Auxiliary
Presidents with one additional designee per auxiliary = (27 Total).
Section 3. The Chairperson of the Executive Board shall be the Moderator.
a. The Chairperson shall call all meetings of the Executive Board.
b. The Board shall meet quarterly (September, December (One-Day), March, July.
Section 4. Nine (9) persons of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall have the
authority to:
a. Have charge of the affairs of the Association between sessions.
b. Have charge to call special sessions of the Association.
c. Have charge to make recommendations for policy of growth for the Association.
d. Have charge to determine general plans for each succeeding meeting.
e. Have charge to act as an advisory council to the Association.
f. To review and present an annual budget to the Association for approval.
g. The Board shall have no power to nullify or alter any decisions of the Association
when approved in the General Session.
Section 5. The Auxiliary Board [of each Auxiliary]
a. Each auxiliary Board shall be composed of the officers as set forth in Article IV,
section 2 of this Constitution, with additional persons as the auxiliary deems
necessary to carry out the work of the auxiliary in cooperation with the
Association.
b. The Chairperson of the Auxiliary Board shall be the Auxiliary President.
c. The Chairperson shall call all meetings of the Board.
d. The Auxiliary Board shall meet at least three (3) times annually or as needed.
e. The Auxiliary Board shall establish a quorum of at least nine (9) membered
persons.
f. No Auxiliary Board shall have power to nullify or alter any decisions of the
Association when approved in the General or One-Day sessions of the Body.
ARTICLE VI
Ordaining Council
Section 1. The Association shall have an Ordaining Council comprised of a Chairperson/Chief
Catechist and seven (7) Ordained pastors/ministers associated with a church of the Association.
The Council shall, with the Chairperson examine applicants for the Gospel Ministry and shall be
a continuing Council to serve associated churches of the Association.
Section 2. No minister shall be ordained by the Association unless they meet the requirements
of the Council.
Section 3. The Council shall prepare the examination based on standards in operation in State
and National Missionary Baptist Bodies. The required score shall be determined by the Council.
Section 4. Ministers examined and ordained by other Missionary Baptist bodies shall be
recognized and accepted by this Association upon the presentation of officially recognized
credentials at the next official meeting of the Association as determined by the Council.
ARTICLE VII
Auxiliaries of this Association
Section 1. The Auxiliaries of this Association shall be:
(1) Woman’s Auxiliary, (2) Ushers Auxiliary, (3) Congress on Christian Education
(4) New Hope Union, (5) Layman’s League, (6) New Hope Convention Choir.
ARTICLE VIII
Association Committees
Section 1. All committees shall be composed of messengers officially sent by associated
churches.
Section 2. The Budget Committee is responsible for preparing a working budget annually. This
budget is to be presented to the Executive Board for review. This committee shall consist of the
Moderator, Treasurer and 7 at-large members selected at the Annual Session.
Section 3. All expenditure made by this Association shall be in keeping with the approved
budget except by special vote of the assembled messengers in general session.
Section 4. All committee reports shall be written and turned over to the Association Secretary
upon approval of the body for records.
Section 5. This Association, in general or one-day session, may approve or authorize the
appointment of any committee it deems necessary to facilitate that business transaction(s) of
the meeting.
ARTICLE IX
Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended at the annual session of the Association after
proper consideration and deliberation by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the messengers of the
churches present. Each amendment shall be given a name and number to be attached to the
Constitution. All amendments to the Constitution must be presented in writing to the
Association at the annual session.
Section 2. This Constitution shall be read for clarity once at the annual and one-day sessions of
the Association before a vote of amendment ratification, which shall take place at the annual
session. The readings shall be in succession.
Section 3. This Constitution shall be ratified when upon due consideration and deliberation by
a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the messengers then in attendance.
Section 4. This shall be the Constitution serving this Association and its Auxiliaries.
It was approved by the Association that all associated churches would be assessed $1,000.00
per year toward the work of the Association. That amount has been the total contribution
requested by the Association and auxiliaries each fiscal year of the Association ($990.00 actual).
Below is a Tier Assessment Chart for consideration and/or approval for the Association for the
benefit of our associated churches.
$250.00 (April)
TIER ASSESSMENT FOR CHURCHES
SAMPLE
$250.00 (October)
$250.00 (January)
$250.00 (July)
$500.00 (One-Day Session, December)
$500.00 (Annual Session, July)
$1,000.000 (Annual or One-Day Session)
