constitution and by-laws
Adopted September 23, 1975
Updated September 30, 1999

ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of this organization shall be The Baptist Bible Fellowship International, (a duly incorporated body in the State of Missouri, USA).

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
The purpose of this Fellowship shall be: to obey in letter and spirit the commission given by our Lord in Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

ARTICLE III - AFFILIATION
Affiliation with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International is open to any Baptist pastor of a supporting Baptist church believing in and adhering to the Word of God, on the basis of the Articles of Faith appended hereto. A supporting Baptist church is one that financially supports our missions or colleges.

ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS
The Baptist Bible Fellowship International shall meet annually, beginning on the fourth Monday of September, for the transaction of business. The place of this meeting shall be fixed by the Directors in charge of Procedures of the Fellowship. Other meetings may be called by the President as the need arises, 30 days advance notification of such business sessions to be published in the Baptist Bible Tribune. Missionaries may be approved at any National Fellowship meeting. Any Fellowship pastor may attend any meeting of a committee, agency, or subsidiary of the Fellowship. Any pastor shall have the inalienable right to appeal to the National Fellowship.

ARTICLE V - VOTING RIGHTS
Each church shall have one vote. Recognizing that this is a fellowship of pastors, this vote shall be cast by the pastor, or in his absence, by his authorized alternate.

ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS
Section 1. Any elected officer of this fellowship shall be a pastor of a supporting church.

Section 2. The officers of the Fellowship shall be pastors serving as President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors, one from each state elected by State Fellowships, who shall represent the highest executive authority.

Section 2a. The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected biennially. The Directors will serve as the nominating committee and will present nominations at the National Fellowship by May. Other nominations may be made from the floor and when completed, this ballot becomes official. The election shall be conducted by mail. Ballots shall be mailed to each pastor listed in the BBFI Directory to vote and return by mail to the designated address on the Ballot. Directors shall tally votes at the annual business meeting in September for ratification. If a run-off election is necessary, it shall be held at the national meeting with qualified voters participating.

Section 2b. A Director shall be elected by each State Fellowship. This body of Directors shall appoint the Director of Missions, Editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune, and the General Manager of Publications, and ratified by the Fellowship. The President of each Fellowship College must be ratified following appointment by that college's Board of Trustees. The Directors shall divide themselves into necessary subcommittees for the transaction of business.

1. The Directors in charge of Procedures of the Baptist Bible Fellowship shall look after all general business and financial matters of the Fellowship. The President shall be chairman of this committee.

2. Directors in charge of Missions. The Missions Director and these Directors shall nominate the Mission Field committeemen for their election by all Directors. The Directors in charge of Missions shall formulate changes in mission policies to be approved by all Directors, and ratified by the Fellowship. The First Vice-President shall be Chairman of the Directors in charge of Missions. The Directors in charge of Missions shall arbitrate any issues that cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of both missions committeemen and Missionaries or candidates. Mission Field committeemen shall approve all missionaries for presentation to the Fellowship. The Director of Missions shall be Chairman of the Mission Field committeemen Further duties and authority of the Mission Field committeemen are set out under "Mission Policy" of the Fellowship.

3. Directors in charge of Education. The Second Vice-President shall be the Chairman of this committee. The President of each school and this committee shall nominate nine trustees for each campus. Those nominated for trustee shall be elected by all Directors and ratified by the Fellowship. Elected trustees shall, with respect to the campus they are elected to manage, have the authority and be charged with the responsibility to:

a. Carry out the educational objectives of the BBFI while exercising their stewardship responsibilities for the people and property placed in their care,

b. Make nominations to the Education Committee for election of the President whenever a vacancy exists,

c. Dismiss the president when they deem it necessary,

d. Fill vacancies on the Board of Trustees until the next annual meeting of the BBFI.

4. That the Chairman of the Committee of Procedures, the Committee of Missions, the Education Committee, at the Chairman's request, appoint two (2) approved furlough missionaries to serve on his committee in an advisory capacity.

Section 3. The President shall preside at all business meetings of the Fellowship and shall act for the Fellowship according to delegated power given him by the Fellowship. He and the Vice-President shall be considered ex-officio members of all committees, agencies, and subsidiaries of the Fellowship.

The First Vice-President shall act for the President on all necessary occasions and shall assist him whenever possible.

The Secretary shall keep all records and minutes in behalf of the Fellowship.

The Treasurer shall keep a record and shall provide the Directors of Procedures with an annual audit. All funds received by the Treasurer shall be disbursed as designated by the donor, or if undesignated, as instructed by the Directors of Procedures. It shall be the responsibility of the Directors of Procedures to maintain the integrity of all accounts.

The Directors shall be at the call of the President. The President and the First Vice-President of the Fellowship shall serve as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Directors and Directors of Procedures. The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors shall meet twice a year and report to the Fellowship annually.

Section 4. All appointed administrators of Fellowship agencies mentioned in Section 2b shall serve for an indefinite term. Their successors shall be chosen by the Directors. An annual audit of all receipts and disbursements of Fellowship agencies shall be made available to the Directors of Procedures.

Section 5. No person shall hold at one time more than one elective or appointive office set forth by this Constitution. This shall include officers of fellowship owned and approved colleges, such as President, Vice-President(s), Trustees, or any other officer of the colleges. This shall be understood to exclude the Group Benefits Committee as there is no conflict therewith.

Section 6. Directors shall be elected to serve a three-year term. Election shall be conducted so that one-third of the group shall be elected annually. No Director, or alternate Director, shall represent a state in which he does not actively fellowship. Each Director shall be certified to the BBFI by authorization from his state fellowship.

Section 7. All College Trustees shall be elected to serve a three-year term. Election shall be conducted so that one-third of the group shall be elected annually.

Section 8. If for any reason a Director is unable to serve his unexpired term, it shall be immediately filled by the State Fellowship.

Section 9. The Directors shall elect Pastors to serve three years as Mission Field Committeemen. The election shall be conducted so that one-third of the group shall be elected annually.

Section 10. The Directors of Procedures shall appoint an Editorial Board of Review for the Baptist Bible Tribune.

ARTICLE VII - SUBSIDIARIES AND PROPERTIES OF THE BAPTIST BIBLE FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL
Section 1. The subsidiaries of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International shall operate independently of and yet in cooperation with each other. Each shall operate under duly designated authority from the Fellowship, but within the framework of this Constitution.

Section 2. All properties of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International including all foreign properties that may be acquired by it later shall be legally registered in the name of and duly owned by the Baptist Bible Fellowship International, to conform to all legal requirements of the locality in which they are situated.

ARTICLE VIII - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
This Constitution shall supersede any other document pertaining to any branch or institution of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International, and no document pertaining to any institution or branch of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International shall set forth any rights, privileges or powers that are in conflict with those set forth in this Constitution and By-Laws. This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended at the annual meeting of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting, providing the proposed amendment has been read at a previous National meeting.

ARTICLE IX - RELATIONSHIP TO CHURCHES

All New Testament Churches are autonomous and self-governing; therefore, no article in this Constitution or By-Laws shall ever be interpreted in any way as to infringe upon or jeopardize the absolute sovereignty of any local church. The property rights, the missionary policies, and the practical procedures for autonomous, self-governing churches shall never be endangered in any way by the Baptist Bible Fellowship International, its agencies or subsidiaries.

ARTICLE X - EDUCATION POLICY

1. Educational philosophy.

a. We believe that the training of Christian workers should take place under pastoral authority. Therefore, schools owned by BBFI are under the leadership and control of the pastors of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International.

b. We believe that the training of Christian workers should be practical in application. Therefore, we believe that every course of study, whether in theology or English grammar, should be geared to the vision of winning souls and building churches.

c. We believe that the training of Christian workers should be undergirded by an unshakable faith in the divine inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. We believe that the King James Version is God's Word preserved for the English-speaking people.

d. We believe that the training of Christian workers should prepare the student to serve in establishing and building New Testament Baptist churches, being doctrinally sound in the faith, pre-millennial and pre-tribulational in eschatology, and grounded in Baptist polity.

e. We believe that the training of Christian workers should be evangelistic in emphasis and missionary in vision because the whole Christian purpose in the world is winning people to Christ and establishing and building New Testament Baptist churches.

f. We believe that the training of Christian workers should be done by those who are academically and spiritually qualified by both training and experience.

2. Objective of Baptist Bible Fellowship International owned schools.

The central purpose of Baptist Bible Fellowship owned schools is to train prospective pastors and missionaries to evangelize the world and build autonomous, self-supporting Baptist churches. A secondary purpose is to train those who will play a supporting role to the work of pastors and missionaries, such as music ministers, youth ministers, church secretaries, Christian school teachers, etc.

3. Non-owned affiliated schools.

a. Requirements for approval of non-owned affiliated schools.

(1) They must be in doctrinal agreement with BBFI.

(2) Their Missions curriculum must be approved by BBFI.

(3) The president and all administrative officers must be members of BBFI churches.

(4) It is desired that all professors be members of Fellowship churches but required that all Bible professors be members of Fellowship churches.

(5) The majority of the trustees must be BBFI pastors, with compliance within one year.

(6) They are to show that they are in agreement with our educational philosophy.

(7) They must show financial independence yet showing financial accountability with an annual audit.

b. Privileges of being a non-owned affiliated school.

(1) They are allowed to receive money through the Missions Office.

(2) Their Missions graduates will be recognized by the Fellowship as meeting the educational requirements.

ARTICLE XI - ARTICLES OF FAITH

See "Articles of Faith"