Episode #4 – When and How to Change Bylaws and Other Documents (Boots on the Ground Question from Wesley Lassiter)
In this episode, Bob and JimBo discuss a boots-on-the-ground question sent in by Wesley Lassiter.
When is too soon to change the bylaws and other docs in a replant?
A lot of the answer will depend on the nature of a replant. Often in a replant as a campus or merger the legal documents will change very early in the process. This still needs to be walked with wisdom though.
In a revitalization or a replant from within there is much more to consider. But one of the big issues is to consider if ministry is being hindered by your documents. Mark Clifton addresses this topic well in one of his more recent Mondays with Mark – Is your church governance helping or hindering your replant?
If your docs are standing in the way of getting ministry done then you should consider suspending your bylaws for a season to have some transitional bylaws. There is some more info on how to do that in NAMB’s Associational Replanting Guide that Bob helped write.
Bob makes the point that more important than the bylaws would be a clear and strong church membership process. For this topic and more we would recommend reading through Replant Roadmap by Mark Hallock
bylaws, church documents, church leadership, church membership, church replanting, church revitalization, declining churches, dying churcehs, membership covenant, NAMB
