How Burlington CRC is Administered

Church Council consists of the elected Pastoral Elders, Administrative Elders and Deacons of the Church.  Each Pastoral Elder, Administrative Elder and Deacon is a director of the Church.  The pastor and the clerk are ex-officio members of Council.  The role and function of Council  includes, but is not be limited to:

• Dealing with matters on the agenda for each Council meeting, as determined by the Council of Chairs;

• Providing overall direction and planning for the Church;

• Electing the officers of the Church from amongst the administrative elders;

• Approving Church budgets and financial statements (which still goes to the congregational for their vote);

• Advising the Administrative Board on matters of finance including budget setting matters;

• Ensuring the Burlington Christian Reformed Church adheres to the governing principals established by the Christian Reformed Church as per the Church Order and the Council Handbook.

 Council generally meets every other month to attend to the business placed before it.  Council members also participate in an annual retreat.  The term of service of members of Council is ordinarily three years.  Following completion of a member's term of service, the member will ordinarily not be nominated for Council for a period of at least two years.

 Nominations for Council will be solicited from the congregation each year to fill the Council vacancies. Nominations for Council will be for the specific offices of the vacancies to be filled:  Administrative Elder, Deacon, and Pastoral Elder, which includes, as separate nominations, the role of Youth Elder.  Council selects from the nominations persons who will be nominees for Council and will generally seek at least twice the number of nominees as Council vacancies.  Council presents the nominees to the congregation who then vote to elect the new Council members.  Election of members of Council will be in accordance with Article 4 of the Church order.

 Council has three bodies reporting to it: the Administrative Board, Consistory and the Diaconate.  In addition, the Council of Chairs, comprised of the President/Chairs of each of the Administrative Board, Consistory and the Deaconate, are responsible for the setting of the agenda for meetings.

 Administrative Board

The Administrative Board is comprised of each of the elders elected as Administrative Elders together with the Clerk of Council and two members of the congregation appointed by Council.  The Chair of Consistory (ordinarily the Pastor) is an ex-officio member of the Administrative Board.  The President, Vice-President, and Clerk of Council are the President, Vice-President, and Clerk of the Administrative Board.

The role and function of the Administrative Board generally includes, but is not be limited to:

• Recommending and implementing overall administrative direction and planning of the Church;

• Dealing with matters of Church administration including matters of law, finance, employment and property maintenance;

• Preparing and presenting annual budgets and financial statements for the Church.

 The Administrative Board ordinarily meets every other month.

Consistory

The Consistory is comprised of the Pastor(s) and each of the elders elected as Pastoral Elder, including the Youth Elder(s).  The Senior Pastor generally serves as the Chair of Consistory and the Vice-Chair and Secretary of Consistory is elected from the Pastoral Elders.

The role and function of Consistory generally includes, but not be limited to:

• Overseeing matters of doctrine and life of the members of the Church;

• Promoting evangelism;

• Attending to the pastoral and spiritual care of the Church;

• Dealing with matters pertaining to membership Transfers, Profession of Faith, Baptism, Reaffirmation of Faith, Discipline, etc;

• Approval or appointment of ministry leaders where appropriate;

• Overseeing matters relating to worship, including worship schedules and worship styles;

 The Consistory ordinarily meets once per month.

Diaconate

            The Diaconate is comprised of the elected Deacons.  The Diaconate  elects from amongst themselves the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Diaconate as well as the Treasurer of the Benevolent Fund. 

The role and function of the Diaconate  generally includes, but not be limited to:

• Encouraging  the congregation to be faithful stewards of their wealth, time, & talents;

• Developing programs of assistance in the Church and community in financial and physical need;

• Encouraging the congregation to critique and address current social justice issues;

• Assessing the needs of various ministry causes and setting the offering schedule accordingly;

• Serving on a schedule in order to receive the Sunday offerings.

 The Diaconate ordinarily meets once per month.  

 Council of Chairs

            The Council of Chairs is comprised of the Chairs of each of the Administrative Board, Consistory and the Deaconate.  The President of Council l presides over meetings of the Council of Chairs.  The Clerk of Council functions as secretary of the meetings.  The role and function of the Council of Chairs is to set the agenda for meetings of Council.  The Council of Chairs generally meets every other month during the week immediately prior to the Council meeting.

 District Teams

            Each Pastoral Elder is assigned a district of members and attendees for the purpose of encouraging and uplifting those in the district in the faith.  Each Pastoral Elder is teamed with another Pastoral Elder and a Deacon to provide each other with prayerful support and general assistance in caring for those in the each district.

 Duties of Council Members during Church Services

All Council members are part of a rotation of Elders and Deacons who participate in Church services.  Elders on duty  serve by greeting visitors, praying for those with particular needs, attending to other matters rising from or during Church services, and assisting the Pastor in the celebration of the Sacraments.  The Elders and Deacons on duty also attend to the collection of Sunday offerings.

  Officers of the Church

The officers of the Church consist of the Chair/President, the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary/Treasurer and the Vice-All.  The officers of the Church are appointed by Council from among the Administrative Elders of the Church.  The Chairman/President of the Church is the Chair of Council.