Student OrgsGustavus Youth Outreach

CONSTITUTION OF GUSTAVUS YOUTH OUTREACH ARTICLE I: NAME The name of this organization shall be Gustavus Youth Outreach, also referred to as GYO. ARTICLE II: MISSION The mission of Gustavus Youth Outreach is to bring all glory to God and to provide an opportunity for Gustavus Adolphus College students to participate in off-campus Christian youth ministry in accordance with the Biblical Great Commission, and most importantly His Great Commission. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP Section 1: Membership is open to the Gustavus community. Members must profess a faith. Section 2: Members are selected through an application process. A required written application is to be reviewed by the coordinating committee, with individual interview if necessary. A 2/3 majority of coordinators must vote in agreement. Anyone meeting the criteria in section 1 and demonstrating desire to serve will be accepted. Members must re-apply annually. Section 3: Membership is maintained for the academic year by demonstrated commitment to the ministry of Gustavus Youth Outreach. Membership may be terminated at any time by the coordinating committee in a unanimous vote for the following reasons: inappropriate behavior toward youth or other members, including but not limited to verbal, physical or sexual abuse; harassment; use of alcohol or illegal substances at any Gustavus Youth Outreach booking; violation of Gustavus Youth Outreach by-laws or policies. Members may terminate membership at any time. ARTICLE IV: POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP Section 1: Positions of leadership are 1) coordinators 2) team leaders. Coordinators shall be members demonstrating commitment to the ministry, leadership skills, and a call from God to a position of leadership. Team leaders shall be members demonstrating commitment to the ministry, leadership skills and a call from God to a position of leadership. Team leader positions shall be limited to sophomore, junior, and senior students. Section 2: Coordinators, of which there shall be four to six, shall share the duties of administrating Gustavus Youth Outreach. Section 3: The term of office for the coordinator shall continue until resignation, graduation, or removal. Temporary vacancies may or may not be filled, at the discretion of the coordinating committee. A vacancy may be filled by standard coordinator application procedures. In such a case, the term would end with the return of the coordinator. Section 4: Coordinators and team leaders shall be selected by applications reviewed by the current coordinating committee in conjunction with the advisor if deemed necessary or if requested by the applicant. An interview may be required. The coordinating committee shall pray for the decision before, during, and after the decision is made. The vote must be unanimous. Section 5: The team leaders shall be responsible for the organization and running of bookings. This shall include finances, paperwork, scheduling, and working in cooperation with pastors, churches and youth directors. Additionally, the team leader shall foster and maintain a team environment conducive to shared ministry. Section 6: The term of office for the team leader shall be one academic year. Section 7: A coordinator or team leader may be removed from leadership for the reasons stated in Article III: Section 3 or for any action deemed detrimental to the mission of Gustavus Youth Outreach. Removal from leadership may be made only by a unanimous decision of the coordinating committee and faculty advisor, after discussion with the leader in question. ARTICLE V: MEETINGS Gustavus Youth Outreach shall meet weekly for the purpose of training and fellowship during the academic year, except during academic breaks. The coordinators are responsible for setting and carrying out the agenda. ARTICLE VI: COORDINATING COMMITTEE Section 1: The coordinating group shall consist of all the coordinators. Section 2: The duties shall be assigned according to need and the coordinators’ talents. These duties include: management of financial affairs; scheduling bookings; maintaining contact with churches and the Office of Church Relations; planning and implementing weekly meetings for members, service projects, and social activities; publicizing Gustavus Youth Outreach and its programs to the church community, campus community, and the community at large; assisting and training team leaders. The coordinating committee is also responsible for selecting team leaders and coordinators, forming balanced ministry teams and disciplinary action. Section 3: The coordinating committee shall meet regularly to conduct the business of Gustavus Youth Outreach and to pray for its ministry and members. Special meetings may be called at any time for any reason by a coordinator and will be held at a time agreed upon by all members of the coordinating committee. ARTICLE VII: TEAMS Section 1: Teams shall carry out the ministry of Gustavus Youth Outreach. Each team shall be composed of members and led by a team leader. The size of the team may vary according to membership and the discretion of the coordinating committee. Section 2: Each member shall be placed on a team. The coordinating committee shall form teams in such a way as to balance strengths and weaknesses of members. Additionally, each team shall consist of members with prior youth ministry experience and those with less experience. ARTICLE VIII: FINANCES Section 1: Gustavus Youth Outreach receives funding from several sources. From the on-campus community, GYO receives funding from Student Senate and the Office of Church Relations. From the off-campus community, GYO receives funding in the form of donations and reimbursement for gas from the churches GYO serves. Additionally, GYO occasionally sponsors fundraisers. Gustavus Youth Outreach does not require members to give dues. Section 2: In the event that Gustavus Youth Outreach dissolves, the residual funds should be transferred to the Office of Church Relations. ARTICLE IX: BY-LAWS Section 1: By-laws will be established through discussion and prayer of the coordinating committee. They will be prepared by the coordinating committee or by a member of the committee appointed by the committee. By-laws will be announced at general Gustavus Youth Outreach meetings. Section 2: The coordinating committee will vote on the by-laws. A unanimous vote by the committee is needed to pass a by-law. Section 3: Membership in Gustavus Youth Outreach will not be forbidden or discouraged in any way by discrimination according to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or disability. Section 4: Members of Gustavus Youth Outreach are forbidden to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal substance at any Gustavus Youth Outreach event, including but not limited to bookings, meetings, and service or social events. Section 5: Members of Gustavus Youth Outreach are expected to be committed to the organization and abide by its attendance policy. Members are expected to regularly attend group and team meetings. If unable to do so, members are expected to contact their team leader before the meeting. Emergencies are understood. If repeated absences occur, the member will be asked to reevaluate their commitment with their team leader and decide on one of two courses of action: increased commitment to Gustavus Youth Outreach demonstrated by attendance at meetings or termination of their membership in the group. ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS Section 1: Any member of Gustavus Youth Outreach may propose an amendment. Amendments should be submitted to one of the coordinators. Section 2: For an amendment to be voted on, the other coordinators must be given a week notice. The coordinators will vote on the amendment. For an amendment to pass there must be consent by 2/3 of the coordinators. Section 3: The amendment will take effect after it has been announced to the members of Gustavus Youth Outreach.