Student OrgsPrepare Ministries

Constitution for “Prepare Ministries” Article I) Title of Organization and Purpose Section 1) The official title of the organization shall be “Prepare Ministries” Section 2) The purpose of Prepare Ministries is to bring glory and honor to God and grow maturely in knowledge of Him (Heb 6:1-3, 1Jn 2:5-6) while preparing the way for Christ’s return by facilitating life-on-life mentoring relationships, sponsoring annual global missions trips and holding regular campus meetings that incorporate worship, instructional Bible-based teaching, prayer, ministry, fellowship, outreach and evangelism. Article II) Weekly Gatherings Prepare Ministries shall meet once a week during the academic school year at a time to be determined annually by its Leadership team prior to the beginning of the academic school year. All members and friends of the Gustavus Adolphus College community are invited to attend weekly gatherings of Prepare Ministries. Article III) Statement of Faith Prepare Ministries shall affirm the following statement of faith: A) All Scripture is God-breathed and without error in its original form. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God’s word will endure forever. No personal revelation from God given to man will ever contradict the Bible in any way. (Dt 4:2, Dt 12:32, Ps 12:6, Pr 6:23, Mt 5:18, Lk 21:33, Eph 6:17, 2Ti 3:16-17, Heb 4:12, 2Pe 1:21, Rev 22:18-19) B) There is only one God consisting of three separate but equal persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. (Ge 1:1, Dt 4:35, Dt 6:4, Dt 32:39, 2Sa 7:22, 1Ch 17:20, Ps 83:18, Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6, Isa 45:18, Mt 28:19, Mk 12:29, Jn 14:16-17, Jn 14:26, 2Co 13:14, 1Pe 1:2) C) In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus was and is both true God and true man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, was crucified, died a true physical death, rose again bodily from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. (Mt 1:18, Mt 1:20, Mt 27:35, Mt 27:50, Mt 28:6, Mk 15:22-24, Mk 24:2-3, Lk 2:5-7, Lk 23:46, Lk 24:51, Jn 19:18, Ac 1:3, Ac 1:9, 2Co 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1Pe 2:22) D) We believe that man was created in the image of God, but fell to sin and is therefore lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. (Ge 1:27, Isa 53:6, Jn 3:3, Ro 3:23, Gal 3:22, lJn 1:8) E) We believe that the shed blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all believers. Only those who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are born of the Holy Spirit and then become children of God. (Jn 3:16, Jn 14:6, Jn 14:10, Ac 4:12, Ro 5:1, 2 Cor 5:17, Heb 5:9, Heb 7:25, Heb 9:22, 1Pe 1:3-5, lJn 1:8-10, Jn 2:1-2) F) We believe in the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that this “Blessed Hope” has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. (Mt 25:31-33, Ac 1:11, lTh 4:14-16, lJn 3:1-3) G) We believe in heaven and hell. We also believe in the judgment of God and bodily resurrection of the dead -- of the believer to heaven and eternal joy, and of the unbeliever to hell and eternal conscious punishment. (Ecc 12:14, 1Sa 66:16, 1Sa 66:24, Jer 25:31, Mt 25:41, Mt 25:46, Mk 9:48, 1Cor 15:50-56, 2Cor 5:10, 2Th 1:7-10, Heb 9:27, 2Pe 3:7, lJn 4:17, Jude 14:15, Rev 14:7, Rev 20:15) Article IV) Leadership Structure Section 1) Leadership Leadership shall consist of all members of both Oversight and campus- specific Student Leadership. Section 2) Oversight Oversight will consist of the Prepare Ministries Regional or National representative(s) assigned to the Gustavus Adolphus College campus. Prepare Ministries at Gustavus Adolphus College will function in a manner that honors this outside authority, as well as the authority of involved campus officials. Section 3) Student Leadership Student Leadership shall consist of all persons, including the four official officers, who profess belief in Prepare Ministries faith statement as detailed in Article III and regularly attend weekly communication/preparation meetings. An official roster of all members of Student Leadership will be presented to the Student Activities Office and the Chaplains Office at the beginning of each academic school year or as needed due to changes. Section 4) Four Official Officers A) President: Delegating miscellaneous tasks to both volunteers and leadership, Communicating as necessary with Gustavus Adolphus College and Oversight and relaying this information to the rest of Student Leadership, Inviting Speakers, Missions and Outreach, coordinating Gustavus involvement regional or national Prepare Ministries events. B) Vice President: Keeping track of new attendees and those receiving ministry, Networking to get someone to follow up with the aforementioned people and get them discipled, Hospitality, Reserving and preparing the space before each meeting and restoring it to its original condition after. C) Treasurer: All financial actions including fundraising and presenting before Student Senate when necessary, Making sure there is someone to lead worship, Cooperatively (with other campus Christian groups) organizing retreats and special events that incorporate/include the whole GAC community. D) Secretary: Note taking at meetings and gatherings of Prepare Ministries, Taking attendance at weekly Student Leadership meetings, Publicity, maintaining student and alumni email and contact lists, sending and collecting mail, organizing and leading prayer meetings, mentoring coordinator. Article V) Leadership Policies and Procedures Section 1) Student Leadership responsibilities Student Leadership (as defined in Article IV, section 3) shall be responsible for completing necessary preparations (as outlined herein) for scheduled meetings and events; and for nurturing the Christian walk of those around them, especially fellow members of Leadership; and serving as examples of Christ in their daily public and private lives. Section 2) Weekly Student Leadership meetings A) Student Leadership shall meet at least once per week during the academic school year at a time to be determined by the four official officers within the first week of Fall Semester classes. B) The primary purposes of this meeting shall be to communicate as necessary regarding both the broad and specific functioning of Prepare Ministries on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus, and to pray for related concerns. Section 3) Attendance Policies A) Excluding excused absence, three absences during the course of one academic semester or two absences during January Term from regularly scheduled Student Leadership meetings will result in loss of Leadership position. An absence may only be excused by the Secretary, or in the absence of the Secretary, by the individual functioning in that role. B) Absences may be excused for documented illness, family emergency or January Term course requiring absence from campus. C) In the case of extenuating circumstances, an appeal may be made to Student Leadership regarding loss of leadership position due to attendance. Student Leadership must hear the appeal, but may prayerfully choose whether to grant the appeal and reinstate leadership. D) Following removal, an individual may be rejoin Leadership according to the guidelines set forth in Article V, section 5, part E. Section 4) Selection of Student Leadership Student leadership will be determined on the basis of invitation by existing leadership. Those being considered must profess belief in the Prepare Ministries faith statement and demonstrate commitment to the organization through regular meeting attendance, encouragement of others involved in Prepare, and through a desire to further serve Prepare Ministries in taking on the responsibility of a leadership role. Existing leadership will prayerfully consider individuals who have shown this commitment to Prepare Ministries for a leadership role. Section 5) Removal of member of Leadership With the exception of attendance, any questions regarding the fulfillment of the expectations as detailed in Article IV, sections 3 and 4 by any member of Leadership shall be dealt with in a responsible, private and biblically-based manner (2Tim 4:2b, Mt 18:16). If and when a situation arises that calls for action on the part of Leadership the following steps shall be followed. A) One member of Leadership shall confront the leader in question, in truth and love point out the person’s fault in an attempt to resolve the situation. B) If the leader in question will not listen and the situation is not resolved the leader confronting the other leader shall find one or two other members of Leadership. Together they shall confront the leader in question and attempt to resolve the situation. C) If the person in question fails to change his or her behavior and/or the situation is not resolved, the matter shall be brought before all of the Leadership and a solution shall be sought by the entire group. D) If the matter is still not resolved the President, with approval of Oversight, shall ask the leader in question to step down from his or her position. If the person in question is the President the Vice President shall assume the role of President and shall ask the President to step down from his or her position. E) Any past member of Leadership may rejoin Leadership if they repent of their wrongdoing and change their lifestyle. Any such readmission to Leadership must be approved by unanimous agreement between the four official officers. Any such change in lifestyle must be directly observable for a reasonable amount of time as determined by the four official officers. F) This process shall be the same regardless of the leader’s official position. Article VI) Advisor An advisor will be chosen by leadership based on profession of belief in the Prepare Ministries faith statement, as a well as a support of the activities that Prepare sponsors. Student leadership will prayerfully consider any faculty or staff member who fits these criteria and agrees to the responsibilities of advisor. Article VII) Financial Section 1) The Treasurer shall be responsible for facilitating all financial actions of Prepare Ministries. Section 2) The general fund of Prepare Ministries shall exist through yearly or mid-year allocations of the Gustavus Student Senate. Funds may be supplemented through approved fundraising efforts and/or additional donations from outside sources. Article VIII) Voting Section 1) Any change to the constitution or any vote concerning an event sponsored by Prepare Ministries shall require the approval of Oversight as defined in Article IV, section 2 and at least a 2/3 majority vote by Student Leadership as defined in Article IV, section 1. A change to the faith statement outlined in Article III shall require unanimous agreement of Oversight and all members of Student Leadership present at the meeting in which the change is considered. Section 2) Any vote concerning the organization of Prepare Ministries shall not be official unless at least 3/4 of Student Leadership is present at the meeting in which the vote takes place. Section 3) In order to vote, a person’s name must be on the official roster located in the Student Activity Office (SAO) as mandated in Article IV, section 1. Section 4) Any vote concerning the organization of Prepare Ministries shall not be official unless all voting members have been given at least five days notice (either verbal or written, including email) of the meeting in which the vote may occur. Article IX) Discrimination We agree to abide by the Gustavus policies regarding discrimination, as detailed in the Gustie Guide.