It gives me great pleasure as Pastor of St. Paul to present to you
the first ever Trustee's Ministry Manual that has been diligently
worked on by the 1996 elected Trustee's Ministry officers under the
leadership of Sister Vera Butler.
In Paul's letter recorded in Romans 12:11 we find these words, "Not
slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;" Certainly
this will epitomize the need for such an instrument in today's church
when it comes to fulfilling the scripture.
We are living in a day when automation, visual aides, and teamwork
continue to produce some of the best work we have ever seen in our
time. The church is no different. In order to strive for perfection
we must keep up with the times in the area of business, while
maintaining a spiritually that is always "decent and in order." This
manual will help us maintain the unity and the bond of peace within
our church.
I encourage each one of us to strive for the advancement of this
church by reading, adhering, and accepting the direction that God has
purposed for this ministry. This manual provides us with an
instrument that will allow us to "expand" our financial base while
maintaining our integrity, unity, and peace among one another in
Christ.
Again, my thanks to the entire 1996 Trustee's Ministry for their
faithfulness and dedication to ensure we have the best. I cannot
without thanking Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., and the Trustee's
Ministry of the First Institutional Baptist Church for providing us
with their manual as an example to get us on the right track.
With vision we remain,
Reverend Shawn L. Buckhanan
Pastor
THE TRUSTEES AS OFFICERS IN THE CHURCH
1. The establishment of trustees as officers in a local congregation
(church) is a requirement by civil law, in some states, and an expedient
to the congregation. In this particular church, trustees assume their
office by election through the general congregation.
2. All trustees up for re-election (based on their particular term of
office) will be elected at the 4th Quarterly Church Business meeting of
the year (Sep - Dec timeframe) and take office effective the 1st of
January. Any trustee who has served three consecutive terms must take_a
one-year leave before he or she is eligible to be elected to the Trustee
Ministry again.
3. The Trustee's Ministry will have five elected officers. Each elected
trustee may nominate, a church member of their choice to serve as one of
two associate trustees. This nomination process will convene at the
first meeting of the year. Each elected trustee is allowed to lobby for
his or her nominee. The trustees will then, collectively, appoint the
two best nominees. There will be no voting process to select the two
appointees; however, the individuals must accept the appointment from
the Trustee's Ministry Chairman before their appointments are made
official. The Trustee Chairman will expedite this process to ensure the
associate trustees are officially appointed no later that the second
meeting of the year.
4. Associate trustees can perform ail functions except voting, offering
or sending motions, chairing committees, and rendering minority reports
unless acting in the absence of an elected trustee. The Trustee’s Ministry
Chairman or Vice-chairman must be given ample notification of an elected trustee’s expected
absence. This is necessary to ensure the chairman or vice-chairman has
time to notify an associate trustee and ensure he or she is prepared to
fill in as appropriate.
5. The terms of office for St. Paul's trustees will be staggered as
follows: Two trustees will be elected for a term of 3 years; two will be
elected for a term of 2 years; and one will be elected for a term of one
year. Associate trustees will only serve one-year terms.
6. Trustees are necessary in order to hold property and rightly
administer financial affairs of the church. The St. Paul congregation is
a legal corporation and the trustees serve as property holders. Trustees
should be bound by firm considerations of morality and honor to carry
out the wishes of the church membership and to act under their
instructions. Therefore, trustees should have the qualities of
leadership and spiritual growth as adopted by the Church.
7. The Trustee's Ministry will have a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and
Secretary. Each elected trustee will also serve as a subcommittee
chairperson. The Trustee's Ministry Chairperson will appoint trustees to
sub-committee positions (See item $9 under "Functions of the Trustee's
Ministry.")
8. There will be two designated signatories to validate contracts and other
documents belonging to the corporation as a whole. These two signatories
will also sere as two of the four church signatories designated to validate
checks. The two trustee signatories will ideally be the Chairperson, and
the Sub-committee Chairperson for Budget and Finance unless the Trustee’s
Ministry votes otherwise. The church Finance Director will designate the
other two signatories for validating checks. All checks must be signed by
two of these signatories for validation.
BASIC RULES OF CONDUCT
1. Attend all trustees meetings. Your service depends on you knowing what
is happening. Trustees must attend the majority of the scheduled meetings.
Anyone who will be unable to attend must contact the Chairperson or ViceChairperson prior to the scheduled meeting. Any trustee who misses more
than two consecutive meetings, without notifying the chairperson, will be
considered for removal. All trustees are also expected to attend each
Quarterly Church Business Meeting.
2. Associate trustees, the church Finance Director, Treasurer,
internal auditor, and Administrative Pastor should attend the monthly
trustee meetings.
3. Observe the agenda and avoid tangential discussions.
4. Take notes of important issues and decisions.
5. Notice of a minority (or single trustee) recommendation must be given
immediately after the issue in question is closed. The person serving such
notice is free to poll the quorum for supporters. It is his/her
responsibility to schedule a meeting, if necessary, or contact trustees to
develop the minority recommendation. The Chairperson and Pastor must be
notified as to time and place of the minority meeting, but their attendance
is not required.
6. The quorum of this Trustee's Ministry will be the simple' majority
of the members (3 of 5).
FUNCTIONS OF THE TRUSTEE'S MINISTRY
1. Trustees officially transact business of this congregation for property
and title. They are to maintain a clear and comprehensive understanding of
all business engagements of this congregation, and they must know the
contents of all written contracts and agreements for which the
congregation is financially responsible. The church is not responsible
for any contracts written without approval from the Trustee's Ministry.
Furthermore, trustees will not make any verbal contracts on behalf of the
church.
2. Trustees are to maintain an accurate inventory of assets and
liabilities of both physical and fiscal natures. Trustees are responsible
for securing items of inventory against theft and misplacement. They are
required to conduct periodic surveys for necessary building and property
maintenance.
3. Matters involving a single, new, unbudgeted expenditure exceeding one
percent of the approved annual budget must be approved by a simple majority
of trustee's before being presented to the congregation for final approval.
4. The Sub-committee Chairperson for Budget and Finance will work with the
church Finance Team to develop the proposed budget and financial plan for
each year. For this purpose, the Budget and Finance Sub-committee, chaired
by the designated trustee, consisting of the church Finance Director,
Treasurer, and Auditor, must keep constant scrutiny of the incomes and
expenditures. The Budget and Finance Sub-committee will be responsible for
providing the congregation with whatever information is necessary to
maintain sound fiscal operations.
5. All trustee meetings will be conducted by the Chairperson, or in
his/her absence, the Vice-Chairperson. Each Trustee will receive notice
of the monthly meetings or special call meetings. The designated meeting
dates and times will be published in the minutes following each meeting.
6. The trustees will receive written notification of the upcoming meeting
with a proposed agenda not later than (NLT) seven days prior to the meeting.
The agenda is the responsibility of the Chairperson and the Secretary. Any
agenda items out of the ordinary (new business) should be presented to the
Chairperson in sufficient time as to be incorporated into the agenda. The
agenda for special call meetings will generally not be published ahead of
time but will be available at the time of the meeting. In so much as it is
possible; the trustees will follow the agenda during the conduct of the
meeting. Trustees attending meetings will be required to note the
disposition of each item as a temporary record until the official trustees'
minutes (signed by the chairperson') are prepared and distributed. The
official minutes _will be distributed NTL seven days following the meeting. The
chairperson or secretary will ensure an official copy of the minutes is
provided to the Administrative Pastor/Assistant for the church records.
7. Joint meetings of the Trustees and Deacons will be conducted by the
Pastor and called as necessary.
8. Each trustee is urged to maintain a close relationship with the Pastor.
He/she is to remember that the Pastor is the final interpreter of matters
controversial in nature, especially if the peace and harmony of the
congregation are at stake. It is imperative that the trustees communicate
regularly with the Pastor in the interest of coordination throughout the
various aspects of the program. They are workers together with Christ and
their fellowship of service must be based upon the purest foundation of
mutual trust and cooperation.
9. The trustees will have the following sub-committees: Personnel/Facility
Use, Budget and Finance, Legal Contracts, Maintenance and Building
Repairs, and Transportation Guidelines. Each trustee will serve as one of
the sub-committee chairpersons. In the absence of the chairperson, an atlarge member of the subcommittee may be designated by the Chairperson to
present matters in his or her stead. The at-large member will not be
allowed to vote or carry out any other functions for the trustee
subcommittee chairperson. Only associate trustees will be allowed to carry
out official functions in the absence of elected trustees.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUB-COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Each sub-committee should meet prior to the regular meeting of the Trustee
Ministry as circumstances dictate. The Sub-committee Chairperson will
submit a written report to the Trustee Ministry Secretary at each regular
meeting. The report shall include date of meeting, members present,
findings and recommendations. The minutes of the sub-committee meetings
may be presented at the monthly trustee meetings as part of the subcommittee's report.
DUTIES OF SUB-COMMITTEES
1. MAINTENANCE AND BUILDING REPAIRS:
a. Inspect the sanctuary interior, upstairs, and downstairs on a
weekly basis.
b. Inspect the outside ground (s) on a bi-weekly basis.
(1) Inspect building (s) and grounds after severe
weather conditions.
(2) Inspect and maintain heating and cooling systems and
their associated equipment during seasonal changes.
c. In collaboration with the trustee for Personnel/Facility Use,
develop (and revise as necessary) a clean-up checklist as a guide for the
Church Custodian. Inspect the efficiency of the Church Custodian as per the
checklist and make suggestions to improve the work.
d. Maintain a prioritized list of projects/repairs to be
accomplished during the year. Provide update to the Trustee
Ministry as part of the monthly sub-committee report.
e. Maintain a lock and key control system for the church's real
property. Ensure policies are documented and updated as needed.
(1) Issuance/Turn- in of all keys
(2) Maintenance of locks and keys (to include
duplicates and replacements)
(3) Security of all real property
(4) Periodic Inventories
(5) Access Rosters/Key Control Register
f. Ensure fire evacuation plans are up to date and posted as
necessary throughout the church. Schedule necessary inspections or
maintenance required for fire extinguishers.
g. Gather and submit a minimum of two estimates (bids),
preferable three or more, for expenditures of $300 or more for any
commercial work that needs to be done on the real property.
h. Maintain and order all maintenance supplies as needed, to
include supplies requested by the Church Custodian and appropriate
ministry leaders.
2. PERSONNEL/FACILITY USE:
a. Interview prospective non-ministerial employees and make
recommendations to the Pastor, Deacons, and Trustees.
b. Establish a schedule for all paid church employees. Adjust schedule
as necessary during periods of budget shortfalls.
c. Indirectly supervise all paid personnel and provide each employee with a
job description. Take into consideration any requests for compensation while
working outside the church office or while serving as an official
representative of the church during state or national events.
Recommendations will be brought before the Trustee's Ministry for final
approval/disapproval.
d. Conduct periodic checks to see that each paid employee person is
performing his or her duty and complying with the job description. Any
discrepant findings will be reported to the Trustee's Ministry. (This does
not include any of the Pastoral Staff.)
e. Review weekly time card to ensure they are being filled out
properly and kept on record.
f. Coordinate with Administrative Pastor or Office Manager to receive requests
for use of space by ministries and make recommendations to the Trustees as
necessary. Act as the approving authority for any abnormal requests for use
of church facilities.
3. BUDGET AND FINANCE:
a. Work closely with the other members of the sub-committee (Finance
Director, Treasurer, and Auditor) to ensure thorough understanding of all
monthly transactions. Be prepared to brief the Finance Report, at the
monthly trustee meetings, in the absence of other committee members.
b. Maintain oversight of written requisitions from, any ministry or
persons before purchases are made. In the event of an emergency, the Trustee’s
Ministry Chairperson may approve requisitions not in excess of $300. A simple
majority must approve those in excess of $300. The Trustee Chairperson will
poll the quorum as expeditiously as possible to release the funds.
c. Serve as one of the two trustee signatories designated to sign all
binding contracts or other legal documentation on behalf of the St. Paul
congregation.
d. Serve as the primary signatory (for the trustees) for
validating checks to cover church expenditures. Ensure all
expenditures are processed in accordance with budget and finance
procedures of the church.
e. Review the budget against expenditures and report to the trustees
any areas of over-spending or margin. This information will also be
provided during the Quarterly Church Business Meetings.
f. Observe item number four under "Functions of the Trustee's
Ministry." Oversee the preparation of the annual budget proposals.
Present the proposed budget to the Trustees no later than the September meeting.
Provide monthly updates/changes as they occur prior to the budget being
presented to the congregation for approval. Brief the budget proposal to
the congregation during the last Quarterly Church Business Meeting.
4. LEGAL CONTRACTS:
a. Reviews all bids, contracts, contract proposals and other
documents coming before the trustees for consideration. Upon approval, in
order for them to be valid and binding, they must carry the authorized
signatures of the designated trustee signatories.
b. Update all annual renewal documentation with appropriate
trustee signatures.
5. TRANSPORTATION GUIDELINES:
a. Oversee the general use of church vehicle(s). This is to
include but is not limited to:
(1) Adherence to the Transportation Guidelines as
established by the church.
(2) Ensuring compliance with legal requirements as they relate
to the vehicle(s).
(3) Verify operating licenses for designated drivers.
(4) Review all requisitions for expenditures relating to
maintenance of any church vehicles.
(5) Ensure insurance and registration documentation are kept
current.
d. Review all requests for use of any church vehicles by persons or
organizations outside of the St. Paul congregation. Act as the approving
authority for such requests and ensure designated drivers are properly
licensed.
e. Develop a maintenance checklist to be completed before, and
after the use of church vehicles. Reviews documents and conduct
necessary inspections to determine liability for any damages incurred.
f. Develop and maintain driving logs to be filled out by
designated operators and submitted to you upon completion.
ADDENDUM
1. Bidding Procedure, Authorization for goods and services that cost less
than $300 may be given by the Chairperson of the Trustee Ministry or his
designated representative with the understanding that the person
responsible shall diligently seek the best possible price for the quality
of the item being purchased.
2. Whenever an unbudgeted emergency arises which requires an expenditure of
more than $300, the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Trustee's
Ministry should contact the committee chairperson concerning the emergency.
The money may be allocated if a majority of the Trustee's Ministry agrees
on the expenditure. In addition, if the cost equals or exceeds 1% of the
approved _annual budget, a special meeting of the congregation will be called
to inform them of the expenditure.
AMENDMENTS
Every proposition to alter, amend, or delete any part of whole of this
Trustee's Ministry Manual shall be submitted in writing. A simple majority
of votes is required for approval. Upon approval the proposition will
become effective at once. All amendments must have final church approval.
A conditional approval by the trustees may be used for up to 90 days,
pending the next Quarterly Church Business Meeting.