Constitution of Yeshua
International
1. The Objects
of Yeshua International
Yeshua International, which is a Member of The
Yeshua International Network of Churches was formed as an Internet
Church in March 2002.
Yeshua International is Unified and in Full Communion with The Old Roman
Catholic Church in England.
2. The
Trustees of Yeshua International shall be responsible for all-:
a) Finances
b) The
Website
c) For
appointing Officers namely:-
i) The Chief
Ordaining Officer
The Chief
Ordaining Officer in conjunction with the Entitlements Officer shall be
responsible for Ordaining all Candidates for Ministry. The Chief Ordaining
Officer will examine the credentials of all Candidates for Membership namely:-
Lay Members, Ministers, Bishops, Archbishops or Cardinals. Yeshua
International accepts and believes in the Apostolic Succession by the "Laying
on of Hands". All candidates for the Ordained Ministry will only be
Ordained on this principle.
The Chief
Ordaining Officer will be responsible for appointing all Bishops and
Archbishops. The Chief Ordaining Officer will be responsible for renewing the
Appointment of Bishops and Archbishops at the end of their term of office. The
terms and conditions of appointment of Bishops, Archbishops or Cardinals shall
be determined by the Chief Ordaining Officer. The Chief Ordaining Officer has
the sole authority to remove from the Register of Ministers, any Minister,
Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinals who in the opinion of The Chief Ordaining
Officer commits an act of indiscipline. Any or such acts of indiscipline shall
be determined by the Chief Ordaining Officer. There is no appeal from being
removed from the Register of Ministers, Bishops, Archbishops or
Cardinals.
ii) The
Entitlements Officer
The
Entitlements Officer in conjunction with The Chief Ordaining Officer will
examine the credentials of all candidates for Membership namely:- Lay Members,
Ministers, Bishops, Archbishops or Cardinals. The Entitlements Officer is
responsible for keeping a Register of Lay Members, Ministers, Bishops,
Archbishops or Cardinals.
iii) The
Secretary
The Secretary is
responsible for keeping and taking the minutes of the meetings of The Trustees
and The Board of Ministry and to perform any other duties as from time to time
are deemed necessary by the Trustees.
iv) The
Treasurer
The
Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the bank accounts of Yeshua
International and to make the Trustees aware of any financial
needs.
v) The Board
of Ministry
The Board of Ministry
shall be Members of Yeshua International, Lay and Ordained appointed by the
Chief Ordaining Officer. Members of the Board of Ministry shall act in a
voluntary capacity and act as Advisers to the Trustees on any aspect of Ministry
or the running Yeshua International. The terms and conditions of the Members of
the Board of Ministry shall be determined by The Chief Ordaining Officer
appointed by the Trustees. It shall be determined by The Chief Ordaining Officer
when Board of Ministry meetings shall be held.
vi) The Website
Co-Ordinator
The Website Co-Ordinator
shall be responsible for compiling and uploading of the Website. The Website
Co-Ordinator shall be responsible for determining the content of the Website in
conjunction with the Chief Ordaining Officer.
vii) The
Ministry Page Co-Ordinator
The Ministry Page
Co-Ordinator shall be responsible for compiling Guest Sermons each week and
passing the information to the Website Co- Ordinator. The content on the
Ministry Pages are not necessarily the views of Yeshua Network of Churches
International but of the contributors.
viii) The Prayer
& Healing Page Co-Ordinator
The
Prayer & Healing Page Co-Ordinator shall be responsible for compiling weekly
prayers and healing requests and passing the information to the Website
Co-Ordinator.
ix)
The Humour & Childrens’ Page
Co-Ordinator
The Humour
and Childrens’ Page Co-Ordinator shall be responsible for compiling the pages
for inclusion on the Website once per month and passing the information to the
Website Co-Ordinator.
x) The
Information Technology Co-Ordinator
The Information
Technology Co-Ordinator shall be responsible for assisting the Website
Co-Ordinator in aspects of uploading and compiling the Website. The Information
Technology Co-Ordinator shall in conjunction with The Chief Ordaining Officer
help and assist Members with any technical difficulties concerning Information
Technology.
xi) The
Principal of The School of Theology
The
Principal of the School of Theology shall be responsible for
compiling and implementing all training courses for and on behalf of Yeshua
International including vetting Candidates and marking
assignments.
xii) Appoint or
Reassign
The Trustees
of Yeshua International shall appoint or reassign Officers as and when the need
arises.
3. Ministry
Yeshua International is a
Christian based Ministry and one of the largest, and fastest growing Online
Internet Churches, having been established for nearly two years. We hold dear to
the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, as being inspired by God. Members
of Yeshua International believe that Jesus Christ was both the flesh and bone
Son of God, and the deity of God the Son as well. In other words, Jesus was 100%
human and 100% God the Son while He walked earth, and the time before and the
time afterward. Although Christian, we also recognize that each individual
follows his or her own path to spiritual awakening. Yeshua International
respects all paths and honours each person's right to seek their own personal
truth. We recognize the diversity of the world, and as such, we accept all
members of the community regardless of their Religious background or
denomination without prejudice of any kind. Yeshua International willingly
Ordains, all that come to us after due examination. However, Ordination or
Elevation is only done in the Apostolic Succession by the "Laying on of
Hands" and there will be necessary fees determined by the Chief Ordaining
Officer. No candidate will be Ordained or Elevated until all the proper
fees have been met. Our Ministry is made up of Lay Members, Ordained
Ministers, Bishops, Archbishops or Cardinals.
4. The Main
Aims of Yeshua International are:
i) To Reach and bring
together diverse people and denominations from around the world who believe in
the basic Christian principle.
ii) To develop a global
prayer and worship community, praying and worshipping for the needs of others,
comforted in the knowledge that they, in turn, are being prayed for by the
community.
iii) To
admit Lay Members into the Membership of Yeshua
International.
iv) To
Ordain Ministers, Bishops, Archbishops or Cardinals, those who feel called to
Minister to their Community in the Name of God. Ordinations &
Consecrations will only take place in the Apostolic Succession by
the "Laying on of Hands".
v) To develop the largest
and fastest growing Online Internet Church.
vi) To support people in the
development of their own Ministry with guidance from the main Internet Church.
vii) To spread the Word of
God through Prayer, Worship and Bible Reading inconjuction with the
Internet.
5. Unity in
Christ
i) To
express the essential unity in Christ through Yeshua International throughout
the world.
ii) To secure the
association of Ministers on the basis of their common Evangelical faith, each
Member retaining liberty to fulfil his or her own distinctive Ministry, witness
and mission.
iii) To foster their
continued fellowship in prayer, worship and work, to co-ordinate their common
aims, activities and resources for the evangelisation of the people and the
extension of Christ's Kingdom in every sphere of life.
iv) To
maintain the spiritual testimony of Yeshua International, to uphold full
religious liberty and to take action when authorised to do so by the Trustees
after taking advice from the Board of Ministry, and the appointed Bishops,
Archbishops or Cardinals, in matters affecting the responsibilities and rights
of Members of Yeshua International.
v) To
promote fellowship and united action where possible with all Members of Yeshua
International throughout the world.
6. Doctrinal
Statement
This Declaratory Statement of Common
Faith and Practice was adopted on March 2002 as a doctrinal statement, is as
follows:-
i)
Yeshua International throughout the world, claim and cherish their place as
inheritors, along with others, of the historic faith of Christendom, which found
expression in the ecumenical creeds of the early and undivided Church: and this
Declaratory Statement does not profess to be a comprehensive creed, but is a
declaration of such truths as in the circumstances, it seems proper to rehearse
and emphasise.
ii) It is an essential
element in any proposals for Membership that each prospective Member should
accept this Constitution Statement as a disciplinary standard on any Member or
prospective Member, that they agree with the Declaration of "Faith and
Beliefs" as listed on the Website.
iii)
There is One Living and True God, Who is revealed to us as Father Son and Holy
Spirit: Him alone we worship and adore.
iv) We
believe that God so loved the world as to give His Son to be the Revealer of the
Father and the Redeemer of humanity: that the Son of God, for us and for our
Salvation, became man in Jesus Christ, Who, having lived on earth the perfect
human life, died for our sins, rose again from the dead, and now is exalted Lord
over all: and that the Holy Spirit, Who witnesses to us of Christ, makes the
Salvation which is in Him to be effective in our hearts and
lives-
v) We
acknowledge that all are sinful and unable to deliver themselves from either
guilt or power of their sin: but we have received and rejoice in the Gospel of
the grace of the Holy God, wherein all who truly turn from sin are freely
forgiven through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and are called and enabled,
through the Spirit dwelling and working within them, to live in fellowship with
God and for His service: and in this new life, which is to be nurtured by the
right use of the means of grace, we are to grow daily dying unto sin and living
unto Him Who in His mercy has redeemed us.
vi) Yeshua
International acknowledges the Statement of Faith and Belief as listed on the
Website as part of this Constitution.
7. The
Catholic or Universal Church
i) We
believe that the Catholic or Universal Church is the whole company of the
redeemed in Heaven and on earth, and we recognise as belonging to this holy
fellowship all who are united to God through faith in
Christ.
ii) The
Church on earth - which is one through the Apostolic Gospel and through the
loving union of all its true members with its one Head, even Christ, and which
is Holy through the indwelling Holy Spirit Who sanctifies the Body and its
Members - is Ordained to be the visible Body of Christ, to worship God through
Him, to promote the fellowship of His people, and the ends of His Kingdom, and
to go into all the world and proclaim His Gospel for the Salvation and unity of
all. Of this visible Church, and every branch thereof the only Head is the Lord
Jesus Christ; and in its faith, order, discipline and duty it must be free to
obey Him alone as it interprets His Holy will.
iii) We
receive, as given by the Lord to His Church on earth, the Holy Scriptures, the
Sacraments of the Gospel, and the Christian Ministry.
iv) The Scriptures,
delivered through those moved by the Holy Spirit, record and interpret the
revelation of redemption, and contain the sure Word of God concerning our
Salvation and all things necessary thereto. Of this we are convinced by the
witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men and women to and with the Word;
and this Spirit, thus speaking from the Scriptures to believers and to the
Church, is the supreme Authority by which all opinions in religion are finally
to be judged.
v) The Sacraments, Baptism
and the Lord's Supper, are instituted by Christ. Who is Himself certainly and
really present in His own ordinances (though not bodily in the elements
thereof), and are signs and seals of His Gospel not to be separated therefrom.
They confirm the promises and gifts of salvation and, when rightly used by
believers with faith and prayer are, through the operation of the Holy Spirit,
true means of grace.
vi) The
Ministry is an office within the Church, not a sacerdotal order, instituted for
the preaching of the Word, the Ministration of the Sacraments and the Care of
Souls. It is a vocation from God, upon which therefore no one is qualified to
enter save through the call of the Holy Spirit in the heart: and this inward
call is to be authenticated by the call of the Church, which is followed by
Ordination to the work of the Ministry in the Church. While thus maintaining the
Ministry as an office, we do not limit the Ministers of the New Testament to
those who are Ordained, but affirm the priesthood of all believers and the
obligation resting upon them to fulfil their vocation according to the gift
bestowed upon them by the Holy Spirit.
8. Sovereign
Authority
i) We affirm the sovereign
authority of our Lord Jesus Christ over every department of human life, and we
hold that individuals and peoples are responsible to Him in their several
spheres and are bound to render Him obedience and seek always the furtherance of
His Kingdom upon earth, not Him, to promote the fellowship of His people, and
the ends of His Kingdom, and to go into all the world and proclaim His Gospel
for the salvation and unity of all. Of this visible Church, and every Member
thereof the only Head is the Lord Jesus Christ; and in its faith, order,
discipline and duty it must be free to obey Him alone as it interprets His Holy
will.
9. The
Trustees Meeting and The Board of Ministry Meeting
The Trustees Meeting and The
Board of Ministry Meeting shall conduct business on behalf of the Members
through a body hereinafter called "The Trustees Meeting and The Board of
Ministry Meeting", which shall be constituted in such a manner as to
represent authoritatively the opinion and policy of the Members of Yeshua
International. The Trustees Meeting and The Board of Ministry Meeting shall be
constituted as follows:-
i) The
Trustees shall meet at least twice each year to receive recommendations from the
Board of Ministry and to conduct business on behalf of the Members of Yeshua
International.
ii) The
Trustees shall appoint Members of Yeshua International to The Board of Ministry
to advise the Trustees in accordance with principles and methods determined by
the Trustees from time to time and embodied in the By-laws. The Board of
Ministry so appointed shall be responsible for ascertaining and representing the
opinions and judgements of the Members of Yeshua International on all matters
concerning every aspect of Yeshua International.
iii) Trustees
These
are folk who have financial responsibility for Yeshua International and are
responsible for its financial continuation. Trustees may be appointed with the
full approval of the present trustees and provided they make a substantial
financial contribution to the funds of Yeshua International. The financial
contribution of new Trustees may be amended by the Trustees from time to time.
The Trustees will ensure that there are always sufficient funds to maintain an
efficient Ministry Operation of Yeshua International. Trustees do not receive
any remuneration for their time and efforts but they are entitled to
re-imbursement for any expenses incurred in the running of Yeshua
International.
iv) Officers
The Trustees of Yeshua International
The Officers of Yeshua International as listed in 2c)
The Trustees
may co-opt on to the Board of Ministry, specialists who may not be Members of
Yeshua International but not exceeding in number more than one quarter of the
total number on the Board of Ministry. Co-opted Members of the Board of Ministry
may join debates and discussions but will have no voting rights in the event of
a vote.
10. Bylaws
The Trustees may
from time to time make or amend Bylaws for the proper conduct of its affairs and
for the regulation of the work of its Officers, but no such Bylaws shall be
inconsistent with the general provisions of this
constitution.
11. Amendment
To The Constitution
This
Constitution can only be amended by the approval of all the Trustees present at
the Trustees Meeting. Proposals for amendments must be put in writing to the
Secretary of Yeshua International two weeks prior to the Trustees Meeting.
The Constitution of Yeshua International was last amended at a meeting of the
Trustees in March 2003.
12. Observers
The Trustees
Meeting and The Board of Ministry Meeting may invite observers to attend their
meetings. Such observers may join in discussions and debates but will have no
voting rights in the event of a vote.
