Constitution

of the International Council of Christian Churches

 

Preamble

Whereas, it is the duty of all true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ to make a clear testimony to their faith in Him, especially in these darkening days of apostasy in many confessing Churches, by which apostasy whole denominations in their official capacity as well as individual Churches, have been swept into a paganising stream of modernism under various names and in varying degree; and

 Whereas; There has been a notable growth of autocratic denominations on the part especially of modernistic leaders by whom the rightful powers of true Churches are often usurped and are now being usurped; and

 Whereas, The commands of God to His people to be separate from all unbelief and corruption are clear and positive; and also

 Whereas, we believe the times demand the formation of a world-wide agency, for fellowship and co-operation on the part of Bible-believing Churches for the proclamation and defense of the Gospel, for the maintenance of a testimony pure, steadfast and world-wide to those great facts and revealed truths of historic Christianity and especially to the great doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, for the accomplishment of tasks which can better be done in co-operation than separately, and to facilitate the discharge of the obligations which inhere in the Commission of Christ to His Church to make known tile Gospel of Christ to every kindred and tongue and tribe and nation

Therefore, the bodies of various nationalities and languages forming this Council, do now establish it as an agency, without compromise or evasion, unreservedly dedicated as a witness to "the faith once for all delivered unto the saints."

Article I

Name

The name of this organisation shall be, The International Council of Christian Churches.

ARTICLE II

Doctrinal Statement

Among other equally Biblical truths, we believe and maintain the following:

  1. The plenary Divine inspiration of the Scriptures in the original languages, their consequent inerrancy and infallibility, and, as the Word of God, the supreme and final authority in faith and life;

  1. The Triune God, Fathers, Son, and Holy Spirit;

  2. The essential, absolute, eternal Deity, and the real and proper, but sinless, humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ;

  3. His birth of the Virgin Mary.

  4. His substitutionary, expiatory death in that He gave His life "a ransom for many";

  5. His resurrection from among the dead in the same body in which He was crucified and the second coming of this same Jesus in power and great glory;

  6. The total depravity of man through the Fall;

  7. Salvation, the effect of regeneration by the Spirit and the Word, not by works but by grace through faith;

  8. The everlasting bliss of the saved, and the everlasting suffering of the lost;

  9. The real spiritual unity in Christ of all redeemed by His precious blood;

  10. The necessity of maintaining, according to the Word of God, the purity of the Church in doctrine and life;

    11. And, still believing the Apostles' Creed to he a statement of Scriptural truth, we therefore incorporate it in these articles of faith

    ARTICLE III

    Membership

    Section 1. Constituent Membership

    Constituent membership in this Council shall be open to all those denominations, associations of Bible-believing Churches, the world over, and Bible-believing societies in Scandinavia of a definite church character, which, by official action, approve and accept the Preamble and the Doctrinal Statement of the Constitution and apply to the Council for membership. No denomination, association of churches or Bible-believing society in Scandinavia of a definition church character, in, or represented by, the World Council of Churches or standing outside the stream of historic Christianity will be received

    Applications when received shall be acted upon by the Council itself, or by any Committee to which the Council may delegate this power All actions of such a Committee are subject to review by the subsequent Plenary Congress When voting upon applications a two-third majority vote shall be necessary for election.

     

    Section 2. Consultative Membership

    A local church not belonging to a denomination, or any congregation belonging to a denomination not affiliated with the World Council of Churches or with any of its co-operating agencies and which stands in the stream of historic Christianity may become a consultative member of this Council by approving and accepting the Preamble and Doctrinal statement of the Constitution and applying for membership. Consultative members shall have the privileges of representation and of discussion but shall be without vote.

    Section 3. Careful Acceptance of Members

    The Council, or its designated Committee, shall make careful investigation of the doctrinal standards and spiritual condition of everybody applying for membership. Every applicant for membership in the Council shall furnish its confessional statements and also statistics of the number of its churches, of its clergy, and of its lay membership

    ARTICLE: IV

    Associate bodies

    Organised bodies of churches or individuals not qualifying for membership may, if in accord with the Preamble and Doctrinal Statement of this Council, upon application and acceptance by the Council have the privileges of representation and discussion in the Plenary Congress but shall be without votes. This includes such bodies as national and local Councils of Churches, Mission Boards, Bible Leagues and Unions etc.

    ARTICLE: V

    Organisational Structure

    Section 1. Plenary Congress and Executive Committee

    For the purpose of conducting the business of the Council there shall be:

      1. Plenary Congress;

      2. An Executive Committee.

Section 2. The Plenary Congress

The Plenary congress shall be the largest assembly of representatives of bodies holding membership in the Council. Representation in the Congress shall be on the following basis:

 Each constituent body shall be entitled to send four delegates with full voting power for the first one hundred congregations or fraction thereof, belonging to that body. For each fifty additional congregations, or major fraction thereof, one delegate more shall be allowed.

 However, ten delegates shall be the maximum allowed any Council member. In determining proper Church representation, only congregations officially affiliated with but one of our constituent bodies shall be counted. No congregation shall be counted which by its affiliations in the local or world sphere is out of sympathy with the International Council of Christian Churches. The Council would suggest that if possible approximately one third of each delegation from member bodies be layman. Others may be sent as observers, if desired, but these shall be without the privilege of discussion. All delegates must be furnished with proper credentials from the responsible officer of the body they represents, which credentials are to be submitted to the Credentials Committee of the Council, if possible prior to the opening session of the Congress. Authorised delegates must be present to vote. In choosing delegates to the Plenary Congress each affiliated body should be careful to choose alternatives, thereby to assure voting privileges.

 Consultative member congregations and associated bodies shall be entitled to send as many representatives as desired, but the privilege of discussion shall be granted to but one of the delegation and none shall have the right to vote. The Council assures those individuals and congregations still in World Council relationship, but who, nevertheless, show interest in the testimony of this Council, that this Council appreciates their interests, cordially invites their presence as observers at Plenary Congresses and hopes that they soon will be in such ecclesiastical relationship as will allow them to enter into membership in this Council.

 

The officers of the Plenary Congress shall be: the President, who shall be the Chairman, Vice- Presidents to the number of six or more, the Recording Secretaries and the Treasurer. All officers shall be chosen from among the official delegates to the Plenary Congress. These shall also be Regional Secretaries who shall be elected by the Plenary Congress or by the Executive Committee. National Councils in fellowship with the Intentional Council may present nominations for such offices to the Executive Committee. Elections by the Executive Committee shall require approval by the Plenary Congress at its next meeting. The Plenary Congress shall meet at least once every five years. The exact time and place may be determined by the Executive Committee of the Council, which shall notify all member bodies not less than one year prior to the Plenary Congress except in the most extraordinary circumstances.

Section 3. The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President of the Council, who shall be the Chairman thereof, the Vice-Presidents, the Recording Secretaries, the Treasurer and thirty additional members elected by the Plenary Congress who shall be representative of those bodies throughout the world which comprise the Council. The Executive Committee shall have power to employ all salaried workers. Should a vacancy occur in the membership of the Executive Committee a successor may be elected by the Committee to serve the remainder of the term.

The Executive Committee shall meet a sufficient number of days prior to each Plenary Congress for the purpose of taking adequate action upon such matters as fall within its province; and, where possible, it shall meet at least once between the meetings of the Plenary Congress.

 No officer of the International Council of Christian Churches shall commit the Council on any matter except under the instruction of the Council or its Executive Committee, or as he possesses evidence of the Council's position.

 The Executive Committee is authorised to form a list of organisations in agreement with the doctrinal statement and aims of the International Council of Christian Churches.

Section 4. Commissions and Committees

Commissions and Committees shall be appointed by the Council , or by the Executive Committee, as shall be necessary from time to time. Commissions and Committees shall report to each Plenary Congress, when necessary, and at such other times as the Executive Committee may direct. All members of Committees shall be members of Constituent or Consultative bodies belonging to the Council. (For Commissions and Committees see By-laws)

ARTICLE VI

Nominations and Elections

Section 1. Nominations

The Executive Committee, or a Committee chosen by the same, shall present nominations to the Plenary Congress, following which nominations from the floor shall be in order.

Section 2.Elections

Elections in the Plenary Congress shall be held near the conclusion of the sessions, officers and Committees taking office immediately at the close of the Plenary Congress. (As to inability to continue to serve, see Article V, Section 3.)

ARTICLE VII

Functions of the Council

The functions of the Council shall be:

To provide a world-wide fellowship of evangelical churches and people for mutual encouragement and help in the things of the Lord;

To encourage all member bodies to foster a loyal and aggressive revival of Bible Christianity over all the world;

    1. To seek to awaken Christians everywhere to the insidious dangers of modernism and call them to unity of mind and effort against all unbelief and compromise with modernism of every kind, and against Roman Catholicism, in the hope that with the blessing of God this effort may result in a genuine Twentieth Century Reformation;

    2. To undertake to do for the bodies belonging to this Council the things which they can better do in co-operation than by themselves.

    3. To maintain and defend by every proper means the rights of the member bodies and associated bodies against interference with their liberty to fulfil their God-given calling.

    4. To arouse other Christian Churches throughout the world to participate in this Council;

    5. To acquaint governments and the public at large, when and where necessary, with the fact that this Council alone represents its member bodies in the matters which have been delegated to it by them, and that no other Council in the world sphere has any right to claim to be the voice of these bodies.

    6. To seek by every proper means to facilitate the missionary work of member bodies;

    7. To encourage all members of the Council to promote on every continent, as God enables, an educational system for all ages which shall be free from the blight of rationalism and in which the Bible shall be basic, to the end that education may again become the handmaid of the Church rather than a foe to the whole Christian conception of God and the world;

    8. To encourage the members of the Council to promote the use of such Sunday School lesson material as shall be found in harmony with the Word of God and the doctrinal statement of the International Council of Christian Churches;

    9. To advocate steadfastly the Christian mode of life in society at large in the hope that we may be able to do something to retard the progress of atheistic and pagan ideologies under any name, of loose morality and of godlessness which have become such alarming threats to the Christian method of life in our times.

ARTICLE VIII

Authority of the Council

The International Council of Christian Churches shall have no authority to act for any member in any matter that has not been delegated to the Council by that body. It may, however, offer counsel and advice to members and suggest opportunities for united action in matters of common interest. The Council does not seek organic union of its member bodies, nor will it trespass in any way upon their autonomy.

The Council may act on matters committed to it by any of the member does.

The Plenary Congress and its Executive Committee shall have power to call world and regional conferences on any subject or occasion which in the judgement of either one is deemed sufficiently important to warrant such a conference.

The Plenary Congress shall have the rights to dismiss any constituent or consultative body belonging to it, for proved cause. In case any question should arise as to the fitness of any body belonging to the Council, the Plenary Congress, on its own initiative or by request of any two constituent member may cite such body to appear before the Congress; and if the charges be proved, such member shall be dismissed. A two-third majority shall be necessary for such dismissal.

ARTICLE IX

Finance

Section 1. Finance Committee

There shall be a Finance Committee which shall function in co-operation with the Treasurer and the other officers of the Council.

 

Section 2. Financial Support

The Council shall look to God to supply financial support of its work on a wholly voluntary basis especially through the co-operating bodies.

ARTICLE X

Amendments to the Constitution

Amendments to this Constitution may be made by the Plenary Congress of the Council or by the Executive Committee. If by the Plenary Congress, they may be made at any session by a two-thirds vote. If by the Executive Committee, the amendments must be submitted to all constituent bodies and if no objection is made by any such body within a year the amendment shall go into effect.

ARTICLE XI

By-Laws

By-Laws may be adopted by the Council, meeting in Plenary Congress or by its Executive Committee as occasion may require. The By-laws may be amended by a majority vote of the Plenary Congress; or, by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee, in which case the amendments shall go into effect ad interim but must be submitted for approval to the next Plenary Congress.

The following committees shall be elected :

    1. Credentials Committee,

    2. Nominating Committee,

    3. Executive Committee,

    4. Finance Committee.

      5. The Commissions of the Council shall be :

    5. Missions - The Associated Missions (TAM) of the ICCC,

    6. Evangelism,

    7. Christian Relief - International Christian Relief (ICR)

    8. Christian Education

    9. International Accrediting Commission of Colleges and Schools (IACCS),

    10. Publications

    11. Mass Media - Radio and Television,

    12. Youth - International Christian Youth (ICY) Advisory Commission,

    13. International Affairs,

    14. Biblical and Archaeological Research,

    15. New Contacts,

    16. Medical Commission,

    17. Theological Commission