The Articles of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1  Name

The name of our Church shall be “Hanguk Gidokgyo 100 Junyeon Ginyum Gyohoe” and be called “100 Junyeon Ginyum Gyohoe” in abbreviated form. In English, the Church’s name shall be “The 100th Anniversary Memorial Church”(100AMCH).

Article 2  Purpose

1. Our Church will strive to become a united church, a holy church, a universal church and an apostolic church based on the Bible.
2. Our Church will lead people saved in Jesus Christ to live out their faith in their daily lives and turn their daily lives into acts of faith, and thereby do their all to meet the calling and the responsibilities placed on them as Christians with respect to our people and the rest of the humanity.
3. Our Church will inherit the faith and the spirit of 100 years of Korean Christianity and do its all to meet the calling of laying the right path for 200 years of Korean Christianity.
4. Our Church will manage and operate Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and Korean Christian Martyrs Memorial on independent basis, having received complete management authority granted to it by the Foundation for the 100th Anniversary of the Korean Church (the “Foundation”) and shall regard them as the Church’s field of service and evangelism.

Article 3  Location

Our Church shall be located at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery, 46 Yanghwajin-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Article 4  Affiliation

Our Church was founded by the Foundation, which was established by the united efforts of 20 denominations and 26 institutions and associations of the Korean Protestant Church and shall not become a member of any particular denomination, provided that for the facilitation of administration, the Church may become a member of the Korean Association of Independent Churches and Missions (“KAICAM”).

Article 5 Member Qualifications and Titles; Districts

1. The members of our Church shall be persons registered with the Church who shall cultivate the spirit and the calling of our Church through worship, bible study, service and participation in district meetings.
2. Anyone who is aged 30 or above, has been baptized for more than a year and has been registered with the Church for more than a year shall be called a deacon.
3. Any person to whom all of the followings apply shall be called an elder in the case of a man, and a senior deaconesses in the case of a woman.
   ① A person aged 60 or above;
   ② A person who has been a deacon of our Church for more than 7 years;
   ③ A person who conforms to Titus 2:2-3;
   ④ A person who has completed the education course specified by the Church (such education course and its content shall be determined pursuant to implementing regulations);
   ⑤ A person who has served our Church as a volunteer for more than 3 years prior to the time that such title is to be conferred on such person; and
   ⑥ A person who has been recommended by his or her group leader and the district pastor;
4. A person who has been appointed as an elder or a senior deaconesses at another church and meets the description of Section 3, clause ③ above shall be called as a deacon or a senior deaconesses at our Church after the education described in Section 3, clause ④.
5. A registered member shall belong to a district, and a district shall be made up of district cell groups formed based on geographical location and age.

Chapter 2 Organization & Operation

Article 6  Common Assembly

1. The Common Assembly shall consist of baptized members who has been a registered member of our Church for 6 months or more and are 18 years of age or older. as of 3 weeks prior to the day the Common Assembly is convened.
2. The chairperson of the Common Assembly shall be the eldest district leader who is also a member of the Standing Committee. In the event there is no district leader who is a member of the Standing Committee, the eldest district leader shall serve as the chairperson.
3. The Common Assembly shall resolve on following matters:
   ① Matters of approving the senior pastor (vote of confidence)
   ② Amendments to these Articles which have been approved by the Standing Committee
   ③ The disposal of key assets that serve as the foundation of the church
   ④ Key matters of which at least 1/5 of the church’s registered members call for convening a Common Assembly
   ⑤ Approval of financial statements
   
4. There are regular Common Assemblies held in April every year, and other Common Assemblies that are convened for other matters throughout the year. The approval of the church’s financial statements are made at regular Common Assemblies.
5. When at least 1/5 of registered members submit a list of names calling for the convening of a Common Assembly on a matter is on par with key decisions made by the Common Assembly to the chairperson of the Common Assembly and the Standing Committee, the Common Assembly chairperson convenes the Common Assembly within three months of the submission.
6. The chairperson of the Common Assembly shall provide notice of the matters to be deliberated at the Common Assembly at least three weeks prior to the convening of the Common Assembly in the Church announcement bulletin and Church homepage and distribute explanatory materials relating to such agenda.
7. A resolution shall be adopted by the Common Assembly by means of a secret ballot, the approval of financial statements upon affirmative vote of at least 1/2 of the members where at least 1/5 of the members have participated in voting, and for other key resolutions, the affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the members where at least 1/5 have participated in voting.
8. The Vote Management Committee drawn up by the Operating Committee will undertake all of the procedures of the Common Assembly, and voting at the Common Assembly may be done electronically. The composition and the operation of the Voting Managment Committee shall be specified in the implementing regulations.
9. When a Common Assembly is convened, meeting minutes should be recorded and shared on the church homepage. Meeting mintues of all matters with the exception of the approval of financial statements should be notarized.

Article 7  Operating Committee

1. The Operating Committee shall consist of district leaders who represent each district, the senior co-pastors and the pastoral staff.
2. The eldest co-pastor who is not the chairperson of the Standing Committee will serve as the chairperson of the Operating Committee, provided that in case where an agenda is about the dismissal of a senior pastor, the senior pastor in question may not attend the session of the Operating Committee and the eldest member among the district leaders who is also a member of the Standing Committee will serve as the chairperson, and if there is no district leader who is also a member of the Standing Committee, the eldest district leader shall serve as the chairperson.
3. The Operating Committee shall resolve on following matters:
   ① Matters of invitation of a person approved by the Standing Committee to serve as a senior pastor
   ② Matters relating to dismissal of a senior pastor outlined in Article 22 clause 1
   ③ Matters relating to the disposal of key assets, including key assets that serve as the foundation of the church
   ④ The adjustment of the roles of the senior pastors that have been passed at the Standing Committee.
   ⑤ Planned amendments to the Articles proposed in Article 24 clause 1.
   ⑥ Approval of appointment of members of the Standing Committee
   ⓻ Appointment of the auditor of the Church
   ⓼ Composition of the Vote Management Committee referred to in Article 6 clause
   
4. A Operating Committee can be convened based on a proposal by the Operating Committee chairperson or a proposal by at least 1/4 of the committee members.
5. The chairperson of the Operating Committee shall convene an operating committee meeting by notify the time, the venue and the agenda of the upcoming Operating Committee session in the Church announcement bulletin and the Church home page two weeks prior to the meeting and post the results of the meeting on the Church home page after the resolution of agenda matters.
6. Unless otherwise specified in these Articles, the resolutions at the Operating Committee shall be adopted as follows, and the members of the Operating Committee shall vote after polling the opinions of his or her district members:
   ① The matters specified in items ① to ③ of Section 3 above shall be resolved by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of members present at the meeting where at least 2/3 of the members of the Operating Committee are present;
   ② Matters specified in items ④ to ⑥ of Section 3 above shall be resolved by affirmative vote of the majority of the members present at the meeting where at least the majority of the members of the Operating Committee are present.
   

Article 8  Standing Committee

1. The Standing Committee shall consist of team leaders of voluntary service teams . A team leader will serve for a two-year term and may serve consecutive terms in exceptional circumstances. Full-time co-senior pastors, pastoral staff members, the auditor and the church administrator will be ex officio members of the Standing Committee, provided that the church administrator shall not have any voting right.
2. The senior co- pastor who is in charge of ministry and church administration will serve as the chairperson of the Standing Committee and in case of such senior pastor’s absence, the eldest among the senior co-pastors who is not a chairperson of the Operating Committee shall serve as the chairperson.
3. The Standing Committee will consider all matters other than those subject to the determination by the Common Assembly and the minutes of the Standing Committee shall be posted on the Church homepage.
4. The Standing Committee will be held regularly, once every month, but the Standing Committee chairperson can convene a special meeting may be held upon submission of a motion by the chairperson or more than 1/4 of the current members.
5. An agenda item of the Standing Committee shall be resolved by an affirmative vote of the majority of the members in attendance at a meeting where the majority of the members of the Standing Committee are present unless otherwise provided by the provisions in these Articles.
6. The Standing Committee may convene a temporary cooperative committee upon request of a co-senior pastor.

Article 9  Voluntary Service Teams

1. A senior co-pastor may form or discontinue voluntary service teams as needed and such formation or discontinuation shall be reported to the Standing Committee and Operating Committee .
2. Each voluntary service team may enact service regulations within the scope of these Articles with the approval of the Standing Committee.

Article 10  Auditor

1. Our Church shall have one or more auditor for the auditing of its accounts.
2. The auditor shall be nominated by a senior co-pastor and be approved by the Operating Committee.
3. The term of the auditor shall be 2 years and the auditor may serve more than one term.

Article 11  Auditor
Yanghwajin Cultural Center/Archive shall be maintained in order for the Church to rightly establish the culture of Korean Christianity and to communicate with the society at large.

Article 12  Auditor
Our Church will maintain Church School for each academic grade in order to teach God’s words rightly and to lead the next generation to become true believers. The members and the pastors shall nurture the next generation to the best of their abilities in order to raise them up to play leading roles for the future Korean Church.

Article 13  Administrative Office and Attendant Departments

1. The Church will maintain an administrative office for the efficient management of church administration and maintain attendant departments according to a resolution of the Standing Committee as necessary.
2. The human resource management of the employees of the administrative office and other employees of the Church shall be set forth in the implementing regulations.

Chapter 3 Finance and Asset Management

Article 14  Finances

1. Our Church shall use various offerings made by the Church members for finances.
2. Fifty percent of the offerings shall be used for our Church, and the other fifty percent shall be used for people and activities outside of our Church.
3. Our Church will not adopt a budget in order to be free from budgetary or offering goals, but out Church will maintain strict financial audit and accounting reporting.
4. All the details of the finances of the previous month shall be disclosed down to 1 won in leaflets distributed to all members of the congregation every month, and will be posted on the church homepage. When on-site services cannot be held due to inevitable circumstances, the congregation can view the details on the homepage.

Article 15  Property Management

1. The term “Church Property” refers to the real estate, movable assets, and all other assets of the Church.
2. The sale, donation and other disposal of a key church property deemed to be foundational to the church shall be determined by a special resolution by the Common Assembly, after passing the Standing Committee and Operating Committee. At the respective committees, the motion requires such an affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the members present at a meeting where at least 2/3 of the members are in attendance to be passed. The sale, donation and other disposal of key church property defined in the Implementing Regulations need to be passed at the Standing Committee and Operating Committee with an affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the members present at a meeting were at least 2/3 of the members are in attendance.
3. TThe definition of key church properties that serve as the foundation of the church and other church properties shall be set forth in the Implementing Regulations.

Article 16  Approval of the Settlement of Accounts and Expenditure

1. The fiscal year of our Church shall be from January 1 through December 31 of the same year.
2. The Standing Committee meeting held every month will review and approve the financial statement of the previous month based on the audit report by the auditors, and the financial statement will be approved by the Common Assembly in April after closing accounts for each fiscal year following review and approval by the Standing Committee.
3. The leader of each volunteer service team shall submit an expense application form to the secretariat for necessary expenses. Details regarding expenses are outlined in the Implementing Regulations.
4. However, all expenses exceeding the amount reported to the Standing Committee shall be reviewed and voted on by the Standing Committee.

Chapter 4 Co-Pastorship

Article 17  Co-Senior Pastorship

1. Our Church shall be led by co-senior pastorship based on cooperative and professional ministry for the purpose of cultivating a church that meets the goals set forth in Article 2
2. The responsibilities of each senior co-pastor shall be set forth in the implementing regulations.
3. Each senior co-pastor shall consult with other senior co-pastors when carrying out his or her duties in accordance with clause 2 above for any important matter or a matter that is related to the responsibilities of other senior co-pastors.
4. In the event that an office of a senior co-pastor becomes vacant, the remaining senior co-pastors shall carry out the duties of such senior co-pastor as agreed among them on temporary basis and shall invite his or her successor as soon as possible according to Article 18.
5. The senior pastors shall fulfill their duty and responsibility to appoint and foster pastors with potential, as fellow pastors of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church.
6. A senior pastor can change his position to that of a full-time pastor after receiving a second or further vote(s) of confidence from the church. In such cases, the pastor shall be subject to the terms set for full-time pastors, and will carry out one’s ministry in an area which the new senior pastor is not in charge of.

Article 18  Invitation and Appointment

1. The invitation for each senior pastor shall be determined upon the approval of the candidate recommended by the Selection Committee among pastors of our Church by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of each of the Standing Committee members and the Operating Committee members in a meeting where more than 2/3 of the applicable committee members are present.
2. The senior co-pastor or a pastor which is an interested party may not exercise voting right at the meeting of the Standing Committee or the Operating Committee and shall not be included in a quorum for such meeting.
3. The composition and the operation of the Selection Committee shall be set forth in the implementing regulations.

Article 19  Vote of Confidence For Senior Pastor

1. Each newly-appointed senior pastor shall obtain a vote of confidence from the Common Assembly upon the first anniversary of his or her commencement of ministry.
2. A senior pastor who has received a vote of confidence should obtain the confidence of the Common Assembly every 7 years.
3. In the event that such senior pastor is not able to obtain a vote of confidence from the Common Assembly, the senior pastor shall immediately be dismissed.

Article 20  Retirement

1. The retirement age of the senior pastor shall be 65
2. The retirement age of full time pastors and the Church employees shall be 60.

Article 21  Auditor
The senior pastors and full-time pastors shall be given a sabbatical leave e according to the implementing regulations.

Article 22  Sabbatical

1. A motion to dismiss a senior pastor may be made by a petition signed by 1/10th or more of the members of the Common Assembly or 1/3rd or more of the members of the Operating Committee, or 1/3 or more of the members of the Standing Committee. The motion shall set forth the cause and the basis for the dismissal.
2. If the motion to dismiss is adopted by the Operating Committee in accordance with Article 7, Section 3, clause ②, the senior pastor shall immediately be dismissed.
3. If the majority of the members of the Common Assembly make a motion for dismissal, the relevant senior pastor shall immediately be dismissed.

Article 23  Dismissal of a Full-time Pastor

1. A senior co-pastor shall appoint a full time pastor and report the appointment to the Standing Committee.
2. A full time pastor shall be dismissed upon any of the following events occurring:
   ① When the senior co-pastors resolve upon dismissal after consultation.
   ② When a motion to dismissal is made by 1/4th or more of the members of the Standing Committee and such motion is approved at the Standing Committee.
   

Chapter 5 Revisions to the Articles

Article 24  Retirement

1. A motion to amend these Articles may be made by members constituting 1/10th or more of the Common Assembly, members of the Operating Committee constituting 1/3rd or more of the members of the Operating Committee or members of the Standing Committee constituting 2/3 of the members of the Standing Committee.
2. A resolution for any amendment to these Articles shall be adopted by the affirmative vote of 2/3rds of those who have voted who constitute at least 2/3rds of the Operating Committee, and the affirmative vote of 2/3rds of those who have voted who constitute at least 1/5 of members of the Common Assembly.

Addendum

Article 1. (Effective Date)
These Articles shall become effective from March 10, 2024 after approval at the Common Assembly, according to the procedures set forth in Article 24 of the existing Articles.

Article 2. (Implementing Regulations)
Whether or not specified in these Articles, the Standing Committee shall determine implementing regulations that are necessary to give effect to the provisions of the Articles.

Article 3 (Procedural Regulations for the Appointment of Co-Senior Pastors)
The senior co-pastors who have been appointed on June 14, 2017 shall be deemed to have been appointed pursuant to these amended Articles.

Article 4 (Age Determination)

Age specified in these Articles mean a person’s age calculated from the time of birth.

This Article will be applied also to members of the church who have registered with the church after the Article was set up/amended.

The procedures prior to implementing the Article will be considered to be have been implemented according to the Article given that they are in accordance with the Article.