Annual Congregational Meeting 6.13.22

Annual Congregational Meeting 6.13.22

June 7, 2022

Dear Frontline Family,

Our annual Frontline Bible Church congregational meeting is coming up on Monday evening, June 13th at 7 P.M. and I want to personally invite you to join us for this important meeting. This meeting is a time for our Frontline family to come together to review what has been happening at FBC over the past year and to plan ahead for the coming year in anticipation of what God will do. While anyone who is a regular attendee at Frontline is encouraged to attend, those that are members will also have the opportunity to vote on our annual budget, elder nominees, and proposed changes to our constitution and bylaws. 

For those that were unable to attend our Frontline Forum last Sunday, I will attempt to briefly highlight the items discussed and provide some detail on what we will be voting on at the annual meeting. Here are the items that will be on the ballot:

Selection of Elders: The FBC Board is recommending the approval of Chris VanStee and Will Hess as elders.

Chris Van Stee

Chris is blessed to be married to Tami since 1994. They have three children, Jayden, Schuyler (students at Liberty University) and Cassi (Junior in High School). Chris has a masters in psychology from WMU and a Licensed Professional Counselor and is a Certified Advanced Drug and Alcohol Counselor. He has also completed Advanced Ministry Training through Life Center. He has over 30 years of experience working in a variety of clinical settings. Chris has a passion for helping people in crisis with the truth that Jesus offers. The Van Stee’s have been at FBC since January 2020.

Will Hess

Will is happily married to Calianne since 2014. They have one beautiful daughter, Elyona. Will served as a baptist pastor for six years and is currently working as a Finance Manager at a local car dealership while pursuing higher education at Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary. Will is passionate about theology, philosophy, and apologetics as he contends for the faith. Will hosts a successful online Christian ministry and podcast called The Church Split where he discusses various issues with his friend and co-host Brian Bode. Will is currently sharing this passion at FBC by teaching the unAPOLOGETIC Adult Bible Class. 

Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Budget: see linked document below
 The FBC Board is recommending the approval of the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2022. The proposed budget includes increases in some of the general expense categories due to higher costs, increases in several ministry expense categories including Worship Arts, Frontline Kids, Marketing, and Communications, and for the first time in many years the board felt strongly that staff raises be included in our budget. These increases together represent a 12% increase in our proposed FY 2022/2023 budget over the previous year’s budget. While these increases represent a challenge for our church family, I believe God will provide the capacity and the funds to accomplish his purposes at Frontline as we seek his provision and join together in giving of time, treasure, and talents to the work he is doing at Frontline.

Revisions to our FBC Constitution and Bylaws: see linked document below

  1. General revisions to the FBC Constitution and Bylaws: The FBC Board is proposing some general changes to the constitution and bylaws based on recommendations from the Alliance Defending Freedom which is a non-profit organization we are members of that promotes religious liberty and represents its members in legal matters (lawsuits and other legal questions that pertain to our church) and generally serves as a protector of religious freedom in the United States. These changes include adding some additional phrasing to various sections of our constitution, including the Preamble, recommended additions to our Statement on Marriage and Sexuality, and the addition of a statement on the Sanctity of Human Life. 
  2. Revisions to Article V, Section 1, D of the Constitution and Bylaws: The FBC Board is a proposing a change to the amount the board is authorized to spend without calling a congregational meeting and receiving congregational approval. The current amount is $7500 and the board is proposing that this be changed to 5% of the budget, rather than a set dollar amount. This change will allow the amount to increase as the budget and expenses increase over time, rather than having to come back to the congregation to update the constitution and bylaws every few years to account for inflation and rising prices.
  3. Revisions to Church Governance in the FBC Constitution and Bylaws: The FBC Board is recommending revisions to Articles V – VIII of the constitution and Article II, Sections 1-7 of the Bylaws. These revisions related to the new leadership structure proposed by the board that will consist of a Board of Elders, Council of Deacons, and a Council of Trustees. 
  4. Addition of Article II, Section 8 to the Bylaws: The FBC Board is recommending the addition of Section 8 to provide clarity to the way the board handles internships, residencies, and interim positions.
  5. Revisions to Article VII of the Bylaws: These revisions provide clarity to our Statement on Marriage and Sexuality and are recommended by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
  6. Addition of Article VIII to the Bylaws: This article provides for the addition of a Statement on the Sanctity of Human Life to our bylaws.

While there are a lot more items that we typically have on the ballot for our annual meeting, I hope this letter brings some clarity and organization to the items we will be discussing and voting on at our meeting. I have attached a copy of the proposed budget, a copy of the proposed constitutional changes, and a copy of the proposed changes in the leadership structure. There are also paper copies available on the information counter in the Frontline lobby. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions about any of these proposals or if you are unable to attend and would like an absentee ballot. If you are able to attend our annual meeting on June 13th, I encourage you to do so. Your input and vote is essential to the health and vitality of our church, and we invite you to be part of what God is doing at Frontline through participating in our annual meeting. As a safe guard to the governance of our church our constitution calls for a quorum of 35% of our members to be present in order to conduct business at this meeting. Of course this is a minimum and we hope to see all of our members and regular attendees gather with us for this important meeting. 

In Christ,


Dwayne Huff
Chairman of the Board
Frontline Bible Church

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FRONTLINE FORUM: June 5 @ 11:15 am
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Annual Congregational Meeting, June 13, 7–8pm