Joining the FRBCNZ
The basic procedure for a church to join the FRBCNZ is as follows (this is a step by step interpretation of Section 5 on Membership in the FRBCNZ Constitution):
Step 1: Application
A church applies in writing to the current chairman requesting to join the Fellowship (the current chairman is the pastor of the church due to host the next triannual meeting). The letter or email should include a statement about the church’s harmony with and commitment to the Articles of Faith of the FRBCNZ and will usually include a copy of the church’s constitution as evidence of its subscription to the 1689 Confession. Where subscription to the 1689 Confession is not included in the church’s constitution an extract from church minutes in which the church members express their commitment to the FRBCNZ’s Articles of Faith would be an acceptable alternative.
Step 2: Distribution
The application and supporting documents will be distributed to existing member churches and formally presented at the next meeting of the Fellowship by the chairman. [While nothing is written about this in the FRBCNZ Constitution, it has been our practice for a representative from a member church that knows the applicant church well to speak at this meeting in support of their application for membership.]
Step 3: Consideration
All the member churches will be given time to consider the request for membership in preparation for a vote at a subsequent meeting of the Fellowship; this might be taken at the very next meeting or it may be a later meeting if any churches feel the need for more time to get to know the applicant church before casting their vote with a degree of confidence that Paragraph 4.I of the FRBCNZ Constitution will mark the relationship.
Step 4: Admission
The churches will vote when ready to do so (usually within one or two meetings [about 4-8 months] of receiving the application). Admission to the Fellowship requires the unanimous agreement of the member churches represented at the meeting in which the vote is taken. If the vote is positive then the applicant church becomes a member of the Fellowship with immediate effect.
Before applying for membership in the FRBNCZ it is usual for a church to send one or two representatives as observers to a number of the triannual meetings of the Fellowship (held in about March, July and November each year): this is an important opportunity for the churches to build the relationships described in Paragraph 4.I of the FRBCNZ Constitution. Member churches may also choose to send representatives to visit the applicant church if it is not already known to them, and the applicant church may choose to send representatives to visit churches in the Fellowship in the interests of developing these relationships.