Home > About > By-Laws

By-Laws

  1. Section 1. Annual meeting

    The Council shall hold an annual meeting the day prior to the opening of Synod. Two weeks prior to this meeting the Missions Coordinator shall send to each of the members of this Governing Missions Council a treasurer’s report including an audited statement of all accounts, and reports from each of the fields to the Field Representative. At the annual meeting the Council shall receive these reports, evaluate the work of the fields, elect officers, and new Council members, and conduct any other business that may come before it.

  2. Section 2. Special meetings

    Special meetings of the Council may be called at any time by the President with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, and shall call a meeting on receipt by the President of a written request by one-third of the membership of the Council. The President will then send a circular letter or email to all Council members, stating not only the time and place of the meeting, but also the business intended to be transacted; and this letter shall be sent at least fourteen (14) days before the time of the meeting.

  3. Section 3. Quorum

    A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

  4. Section 4. Elections

    The Council shall annually choose from its own number a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, and a Recording secretary. The term of the President shall be for one year, and he may succeed himself only once. In the absence of the President or the Vice President, a person chosen by the Council may preside. The Council shall also elect a Field Representative to serve at the pleasure of the Council.

  5. Section 5. Candidates

    a) All Candidates to Presbyterian Missionary Union should apply first to the Field Representative. Forms containing a series of questions and instructions will then be sent to the applicant. Candidates must then be able to give evidence of true spiritual life, a genuine calling to the field, and adequate educational preparation for the task in view. Candidates must also provide evidence of physical fitness for service abroad.
    b) If the Candidate appears to possess all these qualifications he will normally appear before the Council itself for acceptance. A three-quarters majority vote of those in attendance is required. In special circumstances, however, where time is a factor the candidate may meet with the Executive Committee. And if the Executive Committee is unanimously in favor, it may on behalf of the Council accept the Candidate as a missionary appointee.
    c) After acceptance by the Council, the appointee must become familiarized with the policies and operation of the Council to the full satisfaction of the Missions Coordinator before beginning deputations in the churches.
    d) A missionary appointee will not be sent to the field until he has fully raised the pledged support he needs for his work.
    e) The appointee will be considered a full member of the Mission upon arrival on his designated field. Membership involves the responsibility to maintain effective service in the country in which he may be serving; to demonstrate harmonious fellowship in work with other members and national workers; and to acquire effectively the language of the people to whom he will minister.

  6. Section 6. Engagement and marriage

    a) Married Candidates, or engaged couples contemplating missionary service together as husband and wife, will be received only when both parties have been examined and are considered acceptable. This does not mean that married women are expected to do the same work as their husbands. It does mean that they, like their husbands, should be physically and spiritually qualified to fulfill their own particular role.
    b) If any missionary, regardless of time spent on the field, marries a person not acceptable to the Council, this automatically cancels his, or her, relationship to the Council.

  7. Section 7. Furlough

    a) The term of service shall be four years. A term of two years with a three and one-half month furlough is an option available to those who have had one full term on the field. Other exceptions to this rule will be at the discretion of the Council.
    b) When it is necessary for anyone to return on furlough, whether for sickness, or whatever the cause, the Mission Chairman shall communicate with the Field Representative. No one shall leave the field without the permission of the Council.
    c) Missionaries on furlough will be expected to cultivate continuing missionary interest in his supporting churches, to develop new support where it may be needed, and also to cooperate in the overall work of the Missions Council whenever possible.

  8. Section 8. Resignation and dismissal

    a) A missionary who desires to resign from service under the Council must, if on the field, give six months’ notice to the Council through the Chairman of the Mission; if at home, one month’s notice to the Council. Such resignations must be in writing, and preferably should state the reason (s) for resignation. Before any resignation is made, a personal interview with the Mission Chairman or Field Representative is desired.
    b) The first half of the missionary’s term on the field shall satisfy the donor’s investment in sending that missionary to the field. The last half of the missionary’s term of service shall warrant the expense of returning the missionary to his home. Should a missionary resign from the Council for reasons other than health prior to having reached the mid-term, a proportionate share of the outgoing expenses will be repaid to the Council by the missionary. If the missionary resigns after his mid-term, the cost of his returning home will be shared by the Council and the missionary in proportion to the amount of second half term served.
    c) The Council shall be at liberty at any time for reasons sufficient to itself, to discontinue the services of any missionary, such an action requiring a two-thirds majority vote of the Council.

  9. Section 9. Relations to the government

    All missionaries shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the government of the country in which they serve, except where these conflict with the will of God as revealed in the Word of God. The Chairman of the Mission or his authorized substitute is the only person to make an appeal to or deal with the government in general.

  10. Section 10. Mission property

    a) The Mission Chairman is responsible for all Mission property at his station, a list of which shall be entered in the station account book. Everything on the station except personal effects is included in the term, “Missions Property.” and is understood to be the property of Presbyterian Missionary Union.
    b) Buildings on the Mission stations, even though built by private monies, belong to the Mission. Under no circumstances must any property, stores, vehicles, tools, medicines, etc. be disposed of without the consent of the Mission acting under the guidance of the Council.

  11. Section 11. Station and Mission meetings

    a) Each Station on a given field shall have an annual meeting to conduct business and prepare reports for the annual meeting of the Mission, which is to be held shortly thereafter.
    b) At the annual meeting of the Mission, officers are to be elected with the results being forwarded to the Council. The choices for Mission Chairman and Mission Treasurer shall be subject to the approval of the Missions Council.
    c) The Mission at its annual meeting shall also consider all problems concerning the general promotion and well being of the work in its sphere. And it shall send a detailed report of these deliberations and conclusions to the Council by the middle of April of each year. This report will include a plan and a budget for the upcoming year.

  12. Section 12. Duties of the Mission Chairman

    a) He shall preside over all meetings of the Mission and fulfill all functions as the executive responsible for his particular field according to the duties established in this Constitution and the Mission Constitution.
    b) He shall carry on the official Mission correspondence with the Board and with the government of the country in which he is working.
    c) He shall visit regularly the various Stations on his field to evaluate, advise, and report home concerning the work being done.
    d) He shall convene Mission meetings as may be necessary from time to time and not less that once every year.

  13. Section 13. Duties of the Mission Treasurer

    The Treasurer shall receive, account for, and disburse all Mission funds in accordance with the policies of the Council. He is responsible to the Mission Chairman and shall work in accordance with the directives of the Council Treasurer.

  14. Section 14. By-Laws

    a) The By-Laws may be amended only by a two-thirds majority vote of those in attendance at a duly called meeting of the Council. Notice of proposed amendments must be given in writing to all Council members at least two weeks in advance to the meeting. And if said amendment visibly affects any missionary or missionaries in the organization, opportunity must be given to these to voice their opinions before.
    c) This document, the Constitution and By-Laws, should be read carefully from time to time in order that each Council member and missionary may ever keep true to the objective of the organization, to its principles, and its methods. The exact meaning of any point contained, or any question not covered herein, shall be decided by the Council.