Constitution Upgrade

Voting for our Review Panel [Nov 2022]

At our upcoming Grow on Friday 25th Nov alongside hearing our next steps in making lifelong disciples in Wollongong we will be voting in three members of our new Review Panel. Our revised voting procedures recently passed give us a much better chance of a result than in June!

This is a significant role at Salt overseeing the processes associated with appointing a new Lead Pastor and investigating the conduct of the Lead Pastor as the need arises. According to our new constitution, the panel is to consist of 6 men known for their maturity of faith and Christian character according to 1 Tim 3:1-7,  two appointed by the Lead Pastor, three nominated by Salt Inc. members and voted on at General Meeting (our next GROW), and 1 appointed by the FIEC Executive.

Under God, the ongoing stability and vitality of Salt’s vision to see a flood of lifelong disciples in Wollongong depends on your participation as a Salt Inc. member. 

If you’re a Salt Inc. member check your inbox to prayerfully and thoughtfully nominate someone for the Review Panel:

Thursday 10th November – Nominations close

Friday 11th November – Salt Inc members notified of nominations

Friday 25th November – voting on nominations at GROW

If you’d like to chat about your suitability for the Review Panel role or that of a potential nominee, feel free to chat to any of the constitution committee members (Sharon I’Ons, Grant Wood, Geoff Ackman) or the pastoral staff or email constitution@saltchurch.info

 

FAQ – Nominating our review panel:

Why are we voting on Review Panel again? I thought we did this in June?
At our last Grow in June we voted on 7 candidates for 3 positions. None were appointed as none reached 75%, largely due to a flaw in our voting procedures we have now rectified in our revised constitution passed in October (See our revised constitution, October 2022 Section 15, page 10)

Do the nominations from June still stand?
No, the constitution stipulates the process needs to begin again but anyone previously nominated can be re-nominated as well as new nominations.

Can a candidate from June’s election be nominated again?
Yes

What qualifies someone to be nominated for Review Panel?
Review Panel members need to be Salt Inc. members who meet the criteria set in our constitution, namely:

(a) be a man who is known for his maturity of faith and Christian character in accordance with 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and has demonstrated in his own context a commitment to pursuing the Mission of the Association;
(b) agree in writing to uphold the Statement of Beliefs of the Association, and
(c) agree in writing to support the Association in pursuing its Mission.
(3) Membership of the Review Panel is for a term of three (3) years, provided that retiring members may be re-appointed to the Review Panel.
(4) An Administration Committee member is not permitted to be a member of the Review Panel, and nor are the following persons nor their spouse, parents, siblings or children: a Pastor, staff member or Acting Lead Pastor.

Can I submit multiple nominations?
Yes. Check first with your nominee/s if they are willing to stand for Review Panel.

What happens once someone is nominated?
All nominees accepting nomination will be voted on at GROW (Friday 25th Nov). Notice of nominees will be given to members 14 days before the meeting, and shortly after a brief description of the nominee and why they have been nominated.

How many nominations do we need?
We need at least three nominations to fill three positions on Review Panel however there is no limit to the number of nominations. If there are more nominations than positions, we will follow the voting procedure set out in our revised constitution recently voted on and passed (see Section 15, page 10 of our revised constitution, October 2022)

How many members will make up the Review Panel
In total six (three Salt Inc members voted on at our upcoming meeting, two appointed by Lead Pastor, one appointed by FIEC Executive).

Who are the Review Panel members who have been appointed by our Lead Pastor and FIEC?
Our Lead Pastor has appointed Steve Hancock and Andrew Brown. The FIEC Executive has appointed Greg Lee (for more info on these, check your inboxes).

Along with the ongoing implementation of our safe ministry policy, see below for our next steps…

On Friday 11th March 2022, at our recent GROW/AGM, the members passed our proposed new constitution. Praise God for the efforts of our constitution committee and all those who contributed to shaping our new constitution as a platform for making disciples for generations to come.

Here is all the information you need regarding this process:

Understand the constitution in the context of safe ministry:

Michael on why the new Constitution is a significant improvement:

About the Process

We’re reforming our constitution as a better platform for making disciples for many generations to come! Our constitution committee (Grant Wood, Sharon I’Ons, Geoff Ackman, Michael Plaege) with input from our admin committee and members have been working away at a new draft since May 2021. They  look forward to presenting it to Salt Church at our upcoming info nights and AGM.

After our members’ consultation period in November last year the constitution committee has carefully gone through all the feedback from members and our Board of Reference and made further changes to our new constitution resulting in two great outcomes – a better constitution and an upgrade of our safe ministry policies.

Under our current constitution changes to our constitutions require 21 days notice, 50% of Salt Inc. members present to be passed by a 75% majority – we’re voting on our new constitution at our Grow/AGM, Friday 11th March 7.30pm @ 275 Keira Street

What’s the process for making the changes?

May 2021 Committee reviewed scope of changes
July- Oct 2021 Committee drafted new constitution
1-21st Nov 2021 Member & Board of Reference Consult period
Dec-Jan 2022 Constitution committee prepare final draft for voting
Feb 2022 Report back to members – Where we’ve landed

[ 18th Feb 2022 New Constitution & upgraded Safe Ministry Polices emailed to members ]
[ 18th & 28th Feb 2022 Constitution Plus – Info Nights ]

March 2022 Vote on our new constitution at our AGM.
April 2022 Submission to ACNC/Dept of Fair Trading
May 2022 Election of Review Panel Members at General Meeting

 

‘Constitution Plus’ Info Nights

Info Night One: Bonus info on how we’re growing a safe church

7:30pm Friday 18th February @ 275 Keira St

Dig deeper into the what and why of our new constitution and how it fits into the context of safe ministry at Salt. Watch replay here!

Info Night Two: Bonus info on how our theology of men and women shapes our constitution

7:30pm Monday 28th February @ 275 Keira St

Dig deeper into what the Bible does and doesn’t say about men and women in ministry and how it shapes our new constitution. Watch replay here!

 

Questions?

We’ll keep you updated on progress as we approach the member consult. Feel free to chat to any of the committee members, the pastoral staff or email feedback@saltchurch.info

If you’ve got a question or a suggestion that you’d like the Admin Committee to consider you can email secretary@saltchurch.info or feedback@saltchurch.info

Helpful resources:

 

What is Salt Church, Salt Church Inc & FIEC?

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