SMS CONSTITUTION

Article I. Name

The name of the organization shall be "Slavic Missionary Service," a non-profit missionary organization with offices at 84 Wilson Road in Middlebush, New Jersey, 08873, and with a mailing address at P.O. Box 307, South River, New Jersey, 08882.

Article II. Objective

The objective of this organization shall be to expedite the missionary work among Slavic people worldwide.

Article III. Organization

Section I. Executive Board
The management of the affairs of Slavic Missionary Service shall reside in a cabinet of officers who shall constitute the Executive Board. These shall be responsible for the devising of methods for the successful operation of this society. The Executive Board shall hold its annual meeting during the month of September.

Section 2. Cabinet of Officers
The cabinet of officers shall consist of at least the following members: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Executive Secretary, Treasurer and Financial Secretary. Additional appointments can be made by the Chairman with approval of the SMS Executive Board.

1. Chairman
He shall be Chairman of the Executive Board of SMS and shall convene and preside at all the Board meetings. He must be from within the membership of the RUEBU Executive Committee.
2. Vice-Chairman
He shall assist the Chairman and shall substitute for the Chairman in his absence or inability to function in his capacity.
3. Executive Secretary
He shall perform such duties as the office may require. He shall appoint all committees and/or individuals for specific duties with Board approval. He shall be officer ex officio of all SMS sub-committees and report to the RUEBU executive committee.
4. Treasurer
He shall oversee the receiving and disbursing of funds, maintain accurate record of financial transactions and co-sign checks for disbursements.
5. Financial Secretary
The Financial Secretary shall assist the Treasurer in maintaining the records, and in the absence of the Treasurer shall be a co-signer of checks for disbursement.

Section 3. Appointment of the Executive Board
The appointment of the Executive Board shall take place at the annual board meeting of SMS, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union of the USA, Inc. The names of the officers are to be submitted at the first regular session of the RUEBU Executive Committee following the annual Board meeting of SMS. All officers shall serve a two-year term, concurrent with the RUEBU elections.

Article IV. Relationship to the Parent Body

The Slavic Missionary Service is a missionary branch of the Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union of the USA, Inc., with headquarters at the Evangelical Baptist Camp in Ashford, Connecticut. Its purpose, plan and program shall be identical with or parallel to those of the Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union of the USA. No program is to be undertaken by the Slavic Missionary Service which is contrary to or at variance with that of the parent body.

Article V. Finances

Section 1. Procedure of Raising Funds
The work of this organization shall be financed by voluntary contributions.

Section 2. Financial Accountability
Appeals shall be of a bona fide character for legitimate missionary purposes and shall be presented in a dignified Christian manner. All donors shall be promptly furnished with receipts, and an accounting thereof shall be furnished to the Treasurer of the Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union of the USA.

Article VI. Doctrinal Statement

1. We believe in one God, eternally existing in a Trinity of equal Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
2. We believe in the immutable Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments as inspired of God and without error as originally written, supreme in Authority in all matters of Christian life, faith and practice.
3. We believe that God the Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and whose death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice provided full expiation for sinners; who rose again for our justification and who ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, as our Advocate and High Priest.
4. We believe that the true Church, being formed by the work of the Holy Spirit, is composed of born-again believers who practice consecration of life unto God for service.
5. We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to consummate His kingdom upon the earth in which He shall reign in righteousness and peace.
6. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust: the everlasting blessedness of the saved in heaven, and the everlasting conscious punishment and damnation of the lost in hell.
7. We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit as One who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and who regenerates, seals and sets apart the believer to a holy life.
8. We believe in the reality and personality of Satan and his evil forces, but that God has made full provision, whereby Christians are more that conquerors through Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit.
9. We believe in the urgent need for every Christian to respond to Christ's Great Commission, and while going, to make disciples in order that His Gospel might reach out to the ends of the earth.

Article VII. Amendments

This Constitution may be amended at any Annual Convention of the Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union of the USA, Inc., by a majority vote.

Revised: 1984