# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_July 10 11 2015_S2
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

GUIDELINES FOR CONSTITUTIONS AND BYLAWS
OF SMALL AND DEVELOPING LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS
INTRODUCTION
This document is an abbreviated version of the document “Guidelines for Constitutions and Bylaws
of Lutheran Congregations” provided by the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). It was prompted by a request from the Synod’s Council
of Presidents for guidelines that will better serve the particular needs of smaller congregations and of
ethnic groups desiring to form congregations and apply for membership in the LCMS, for whom the
CCM’s existing guidelines contain more detail than they can readily use. It is also in part a product of
the Southeastern District of the LCMS, whose constitution committee, district staff, and other-ethnic
pastors provided a draft document that has been, to a large extent, incorporated into this document.
The Holy Scriptures do not prescribe a form of polity for a local congregation. In determining such
polity, much will depend upon its size, ethnic background, sociological setting—whether rural, urban,
or suburban—and other factors including the laws of the state in which a congregation is located.
Congregations will want to structure themselves in such manner as they believe will be most suitable
for their needs and most effective for carrying out the Great Commission of our Lord in a manner that
is in harmony with Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the teachings and practices of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
GUIDELINES FOR CONSTITUTIONS
The following are required subjects to be addressed in a congregation’s constitution, with brief
comments and example paragraphs also provided.
I.

NAME
[Legal counsel should be consulted to make certain that this paragraph follows the requirements for
ecclesiastical corporations established by the state in which the congregation is located. In addition, 1995
Synod Res. 3-13A resolved that “all congregations and mission stations in our Synod boldly profess in their
official title and/or name that they are ‘Lutheran.’”1]

Example:

“The name of this congregation shall be [Name] Lutheran Church of [City,] [County,] [State].”
II. MISSION
[It is desirable to state in the constitution of a Christian congregation the mission or purpose for which the
congregation exists. Such a paragraph should contain the congregation’s fundamental purposes.]
Example:

“The purposes for which this congregation is formed are:
A. To facilitate spreading the Christian faith in its community and throughout the world.
B. To foster Christian fellowship and charity.”
III. CONFESSIONAL STANDARD
[The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod requires that its member congregations accept the confessional
standard of the Synod. A congregation’s confessional statement cannot go beyond that of the Synod.]
Example:

“This congregation accepts without reservation:
A. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule
and norm of faith and practice.
CCM Minutes – July 10–11, 2015 – Page 86