By Laws

Hill City Community Church is a non-denominational church in cooperation with the SBC of Virginia for the purposes of ministry collaboration and global Outreach. Consistent with this central belief, Hill City Community Church structure is built around five teams of people:

1. The Pastor(s)
2. The Executive Staff
3. The Elder Team and Titus 2 Women
4. The Teaching Team
5. The Executive Directors, City Group Leadership, Directors, Coordinators and volunteers

The Pastor(s)
Hill City Community Church is a Pastor(s) Led church. For all intents and purposes of governance the Lead Pastor serves as the CEO of this local church/organization. The lead pastor sets the overarching vision for the church and must remain qualified (1 Timothy 3:1-11, Galatians 5:13-26 and Titus 1:5-9) in order to remain serving as Lead Pastor. The remaining Pastors, whether Executive Pastors, Campus Pastors or Associate Pastors lead this overall church family/organization towards its vision and mission. Pastor(s) and Elders are not synonyms at Hill City Community Church. Pastors are qualified paid staff positions who lead the church directionally, primarily under the leadership of the Lead Pastor. Elders are unpaid qualified leaders who care for the body and oversee its effectiveness. All Pastors will serve on the Elder board, but Elders are not Pastors.

The Executive Staff Team
The Executive Staff Team establishes and leads this local church in carrying out the day to day mission of Hill City Community Church. Specifically, it determines programming, gives direction and leadership to the various ministries of the church, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the church. The Executive Staff Team consists of staff members and they also serve as a representation of all ministry areas within Hill City Community Church. This role is above and beyond the ministry role that the staff person is required to fulfill. The Executive Staff Team is accountable to the scriptures, concerning their role morally. This team reports to and is accountable to the Lead Pastor practically. Members of the Executive Staff Team are required to meet the general qualifications for an overseer as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-11 and Titus 1:5-9, but women are allowed to serve in the Executive Staff role.

The Elder Team
The primary purpose of the Elder Team is to serve the church through care and shepherding, and to serve as discerners for the health of the entire local church/organization. For all practical purposes, they act as the Board of Directors and provide insight and correction in all matters concerning the overall health of the organization; health spiritually, health financially, health legally and any other areas of overall church health. However, the Elder Team is not responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Church. Rather, the Elder Team evaluates the church and its effectiveness according to:

1. HC3’s Vision
2. HC3’s Resources
3. HC3’s Doctrine and Core Biblical Beliefs as seen in scripture

In addition, the Elder Team cares for the body as well as acts as a core group, which supports and encourages the Lead Pastor. At the same time, the Lead Pastor is accountable to the Elder Team regarding issues relating to his qualifications to serve. Thus, the Lead Pastor will meet regularly with the Elders. He will also keep them informed on the state of the staff and church in general.

Structurally, the position of Lead Pastor is a permanent member of the Elder Team. The Elder Team is a team of unpaid, lay elders that could be as little as 2 elders and as many as necessary to effectively lead our local church. The number of elders should be relative to the size of our local church/organization… and it should be scalable. In general there should be approximately 1 Elder for every 100 attendees. Elders are identified and appointed by the current Elder team after being interviewed, trained, and counting the cost of accepting the role of Elder Team member. Elders can hold a paid staff role in the church, but are not required to by our constitution.

A candidate for Elder must be a man and have been a family member of Hill City Community Church for at least one year prior to his appointment to office. In addition, each Elder must meet the qualifications for an overseer as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-11 and Titus 1:5-9.

It is clear from these passages that the Elder and his family are to be a model for the public. There are greater expectations on an Elder and his family than other families in the church. An Elder serves (one) two-year term and normally is required to be inactive from the Elder Team for at least one year before being eligible to serve another term. However, if there is a shortage of qualified Elders in a given year where an Elder would otherwise be required to be inactive, an Elder may serve an additional year before becoming inactive for one year.

Titus 2 Women
There are spiritual matters that warrant female interaction, female leadership and female wisdom. This is the role of Titus 2 women. These women assist the Elder Team in areas of spiritual health where a woman’s leadership is necessary. Titus 2 women function to help weigh in on difficulty matters, yet the weight of a final decision falls on the Elder team. Titus 2 women are appointed in the same way as elders and may or may not be a spouse of an elder. They serve 2 year terms and are required to be inactive for a year. However, if there is a shortage of qualified Titus 2 women in a given year where a Titus 2 woman would otherwise be required to be inactive, a Titus 2 woman may serve an additional year before becoming inactive for one year. Titus 2 women must meet the requirements for Overseer and Deacon as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and Titus 1:5-9.

The Teaching Team
The teaching team serves Hill City Community Church by spiritually feeding the flock through teaching God's word. This team spiritually leads the flock by their Christ-like lifestyle outside of the four walls of the church. This team is a front face of Hill City Community Church, and though
they are not Elders, all teachers must meet the requirements for Elder as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-11 and Titus 1:5-9.

Directors, City Group Leadership (Coaches and Above)
Though the office of deacon is a biblical office, Hill City Community Church chooses to not use the term deacon in reference to people within the church who serve tables (1. Tim 3:8-13, Acts 6:1-7). Directors and the City Group Leadership of Hill City Community Church are the front-line leaders of the church from a daily standpoint and fulfill the office of Deacon, though not referred to as deacon. They are responsible for leading various ministries and act as the supporting arms of the church. They are responsible for meeting the Biblical qualifications of Deacon as listed above. These various leaders shall fulfill their primary responsibilities as outlined in their job descriptions, and are accountable to their respective immediate supervisors all the way up to the Executive Staff Team and the Lead Pastor.

Amendments to the Constitution
The HC3 Constitution, By-Laws, and Articles of Incorporation cannot be amended, modified, or changed without a majority vote of the Elder Team and a majority vote of the Executive Staff. The Elder Team is solely responsible for interpreting the Constitution, By-Laws, and Articles of Incorporation.