January 2, 2005
GN 1109a FD/MM/FM
FD/MM/FM 12/04
Dear Family,
GBAKY! We love you and thank the Lord for you. Following are the first of the Charter amendments that have come about due to the Family restructuring and the "Getting Stronger" series. Some of the procedures below are temporary legislation that may change somewhat once the coach program comes into effect. However, these procedures and rules will remain in effect until they are updated and new versions are published.
As you'll see‚ there are explanations that precede some of the sections to help clarify the changes being made. Other sections are more self-explanatory and the changes will be evident as you read through them.
We hope and pray that these amendments help you along the path of Family restructuring as we head into the year of strengthening.
Love, WS
The Regional Council is made up of the regional shepherds, chairpersons of the six regional boards, and the overseer of the regional desk. The Regional Council will elect a chairperson to chair their meetings and act as coordinator between the regional boards. The Regional Council is responsible to and/or has the authority to:
If your RC does not believe that the nature of your area, or a specific country within the region, requires caution when making your association to the Family public, at the Home review your Home will be evaluated as to its progress in making known your association with the Family in your CTPs, fundraising‚ outreach, and all other missionary activities.
L.Initiate the veto of a regional board decision in accordance with the Family Board Handbook, "Relationship Between the Boards," B.
M.Arbitrate conflicts between two boards in accordance with the Family Board Handbook, "Relationship Between the Boards," C.
N.Decide on membership of Missionary members on boards other than the Coaching and Shepherding board, which Missionary members are not permitted to be members of.
Missionary members can sit as board members if appointed by the RC. However, the board chairperson as well as the majority of members on each board must be Family disciples. Missionary members may not sit on the CS board.
O.Determine the witnessing hour requirements for Service Homes that are not office- or production center-type Service Homes.
There are some Service Homes which are designated as Service Homes under the Charter but which primarily engage in witnessing activities like most other Homes, as compared with office-type Service Homes that primarily provide support-type services to the area, such as production centers [PCs], Activated desks‚ LIMs, regional desks, etc. Such Service Homes that don't fall into the office–type category would for the most part be expected to get the average witnessing hours just like any other Home. If you're not sure whether your Service Home should be expected to or not, please check with your RC.
The reporting office is responsible to and/or has the authority to:
1.The reporting office will send notification to Homes, with a copy to their regional desk, of their automatic probationary notice for these Charter infractions.
2.The reporting office will notify the regional desk if an infraction has been resolved within the 60-day period. If the Home has not made the specified changes necessary, the Home and all its members will automatically be moved to Missionary or Fellow membership‚ depending on the infraction.
C.Oversee, advise, and work with the regional desks in all matters of business that pertain to their offices.
While the RSs oversee and are ultimately responsible for their RD, the RO oversees the RD in matters pertaining to the business of their offices and the handling of Home reports and finances.
D.Communicate with the Homes on matters having to do with their monthly reports, tithes, and offerings, with copies being sent to the appropriate regional desk.
E.Work with the regional desks to coordinate the opening and closing of Homes.
1.A Home requesting a new Home number may write directly to the reporting office. The reporting office would then request specific information from the Home.
2.Upon receipt of the information requested, the reporting office will send the information to the appropriate regional desk to verify the Home's standing.
a.If the reporting office receives the initial request via the regional desk, they will assume that the regional desk has verified the Home's standing and that the reporting office will send the new Home its Home number and reporting instructions directly.
3.Once the Home's standing has been verified by the regional desk, the reporting office will send the Home its new number and reporting instructions.
F.Communicate with Family print centers about Home mailings and address lists.
G.Regularly publish, electronically or otherwise, information provided by the Homes as to available personnel and their personnel needs.
By January 1, 2005, every region will be set up with both a regional and a shepherding desk (more on the shepherding desk later in this addendum). As you will see from the list of RD responsibilities below, the RD handles the majority of the practical and business matters for the region.
In order to lighten the administrative load of the shepherding desk, there are some matters which were previously handled by the RCC which have been moved to the RD. This includes the processing of clearances‚ in conjunction with the RSs of the region, as well as handling the procedures for movement into the Family by former members‚ as well as FM to MM or FD, and MM to FD. Again, this procedure is handled in conjunction with the RSs, who are the decision-making body for these matters.
The regional desk handles area communications and services. Its overseer is appointed by the regional shepherds and is a member of the Regional Council. The regional desk is responsible to and/or has the authority to assist the regional shepherds with:
As brought out in "Getting Stronger—Part 2" (GN 1109), by January 2005 each region will be set up with a shepherding desk, which, as explained further in the section below, is an arm of the regional Coaching and Shepherding board set up to assist with communications and the shepherding of the regional area. The shepherding desk consists of the regional Coaching and Shepherding board chairperson(s) and a staff to help carry the administrative workload of the shepherding responsibilities.
The role of the shepherding desk is to support the new coaching and shepherding program, and it will handle much of the administrative shepherding work that the AO and RCC has been responsible for to date. There will be some reshuffling and reallocating of some of the AO and RCC responsibilities to take part of the load off the shepherding desk and regional CS board chairperson(s) (such as explained previously, with the movement of some RCC matters into the RD court), but broadly put, unless otherwise specified in this addendum or in another published Charter amendment‚ during the interim period of no VSs, the shepherding desk will take on the role of the AO and the RCC.
Below you will find a list of the matters that the SD will be responsible for and/or involved with. As explained above, aside from these specific points, until otherwise specified the SD will generally handle any other RCC duties that have not been otherwise reallocated.
The shepherding desk is an arm of the regional Coaching and Shepherding board which handles communications concerning shepherding of the regional area. The shepherding desk consists of the regional Coaching and Shepherding board chairperson(s) and a staff to help carry the administrative workload of the shepherding responsibilities. The shepherding desk is responsible to and/or has the authority to:
As you will notice, the regional desk now handles (on behalf of the RSs) the processing of movement into the discipleship Family, other than for new disciples who don't need RS permission to join. The RD also handles the process for anyone joining FM, MM, or FD who had previously been a Family member‚ as well as those moving from FM to MM. The shepherding desk will handle the procedures for movement from FD to other circles of membership.
A.A Home's Family discipleship status can only be withdrawn and the Home and all its members recommended for Missionary or Fellow membership if the Home violates, contravenes‚ or fails to fulfill the "Responsibilities of a Family Discipleship Home," the "Fundamental Family Rules," or the current board criteria. The following procedure must be adhered to:
1.The regional shepherds must write, or arrange to visit the Home if they feel it is necessary, to explain the reasons and show just cause for the Home's change of status.
2.If, upon receipt of the recommendation for a change of status‚ the Home does not contest the decision within 14 days, the change to a Missionary or Fellow member Home will become official.
3.If‚ upon receipt of the recommendation for a change of status, a majority of the Family discipleship Home's voting members are in disagreement with the decision to change status, they may within 14 days send a letter of rebuttal to their regional shepherds via the shepherding desk.
A. A member's Family discipleship can only be revoked if a member violates, contravenes, or fails to fulfill the "Responsibilities of Individual Members" or the "Fundamental Family Rules." Recommendation for Missionary or Fellow membership can be made by a two-thirds majority of their Home, by the shepherding desk, or by a regional shepherd‚ providing the following procedures are adhered to:
1.For the Home to recommend:
ii.If the members send a rebuttal, the shepherding desk must investigate the situation and inform the members and their Home of the decision within 45 days of receipt of the letter of rebuttal.
iii.If the shepherding desk's decision is in agreement with the Home, the members will be moved to Missionary or Fellow membership accordingly.
iv.If the shepherding desk is not in agreement with the Home, the matter will go to the regional shepherds, who will make the final decision.
2.For the shepherding desk or a regional shepherd to recommend:
ii.If the vote of the Home is in agreement with the recommendation, the members will be moved to Missionary or Fellow membership accordingly.
iii.If the vote of the Home is to not recommend moving the members to Missionary or Fellow membership‚ the Home shepherds must write to the regional shepherds explaining the reasons. The regional shepherds must take the Home's vote into consideration when deciding the matter.
1.The regional shepherds must acknowledge receipt of the Home's letter within 14 days.
2.The regional shepherds must inform the members and the Home of their decision within 45 days of receiving the Home's letter.
Once the decision has been made to move a member to Missionary or Fellow membership, the Home should continue to treat the person lovingly and kindly—as brethren. They are still part of the Family and are just moving to a circle of membership for which they may be better suited. An effort should be made to make his or her move as practical and easy as possible.
If it is a family, a single parent with children, or a young person changing status, it would be helpful if an effort could be made to help them find a place to stay, or find them an initial landing place of some sort, perhaps with other Missionary or Fellow members. This will not be possible in every case, and in some cases they may not need the help‚ but the point is to be loving and kind to our brethren.
If a case arises in which a Home's members feel their Home shepherds should be moved to Missionary or Fellow membership‚ but find it difficult to bring this up in a Home Council meeting, they may write to their shepherding desk for assistance.
B.Once the members have been notified that they are being recommended for Missionary or Fellow membership, they:
1.Lose their "Right of Mobility" until the matter is decided.
2.Must be freed from their portion of the Home's debts and liabilities.
a.If the members are personally responsible for creating, in whole or in part, debts and/or liabilities due to personally spending or authorizing the spending of funds which were not agreed upon by two-thirds of the Home's voting members, they will retain responsibility for those debts. The amount is to be decided by a two–thirds majority of the Home's voting members.
When a disciple loses his Family discipleship and becomes a Missionary or Fellow member, he or she normally must be freed from their portion of all debts and liabilities of the Home. In the case where the members in question caused all or part of the debts or liabilities of the Home through spending funds without having authorization from the Home, they will still be responsible for all or part of the debt. For example, if they spent $1,000 on unauthorized international telephone calls, they would not necessarily be freed from that financial obligation.
The amount of obligation that the members in question would have for the debt or liability in such a case would depend on their personal responsibility for the debt. If two members of the Home made a major purchase which put the Home in debt without prior authorization, the two members would continue to share responsibility for the debt after becoming Missionary or Fellow members.
3.Are free to begin fundraising activities to facilitate their potential move.
a.A minimum of 50% of the members' net income generated must be used to facilitate the members' move to Missionary or Fellow membership. The amount of funds and time needed to raise these funds can be determined by a two-thirds majority of the Home.
Once a member has been notified that they are being recommended for Missionary or Fellow membership, they may begin fundraising to help facilitate their potential move. Remember‚ it is only a recommendation at this stage that the members change to Missionary or Fellow membership; they are not yet a Missionary or Fellow member.
C.If the members are not moved to Missionary or Fellow membership and want to remain in the Home, they:
1.Regain their "Right of Mobility."
2.Regain their portion of the Home's debts and liabilities, if any.
3.Must turn in to the Home any funds generated through their fundraising activities.
4.If the members wish to depart from the Home, they must submit their notice of intention to depart from the Home. In this case all funds generated through their fundraising activities are first to be used to pay their portion of any Home debts or liabilities, with the remaining balance to be used to facilitate their move.
a.The departure period can be shortened by a two–thirds majority vote of the Home.
D.When members move to Missionary or Fellow membership, the Home and members are responsible to ensure that the departing members:
1.Prepare to leave the Home in an orderly fashion by turning over pertinent ministry materials, contacts, or other legal material, bank accounts, post office boxes, and funds belonging to the Home or to the Family, and thoroughly explain their ministries‚ duties and responsibilities to the appropriate persons.
2.Have an address and related instructions for reporting as a Missionary or Fellow member.
A.Missionary members who wish to become Family disciples must apply to the regional shepherds via the regional desk for permission to begin the process.
1.Within 14 days of receipt of the application, the regional desk must respond to the applicants, acknowledging that the application was received and passed on to the regional shepherds. The response must include the date that the application arrived, which date begins the 45-day processing period.
2.The regional desk, if necessary, will ask for further information from Homes or others who know the Missionary members.
3.If the regional shepherds deny the application, the regional desk will notify the applicants of the reasons within 45 days of receipt of the application. The Missionary members will then be ineligible to reapply for Family discipleship for six months from receipt of their letter of denial.
4.If the regional desk does not respond within 45 days, the applicants may begin looking for a Family discipleship Home to join.
B.Once permission has been granted, the Missionary members must find a Family discipleship Home to accept them within four months. If they are unable to do so within the prescribed time, they must restart their application for Family discipleship.
1.The Family discipleship Home must agree by a two–thirds majority to accept the Missionary members.
2.The Family discipleship Home must check with the regional desk to verify that the Missionary members are in good standing, and that their past history does not make them ineligible for prospective Family discipleship.
a.Family discipleship Homes are encouraged to fellowship with and get to know the applicants before inviting them to join their Home.
C.Before moving into a Family discipleship Home the applicants must:
1.Test negative for HIV.
a.The Family discipleship Home should check that the applicants have completed their first HIV tests.
2.Be free of debt, unless the Home agrees to pay the debt.
3.Have no legal, military, or other obligations that would prevent them from being a full-time member of a Family discipleship Home.
D.Once moved into the Family discipleship Home, the now provisional disciples are nonvoting members of the Home for the first three months.
1.The new members must list their personal possessions using the Charter's "Personal Possession Declaration for New Family Disciples." The assets listed on this declaration will remain their property to take with them should they decide to leave before completing six months in the Home‚ unless they decide to leave some of the assets with the Home.
2.If at any time the Home deems that the provisional disciples are not living up to the Charter and the Family discipleship standard, the Home can decide, by a two-thirds vote of its members 18 years and up, that the provisional disciples return to Missionary member status. The decision of the Home will be final.
a.The Home must notify the regional desk of such a decision.
E.At the end of the three-month period as a provisional disciple, the Home will decide by a two-thirds vote to confirm whether the individuals are living according to the Charter and discipleship standard, and if so, they will become full-fledged Family disciples with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto‚ except the following:
1.The new members must remain in the Home for an additional three months after becoming voting members of the Home before gaining their "Right of Mobility."
a.The regional desk may authorize transfer to a different Home‚ if deemed necessary or expedient.
2.The new members must forgo sex with others, except with their mate if they have one, until cleared by a second HIV test six months after taking their first HIV test.
If for some reason the parent(s) don't want their 14- to 15-year–old to take an HIV test, or due to the sensitivity of the country the teen should not be tested, the Home can require that the teen not engage in any sexual contact or acts until turning 16 and having taken a test.
3.An agreement should be reached between the Home and the new members as to which of their possessions the new members would be authorized to take with them should they decide to leave the Home.
a.Acts 2:44-45 fully applies for the duration of the members' stay in the Home. They should willingly give and share of all their possessions with the Home and others.
A Missionary member Home can apply to join Family discipleship as their own Home at any time‚ as you will see below. Once a Missionary member Home has been given permission to begin the rejoining process, they must fill out a Home review, which will be submitted on one of the four "review months" indicated.
Grading a Home review is a process that takes the regional board chairpersons and the regional shepherds a fair amount of time and effort, so we will have specified months in which rejoining Homes can submit their reviews. The reason for this is that otherwise the RSs and regional board chairs could conceivably be conducting reviews every month of the year, which would be very time consuming and would considerably slow down their other important work.
The ideal would be for a Missionary member Home to simply apply for FD status and receive the go-ahead in time to take the review with the April or October reviews, but it seemed it would be good to have at least a few more options available so the wait between review months doesn't have to be quite so long.
Additionally, Fellow member Homes that would like to become a Family discipleship Home must first become a Missionary member Home. Once they have completed their period as transitional MM and are a full MM Home, they can apply to become an FD Home if they so desire and meet the discipleship criteria. If an FM Home is able to do this consecutively, it will take about the same length of time as it has taken to date for an FM Home to become an FD Home.
As you'll see in a subsequent Charter procedure‚ an FM individual can apply to join an FD Home directly and does not have to become a Missionary member first.
A.A Missionary member Home that wants to become a Family discipleship Home must fulfill the following requirements before applying for Family discipleship:
1.Read through the Charter and the current board criteria.
2.Attest that they are living the Family discipleship standard as outlined in the Charter and the current board criteria.
3.Have the Family discipleship Home size minimum of at least six members 18 years and older.
4.Be free of debt.
5.Have no members with legal‚ military, or other obligations that would prevent them from being a Family discipleship Home.
B.Having fulfilled the above requirements, the Missionary member Home may apply to the regional shepherds via the regional desk for permission to become a Family discipleship Home.
1.Within 14 days of receipt of the application, the regional desk must respond to the Missionary member Home, acknowledging that their application was received and passed on to the regional shepherds. The response must include the date that the application arrived, which date begins the 45-day processing period.
2.The regional desk, if necessary, will ask for further information from Homes or others who know the Missionary member Home.
3.If the regional shepherds deny the Home's application for Family discipleship, the regional desk will notify the Home of the reasons within 45 days from the date the regional desk received the application. The Missionary member Home will then be ineligible to reapply for Family discipleship for six months from receipt of their letter of denial.
4.If the regional desk does not respond within 45 days, the Missionary member Home may begin the process of becoming a Family discipleship Home.
C.Having begun the process of becoming a Family discipleship Home, the Home must then do the following:
1.Have all members 16 and over test negative for HIV and not engage in sex with others outside their Home.
1.Exception to the HIV test should be made if the Home is in a country where it would be too sensitive to have a 14- to 15-year-old be tested for HIV.
If for some reason the parent(s) don't want their 14- to 15-year-old to take an HIV test, or due to the sensitivity of the country the teen should not be tested, the Home can require that the teen not engage in any sexual contact or acts until turning 16 and having taken a test.
2.Elect Home shepherds, Home managers, and criteria monitors for the six board pillars within their Home in accordance with the "Election Rules."
3.Complete the six current Home review questionnaires and submit them for review.
a.The Home may only submit their questionnaires with their April, June, October‚ or December 25 TRF.
4.After evaluating the questionnaire, the regional shepherds will determine whether the Missionary member Home qualifies to be a provisional Family discipleship Home.
a.If it is determined that the Home does not meet the requirements to become a provisional Family discipleship Home at this time, they will remain a Missionary member Home and may not reapply for Family discipleship for six months.
D.Having become a provisional Family discipleship Home‚ the Home will have all the rights pertaining to Family discipleship, except the following:
1.The members of the Home will not have the "Right of Mobility" while they are a provisional Family discipleship Home.
a.The regional desk may authorize a member to transfer to a different Home if deemed necessary or expedient.
2.Home members will be allowed to engage in sex with other Family discipleship Homes' members once having tested negative in their second HIV test, six months after the first.
a.A written statement, signed by all the Home members certifying that the results of the second HIV tests were negative, must be sent to the regional desk before the Home members are allowed to engage in sexual acts with other Family members.
3.If the Home must be placed on probationary notice during its time as a provisional Family discipleship Home, the Home will automatically revert to Missionary membership. The Missionary member Home will then be ineligible to reapply for Family discipleship for six months.
E.After taking their second Home review, the regional shepherds will determine whether the provisional Family discipleship Home meets the requirements to become a full-fledged Family discipleship Home.
1.If it is determined that the provisional Family discipleship Home does not meet the Family discipleship requirements, the Home will revert to Missionary membership and may not reapply for Family discipleship for six months.
1.Within 14 days of receipt of a rejoining application, the receiving regional desk must respond to the applicant, acknowledging that their application was received and passed on to the regional shepherds. The response must include the date that the application arrived, which date begins the 45-day processing period.
2.The Home may allow the Fellow members to join their Home and commence their three–month period as provisional Missionary members if, after receiving a notification of receipt from the regional desk, the Home does not receive a notice of ineligibility for the Fellow members to join the Home within the 45-day processing period.
C.The members must complete the "Reading List for Fellow Members Becoming Missionary Members or Family Disciples," Appendix A, during the three-month provisional Missionary member period, which may be ordered in electronic format from their regional desk or downloaded from the Members Only website.
D.If at any time the Home deems the applicants are not living up to the Missionary Member Statutes, they are free by a two-thirds vote to recommend that the applicants return to Fellow member status. The decision of the Home will be final.
1.The Home must notify the regional desk of such a decision.
E.At the end of the three-month period as provisional members, two-thirds of the voting members of the Home must confirm whether the applicants are living according to the Missionary Member Statutes‚ and if so‚ they will then become full-fledged Missionary members with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto.
The procedure for FM Homes changing to Missionary membership as a Home is outlined below. Because some regions have a large number of FM Homes and there are presently no VSs to assist in the verification process, it will take those regions a number of months before all the applications for FM Homes to become MM Homes are processed. Your regional shepherds will be working on this and will process your application and get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
As you will see, an FM Home applying to become an MM Home must submit a questionnaire with their application. This questionnaire will be available to download from the MO site on or around January 21, 2005. A paper copy will be included in the next mailing sent out after that date. FM Homes should wait to apply as an MM Home until after receiving the questionnaire from the MO site or their paper copy. You may also request a copy from your regional desk by email after January 21. The questionnaire will be based on the Missionary Member Statutes.
A.If a Fellow member or Fellow member Home wishes to apply to become a Missionary member Home, they must first read the Missionary Member Statutes, and if, after prayerful consideration, they feel they are meeting the Missionary member standard‚ they may fill out the Missionary member Home questionnaire.
1.If they do not have the Missionary member Home questionnaire‚ they should download it from the Members Only site or request a copy from their regional desk.
B.The Fellow member Home must submit their Missionary member Home questionnaire to the regional desk, requesting permission to become a Missionary member Home.
1.If any of the members were previously Family disciples or Missionary members, they must explain why they became a Fellow member and why they now want to be a Missionary member.
a.The regional desk must respond within 14 days, acknowledging that the application was received and passed on to the regional shepherds.
2.The regional shepherds will review the applications and determine whether the Fellow member Home is eligible for Missionary membership.
C.During the Home's three-month period as a provisional Missionary member Home, all provisional Missionary members in the Home 16 years and up must:
1.Abide by the Missionary Member Statutes.
2.Forgo voting in Home referendums for the duration of the Home's provisional Missionary member period.
3.Complete the "Reading List for Fellow Members Becoming Missionary Members or Family Disciples," which may be requested in electronic format from their regional desk or downloaded from the Members Only website.
D.During the three-month provisional period, the Home may begin reporting as a Missionary member Home and receive Missionary member mailings. If they are denied official Missionary membership during the three-month period, they will again report as Fellow members and receive Fellow member publications. They may not reapply for Missionary membership for six months.
E.At some time during the three months as a provisional Missionary member Home, verification will be made whether or not the Home is living according to the Missionary Member Statutes.
1.Should a visit be necessary, the provisional Missionary member Home should cover the expenses of the visit.
2.If necessary, the regional shepherds may extend the returning Fellow member Home's provisional Missionary membership period for up to an additional 60 days in order to have more time to ascertain the Home's eligibility to become a Missionary member Home. The regional desk must inform the Home of this delay.
F.Once verification has been made that the Home is living according to the Missionary Member Statutes and has completed their provisional Missionary member period, the regional desk will inform them that they are a full-fledged Missionary member Home with all the responsibilities and rights pertaining thereto.
A.If Fellow members wish to join a Family discipleship Home, they must first read the Charter and the current board criteria. If, after prayerful consideration, they determine that they wish to become Family disciples, they must apply to the regional shepherds via the regional desk for permission to begin the process.
1.The regional desk must respond to the applicant within 14 days, acknowledging that their application was received and passed on to the regional shepherds. The response must include the date that the application arrived, which date begins the 45–day processing period.
2.The regional desk, if necessary‚ may ask for further information from Homes or others who know the Fellow members.
3.If the regional shepherds deny the Fellow members' applications, the regional desk will notify the members of the reasons within 45 days from the date the regional desk received the application. The Fellow members will then be ineligible to reapply for Family discipleship for six months.
4.The Fellow members may begin looking for a Family discipleship Home to join if‚ after receiving a notification of receipt from the regional desk, the members do not receive a notice of ineligibility from the regional desk within 45 days.
B.Once permission has been granted, the Fellow members must find a Family discipleship Home willing to accept them as members of the Home within four months. If the Fellow members are unable to do so within the prescribed time, they must restart their application for Family discipleship.
C.The Family discipleship Home must check with the regional desk to verify that the Fellow members are in good standing, and that their past history does not make them ineligible for prospective Family discipleship.
1.Two-thirds of the members of the Family discipleship Home, 18 years and up, must vote to accept the Fellow members into the Home.
a.Family discipleship Homes are encouraged to fellowship with and get to know Fellow members before inviting them to join their Home.
D.Before moving into a Family discipleship Home‚ the Fellow members must:
1.Test negative for HIV.
a.The Family discipleship Home should check that the Fellow member applicants have completed their first HIV tests.
2.Be free of debt, unless the Home agrees to pay the debt.
3.Have no legal, military, or other obligations that would prevent them from being full-time members of a Family discipleship Home.
E.Upon moving into the Family discipleship Home, the now provisional disciples become nonvoting members of the Home for six months.
1.The new members must list their personal possessions using the Charter's "Personal Possession Declaration for New Family Disciples." The assets listed on this declaration will remain their property to take with them should they decide to leave before completing six months in the Home, unless they decide to leave some of the assets with the Home.
2.The new members must complete the "Reading List for Fellow Members Becoming Missionary Members or Family Disciples" within the first six months after moving into the Family discipleship Home.
3.The new members must forgo sexual contact or acts with others‚ except their mate‚ if they have one, until cleared by a second HIV test six months after taking their first test.
If for some reason the parent(s) don't want their 14- to 15-year-old to take an HIV test, or due to the sensitivity of the country the teen should not be tested, the Home can require that the teen not engage in any sexual contact or acts until turning 16 and having taken a test.
4.If at any time the Home deems that the provisional disciples are not living up to the Charter and the Family discipleship standard‚ the Home can decide‚ by a two-thirds vote of its members 18 years and up, that the provisional disciples return to Fellow membership. The decision of the Home will be final.
a.The Home must notify the regional desk of such a decision.
F.At the end of the six-month period as provisional disciples‚ the Home will decide by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Home, 18 years and up, to confirm whether the individuals are living according to the Charter and the Family discipleship standard; if so, they will then become voting member Family disciples with all the rights pertaining thereto.
1.The new members must remain in the Home for an additional three months after becoming voting members of the Home before gaining their "Right of Mobility."
a.The regional desk may authorize a member's movement to a different Home if deemed necessary or expedient.
2.An agreement should be reached between the Home and the new members as to which of their possessions the new members would be authorized to take with them should they decide to leave the Home.
a.Acts 2:44-45 fully applies for the duration of the members' stay in the Home. They should willingly give and share of all their possessions with the Home and others.
Following are the new temporary PN procedures, valid from January 2005. The most important change is that since there will be no VSs, the procedure can be initiated and handled by either the shepherding desk or by the regional shepherds. If visitation is necessary, the RSs or the SD can appoint a designated representative. Later in the year, once the coach program has begun, we will revise these procedures to include the coaches.
1.A regional shepherd, or designated representative, while visiting a Home, determines that the Home is violating, contravening, or failing to fulfill the "Responsibilities of a Family Discipleship Home" or the current board criteria, or has committed collective infractions in violation of the "Responsibilities of Individual Family Disciples" or the "Fundamental Family Rules."
ii.If the regional shepherd or designated representative determines that there are no circumstances or valid reasons for the Home not to be placed on probationary notice, probationary notice will begin.
1.The regional shepherd or designated representative will notify the shepherding desk within ten days, with copies to the regional desk and the Home, specifying the reasons for probationary notice and the date it began.
c.If the Home wishes to challenge the decision‚ they may write the regional shepherds via the shepherding desk‚ explaining why they disagree. The regional shepherds will review the matter and the shepherding desk will respond to the Home with the outcome within 14 days.
2.If a regional shepherd or the shepherding desk intends to put a Home on probationary notice through written communication, they must specifically state how the Home is violating, contravening, or failing to fulfill the "Responsibilities of a Family Discipleship Home" or the current board criteria, or the collective infractions committed by Home members in violation of the "Responsibilities of Individual Family Disciples" or the "Fundamental Family Rules." The letter must also specifically explain what changes the Home must make and the date that probationary notice will begin.
a.If the Home wishes to challenge the decision, they may write the regional shepherds via the shepherding desk, explaining why they disagree or any extraordinary circumstances or reasons why certain responsibilities of the Family discipleship Home or its individual members are not being fulfilled or are being contravened. The regional shepherds will review the matter, and the shepherding desk will respond to the Home with the outcome within 14 days.
C.Once placed on probationary notice, the Home has 60 days to make the specified changes.
1.Members of the Home temporarily relinquish their "Right of Mobility." They may not join or open another Family discipleship Home during the period of probationary notice, unless the Home was put on probationary notice due to being either undersized or oversized.
D.Once the changes are made‚ they must be verified within the 60–day period by either of the following two methods:
1.The Home is visited by a regional shepherd or designated representative to determine through observation, investigation, and discussion with the Home members that the changes have been made.
2.Where visitation by a regional shepherd or designated representative is not warranted, practical, or possible, the Home should write to the shepherding desk, signed by at least a two-thirds majority of the Home's voting members‚ explaining the changes that have been made.
E.If it is determined that the Home has made the specified changes, the shepherding desk must immediately notify the Home, the regional desk, and the Home's reporting office that the Home is no longer on probationary notice.
F.If after the 60 days of probationary notice the Home has not made the specific changes, the shepherding desk will inform the Home, the regional desk, and the Home's reporting office in writing of the Home's new classification as a Missionary member Home. If the Home's infractions make it ineligible for Missionary membership, the Home will be classified as a Fellow member Home.
The following will be added to the "Sex and Affection Rules" in the soon coming updated Charter.
D.Any Home members suspected of having contracted a sexually transmitted disease‚ should, in counsel with the Home shepherds, be tested accordingly.
1.Home members with a sexually transmitted disease should refrain from sexual contact or acts until they have been cleared by the appropriate test.
a.If a member has herpes, he can share with others provided he follows the guidelines in these "Sex and Affection Rules," N.
Following are a couple of changes to the Charter right of mobility and clearance rules, primarily moving the notification of 30 days notice and the processing of clearances to the regional desk.
Voting members have the right to:
A.Move out of the Home in which they reside, providing the following seven stipulations are met (Note: change in first stipulation only):
1.They are at least 18 years of age and give 30 days notice in writing, stating their planned destination to the Home's steering council, and send a copy to their regional desk. From that point they become nonvoting members in Home matters.
The regional shepherds are authorized to:
A.Give or deny clearance within 30 days of receiving the request to any members requesting clearance to a country within their area.
1.When seeking clearance to go to another country, either to move to that country or as a witnessing road team for more than 30 days in the country, members should send their clearance request to the regional shepherds via the regional desk for the country they wish to apply for clearance to.
a.If a road team will stay less than 30 days within any three-month period in the prospective country, a request for clearance is not required.
A road team is any witnessing trip that will get out tools and do fundraising.
i.If a road team plans to go to a country in another regional area or to a sensitive country‚ they must apply for clearance, even if the road trip will last less than 30 days.
ii.It is the road team's responsibility to determine if a city or metropolitan area in the country they are witnessing in has Family discipleship Homes in it before they begin their witnessing activities. If there is, the team must first receive permission from the local Homes to witness in the city or metropolis.
1.If there are no Family discipleship Homes, but there are Missionary member Homes in the city‚ the road team should communicate with the Missionary member Homes concerning their witnessing plans and work together in unity with them so as to not disrupt or interfere with their missionary work as much as possible.
2.Within 14 days of receipt of a clearance request, the receiving regional desk must respond to the applicant, acknowledging that their clearance request was received and passed on to the regional shepherds. The response must include the date that the clearance application arrived, which date begins the 30-day processing period.
a.The regional desk or a receiving Home may ask the members or their Home for further information or for an evaluation.
3.Clearance is automatically granted if, after receiving a notice of receipt from the regional desk, the member does not receive further response to his clearance request within the 30-day processing period.
a.In the case of sensitive countries‚ after receiving a notice of receipt‚ members must wait to receive further notification of clearance from the regional desk for that country.
4.The regional shepherds cannot deny clearance to any voting member and their immediate family who wish to return to the country to which the voting member holds a passport. The regional shepherds cannot guarantee acceptance in a Home upon arrival, and normal procedures for joining existing Homes apply.
5.Clearance is valid for one year from the date granted, unless specified otherwise by the regional shepherds issuing clearance. If a person who has been cleared doesn't arrive in the country they are cleared to within this time period, they must reapply for clearance.
All communication regarding clearances will be handled by the regional desk. The regional shepherds will not communicate directly with any individual or Home in regards to their clearance request unless they specifically choose to do so.
Clearance applications only need to include the Clearance Request form. A Want Ad may also be included. If the applicants want to open a new Home, they must also fill out an Opening Home form. Members planning to pioneer their own Home are responsible to ascertain whether the city they are planning to move to already has a Family discipleship Home, and if so‚ follow the "Procedures for Opening a Home in a City That Already Has a Family Discipleship Home."
The "Member Evaluation Form" is only required for clearance to certain Muslim fields and sensitive countries, but may be requested by the regional desk for other countries as well. (Samples of all these forms can be found in Appendix D.)
In brief:
The receiving regional desk must acknowledge receipt of your clearance request within 14 days. Your clearance request will automatically be granted unless you receive notification from the regional desk within 30 days from the date on the notification receipt that your clearance has been denied.
If someone wants to move to a Home in a country in another region, they would want to write for and probably wait to receive their clearance before giving their 30-day notice to leave the Home. When receiving clearance to a country, you have permission to move to the country; however, it is up to you to find a Home that will receive you before you move to that country. The regional shepherds have no authority to insist that a Home take someone in.
Clearances are required for a witnessing road team going to any country for more than 30 days, but if the main purpose of your trip is to visit friends and relatives and you will not be involved in outreach work, such as a witnessing road team would be‚ then you would not need prior clearance. It would, however, be considerate to notify the appropriate regional desk that you will be in the area.
The regional shepherds cannot deny clearance to a member, nor their mate or children, who want to return to their home country. If, for example, you are British, with an American mate, and you are planning to leave your mission field in India to return to Britain or the United States, then the regional shepherds cannot deny you clearance to either country. However‚ you must notify the regional desk by submitting your Clearance Request form.
In this case, your Clearance Request form serves as a notification of intent, and since you are automatically cleared, you do not need to wait for a response before moving to your home country. You must follow normal Charter procedures for joining or opening a Home, including opening a Home in a city that already has a Home.
To add to the above example, if the British-American couple described above have a child born in Brazil who is issued a Brazilian passport, the couple and their children would not be eligible for "automatic clearance" to Brazil since the child is not a "voting member."
However, once the child reaches 16 years of age, he would then be eligible for "automatic clearance" to Brazil‚ although his parents would not. In addition, if the teen also holds a U.S. and/or British passport, then he would be eligible for automatic clearance for Britain and/or the U.S. as well.
The intent of this clause is to allow members to return to their home country. In the case of Europeans with EU passports, automatic clearance only applies to going to the member's home country within the EU.
Copyright © 2004 by The Family International.
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