Constitution and Bylaws of Coquina Chinese Community Church

Chapter I: GENERAL INFORMATION

Our church

This church is made up of a group of people who follow Jesus Christ. By God's grace and mercy, we help and encourage each other to know God, pursue spiritual growth, follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus to love each other, spread the gospel, glorify God and benefit others, so that we can be more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The Chinese name of this church is “磐石華人基督教會”.

2. The English name of the church is "Coquina Chinese Community Church" with "CCCC" as the abbreviation.

3. The church is the body of Christ, a non-profit church registered by the U.S. Federal Government and the State of Florida.

Chapter II: PURPOSE

4. The church is apolitical, and its purpose is to fulfill the great commission entrusted by God, to spread the gospel of Christ according to God's will; to lead people to believe in Jesus, to return to the only true God; to edify believers, to live a victorious life, and to cooperate and serve to build up the body of Christ.

5. The church adheres to the great commission commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19: Go and make disciples of all nations), and is guided by the Holy Spirit to build a church that suits God's will.

Chapter III: STATEMENT OF FAITH

6. The church firmly believes in the following basic truths:

  1. All sixty-six volumes of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and are the only criterion for the church and believers' faith life.
  2. God is the self-existing, eternal, creator of the universe and the ruler of mankind; He is the only true God who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in one trinity, with the same position, power, glory, and co-existence.
  3. Christ Jesus is the Son of the living God, incarnated, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born through the virgin Mary, died on the cross, shed blood to make atonement for mankind, was resurrected on the third day after death, appeared to believers for forty days, ascended to heaven and sat at the right hand of God, became the mediator between man and God, and will come again in the future to establish an eternal kingdom.
  4. The Holy Spirit descends, enters, dwells, and operates in the hearts of believers to accomplish the work of regeneration; it also enables believers to enter the truth, gain power, live a victorious life, and give believers various gifts to serve God according to their own will.
  5. Man was created by God in His own image. He was separated from God because of sin. Sin and death came to the world. Not only the body died, but also the soul died. Only by trusting in Jesus can sins be forgiven. Sinners are saved by the grace of God, by the blood of Jesus, and by faith. Therefore, those who believe have eternal life, which is given by God, not by human behavior.
  6. Christ is the head of the church, the church is the body of Christ, each of our believers is a member of Christ, and the church is composed of believers reborn by the Holy Spirit.

Chapter IV: SACRAMENTS

According to the teachings of the Bible, the church has established the following two rituals:

7. Baptism: The church has the responsibility to baptize believers who are moved by the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Hosted by the pastor, it is to show that the baptized person has died, buried and resurrected with the Lord.

8. Breaking bread meeting: All regenerated believers can receive bread and cup with a devout heart, commemorating the redemptive grace of the Lord Jesus shed blood. The ceremony is officiated by a priest.