At the October 2025 Annual Meeting, the Bridge Fellowship Oversight Team presented a constitutional revision for review. The plan is to conduct a vote regarding the changes during the 2026 Annual Meeting (scheduled to take place at the Renew Conference, October 12-14).

Please review the summary below and the full proposed revision here.

A summary of the key changes being proposed:

• MARBC will be using the operating name of “Bridge Fellowship.”
• Churches that are not Baptist in name may now join the fellowship, provided they are baptistic in faith and practice.
• Churches may now be removed from the fellowship for reasons beyond doctrinal differences.
• Robert’s Rules of Order will be replaced with “Robbie’s Suggestions.”
• The “Council of 15” will be renamed the “Oversight Team.”
• The purpose and basic responsibilities of the Oversight Team have been clarified.
• The Oversight Team will include at least six members-at-large and one representative from each regional association.
• The Oversight Team will serve as the Nominating Committee for new Board members. Churches may still submit recommendations, but the Board will not be bound by them.
• During the Annual Meeting, when officers are selected, the Executive Director is expected to be involved.
• The previous statement regarding (possible) mileage reimbursement for Council members has been removed. This can be addressed through policy and included in the budget if desired.

• The Executive Director’s job description now includes affirmation of the fellowship’s doctrinal statement.

 

Thank you for taking the time to review this—we greatly appreciate your feedback. Our plan is to bring this to a vote in 2026.

Please send your comments and suggestions to:

Doug Crawford, Executive Director – doug@bridgefellowship.org

Tony Barber, Policies Committee Leader – tony.barber@vassarbaptistchurch.com