First Baptist Orlando Bylaws

Bylaws Update – Summary of Changes
First Baptist Church of Orlando, Inc.
September 2025

First Orlando – John Young Campus
First Orlando – Hispano Campus
First Orlando – Brasileiro Campus
First Orlando – Horizon West Campus (Horizon West Church)
First Orlando – Ocoee Campus (Evolve Church)
First Orlando – DeBary Campus (Living Springs Church)

At First Orlando, our bylaws are reviewed regularly to ensure they reflect both our church’s organizational practices and the changing legal and cultural environment. The last update was made in 2023.

This year, our Bylaws Subcommittee met to review and recommend updates. Members included Junior Davis, John Bozard, Alan Hair, and Brian Blair, along with our church’s legal counsel. In August, the subcommittee presented their recommendations to the Trustees and Church Leadership Team, who unanimously approved the updates.

The updated bylaws will be presented for a congregational vote of affirmation, without discussion, at the start of our worship services on September 21, 2025.

A clean and redline copy of the bylaws are linked below.

Overview of Updates:

  • General Clean Up Revisions
    A few formatting adjustments and minor grammar edits have been made for clarity and consistency.
  • Senior Pastors Team Structure
    Updated terminology and responsibilities to reflect our co-senior pastors’ shared leadership model. The previous titles of Senior Pastor and Senior Associate Pastor are replaced with Senior Pastors Team.

    • The process for calling, hiring, and approving a new member of the Senior Pastors Team now involves both the Church Leadership Team and the Personnel Team.
    • The outdated section on a dedicated sole Senior Pastor Search Team has been removed. Under Article X, Section 1, the Church Leadership Team and Senior Pastors Team may approve the formation of any necessary teams, such as a Search Team or 2020’s Covid Response Team.
  • Church Leadership Team Clarification
    Language now reflects the actual composition and practice of the Church Leadership Team over the past decade.
  • Annual Budget and High-Value Transaction Approval Process
    Financial matters that require approval from multiple teams now have a clarified order for review and approval. This codifies our existing 10+ year practice, bringing consistency and transparency.
  • Approval Thresholds for Financial Matters
    Language is now consistent across all teams—Church Leadership Team, Budget Administration Team, Trustees, and Church/School Committee—for decisions involving capital campaigns, construction projects, high-value transactions, and similar items.
  • Church Spending Policy
    Responsibility has been added for the Trustees, BAT and Church/School Committee to annually evaluate and approve the Church Spending Policy, including guidelines for the prudent use of the Church’s and its related entities funds.
  • Lay Leadership Team Terms and Chairmanships
    Updated for consistency in term lengths, rotation schedules, and leadership roles across all teams.
  • Personnel Team – Compensation Subcommittee
    Officially added to reflect its long-standing role and more than a decade of practice.
  • Church/School Committee Responsibilities
    Updated to reflect current functions and expectations.

For bylaw questions please contact Matthew Robinson (MatthewRobinson@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4208) or Danny de Armas (DannydeArmas@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4248).  A clean and redline copy of the bylaws are linked below.

BYLAWS – FULL VERSION – SEPTEMBER 2025

BYLAWS – REDLINE VERSION – SEPTEMBER 2025

First Baptist Orlando Bylaws

Bylaws Update – Summary of Changes
First Baptist Church of Orlando, Inc.
November 2023

Our bylaws are reviewed and updated regularly to best reflect the organizational practices of our church and the changing landscape of our culture and legal environment. Our last bylaws update was in 2019.

Our updated bylaws were unanimously approved by our Trustees and Church Leadership Team in September. They will be voted on at the beginning of our worship services on November 19, 2023, without discussion. A red-line copy of the bylaws is available by request or online at FirstOrlando.com/Bylaws.

Overview of Updates:

  • Grammatical cleanup in a few sections.
  • Change related to reflecting our practice of the Deacon Chair being the listed Secretary of the Corporation.
  • Change related to publishing our annual Ministry Action Plan digitally and distributing via email.
  • Change related to length of term for the Chairs of BAT, Trustees, and Personnel Chair, ensuring continuity of leadership prior to a new chair being selected.

For bylaw questions or to receive a red-line version, please contact Matthew Robinson, Pastor of Ministries & Administration (MatthewRobinson@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4208) or Danny de Armas, Senior Associate Pastor (DannydeArmas@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4248).

BYLAWS – FULL VERSION – NOVEMBER 2023

First Baptist Orlando Bylaws

Bylaws Update – Summary of Changes
First Baptist Church of Orlando, Inc.
May 2019

First Baptist Orlando is administratively led by five lay leadership teams who serve together with our pastoral leadership to provide the overall leadership of the church. The lay leadership teams are: Church Leadership Team (CLT), Trustees, Budget Administration Team (BAT), Personnel, and Deacons.

Four of our leadership teams are administrative in nature and one, our Deacons, is ministry focused. The CLT is comprised of the chair of each of our leadership teams, plus 3 or 4 additional lay persons and three staff pastors, including our Senior Pastor. In keeping with the governance standards of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) our administrative teams are comprised of men and women from our church who are independent of the staff and serve consecutive 3-year terms.

Our bylaws are reviewed and updated regularly to best reflect the organizational practices of our church and the changing landscape of our culture and legal environment. Our last bylaws update was in 2010. Fifteen months ago, our Trustees created a sub-committee to review and revise our bylaws.

Our updated bylaws were unanimously approved by our Trustees and Church Leadership Team in February. They will be voted on at the beginning of our worship services on May 18 & 19, 2019, without discussion. A red-line copy of the bylaws is available by request or online at FirstOrlando.com/Bylaws.

Overview of Updates:

  • Several changes are related to staff title changes or responsibility changes from Pastor of Administration to Senior Associate Pastor.
  • To protect the church from legal challenges arising from religious liberty and facility use practices, we made changes recommended by the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF). We have included our Statement of Faith and Membership Agreement and included the full text from the Baptist Faith and Message (2000), expressing the church’s core religious beliefs. Church membership requires consent to the Statement of Faith.
  • Language related to our Deacons has been updated to best reflect their current purpose and function which is to assist the pastors in serving the people. We also reduced the minimum number of deacons required and aligned their requirements for service with Biblical wording.
  • We’ve added integration of an already functioning Church/School Committee that serves as the church’s representative for the church’s oversight of The First Academy (TFA).

The updates listed below relate to removing some functions from the congregation in favor of placing that authority with one or more of our Leadership Teams. This change is following the advice of our legal counsel and independent auditors, and in keeping with best practices provided by ECFA. Larger churches are better served and protected by placing the most authority in smaller, independent, and well-informed leadership teams. All of our leadership teams are comprised of more lay members than staff members and all are independent, meaning the lay members do not have family or business relationships with executive staff.

  • Updated language regarding our Leadership Teams’ selection and termination of a Senior Pastor, giving that authority to the Leadership Teams. Selection of the Senior Pastor still requires church vote, but in the rare and unfortunate situation requiring termination, no full church action is required. This allows for discretion as deemed necessary by the lay leaders of the church.
  • Updates to the tenure length and rotation of Leadership Team members, providing for 3 successive 3-year terms. This is extended from 2 successive terms. This change will assist with continuity for our teams.
  • Yearly budget approval is formally given by our leadership teams: Church Leadership Team (CLT), Trustees, Budget Administration Team (BAT) and Personnel Team. The church will be informed of the yearly budget but approval by vote will no longer be necessary.

For bylaw questions or to receive a red-line version, please contact Matthew Robinson, Pastor of Administration (MatthewRobinson@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4208) or Danny de Armas, Senior Associate Pastor (DannydeArmas@FirstOrlando.com, 407-514-4248).

Bylaws – Full Version – May 2019