Bylaws

THIS GRACE BIBLE CHURCHES | PRAECEPTORIUM Edition 2026 10 03 R2 | 7 02 Bylaws Edition 2026 10 03 R2 | Operative only upon authorized adoption Article I Application and definitions These Bylaws administer the Constitution. TGBC means the association, assembly member means a person received into a local fellowship, and Circle member means a qualified bishop or elder expressly admitted to PRAECEPTORIUM. These categories are distinct. Deacons, volunteers, donors, and ordinary members do not acquire Circle authority through service or giving. The Founding Bishop is Bishop Wesley Ray. After his death, the Overseeing Bishop is the qualified bishop selected through the Succession Declaration. The Charter supplies Circle meeting and voting rules; these Bylaws supply the common procedures across TGBC. Article II Initial administration The Founding Bishop is the sole initial Circle member. An action within his authority may be documented by a signed written decision identifying its subject, date, reasons, and governing provision. It shall be described as a sole-member action, not as a meeting of nonexistent elders or a unanimous multi-person vote. The association must separately record its actual consenting members. Having one Circle member does not waive Chapter 252's three-member definition. Before additional qualified leaders are recognized, members may assist in recordkeeping, hospitality, and other delegated work without being called elders or acquiring Circle votes. Article III Founding authority and delegation During his natural life, the Founding Bishop directs ordinary ministry, signs authorized ecclesiastical decisions, and presides when able. Admission of additional Circle members does not terminate his founding office. Circle votes during his lifetime require his written concurrence for ordination, affiliation, amendments, extraordinary financial commitments, and decisions reserved to him by the Constitution. A written delegation shall name the recipient, duties, spending or signing limits, duration, reporting obligations, and revocation method. A deacon may perform delegated administration but may not receive bishop or elder teaching oversight, Circle voting rights, or succession authority through an administrative delegation. No delegation gives authority to change foundational doctrine, create a founding office, conceal wrongdoing, or act outside applicable law. Article IV Local membership Receive applications or documented requests, provide the Statement of Faith, discuss reservations, and record acceptance by the responsible bishop or elder under the governing authority. Membership requires profession of faith in the Gospel of Christ, foundational doctrinal agreement, and acceptance of orderly fellowship. Giving and water baptism are not conditions. Maintain names, contact preferences, reception dates, local assembly, and current status. Minors may participate in fellowship with appropriate parent or lawful guardian involvement; do not treat their attendance as independent contractual consent. Members may request care, ask questions, raise concerns, participate in approved service, and withdraw voluntarily. Voting rights exist only where these instruments expressly provide them. Congregational preference does not establish doctrine or appoint Circle members automatically.

THIS GRACE BIBLE CHURCHES | PRAECEPTORIUM Edition 2026 10 03 R2 | 8 Article V Recognition of offices and Circle admission Examine bishops and elders under 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 KJB. Examine deacons under 1 Timothy 3:8-13 KJB. Follow the Credentialing Manual and document the actual result before issuing a certificate. Record Circle admission separately, even where ordained recognition and admission occur together. The entry shall identify the bishop or elder qualification decision, appointment date, acceptance, local assembly, and voting status. A deacon remains outside PRAECEPTORIUM unless separately qualified and recognized as a bishop or elder and expressly admitted. Article VI Meetings and decisions Use the notice, quorum, voting, conflict, and minutes rules in the Circle Charter. The Founding Bishop may call meetings during his lifetime. Following his death or during a recorded incapacity, the authorized acting leader or any two remaining Circle members may call a meeting; a sole remaining member may act within the limited applicable authority. Record the number of eligible members, persons present, abstentions, actual votes, required concurrence, and final decision. Written consent without a meeting requires every eligible member's signed consent to the same text, plus any required founder concurrence. Electronic signatures or recorded electronic assent may be used when lawful and reliably attributable. Article VII Ordinary and extraordinary actions Ordinary ministry decisions include teaching schedules, fellowship arrangements, routine correspondence, and approved administrative work. The governing leader or authorized delegate may make them within recorded limits. Extraordinary actions include constitutional or bylaw amendments, Circle Charter or succession changes, admitting or removing Circle members, selecting an Overseeing Bishop, dissolution, borrowing, organizational bank accounts, paid employment, and substantial property commitments. They require the applicable recorded extraordinary approval and the Founding Bishop's written approval while he is living and able. No bank account, property acquisition, paid worker, or donation program is presumed to exist. Before initiating one, record its need, responsible persons, expected obligations, financial controls, and applicable civil or tax review. Optional forms alone are not authorization. Article VIII Absence and incapacity The founder may name a qualified bishop or elder as Acting Ecclesiastical Overseer for a stated period. An administrative custodian or deacon may preserve records and execute existing routine instructions without becoming the overseer or a Circle member. If no prior delegation covers a material incapacity, remaining Circle members may designate a qualified bishop or elder to handle essential temporary oversight by the extraordinary vote. Document the basis for inability to act and reassess at least every 90 days. Restoration of ability ends the temporary authority unless the founder continues it in writing. If no Circle member remains able to act, use the limited emergency reconstitution procedure in Article IX. Incapacity does not permit permanent constitutional amendments, dissolution, transfer of the founding office, or founder-dependent decisions unrelated to immediate preservation and protection.

THIS GRACE BIBLE CHURCHES | PRAECEPTORIUM Edition 2026 10 03 R2 | 9 Article IX Emergency reconstitution when no Circle member can act This procedure applies only after the founder's death, or when he is materially incapacitated and no remaining Circle member can act. A records custodian or at least two adult assembly members may issue 14 days' written notice to all adult local members in good standing recorded before the triggering event. The custodian organizes the process without assuming ecclesiastical office. Participating adult members may identify qualified, willing bishops or elders from the TGBC fellowship or, if necessary, outside it. Candidates must affirm the TGBC doctrine and be examined by at least two independent qualified bishops or elders invited for that limited purpose. Those examiners are advisors, not automatic TGBC Circle members. At a meeting with more than half of the recorded eligible adult assembly members present, at least two-thirds of those present and voting must confirm the examined candidate or candidates for interim PRAECEPTORIUM membership. Abstentions do not count as votes; quorum must still be met. The action is limited to reconstituting qualified bishop or elder oversight and preserving continuity. No deacon enters the Circle through this procedure unless separately examined and recognized as a bishop or elder. Following death, the reconstituted Circle selects the Overseeing Bishop under the Succession Declaration. During incapacity, it provides temporary oversight only, subject to Article VIII. No self-appointed or hereditary successor is permitted. If the required qualification, quorum, or approval cannot be obtained, preserve records and protect persons and actual assets, continue voluntary fellowship where practical, and defer permanent leadership action rather than issue unsupported credentials. Article X Discipline and review Use the Code of Doctrine Conduct and Ecclesiastical Discipline for complaints, fair consideration, protective action, written findings, and reconsideration. Good-faith questions and reports are not misconduct. Internal processes never replace lawful reporting or emergency action. The founder's lifetime office and title remain protected under the Constitution. His conduct and transactions remain open to scriptural examination, independent review, lawful safety restrictions, and civil accountability. A particular financial recusal or protective access measure is not a transfer of his founding office. Article XI Amendments Provide the complete proposed text and explanation at least 14 days before an amendment meeting. While living and capable, the Founding Bishop's written approval is required. With more than one Circle member, amendments also require at least two-thirds of all eligible Circle members, rounded up. In the initial sole- member stage, the founder may approve in writing under his existing authority. After his death, amendments require at least two-thirds of all eligible Circle members, rounded up, with no founder concurrence. If no Circle exists, first complete emergency reconstitution. Proposed changes to foundational doctrinal wording must receive at least 30 days' notice, written KJB reasoning, and unanimous eligible Circle approval; they may clarify doctrine but may not abandon the protected foundational Gospel, KJB authority, right division, or stated Pauline identity. Record the text, notice, authority, actual approvals, effective date, and superseded clauses. New documents do not retroactively create prior ordinations, decisions, or tax status.

THIS GRACE BIBLE CHURCHES | PRAECEPTORIUM Edition 2026 10 03 R2 | 10 Article XII Dissolution and records Dissolution requires 30 days' notice, a written plan, and at least two-thirds of all eligible Circle members, rounded up, plus founder approval while living and capable. Emergency reconstitution must precede dissolution if the Circle is empty. This internal procedure does not override an applicable court order or controlling law. Preserve executed governing instruments, permanent decisions, credentials, succession and affiliation records. Apply the Records Policy to financial and sensitive files. Complete asset and liability handling under the Constitution; record the final custodian and permitted disposition of records. Adoption Adopted by ________________________ Authority and record ________________________ Founding Bishop or authorized chair signature __________________ Date __________ Effective date __________ Custodian signature ________________________