Constitution Guidelines

Constitution Guidelines

The Committee requests that you email an attachment of a new or revised Constitution & Bylaws to the email listed below. In the email subject line include Congregation Name, City, & State. The committee request that document be sent as a Microsoft word doc. 

Rev. Kerwin Duerr:

Email - constitutioncommittee@psd-lcms.org

Phone - 714-496-9872

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Guidelines for the Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation

Congregations become members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod only after their constitutions and bylaws have been approved by the constitution committee of one of the Synod’s 35 districts. Changes to constitutions and bylaws of existing member congregations also are to be reviewed and approved, with revised documents considered by Synod to be in effect only after they have been approved by a district constitution committee.

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Because a high degree of uniformity is desirable, the Commission on Constitutional Matters, as a service to the Synod, has issued guidelines for the proper composition of congregations’ constitutions and bylaws.

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• Guidelines for the Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation

• Guidelines for Constitutions and Bylaws of Small and Developing Lutheran Congregations

• 2019 Handbook — November 2019 Edition (Adobe PDF)