Standing Policies

AESTM BOARD POLICY #1
AESTM Board Charge to AESTM Divisions:

1. All duly-approved AESTM Divisions are authorized with full and complete operational responsibility and authority to exercise everything needed to be done in order to accomplish their respective ends with timeliness and with excellence, in order to help fulfill the stated AESTM ends, provided the following seven criteria are met and ratified by the AESTM Board (including future amendments, if any):

   1.1

   GOVERNANCE/ That a given Division is duly governed by its own Steering Committee, the composition policies of which must be written and ratified by the AESTM Board, indicating how the given Steering Committee is:

   • composed of men and women related in some manner to the Christian short-term mission movement;
   • composed of some Steering Committee Members holding longer-term positions to assure continuity and stability of the Division;
   • composed of some Steering Committee Members rotated through shorter staggering terms via election or appointment according to Steering Committee policy to assure healthy critique and cutting-edge freshness; and
   • composed of at least one Steering Committee Member from the AESTM Board.
   • structured for Committee leadership (e.g. officers); and for business operations management (e.g., responsibilities, roles).

   1.2

   ENDS/ That a given Division craft and fully comply with its own written ends, which must clearly fulfill in part the stated AESTM ends, as specifically expressed in the following Division I.D. Statements:

   • Doctrinal Statement of Beliefs
   • Vision Statement;
   • Mission Statement; and
   • Target People or Customers Served.

   1.3

   LIMITS/ That a given Division craft and fully comply with its own written policy limits, all of which must be limited by biblical, ethical, moral, legal, budgetary, and any other appropriate limits, as specifically expressed in the following Limits:

   • AESTM Compliance
   • Division Functional Compliance
   • Duties of Care, Loyalty (including conflict of interest), and Obedience Compliance
   • An agreement to resolve all disputes using biblical, non-litigious means

   1.4

   PLANS/ That a given Division provides the AESTM Board an active plan of its annual (or multi-year) goals and methods, in accordance with the following criteria:

   • PERIOD/ The active plan must cover a minimum of 1-year, but no more than 5-years;
   • SUBMISSON/ The active plan must be submitted in advance of the active period of time which covers the plan;
   • PURPOSE/ The active plan must clearly further the given Division’s stated ends;
   • GOALS/ The active plan must contain measurable goals and objectives;
   • MEANS/ The active plan must contain general explanations of the methods and means intended to be used to achieve the stated goals and objectives;
   • BUDGET/ The active plan must provide a budget overview of projected revenues and expenses, which must demonstrate how the Division funds its own entire operating budget
   • ACCOUNTABILITY/ The active plan must disclose to what degree the previously-submitted plans were accomplished; and
   • AMENDMENTS/ The active plan must disclose the process of plan-amendment, should a given active plan require substantial changes during its period of activeness.

   1.5

   FUNDING/ That a given Division’s operating budget meets the following criteria:

   • ENDS FUTHERANCE/ That all revenues and expenses are received and paid in a manner which furthers the Division’s stated ends;
   • BUDGET BOUNDARIES/ That all revenues and expenses are handled within all biblical, ethical, moral, legal, budget, and other AESTM or Division policy limits;
   • PLAN FULFILLMENT/ That all revenues and expenses are handled in a manner which furthers and complies with the active plan;
   • RISK/ That all revenues and expenses are handled in a manner which does not risk any of AESTM’s or the Division’s assets (financial, capital, and other);
   • RESERVE/ That each Division determine a prudent financial reserve to maintain, expressed as an ideal dollar amount or budget percentage, and as a maximum limit not to exceed
   • RECORD KEEPING/ That proper, accurate, and up-to-date accounting records are kept;
   • MANAGEMENT TEAM/ That the given Division has at least three people (i.e., a Division Executive Committee or a Division Finance Committee) who oversee the Division’s financial decisions and who assure all financial decisions and expenses are in compliance with all applicable policy;
   • REPORTS/ That the given Division provide appropriate and timely reports to the AESTM Board, to assure accountable and accurate fulfillment of this Board policy, specifically including:
     • A Statement of Activity (Revenue and Expenses);
     • A Statement of Position (Balance Sheet);
     • Internal Fund Balance Allocations, if any;
     • Ending Balance on Hand (including previous ending balance carried forward); and
     • Copies of all reconciled bank and other depository statements.
   • ADMINISTRATIVE FEE/ That the given Division remit its 5% administrative fee to AESTM in a timely manner (5% of all program fees, specifically membership fees and registration fees). The AESTM 5% administrative fee will not be charged against late fees, penalties, or ‘wash’ costs such as hotel expenses incurred at conferences.

   1.6

   PROGRAM/ Although a given Division is not required to file its Program Policies with the AESTM Board, it is the policy of the AESTM Board that each Division create its own written management and means policies (i.e., an operations and procedural manual) which more specifically define the management and means processes a Division will follow to successfully execute its program (as expressed through its Ends Statements). All Division Program Policies must be in compliance with all AESTM and Division Standing Polices.

   1.7

   REPORTING/ At each Annual Meeting of the AESTM Board, each division must provide a written report that contains:

   • Division policy amendments or changes, if any;
   • Division financial reports as indicated in Policy #1.5 above;
   • Division active plans (Policy #1.4) for the forthcoming period if not already on file with the AESTM Board; and
   • Division information on how closely the current active plan (Policy #1.4) is being achieved.

AESTM BOARD POLICY #2
AESTM Governance:

(how AESTM complies with its own Policy #1.1)

(AESTM Bylaws, Article IV):

MEMBERSHIP Membership of this corporation shall constitute and be its Board of Directors. All members shall subscribe to the afore-stated purposes and articles of faith of this corporation. Members shall have no voting rights as members of this corporation.

(AESTM Bylaws, Article V):

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, the Board of Directors shall manage the affairs of the corporation. The Board shall consist of at least three but not more than twelve persons, except in the event of vacancy. The Directors shall elect individuals to occupy positions on the Board of Directors at the Board’s annual meeting. Each elected Director shall hold office for a term of up to three years, on a staggered basis, as determined by majority vote of the Directors. Each Director may serve unlimited consecutive terms.
An act of the majority of the Directors of this corporation is an act of the Board. Should a vacancy occur in the Board, the remaining Directors, though less than a quorum, shall fill the vacancy. A person so selected and qualified shall hold office for the duration of term of office, or until his or her respective successor has been duly selected and qualified. All Directors shall subscribe to the afore-stated purposes and articles of faith of this corporation.

(AESTM Bylaws, Article VI):

OFFICERS The Board of Directors shall elect persons to exercise the duties and functions of the offices of Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer of this corporation, and may elect other officers as it deems appropriate and necessary. Any of the offices or functions of the offices may be held or exercised by the same person. All officers shall subscribe to the afore-stated purposes and articles of faith of this corporation.
The terms of office for officers of this corporation shall be (1) one year. Salaries, if any, shall be set by the Board of Directors from time to time. A Director may also serve this corporation as its officer.

(AESTM Bylaws, Article VII):

MEETINGS Directors shall hold their annual meetings normally during October of each year for the transaction of business of the corporation, at which meeting the Directors shall elect Directors and Officers of the corporation. Special meetings can be called for any purpose at any time by the Chairman or upon written request by any two or more Directors. A Director shall waive notice to any annual or special meeting of this corporation by attendance at such meeting or by written waiver of notice before, at or after such meeting. Any action that could be taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors may be taken without a meeting when authorized in writing and signed by all Directors of the corporation.
A quorum necessary for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board of Directors is a majority of the Board. When a quorum has been present at a meeting and Directors have withdrawn from the meeting so that less than a quorum remains, the Directors still present may continue to transact business until adjournment.

#2.1 — STM-Active Board Members (Board Minutes, 01/06/03):

AESTM Board Members must be active members of the short-term mission community in a leadership capacity as defined by Articles of Incorporation Article II, Paragraph 2.

#2.2 — Board Record Keeping (Board Minutes, 10/03/02):

The Board will retain its records for at least three years.

AESTM BOARD POLICY #3
AESTM Ends

(how AESTM complies with its own Policy #1.2)

AESTM Doctrinal Statement of Belief (AESTM Bylaws, Article II):

ARTICLES OF FAITH We believe in and accept the basic tenets of faith as expressed in one or more of the following historically-recognized and universally-accepted Creeds/Confessions/Covenant:

1. The Apostle’s Creed (circa ad 175).
2. The Nicene Creed (ad 325).
3. The Augsburg Confession (ad 1530).
4. The Westminster Confession (August 1647).
5. The Lausanne Covenant (July 1974).
6. Other similar or contemporary doctrinal statements of belief that do not contradict or disaffirm in part or in whole the afore-stated Creeds/Confessions/Covenant.

AESTM Purpose Statement (AESTM Articles of Incorporation, Article II, Paragraph #2):

This Corporation shall operate to bring God’s glory to the nations by promoting increasingly effective short-term mission, including but not limited to, conferences, publications, the internet, development of training and analysis tools, and other similar programs designed to help improve the knowledge, skills, networking opportunities, and ministry opportunities of short-term mission leaders within churches, agencies, schools, other Christian sending entities, and other related entities and individuals, including other leaders and organizations which provide support services to the Christian short-term mission industry.

AESTM Affiliation Statement (Bylaws, Article III):

This corporation intends to work in an integrated, non-competitive manner in conjunction with and in the service of local churches, agencies, schools, fellowships, other ministries, or other organizations throughout the world in seeking to accomplish and fulfill its afore-stated purposes. As part of this mutual cooperation and service, this corporation purposes and intends to promote increasingly effective short-term missions (via conferences, publications, the worldwide web, development of training and analysis tools, and other similar programs) by encouraging, educating, and training various professional short-term mission leaders from churches, agencies, schools, and other similar sending entities throughout the United States.
While this organization is autonomous and self-governing as a corporate structure, it serves spiritually as vital part of the church universal in accordance with the Holy Bible.

#3.1 — AESTM Vision Statement:

Bringing God’s Glory to the nations by promoting increasingly effective short-term mission.

#3.2 — AESTM Mission Statement:

AESTM provides an ‘in-the-background’ nonprofit 501(c)(3) religious/educational/charitable ‘parent’ structure for any God-designed, well-planned, and widely-influential initiative (i.e., AESTM Divisions) which intentionally advances the cause of excellent Christian short-term mission, specifically to help release those Divisions to better-focus on their respective programs (their ends and plans) — and not on maintenance of the background, but required, legal structure necessary to provide ethical and legally-recognized life and limited liability.

#3.4 — AESTM Target Audience:

1. STM leadership within U.S.-based churches, agencies, schools, and other sending entities.
2. U.S.-based STM service and product providers.
3. Internationally-based field facilitators which receive U.S.-sent STMs.
4. Any organization or individual anywhere in the world involved in STM.

AESTM BOARD POLICY #4
AESTM Limits:

(how AESTM complies with its own Policy #1.3)

AESTM Dispute Resolution Agreement (AESTM Bylaws, Article XII):

The Directors of this corporation, having fully subscribed to the afore-stated Articles of Faith, believe that the Bible commands us, according to Matthew 18:15–20 and I Corinthian 6:1–8, to live at peace and to resolve disputes in private or within the Christian church. The Directors further acknowledge that the limited charitable resources of this corporation not have to be dissipated on wasteful litigation. As Directors of this corporation, we hereby expressly waive our rights to file a lawsuit in any civil court or other secular setting against this corporation or its Directors acting in this corporation’s behalf. The Directors further agree to settle all unresolved disputes by Biblically-based mediation (as specifically described in the then-current rules of Procedure For Christian Conciliation of the Institute for Christian Conciliation, which current phone number is 406-256-1583), and if not resolved by said mediation, by legally-binding arbitration in accordance with the afore-mentioned rules of Procedure For Christian Conciliation.

#4.1 — AESTM Overall Limits

AESTM will not at any time operate outside of any biblical, ethical, moral, legal, budgetary, or other AESTM policy limits.

#4.2 — AESTM Functional Compliance:

AESTM will not exceed, nor ever attempt to, conduct any operations whatsoever outside of its own written policies, nor outside of any biblical, ethical, moral, legal, budgetary, or any other reasonable and rational limits, as determined by the AESTM Board’s assessment of the AESTM Target Audience’s perception of such limits, and by the state’s nonprofit mandates of Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience.

#4.3 — Duty of Care:

All AESTM Board Members and all AESTM staff and volunteers may not perform their duties and responsibilities in a manner that violates our trustee responsibility concerning our Duty of Care for our Target Audience, known also as the ‘business judgment rule,’ which is reasonable care that an ordinary prudent person would exercise in a like position under similar circumstances.

#4.4 — Duty Of Loyalty:

All AESTM Board Members and all AESTM staff and volunteers may not perform their duties and responsibilities in a manner that violates our trustee responsibility concerning our Duty of Loyalty for our Target Audience, which is undivided allegiance to the AESTM when making any decisions and transactions affecting AESTM.

#4.4.1

Conflict of interest transactions must be properly handled to avoid self-dealing and excess benefits transactions whenever the personal interest or the interest of a family member, friend, or other organization (in which an AESTM Board member or staff or volunteer is involved) takes precedence over the best interest of AESTM.

#4.5 — Duty Of Obedience:

All AESTM Board Members and all AESTM staff and volunteers may not perform their duties and responsibilities in a manner that violates our trustee responsibility concerning our Duty of Obedience for our Target Audience, which requires faithfulness to AESTM’s mission as expressed in all AESTM standing policies (governance, ends, limits, plans, and funding), especially including our fiduciary responsibility to administer all AESTM assets for the benefit of our Target Audience with scrupulous good faith, candor, and care.

AESTM BOARD POLICY #5
AESTM Plans:

(how AESTM complies with its own Policy #1.4)

#5.1 — AESTM Plans:

AESTM intends to identify, strengthen, and release highly-influential STM initiatives to better-grow their STM effectiveness as specifically implied by our Mission Statement (AESTM Policy #3.2). AESTM intends to do so without any substantial change to this plan for the foreseeable future.

#5.2 — Approved AESTM Divisions:

AESTM will carry out its plans through the following three approved Divisions:

1. The Fellowship of Short-Term Mission Leaders (FSTML) Annual October Conference.
2. The Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission (SOE).
3. The National Short-Term Mission Conference (NSTMC).

AESTM BOARD POLICY #6
AESTM Funding:

(how AESTM complies with its own Policy #1.5)

(AESTM Articles of Incorporation, Article II, Paragraphs #3 and #4):

#3. This Corporation may receive property by gift, devise or bequest, invest and reinvest the same, and apply the income and principal thereof, as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine, either directly or through contributions to any religious, educational, or charitable organization or organizations, which are organized or operated exclusively for religious, educational or charitable purposes.

#4. Provided it does not jeopardize its tax-exempt status, this Corporation shall be further authorized to do any and all lawful acts and things which may be necessary and useful, suitable, or proper for the furtherance of the purposes of this Corporation; to engage in any lawful business or activities related thereto; and to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act.

(AESTM ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, ARTICLES III, IX, AND XI):

III. This corporation shall not afford any pecuniary gain, incidental or otherwise, to its members.

IX. This corporation shall not have capital stock, either authorized or issued.

XI. No part of the net earnings of this corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing and distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

(AESTM Bylaws, Articles VIII):

FINANCES Income of this corporation shall consist of donations from interested persons or other entities or organizations, and royalties, fees, and payments pursuant to the programs and purposes of this corporation. All receipts shall be deposited in the corporation’s bank account. All disbursements shall be made by checks or other such orders for the payment of money and shall be duly signed by a corporate officer or duly appointed designee. An accounting of all the previous fiscal year’s receipts and disbursements of this corporation shall be prepared by the Treasurer and presented to the Directors at each annual meeting for their reviewal and approval.

#6.1 — AESTM Revenue Means:

Revenue for AESTM will be a 5% administrative fee charged against each of our Division’s program fees (i.e., their registration and membership fees). The AESTM 5% administrative fee will not be charged against late fees, penalties, or ‘wash’ costs such as hotel expenses incurred at conferences.

#6.2 — AESTM Budgetary Limits:

AESTM will handle its finances in any manner it deems appropriate, provided such manner does not exceed any biblical, ethical, moral, legal, budgetary, or other AESTM policy limits.

#6.2.1

AESTM will not handle its finances in a manner that posses an unreasonable risk to any AESTM or Division assets (financial, capital, or other assets).

#6.2.2

AESTM will not materially deviate from its annual budget, unless a given item is approved by the Executive Committee, or the AESTM Board if necessary.

#6.2.3

The AESTM Executive Committee will determine all other standing formal decisions (e.g., bank depository accounts) that do not require the entire Boardís decision but that should entail more than just the Treasurerís decision.

#6.2.4

AESTM will file IRS Form 990 each year, including the financial activities of all Divisions; and any other reports due to governmental authorities as may be required by law.

#6.2.5

AESTM will budget its revenue for four primary categories of expenses, in the following order of priorities:

1. costs associated with its Directorsí meetings to keep the ëparentí corporation functioning well;
2. for AESTM accounting and legal costs;
3. services for our divisions:
   • credit card merchant account availability for its Divisions; and
   • web assistance to help Divisions achieve maximum ends and plans effectiveness via their sites; and
   • iii. anything else the Board may determine from time to time, to better help our Divisions achieve their ends;
4. directors and officers insurance.