Changes to the FIEC Constitution, The Pastors' Network, and Women in Ministry Ethos Statement

From time to time, it’s right for FIEC to review our work and ministry to ensure that we do what we say and say what we do. This means that we have clarity on our ministry together and it gives confidence to affiliated churches in our ongoing partnership. 

It was with that in mind that, at the FIEC AGM in 2025, the Trustees trailed changes to the FIEC constitution that they would like member churches to vote on in an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in 2026.

Paperwork outlining those changes is being sent to member churches in July, and the Trustees are planning a webinar to address any questions and queries. This will take place on Tuesday 22 September 2026 at 11am, and will be recorded for any churches who can’t make it. 

Here are the three matters that member churches will be asked to vote on during 2026’s EGM.

Over the last three years, members of the FIEC Trust Board have spent time discussing Clause 11.3 of the FIEC Constitution. Currently, this section states that all Trustees should be male, but without clearly articulating the reason for this. 

Some Trustees take the view that FIEC should have women on the Trust Board because FIEC is not a church. Others are clear that this should be an elder-role because the Trustees hold the National Director and Senior Ministers of the FIEC to account. It is this latter view that has subsequently been agreed by the Trustees.

The Trustees set out their full reasoning in the document below.

Therefore, it is proposed that Clause 11.3 be amended so that it then reads:

“Every charity trustee must be a natural person. The charity trustees have overall responsibility for the leadership, doctrinal standards, and membership criteria of the CIO. Therefore, a charity trustee must be qualified to serve as an elder in their affiliated church. This is consistent with the principles in the ethos statements.” 

For many years, FIEC has maintained a list of pastors, providing support through the Pastors’ Association and, more recently, the Pastors’ Network.

The Trustees now propose to discontinue the Pastors’ Network and, as a consequence, remove Clause 23 and related provisions from the Constitution, together with references to the Network in the Women in Ministry and Same Sex Marriage ethos statements.

The main reason for this change is that FIEC now provides support to church leaders, including pastors, through a much wider range of ministries and services. As a result, around half of pastors leading FIEC churches are not members of the Pastors’ Network and generally do not regard membership as providing additional support beyond that available through their church’s affiliation with FIEC.

At the same time, around 40% of Pastors’ Network members are pastors of non-FIEC churches. The Network has proved particularly valuable for these individuals, often providing a pathway into closer involvement with FIEC.

The Trustees therefore intend to create a separate “Associated Pastors” network for leaders of non-FIEC churches. This would be governed by supplementary rules made by the Trustees under Clause 30 of the Constitution. Members of this new network would receive notice of general meetings and be entitled to observe those meetings in accordance with the proposed amendments to the Constitution.

Because individuals defined as Associated Pastors would be expected to affirm FIEC’s doctrinal basis and ethos statements, the references to the Pastors’ Network in the Women in Ministry and Same Sex Marriage ethos statements have been updated to refer instead to individuals associated with the CIO under arrangements established by the Trustees pursuant to Clause 30.

The presentation made by FIEC Associate National Director Graham Beynon at the 2025 AGM can be viewed below.

Ultimately, it is proposed that FIEC closes the Pastors’ Network in its current form but continues to have a group of associated pastors for those in non-FIEC churches.

In practice, this will mean removing Clause 23 and associated clauses from the FIEC Constitution, as well as making similar amendments to the Women in Ministry Ethos Statement and Same Sex Marriage Ethos Statement which currently refer to the Pastors’ Network.

During a regular meeting with FIEC’s legal advisors, Edward Connor Solicitors, it was identified that the wording of the Women in Ministry ethos statement should be amended to clarify that an individual’s sex is determined by biological sex at conception.

The Trustees have discussed this, and agreed to propose a change to the statement to clarify that gender flows from biological sex, as was the decision of a Supreme Court ruling in 2025.

It is proposed to amend the statement so so that the section entitled 'Gender' then reads as follows:

“God created us male and female, and calls us to live according to our gender. This is inseparable from our biological sex which is determined at conception and may not be changed or reassigned.”