Chapter 2. Business

¶421. The District Conference shall inquire into the condition of the charges concerning:

(1) Their spiritual state.

(2) Missionary work.

(3) Work of the Sunday School.

(4) Work of the Evangelical Methodist Men.

(5) Work of the Evangelical Methodist Women.

(6) Work of the Evangelical Methodist Youth.

(7) Support of the general church and its institutions.

¶422. The District Conference shall adopt a program of Christian Education which is in cooperation with the General Conference program. The responsibility for outlining, presenting, and promoting such a program shall be delegated to the Board of Christian Education.

¶423. The District Conference shall outline a program of missionary work so as to enlarge the vision and service of each local church. This shall be delegated to the Board of World Missions.

¶424. At the District Conference prior to the General Conference, the District Conference shall elect a secretary, treasurer, lay leader, youth director, and statistician. These officers shall be elected for the quadrennium after nominations are presented by the Nominating Committee.

¶425. At the District Conference prior to the General Conference each district will elect a District Superintendent. District Superintendents shall have been ordained elders in the Evangelical Methodist Church for at least four years and shall have had acceptable pastoral experience. Nominations for the office of District Superintendent shall be made from the floor, without discussion of the qualifications of the nominees, on the first day of the District Conference. A district search committee may be appointed by the District Council to present names of potential candidates to the District Conference. A resume from each nominee shall be distributed by the district secretary following the nominations. It shall be made available to the delegates the same day to acquaint them with the qualifications of the nominees. Where the District Conference covers more than one day, the election shall take place the day following the distribution of the resumes. The District Superintendent elected by the District Conference, whether new or incumbent, shall be determined by a simple majority vote. The vote will be by ballot, and even though there may be only one nominee, a vote should be taken. The District Superintendent will assume the office at the close of General Conference.

¶426. All members of the District Conference shall attend its sessions, and they shall furnish to the District Conference such reports and in such form as the District Conference requires. During the District Conference no minister or lay delegate is excusable from the sessions except for outside conference business.

¶427. The District Conference may make rules to govern its own procedure only in keeping with the Discipline and powers granted by the General Conference. A District Conference may not financially obligate the Evangelical Methodist Church or an organizational unit thereof, except the District Conference itself. No District Conference shall create a debt on said conference other than operating expenses without a two-thirds vote of the District Conference.

¶428. The District Conference shall keep an exact record of its personnel, proceedings, reports, and statistics. It shall send a copy of the minutes to the General Conference Secretary and the General Conference Statistician. The secretary of the District Conference shall keep a copy to be handed to his successor in office.

¶429. The District Conference shall provide adequate surety bonds for all officers handling funds of the conference. All records of secretaries, treasurers, and statisticians shall be kept according to the forms prescribed by the laws of the church. The books shall be audited annually by a qualified public accountant and the auditor's report shall accompany the treasurer's report. All books and records kept by District Conference officers are the property of the Evangelical Methodist Church and shall be surrendered at the end of one's tenure in office. Implementation shall be the responsibility of the District Superintendent.

¶430. There shall be a district Board of Trustees in every district. The first and original board shall be chosen by the District Superintendent where there is no established District Conference, and elected by the District Conference if such District Conference is already established. This Board of Trustees shall be composed of three or more male members if possible, at least one-third of whom shall be laymen, whose terms of office shall be for one, two, and three years respectively. The trustees should immediately incorporate under the laws of the respective state embracing the territory of the district, or if more than one state be embraced in the district then the state should be designated by the District Conference.

¶431. By-Laws to the articles of incorporation should immediately be prepared by, or with, legal counsel. The trustees shall be the directors of the corporation, and shall hold in trust all property, including real estate, money, negotiable bonds, annuities, or other assets which have been committed to them, and administer the same according to the terms of the gifts or contracts, and under the direction of the District Superintendent and the District Conference. The District Superintendent shall not be a trustee.

¶432. The district trustees shall be amenable to and shall report to the District Conference.

¶433. District Conference reports shall be for the past fiscal year.

¶434. The Local Preachers seeking to serve as pastor of a local congregation in the Evangelical Methodist Church may serve only as "Accepted Supply Pastor." The Local Preacher is placed in this position by the District Superintendent in consultation with the local church Pastoral Relations Committee, and may be removed by the District Superintendent at any time. The Local Preacher may serve as Accepted Supply Pastor for a maximum of three years, at which time he must advance to Admission on Trial, or forfeit the privilege to remain in the ministry. Local Preachers shall furnish a written report of their work to the District Board of Ministerial Relations annually with proper recommendation from their Annual Church Conference for renewal of license.

¶435. A list of all ministerial members who fail to attend the District Conference for a period of two successive years shall be compiled by the District Superintendent and submitted to the Board of Ministerial Relations, and upon recommendation by the Board of Ministerial Relations the conference may locate without consent or discontinue. The above provision does not apply to missionaries outside the United States.

¶436. Ministerial members not serving as pastors shall submit annually a written report of their work to the District Superintendent of the district in which they hold membership. This report is to be in the hands of the District Superintendent thirty days in advance of the annual session of the District Conference. A list of all ministerial members who fail to report for a period of two successive years shall be compiled by the District Superintendent and submitted to the Board of Ministerial Relations. Upon recommendation by the Board of Ministerial Relations, the conference may locate without consent such persons. The statistical reports of those serving as pastors shall be accepted as such written report.

¶437. A list of ministerial members not engaged in one of the following activities shall be compiled by the District Superintendent and submitted to the Board of Ministerial Relations and upon recommendation by the Board of Ministerial Relations the conference may locate without consent or discontinue.

(1) Pastoring an Evangelical Methodist Church.

(2) Pastoring an approved non-Evangelical Methodist Church.

(3) Approved administration.

(4) Approved missions.

(5) Approved evangelists.

(6) Educators in approved Christian institutions.

(7) Students in approved courses of study.

(8) Supernumerary and superannuated ministers.

(9) Other approved activities.

Approval for continuance in (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (9) shall be renewed annually upon request of the individual and the recommendation of the Board of Ministerial Relations.

¶438. The ordination of elders and the commissioning of deaconesses and missionaries shall take place at a District Conference under the direction of the District Superintendent assisted by other elders. Ordination or commissioning at a later date by the District Superintendent, outside the District Conference, cannot take place unless the candidate has first been approved by the District Conference in its usual procedure. This rule does not apply to missionary candidates who may be ordained in absentia when under appointment on the mission field, but they must be approved by the District Conference.

¶439. At the district conference prior to the General Conference, the district conference shall elect the following boards and committees for the quadrennium after nominations are presented by the Nominating Committee:

Board of Christian Education

Board of Evangelism

Board of Finance

Board of Ministerial Relations

Board of Trustees

Board of World Missions

Board of Youth Activities

Board of Ministerial Education and Advanced Studies

Court of Appeals

Investigation Committee

Minutes Committee

Nominating Committee

Program Committee

Resolutions Committee

Standing Rules Committee

A representative from the district shall also be elected at this time to serve on the General Conference Board of Discipline revision.

¶440. The District Conference may also elect such other committees as are deemed necessary. Boards and committees shall present programs for approval to the District Conference and shall implement and supervise the same when so approved. Members of boards and committees shall hold office until the end of the District Conference in which their successors are elected.

¶441. All boards and committees (except Ministerial Relations, which shall be composed entirely of elders) should be composed of five members, three of which are ministers and two laymen, if available. District Superintendents and General Conference officers shall not serve as chairmen of the District Conference boards. No one shall serve on more than two District Conference boards at the same time.