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Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church The organization of the United Methodist Church is given by the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Unfortunately the Book of Discipline is copywrite and is not generally available on the web for viewing. Local Church Organization The fundamental governing body of each of our local churches is the Annual Charge Conference. In the fall of each year the Annual Charge Conference meets to review the previous year and set goals for the coming year. Each church also has administrative committees that are lead by a Church Council. The Church Council supervises the life of the church and pursues the goals set by the Annual Charge Conference. All United Methodist churches (charges) have several standing committees that report to the Church Council including:
Each church may add other committees as it sees fit given the situation the church finds itself. Charge Organization We are connectional churches, meaning each United Methodist Church is organizationally and structurally related to each other United Methodist Church. Part of the beauty of this means of organization is that smaller churches that would not be able to afford a pastor are able to do so by sharing a pastor. These are called "charges." Charges consist of two or more United Methodist Churches that are usually geographically close together. Some of these charges are large, consisting of more than three United Methodist Churches that precludes the pastor being present at worship services each Sunday. In these cases either the churches do not meet to worship each Sunday, meeting on a rotating schedule, or they meet consecutively. Alternately, one of these churches might meet every week but instead of the pastor preaching a qualified lay-person (non-clergy) would lead the worship service. For an example of a church on a charge that meets on a rotating basis click HERE (a new window will open) and examine their worship schedule. Larger churches have one or more pastors and are called "station" churches. For an example of a larger church click HERE (a new window will open) and examine their worship schedule. District Organization Churches are organized into districts of geographically related churches. Each district is comprised of approximately fifty pastors. Because of our "charge" system the number of churches will not match the number of pastors. Our district is primarily rural which equates to smaller churches and more "charges." Therefore we have over ninety churches. Each district has a district office and a District Superintendent (formerly known as a Supervising Elder). Additionally each district has administrative committees and a District Annual Conference that operates at a district level much the same way the Annual Conference doe in the local church . Church members from across the district are eligible to be nominated to serve on district committees. Additionally our district is further organized into sub-districts. These are operational units, joined to work in cooperation together on local projects. Each sub-district has a clergy leader who acts to identify and encourage sub-district churches to cooperate in projects. Annual Conference Districts are actually sub-units of the Annual Conference. The term Annual Conference should not be confused with each church's Annual Charge Conference. The churches of the Farmville District are all part of the Annual Conference. Our Conference offices are located in Richmond Virginia. To add to the potential for confusion the Annual Conference is also the name of the convocation of all clergy and a representative from each United Methodist Church in our Annual Conference. Thus it is true to say that our Annual Conference meets annually for the Annual Conference! It is at this meeting that the business of the united churches of our Annual Conference is conducted using democratic voting procedures. The Virginia Annual Conference normally meets every June. Jurisdictional Conference Annual Conferences are organized into geographically related areas called Jurisdictional Conferences. The Virginia Annual Conference is part of the Southeastern Jurisdiction. Our Jurisdiction has permanent offices in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Each Annual Conference elects an equal number of clergy and lay (non-clergy) representatives to meet every four years as the Jurisdictional Conference. We will learn more about the function of the Jurisdictional Conferences when we consider the organization of clergy later. General Conference Once every four years an equal number of clergy and lay (non-clergy) representatives elected by each Annual Conference meet to consider the business of the entire United Methodist Church. The General Conference is the only speaking voice for the entire United Methodist Church. The General Conference considers changes, revisions, and replacement of our United Methodist Hymnal, our United Methodist Book of Worship, and our Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Between General Conferences various permanently organized Boards and Agencies execute the mandates of the General Conference. To see these Boards and Agencies and links to each, click HERE. Funding To fund the work of the entire church the General Conference sets a budget and divides the amount amongst the various Annual Conferences. Each Annual Conference then determines how to distribute the financial needs amongst the churches within the Annual Conference. We call the amount each church is responsible for "apportionments." Clergy We have two ordained orders, elders and deacons. Deacons are primarily service-oriented. They may or may not be "employees" of a church. Elders are primarily the pastors of the church and are normally employed by the church. District Superintendents (formerly known as Supervising Elders) and bishops are elders. Bishops are nominated at Annual Conferences and elected at from those nominees at Jurisdictional Conferences. Each bishop is assigned to an Episcopal area within the jurisdiction from which they are elected. Episcopal areas and Annual Conference areas do not necessarily coincide, with some bishops leading several Annual Conferences. Bishops choose elders to serve as District Superintendents and to be his or her "cabinet." One of the primary tasks of the cabinet is to make recommendations regarding clergy appointments. Our pastors are not chosen by the congregations they serve but are sent (just as Paul sent Timothy to be pastor of Ephesus) by the bishop. Although the bishop receives input from each church, each pastor, and each District Superintendent, it is the bishop who determines which pastor will serve which station or charge. Each pastor's assignment is called his or her "appointment." Appointments are considered annually and in the Virginia Annual Conference pastoral changes are normally made in the last week of June. Although we only have two orders we have many types of pastors. Lay persons who have heard the call to pastoral ministry can enter a process of discernment with their pastor and an Elder assigned to be their mentor. If both the individual and the church have discerned God's call upon that person and they complete the prerequisites in the Book of Discipline, and they complete the licensing school, they are eligible to be appointed to a pastorate. These persons are called "local pastors." In some cases lay persons may be temporarily appointed to a charge as "lay supply" until such time as they qualify as a "local pastor" or there is no longer a need. Some of our local pastors are full-time pastors. Others are part-time or bi-vocational (meaning they have a secular job in addition to their pastoral ministry). Finally, some persons who are attending either college or seminary may be appointed as "student pastors." Church Property Unlike some other churches where the church building may be owned by the congregation or a particular individual, United Methodist Church buildings and property are owned by the Annual Conference of which they are a part. This has been the case since near the inception of the Methodist movement in Great Britain in the 1700s. The purpose of vesting property ownership with the Annual Conference is to assure all United Methodists that every United Methodist congregation will have a pastor assigned and that only United Methodist Doctrinal understanding may be preached or taught in United Methodist Churches. |
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