LAY LEADERSHIP 2023

¶ 244: The basic organizational plan for the local church shall include provision for the following units:  A Charge Conference, Church Council, Committee on Pastor-Parish Relations, Board of Trustees, Committee on Finance, Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development, and such other elected leaders, commissions, councils, committees, and task forces as the Charge Conference may determine. Each local congregation shall provide a comprehensive program of nurture, outreach, and witness, along with leadership training, and the planning and administration of the congregation's organizational and temporal life, in accordance with the mission of the United Methodist Church.

¶ 252.1: The Church Council shall provide for planning and implementing a program of nurture, outreach, witness, and resources in the local church. It shall also provide for the administration of its organization and temporal life. It shall envision, plan, implement, and annually evaluate the mission and ministry of the church. The Church Council shall be amenable to and function as the administrative agency of the Charge Conference.

¶ 258.2: The committee shall reflect biblically and theologically on the role and work of the pastor(s) and staff as they carry out their leadership responsibilities. The committee shall assist the pastor(s) and staff in assessing their gifts, maintaining health holistically and work- life balance, and setting priorities for leadership and service. (E) The committee shall meet in closed session, and information shared in the committee shall be confidential.

¶ 252.5: In each pastoral charge consisting of one local church, there shall be a Board of Trustees.
¶ 253.3: Subject to the direction of the Charge Conference, the Board of Trustees shall have the supervisions, oversight, and care of all real property owned by the local church and all property and equipment acquired directly by the local church or by any society, board, class, commissions, or similar organization connected therewith. PP. 737-765 OF THE 2012 BOOK OF DISCIPLINE.

¶ 258.1: The charge of this committee is to identify, develop, deploy, evaluate, and monitor Christian spiritual leadership for the local congregation... The committee shall work with the Church Council, or alternative administrative bodies, to determine the diverse ministry tasks of the congregation and the skills needed for leadership. (B) The committee shall recommend to the Charge Conference, at its annual sessions, the names of people to serve as officers and leaders of designated ministries of the Church Council.

¶ 258.4:  The Committee on Finance shall give stewardship of financial resources as their priority throughout the year. It may delegate the responsibility to either a sub-group or task force that would plan, strategize, and implement ways to generate more resources for mission and ministries of local churches and beyond. It is strongly recommended that the Committee on Finance, in collaboration with the Church Council, find creative ways to turn their congregations into tithing congregations with an attitude of generosity. All financial asking to be included in the annual budget of the local church shall be submitted to the Committee on Finance. The Committee on Finance shall compile annually a complete budget for the local church and submit it to the Church Council for review and adoption. The Committee on Finance shall be charged with responsibility for developing and implementing plans that will raise sufficient income to meet the budget approved by the Church Council. It shall administer the funds received according to the instructions from the Church Council.