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Out of obedience to God's Great Commission, to produce disciple making churches that will lead our world to Christ.
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General Information
Handbook For District Superintendents |
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| The following guidelines are presented for a Handbook to be used by all District Superintendents detailing his duties and responsibilities. A. Definition of the Office The District Superintendent is an elected Conference official with the responsibility of administration within his district. B. Qualifications He shall be an ordained Elder. He shall reside in the district to which he is elected. He shall have a thorough knowledge of the policies and operational procedures of the Conference. C. Job Function Definition He shall have official supervision of all churches and ministers within his area. In emergencies he represents the Conference, with or for ministers, or congregations or Quarterly Conferences. The District Superintendent is the highest authority within the District and is responsible for the harmony and unity within the district. He shall provide leadership and direction for denominational activities and policies within his area. D. Duties 1. He shall keep aware of and abreast of activities and events within the district. 2. He shall be the information center and the clearing house for events and activities within the district. 3. He shall call all District Conferences and preside at the same. The District Superintendent or the District Conference shall appoint or elect a recording secretary, and this recording secretary and District Superintendent shall be responsible for the compiling of the minutes. 4. He shall call the annual District Conference and be empowered to call special Conferences when necessary. 5. He shall have official oversight of all ministers and churches within the district. 6. He shall be involved in the investigation of the sale or purchase of any property within his district before the matter is presented either to a local church or the district for approval. His involvement shall be that of an advisory capacity. 7. Between the annual Conference sessions, all student pastors and supply pastors shall be the responsibility of the District Superintendent. He may visit them for counseling or guidance when necessary or as he deems necessary for the good of the district, the Conference, the individual church, or the pastor. 8. While the District Superintendent may not arbitrarily interfere in the pastor/church relationship, he may in the event of an emergency, call a meeting with a minister and/or congregation and/or a Quarterly Conference. 9. When notified of any emergency within a church or with a minister the District Superintendent must take immediate and appropriate action to investigate the problem. 10. In any contingency or emergency he shall contact the Conference President to coordinate actions and policy. 11. Should a vacancy occur in any church, the District Superintendent, with the Quarterly Conference, with the approval of the district, shall make satisfactory arrangements to fill the pulpit until the next Conference. 12. In the event that a District Supply is hired, the District Superintendent is directly responsible for the supervision of that supply. 13. Should a temporary emergency arise due to the lengthy illness of a pastor, the District Superintendent may be consulted by the Quarterly Conference to assist in securing competent pulpit supplies. He is the resource person to which any church applies for assistance if a pastor is incapacitated for any reason, or for any length of time. 14. He shall represent Conference to the various churches to encourage and promote Conference programs and to correlate various programs within the district. 15. He shall assist, when asked, and arrange missionary itinerary tours. He shall, when asked, arrange special Conference programs and projects for presentation to the district. He shall work in cooperation with the National Mission Board in any projects within the district or in seeking out locations for new churches in his area. 16. He shall notify all churches in the district of ministers seeking pastoral changes. He shall notify all ministers within his district of vacant churches throughout the denomination. 17. He shall notify other District Superintendents of vacancies or ministers seeking pastoral changes in his district. 18. Notification of vacancies and requests for pastoral changes shall be given at least two weeks prior to the annual congregational meetings. 19. He is responsible for receiving the annual reports from churches in his district, compiling the reports for the General Secretary of the Conference. 20. He is the "pastor's pastor" and shall be available for consultation by any minister within his district. 21. In the event of the death of a minister, the District Superintendent, by tradition, is in charge of the funeral arrangements and preside at the service. However, he shall consult with the family and defer to the wishes in such arrangements. In the case of a minister's wife or widow he shall offer whatever assistance may be required of him. 22. The Christian service flag shall be secured for any funeral service of a minister and shall be presented to the family at the conclusion of the funeral services. 23. Notification of the death of a minister, minister's wife, or minister's widow shall be given by telephone as soon as practical, to all ministers within the district, to the Conference President and to other District Superintendents. Re-other deaths: He shall notify his district in the event of the death of a member of a minister's immediate family (father, mother, child), in order to facilitate the expression of condolences, or calling at the funeral home, or attending the funeral service. Re-Serious illness of a minister or minister's wife: He shall notify his district as quickly as possible by whatever means he deems advisable. Likewise, he should notify other District Superintendents, probably by mail. 24. He shall be responsible for the strict monitoring of the expense accounts as stated on the vouchers turned in for Conference travel expenses. He shall sign them only if they are valid. 25. When a new minister is stationed in the district, the District Superintendent shall visit, or otherwise communicate with the new minister to advise him of the activities within the district and his expected response to those programs. He shall endeavor to acquaint the new minister with any items that might enable him to establish a successful pastorate. 26. He shall be responsible for the installation of each new minister when he comes into the district. The installation ceremony shall be part of a public worship service in the church of the new minister. The ceremony shall include appropriate Scriptures, a charge to the new minister, and a charge to the congregation. In the case of an ordained Elder with years of seniority, the installation ceremony may be adapted to the situation. 27. The District Superintendent shall visit our pastors and churches at least annually for encouragement, updating, fact-finding, counsel and further oversight. 28. The District Superintendent shall provide for a yearly planning meeting with pastors within their district for growth, outreach projects, new church plants, church redevelopments and other such plans within their district. This is not to be held during the same time as the existing District Meetings. 29. All District Superintendents will meet annually with our Executive Council (currently during the Fall Meeting) to report on their district, churches, pastors and strategic plans for the future. E. Organizational Relationship and Accountability The District Superintendent is responsible to the Conference for the fulfillment of his duties and throughout the year is accountable to the Executive Council of Conference. 1. Relationship With Conference Officials a. The District Superintendent is a Conference officer. b. He shall be in contact with the Conference President where matters relate to the overall work and programs of Conference. c. Items of concern and interest should be conveyed to Conference officials as deemed advisable. d. He must notify the General Secretary of Conference of any vacancies which occur during the year. He shall notify the General Secretary of any pastors desiring changes in pastorates at least two weeks before the annual congregational meeting in late March. e. He shall notify the General Secretary of all pastoral arrangements within the district as the results of the annual congregational meeting. 2. Relationship Between District Superintendent and Other District Superintendents a. The District Superintendent is the highest authority within his own district. Appealsw to any ruling or decision of the district superintendent by a local church, minister, or member, should be made to the Conference President. b. The District Superintendent is responsible for the harmony and unity within the district. c. The District Superintendent represents the Conference to churches in his area and he shall provide the leadership and direction for denominational activities as well as provide the administrative oversight of his district. POLICY AND PRACTICE 1. Please consult the Primitive Methodist Discipline for information on duties and responsibilities. Discipline 501 & 502. 2. Please consult the Primitive Methodist Ministers' manual for information from the District Superintendent's Handbook. The following is a summary of other policies and practices adopted by the District Superintendents at their annual meetings. I. The presentation of their respective District report before the Conference. A. The reading of the District Remarks and individual church items. B. Remember: Any item of business not receiving District Approval will not be presented to Conference. II. Attendance and Participation in the Conference Stationing Committee. A. Please see the Primitive Methodist Discipline Item #305. B. The General Secretary will request one District Superintendent each year to present a devotion during the first Stationing Committee meeting. C. Each District Superintendent will be requested to distribute all Ministerial I. D. cards to the Pastors of their district. 1) Please note any corrections, changes, etc. to the General Secretary before the end of Conference. D. Each District Superintendent will distribute the Travel Fund Checks to all Pastos and Delegates at the conclusion of the Sunday Morning Worship Services. 1) Any person leaving the Conference Sessions, without the expressed permission of the Conference President, shall not receive their checks. No exceptions. 2) If permission is granted by the Conference President, the check may be presented at the discretion of the District Superintendent. 3) All undistributed checks shall be promptly returned to the Travel Fund Treasurer. I. District Financial Reports A. The General Secretary will provide each District Superintendent with the proper report forms in January. B. Each form must be completed and returned to the General Secretary by February 10th. 1) Please leave no spaces blank. Be sure each Pastor has completed their church's report, signed and included the date of their Quarterly Conference's approval. 2) These report forms are available on IBM 3.5 inch disk for computers. Contact the General Secretary for information. II. Church Remarks Reports for the Yearbook. A. All individual reports are limited to 100 words, or less. B. Please edit and type these reports for submission to the General Secretary. C. These reports are to be submitted to the General Secretary within two (2) weeks of the completion of your District Conference. III. District Items for Annual Conference. A. To be submitted to the General Secretary as soon as possible after your District Conference. Please try for 48 hours. B. These may be mailed to the General Secretary or faxed to the office of the President. IV. Reports Checklist: A. Financial Reports. 1) Report charts, completed, as provided by the General Secretary. 2) Photocopies of all individual church reports. B. General Information Reports. 1) This includes Station Steward, Church Clerks, delegates, names and addresses please. I. Please see the P. M. Discipline Item #411. II. Each District Supply will be required to meet the qualifications of ministry as set by the Conference. III. Each District Supply will be employed by the District Superintendent, but approved by the District in which they are employed. IV. Each District Supply will be required to sign the one year contract adopted by the District Superintendents. I. The purpose is to provide prayer support for the Pastor and family throughout the Conference. II. The District Superintendent shall call the General Secretary who will notify each District Superintendent of the prayer request. III. The prayer requests are limited to (on the Conference level) to the Pastor and his family residing in the parsonage. 1) Each individual District may have its own policy for family members residing elsewhere. I. This is a District matter requiring the approval of your District and notification of the Conference in your District Remarks at the Annual Conference Sessions in May. II. When approved by your District Conference, a person will be appointed or elected to write the memorial. A. Each memorial is limited to 300 words or less. B. Each memorial shall be submitted to the General Secretary for inclusion in the Yearbook within two weeks of the completion of your District Conference. After that, appearance in the Yearbook is not guaranteed. III. The cost for memorial for Ministers and their wives is born by the Conference. The cost of local Church member memorials shall be arranged prior to Conference by the District Superintendent and noted in his District Remarks. I. Each District Superintendent shall have on hand a Christian Flag. These may be ordered through Wy-Val Religious Supply and billed directly to the Conference Treasurer. II. Each District Superintendent shall provide for a floral arrangement at the Minister's funeral. A. The cost shall not exceed $50.00. B. The bill for this shall be sent directly to the Secretary/Treasurer of the Investment Foundation for payment. Do not send it to the Flower Fund Treasurer. III. In lieu of flowers, a donation of up to $50.00 may be made to the Pastor's Church's Memorial Fund. A. Please contact the Secretary/Treasurer of the Investment Foundation to obtain this. IV. Each District Superintendent shall assist the family in the funeral service arrangements unless requested otherwise. I. Each District Superintendent shall organize the itinerary of visiting Conference Missionaries within their District. II. Each church reserves the right to host other missionaries. I. All letterhead and envelopes are to be ordered through the General Secretary. |
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