Chapter 4: District Officers and Committees

A. List of District Officers, Boards, and Committees

1250. The following summarizes for quick reference the various officers, boards, and committees of the district:

(1) The district shall have the following officers and personnel, elected by the district conference:

administration, board of (1200-1233)

delegates to General Conference (1032; 1180:4; 1503-1526)

district secretary (1330-1332)—or this office may be combined as district secretary-treasurer (1180:33)

district superintendent (1300–1310)

trustees, district board of (if any, subject to 1180:20; 1360; 1365; 4855)

(2) The district shall have the following officers and personnel, elected by the district board of administration: :

assistant superintendent(s) (1320-1327)

auditing committee or auditor (1340)

ministerial development, board of (1378)

ordination council (1405)

review, board of (1370; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5218-5221)

(3) The district may have any additional ministry leaders and committees deemed necessary, appointed by the district board of administration.

B. District Officials

1255. Identification. The district officials include the district superintendent, the assistant district superintendent(s), the district secretary, and the district treasurer. The assistant district superintendent(s) (1320) and the district treasurer are elected by the district board of administration (1335; 1233:19). The district superintendent and the district secretary are elected by the district conference by ballot and by majority vote. All district officials are ex officio members of the district board of administration (1180:29-30; 1203).

1258. Qualifications. A district official other than the district superintendent (1303:1) must be, at the time of election and throughout the term of service, a member with leadership qualifications of a local Wesleyan church within the district and, if a minister, a ministerial member of the district where service is rendered (1272).

1262. Term of Office. District officials elected or appointed by the district conference or district board of administration (cf.1250; 1255; 1275; 1303:2) shall be elected or appointed for two-year terms of service with the exception of the district superintendent (1303:2). All district officials shall assume office at the close of the district conference session at which they are elected and shall serve until their successors are elected (1180:30).

1265. Amenability. A district official shall administer the respective office according to The Discipline, and as directed by the General Conference, the General Board, the district conference, and the district board of administration. District officials other than the district superintendent shall serve under the general supervision of the district superintendent, shall be amenable to the district board of administration, and may be removed for cause or when the best interests of The Wesleyan Church and the district so require, upon a two-thirds majority vote of all members of the district board of administration (1233:24a). The amenability of the district superintendent is set forth in 1307 (323:1).

1268. Reports. A district official shall report to each session of the district conference concerning all official duties (1180:12) and to the district board of administration as may be required.

1272. Vacancies. The office of a district official may become vacant by death, by cessation of membership in a local Wesleyan church within the district, by resignation, by removal (1265) or in the case of a minister, by ceasing to be a ministerial member of the district. In all cases other than that of the district superintendent (1303:6), the filling of a vacancy in the office of a district official until the next session of the district conference shall be by a majority vote of all members of the district board of administration (1233:24a).

C. District Departmental Officers and Committees

1275. Identification. District departmental officers include the district director of evangelism and church growth (1426), the district director of Global Partners (1429), the district director of spiritual formation (1460), the district director of leadership training (1486), the district director of adult ministries (1494), the district director of youth ministries (1492), the district director of children’s ministries (1489), the district director of men’s ministry, the district director of women’s ministry (1439), and the district educational director (1496). All district departmental officers and members of district boards (other than the district board of administration, cf. 1206) and committees are subject to the regulations as set forth herewith in paragraphs 1275-1292.

1278. Qualifications. A district officer or member of a district board or committee (1275) must be a member who meets the leadership qualifications (260-268; 558) of a local Wesleyan church within the district at the time of election, with the exception of ordained ministers appointed to denominational service, and if a minister, a ministerial member of the district (1292).

1282. Term of Office. A district officer (1275) or member of a district board or committee elected or appointed by the district conference or district board of administration may be elected or appointed for a one-, two-, or three- year term of service, unless otherwise stated in The Discipline (1378). The district officer or member of a district board or committee shall assume office at the time of the election, and shall serve until the close of the designated term.

1285. Amenability. All district officers and members of district boards or committees (1275) shall carry out their duties according to The Discipline and other directives of the General Church or district. They shall serve under the general supervision of the district superintendent and shall be amenable to the district board of administration. They may be removed by the district board of administration, by a majority vote, for cause or when the best interests of The Wesleyan Church and the district so require (1233:24b).

1288. Reports. A district officer shall report to the district conference as required by The Discipline or by the district conference (1180:12), and shall make other reports to the district board of administration, or the district superintendent as may be requested.

1292. Vacancies. Membership on a district board or committee (1275) may become vacant by death, by cessation of membership in a local Wesleyan church within the district, by resignation, by removal (1285), or in the case of a minister, by ceasing to be a ministerial member of the district, or in the case of a minister serving under the special provision of paragraph 1278, by discontinuing the appointment to denominational service. A vacancy may be declared and filled for the unexpired term by the district board of administration, by a majority vote.