2016 Wesleyan Discipline:Mission: Local

537. A special evangelistic, rescue or missionary work which cannot appropriately be organized as a developing church shall be carried on as a mission. A mission may be conducted by an established church subject to the approval of the district board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:655:16), by a district (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1180:24; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:30) or by the Church Multiplication and Discipleship Division. It shall not maintain a membership roll nor receive members. A mission shall have no local boards, officers or committees except such as are appointed by the mission director, are amenable to the mission director, and can be replaced at the discretion of the mission director. 655

(15) To petition the district board of administration for the incorporation of the local church when it is deemed necessary as set forth in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:4000, and to authorize the local board of administration to incorporate the church when such incorporation has been approved by the district board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:33).

782

(6) To direct the church in its evangelistic outreach, seeking to win its community to Christ; to establish an extension department of spiritual formation (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:880:15; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:913); to recommend to the local church conference the establishment and operation of a mission, a branch Sunday school, a branch small group Bible study, or a developing church, as it deems necessary and proper (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:537; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:655:16).

1180

(24) To authorize the establishing of a mission (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:537), a developing church (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:510), a church (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:518), a circuit (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:525), the reclassification of a church as a developing church (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:518:7; cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:30), to declare a church as discontinued or abandoned (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:4730), and to hear a report from the district superintendent of the organization of new churches (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:520:6; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1310:16). Any established church that is not under discipline may not be discontinued without a corroborating vote of the local church conference (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:655:14; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:30).