2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1440–1455

A. District Spiritual Formation Leadership Team

1440. Function. The district board of administration shall serve as or shall establish a district spiritual formation leadership team, which shall endeavor to develop, supervise, correlate, and promote a comprehensive district program of spiritual formation, viewing it as a total process, dealing with the whole person, aiming at a fully coordinated discipleship program in harmony with the objectives for spiritual formation as set forth in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:2305 (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:22).

1443. Membership. If a separate district spiritual formation leadership team is established, it shall have as its chair a person elected by the district board of administration. General regulations governing other members of this board are set forth in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1275-1292. Additional members shall be chosen in one of the following ways:

(1) Supervision Option. The district board of administration shall elect two or more ordained ministers and an equal number of lay members to serve with the chair as the district spiritual formation leadership team.

(2) Coordination Option. The district spiritual formation leadership team shall consist of the chair elected by the district board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:22), the district director of spiritual formation (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1460), the district director of adult ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1494), the district director of youth ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1492), the district director of children’s ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1489), the district director of Sunday schools (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1483), the district director of leadership training (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1486), the district president of Wesleyan Youth (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1492), the district director of women’s ministries, the district coordinator of Wesleyan Kids for Missions, the district educational director (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1496), and such members-at-large as the district board of administration shall elect.

1446. Organization. The district board of administration shall elect a chair of the district spiritual formation leadership team. The board shall otherwise organize itself, elect its own officers, and may elect an executive committee for ad interim business (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1440).

1449. Sessions. The district spiritual formation leadership team shall meet soon after the close of the district conference to make plans for the year and shall meet for regular sessions as it shall determine, provided that not less than two sessions shall be held each year. Special sessions may be called by the chair as deemed necessary.

1452. Amenability. The district spiritual formation leadership team shall be an advisory and coordinating body, and shall be amenable to the district board of administration. All plans of the team shall be approved by the district board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:22) or, in the interim of its sessions, by the district superintendent (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1310:8), before their implementation.

1455. Duties. The duties and powers of the district spiritual formation leadership team are:

(1) To develop, supervise, and coordinate the work of spiritual formation within the district; to review and coordinate plans of each director and agency, including the district director of spiritual formation, the district director of adult ministries, the district director of youth ministries, the district director of children’s ministries, the district Sunday school director, the district director of leadership training, the district educational director, and others that may be appointed for spiritual formation activities in the district, which shall subsequently be submitted to the district board of administration for approval (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1452).

(2) To receive reports from the various district directors and secretaries of the leadership team and to advise them concerning their work, assisting each district agency to maintain an effective program for its particular age division of spiritual formation.

(3) To advise and assist the district directors in implementing the plans and programs of the general divisions which they represent within the district.

(4) To be responsible for the planning and supervision of the summer camps for children and youth; to submit detailed plans for such camps to the district board of administration for their approval; and to carry out the approved plans.

(5) To promote the interests of the educational institutions of The Wesleyan Church, particularly the general educational institutions in the area of which the district is a part, and to see that they are represented in the various youth camps and conventions as deemed appropriate.

(6) To present recommendations to the district board of administration and to the district conference for the growth of the work through the various ministries of spiritual formation, and for the financial plans and other interests of the work under their care.

(7) To define the duties of the district director of spiritual formation in addition to what is set forth in The Discipline and to supervise the activities of the district director of spiritual formation.

(8) To perform such other duties related to spiritual formation as are assigned by the district conference or the district board of administration.