2016 Wesleyan Discipline:675–678

A. Function

675. A pastor is an ordained, commissioned or licensed minister, who is called of God and appointed by the Church to serve as the spiritual shepherd, teacher, and administrative overseer of the local church, preaching the Word, directing the worship, administering the sacraments and ordinances of the Church, taking the comforts of the gospel to the sin-burdened, the sick and the distressed, discipling converts, nurturing and instructing believers, equipping and enabling them for their part in ministry, and serving as chief executive officer in the government of the local church.

678. A minister who serves as the sole pastor of a church shall be referred to simply as “the pastor.” The term “senior pastor” shall be applied to the presiding minister of a multiple pastoral staff. The pastor shall be expected to carry out the full pastoral function as set forth in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:675, and ultimate responsibility for the same shall rest upon the senior pastor. An associate pastor is a helping member of a multiple staff who normally shares a broad range of the shepherding and teaching responsibilities and such administrative responsibilities as are delegated (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:738). An assistant pastor is a helping member of a multiple staff who normally is assigned more limited and specific aspects of the pastoral function (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:741).