578

578. The receiving church shall handle transfers as follows:

(1) Members shall be received subject to the approving vote of the local church conference, unless the local church conference shall have delegated this responsibility to the local board of administration. The transfer of membership may be questioned by the receiving church if it is evident that the person involved is not in a state of grace or is living in open violation of the Articles of Religion.

(2) The membership of a pastor, senior pastor, associate pastor, or assistant pastor and of such members of the pastor’s family as so desire and have the proper credentials, shall be automatically transferred to the church to which appointed, or if the pastoral charge consists of more than one church, to the church of choice. The secretary of the church from which the pastor is moving shall forward the proper forms for the pastor’s membership and that of family members who so desire to the secretary of the receiving church who shall record them without any further action by the local church conference or local board of administration.