D. Local Church Finance and Stewardship

D. Finance and Stewardship

1. Church Treasurer

842. The local church shall have either a local church treasurer or a business manager. If there is a church treasurer, that officer shall be elected by the local church conference at its annual election, by ballot, from among the members who meet the leadership qualifications (260–268; 558), to serve for one year or until a successor is elected. Or the local church conference may authorize the local board of administration to appoint a treasurer or to appoint or employ a business manager who will assume the duties of the treasurer. The duties and powers of the person charged with the local church treasury are to:

(1) Receive, hold, and disburse, as ordered by the local church conference or the local board of administration, all moneys of the local church, including such of the departments and auxiliary organizations as the local board of administration shall order.

(2) Keep complete and accurate records of all moneys raised and of the manner in which they are disbursed, and provide the pastor with information concerning the same as the pastor shall require.

(3) Make monthly reports to the local board of administration, which shall be available upon request to any member of the local church, and make reports to all regular sessions of the local church conference.

(4) Make monthly remittances of all USF and district funds to the district treasurer or directly to the general department for which the funds are intended.

(5) Issue receipts annually to all contributors showing their total tithes and offerings and the various items of giving, and issue other receipts as requested or by order of the local board of administration.

(6) Submit all books for audit by the auditing committee annually (863), or as ordered by the local board of administration, and submit to the local board of administration the complete treasurer’s records at such time as the person shall cease to hold the office of treasurer.

845. Assistants for the local church treasurer are provided for as follows:

(1) An assistant treasurer may be elected by the local board of administration, with authority to sign checks when the treasurer is unable to do so.

(2) A financial secretary or tithing secretary may be elected by the local board of administration to assist the treasurer in keeping the record of individual tithes and offerings (842:5).

(3) One or more tellers shall be elected by the local board of administration to assist the treasurer in the counting of all tithes and offerings, all moneys being counted by two or more persons and recorded as to date of reception, purpose of the offering, and amount. These records shall be preserved and made available to the auditor or auditing committee.

2. Board of Trustees

850. Election. The local board of administration, shall serve as the board of trustees. If the local board of administration so chooses, it may from its membership elect from three to seven to serve as the board of trustees.

853. Organization and Procedure. If the local board of administration chooses to elect the board of trustees from its members, the board of trustees shall meet following the annual session of the local church conference to elect a chair, vice-chair, and secretary, and shall meet at such other times as ordered by the local board of administration or as made necessary by their duties.

856. Duties and Powers. The local board of trustees shall carry out their duties as required by The Discipline (4500–4780) and shall be responsible to:

(1) Carry out the instructions of the local church conference and the local board of administration in supervising, controlling, maintaining, and improving all church property (315:6; 655:13; 782:25).

(2) Supervise such expenditures as have been approved by the local church conference or the local board of administration for repairs, improvements, and alterations.

(3) Attend to all legal matters regarding the acquisition, purchase, sale, mortgage, transfer, or other disposition of property as properly authorized (4700–4728); to see that titles are correct, contain the proper trust clause (4610), are approved by the district superintendent (1310:11; 4700:5), and are recorded (4540); and to see that property and legal records are properly stored (4760).

(4) Attend to all other legal matters pertaining to the local church, as authorized and directed by the local church conference or the local board of administration, including renting property, borrowing money, and receiving and administering bequests and trusts.

(5) Carry out the directions of the local church conference or local board of administration concerning the purchase, sale, mortgage, transfer, or other disposition of property, provided that such transactions have been approved by the district board of administration as set forth in 4700–4790.

(6) Make recommendations to the local board of administration concerning sufficient property and liability insurance on the property and for any vehicles owned and operated by the local church, and to carry out the instructions of the local board of administration in securing such insurance (782:26).

(7) Make such reports as are requested by the local church conference or the local board of administration.

(8) To make recommendations to the local board of administration concerning sufficient property and liability insurance on the property and for any vehicles owned and operated by the local church, and to carry out the instructions of the local board of administration in securing such insurance (782:29).

(9) To make such reports as are requested by the local church conference or the local board of administration.

859. Restrictions. The local board of trustees shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(1) The local board of trustees must carry out the instructions of the local board of administration, the local church conference, and the district board of administration. If a local trustee refuses to carry out such instructions when the instructions meet all the requirements of local laws and of The Discipline, the trustee may be removed from office as given in 815:4 (4530).

(2) The local board of trustees cannot mortgage or otherwise encumber local church property without the express authorization of the local church conference and the approval of the district board of administration as set forth in 4700–4720.

(3) The local board of trustees cannot deny the use of the parsonage, church building or other local church buildings, to the pastor who has been duly appointed by the district conference or district board of administration, nor the use of the church building to the membership of the local church and duly elected officials of The Wesleyan Church (cf. 4770).

(4) The local board of trustees cannot divert church property from The Wesleyan Church (4550; 4780).

(5) When a church is reclassified as a developing church (cf. 518:7; 1233:30), the office and power of the local board of trustees shall cease, and all property shall pass directly under the control of the district board of administration (4670).

3. Auditing Committee

863. The local board of administration shall be responsible to provide for the annual internal or external auditing of the books of the local church treasurer and of all departmental and auxiliary treasurers, either through the election of an auditing committee or the employment of an auditor. If an auditing committee is used for some or all of the treasuries, it shall consist of one to three persons. A report to certify the results of the annual audit shall be presented to the local board of administration. General regulations concerning committee members are given in 825.

4. Committee on Finance and Stewardship

865. The local board of administration may establish a committee on finance and stewardship. The local board of administration shall name a board member as chair of the committee, and the committee shall choose its own vice-chair and secretary. General regulations governing membership on this committee are given in 825.

868. The local board of administration shall assign such duties to the committee on finance and stewardship as it deems best.