¶9.1 Nominations for Annual Committees shall be prepared by the Nominating Committee, posted and announced two Sundays prior to the Annual Church Conference. At the discretion of the local church, this list may or may not include each committee’s chairman. This slate of nominees plus any nominations from the floor, shall be voted on at the Annual Church Conference.
¶9.2 The Annual Committees hereby presented shall submit reports to the Annual Church Conference. Where applicable, these committees should also submit budget requests to the Finance Committee prior to the Annual Church Conference.
¶9.3 No board or committee shall hold a meeting pertaining to the church without the pastor’s prior knowledge, unless the church is without a pastor.
¶9.4 Except where otherwise noted, all of the Annual Committees may be comprised of either members, or members and regular attendees. The individual duties of some of the Annual Committees are as follows:
¶9.5 Advertising
and Promotion. The Advertising and
Promotion Committee shall be responsible for publicizing the activities and
special events of the church in the media.
¶9.6 Assistant Sunday School Superintendent. See Sunday School Superintendent, ¶9.28.
¶9.7 Assistant
Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer
shall be a member of the church body and shall assist the Church Treasurer as
needed, being authorized to act in the Church Treasurer’s absence.
¶9.8 Benevolence. The Benevolence Committee, working with the
Pastor, is to be aware of and respond to various needs within the church. Also, it is to appraise and consider outside
requests from community charities and individuals.
¶9.9 Board
of Stewards. See Chapter 7.
¶9.10 Board
of Trustees. See Chapter 8.
¶9.11 Christian
Education. The purpose of the
Christian Education Committee is to develop and promote a
¶9.12 Communion. The Communion Committee shall be responsible
for securing elements for communion and preparing them for service in
cooperation with the pastor.
¶9.13 Delegates
to the Interchurch Council. Each
church shall elect two members from the church body to represent them as Lay
Delegates to the Interchurch Council. At
least one alternate should also be elected.
Each church’s pastor shall also be a delegate to the Interchurch
Council.
¶9.14 Evangelism/Outreach. See Missions,
¶9.20.
¶9.15 Fellowship. The Fellowship Committee is to encourage and
arrange frequent social functions, receptions, dinners and special events to
aid in unifying the church family. It is
also to help new members to become better acquainted.
¶9.16 Finance. The Finance Committee shall be composed of
members from the church body. Their
responsibilities shall be:
1. Solicit budget requests from the various groups and committees in preparing the church budget.
2. Prepare an operating budget and present it to the Board of Stewards and the Annual Church Conference.
3. Consult with the Pastoral Relations Committee to review the Pastor’s salary and make recommendations regarding the same either to the Annual Church Conference or a Special Church Conference on Pastoral Relations.
4. Inform the Annual Church Conference as to the amount of giving required to meet the budget.
5. Review and/or audit all accounts of the church following the close of the fiscal year and report their findings to the Board of Stewards.
6. Conduct an audit at any time deemed necessary by the Board of Stewards.
¶9.17 Historian. The Historian shall record and maintain all
information pertinent to the local church.
¶9.18 Library. The Library Committee shall be responsible
for maintaining and organizing books and other library materials and for
promoting their use among the church membership.
¶9.19 Membership
Secretary. The purpose of the
Membership Secretary is to help the pastor keep an accurate record of church
membership noting additions, withdrawals and the reason for withdrawal in the
roll book.
¶9.20 Missions. The Missions Committee shall be responsible
to assist the local church in evangelism, outreach, home and world
missions. In addition to keeping the
message of missions before the local congregation, the Missions Committee
should identify, pursue and promote individual missionaries and missionary
organizations which hold theological positions in harmony with those of the
¶9.21 Music. The Music Committee shall provide for the
music of the church by securing a song leader, choir director, organist,
pianist and/or other musicians in consultation with the pastor and Board of
Stewards. The Music Committee shall see
that the music of the church is of the highest quality possible and is
consistent with the message.
¶9.22 Nominating. The Nominating Committee shall be composed of
five members from the church body representing the following: Stewards, Trustees, Sunday School, Bethel
Methodist Men and Bethel Methodist Women.
The Pastor shall chair the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall meet prior to
the Annual Church Conference and prepare a slate of officers, youth sponsors,
boards and annual committees for consideration by the Conference, although
nominations from the floor are always in order.
The Sunday School Superintendent along with the Assistant Sunday school
Superintendent and Pastor shall nominate the Sunday School teachers. The Board of Stewards shall nominate the
Nominating Committee for the succeeding year.
¶9.23 Nursery. The Nursery Committee shall be composed of
all mothers of nursery age children and is responsible for the following items:
1.
Setting guidelines for the operation of the nursery in concert with the
Board of Stewards.
2.
Maintaining the church nursery, keeping it safe, clean, comfortable,
well supplied and in good repair.
3.
Supervising all nursery attendants.
Additionally, the Nursery Committee should submit a recommendation regarding the salary of any employee under its charge to the Finance Committee prior to the Annual Church Conference.
¶9.24 Parsonage. The Parsonage Committee shall be responsible
for insuring that the parsonage is safe, well maintained and adequately
furnished.
¶9.25 Pastoral
Relations. The Pastoral Relations
Committee shall be composed of five members from the church body elected at the
Annual Church Conference and representing the following: Stewards, Trustees, Sunday School, Bethel
Methodist Men and Bethel Methodist Women.
The Pastoral Relations Committee is responsible for filling the pulpit
in the Pastor’s absence and for conducting a search for a new Pastor when
necessary. The Pastoral Relations
Committee shall assist the Pastor in his various responsibilities and act as
both a liaison and advocate on behalf of both the Pastor and individual church
members. Additionally, the Pastoral
Relations Committee should submit a recommendation regarding the Pastor’s
salary to the Finance Committee prior to the Annual Church Conference.
¶9.26 Property
Maintenance. The Property
Maintenance Committee shall be responsible for:
1.
Maintaining the church’s physical property, keeping it clean,
comfortable and in good repair.
2.
Supervising all janitorial, lawn care and other workers employed to
care for church and parsonage property.
3.
Submitting a recommendation regarding the salary of any employee under
its charge to the Finance Committee prior to the Annual Church Conference.
¶9.27 Secretary. The Church Secretary shall be responsible for
making and keeping accurate records of church proceedings such as Annual and
Special Church Conferences. The
secretary shall also correspond in an official capacity when necessary.
¶9.28 Sunday
School Superintendent. The Sunday
School Superintendent and the Assistant Sunday School Superintendent shall be
members of the church body and shall be responsible for:
1.
Securing and supervising teachers, filling vacancies in emergencies and
working with the Pastor and Stewards to fill vacancies permanently. In concert with the Pastor, they shall
nominate teachers for all Sunday School classes. This slate of nominees shall be posted and
announced two Sundays prior to the Annual Church Conference and may be appended
to the Nominating Committee’s report or presented to the Annual Church
Conference by the Sunday School Superintendent.
2.
Building up teachers with continued training and proper encouragement.
3.
Securing and maintaining proper literature and supplies for all
classes.
4.
Maintaining attendance and offering records from Sunday School classes.
The Sunday School Superintendent and Assistant Sunday School Superintendent shall have the power to appoint representatives to help them carry out the above duties.
¶9.29 Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be a member of the church
body. The duties of the church treasurer
are as follows:
1.
To receive and record all tithes, offerings and other funds coming to
the church.
2.
To deposit all funds in their proper accounts.
3.
To pay all bills approved by the Board of Stewards.
4.
To keep accurate records of all regular and designated gifts and
compile annual reports for individual donors.
5.
To report the church’s financial condition monthly to the Board of
Stewards and post a monthly financial report.
6.
To report the church’s financial condition at the Annual Church
Conference and to post an annual financial report.
7.
To assist the Finance Committee in drawing up the operating budget for
the coming year.
¶9.30 Ushers/Welcoming. The Ushers/Welcoming Committee shall:
1.
Greet people as they arrive for church and see that they are
comfortably seated.
2.
Receive the offering.
3.
Direct people in the Lord’s Supper.
4.
Distribute bulletins and other church literature.