1996 Book of Discipline: Paragraph 631| General Conference 2000

¶ 631. 1. The annual conference shall organize a board of global ministries or other structure to maintain the connectional relationship and provide for global ministries responsibilities related to the objectives and scope of work of the General Board of Global Ministries as set forth in ¶¶ 1302{@-}1303.

2. The conference board of global ministries or equivalent structure shall be composed of those persons as determined by the annual conference and shall fulfill those responsibilities as assigned. The mission coordinator of Christian global concerns of the conference United Methodist Women, by virtue of office, shall be a member of the conference board of global ministries.

The chairperson of the conference board of global ministries shall work with the conference secretary of global ministries to relate the annual conference board of global ministries to the objectives and scope of work of the General Board of Global Ministries. A person or persons serving as member(s) of the General Board of Global Ministries from the annual conference shall, by virtue of their office, be member(s) of the conference board of global ministries (see ¶¶ 607.6 and 710.5).

3. There shall be elected annually a conference secretary of global ministries who shall be a member of the annual conference board and shall be a member of the annual conference council on ministries. This person shall work with the annual conference board of global ministries and the annual conference council on ministries to provide the necessary liaison between the annual conference and the General Board of Global Ministries.

The conference secretary of global ministries shall work with the chairperson of the conference board of global ministries to relate the annual conference board of global ministries to the objectives and scope of work of the General Board of Global Ministries.

4. a) The annual conference and the General Board of Global Ministries shall cooperate in carrying out the policies and promoting all phases of the work as related to the scope of the board as set forth in ¶ 1302.

b) Responsibilities--(1) To designate the necessary committees, sections, or commissions and individual secretaries, coordinators, or other leaders for global ministries responsibilities at the annual conference level.

(2) To interpret to the annual conference the programs, plans, and policies of the General Board of Global Ministries and to plan and promote emphases on global ministries. To undergird with education, constructive evaluation, communication, and cultivation the total program of the General Board of Global Ministries.

(4) To interpret to the General Board of Global Ministries the mission program, priorities, and concerns of the annual conference and the local churches to enable the board to fulfill its responsibilities as an extension of the local church.

(5) To plan and promote various kinds of meetings and experiences throughout the conference for the purpose of developing a spirit of mission and participation in global ministries for training, education, and leadership development of mission leaders and persons in the field of human services and health and welfare ministries.

(7) To identify with all who are alienated and dispossessed and to assist them in achieving their full human development--body, mind, and spirit, including encouraging and implementing affirmative action programs.

(10) To cultivate, through the channels of the Church other than United Methodist Women, the Advance Special Gifts for ministries administered by designated units of the General Board of Global Ministries, including United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

(11) To encourage, maintain, and strengthen the relationships between the annual conference and agencies related to the appropriate divisions and departments of the General Board of Global Ministries and provide a channel through which these agencies shall report to the annual conference.

(12) To develop and implement Church financial support of conference mission projects and programs, and health and welfare ministries, with particular emphasis on benevolent care and Golden Cross, education and social service ministries, and Crusade Scholarships.

(13) To enable, encourage, and support the development of congregations, cooperative parishes, community centers, education and human services, and health and welfare ministries so that they may be units of mission in urban and rural areas and partners with others in the worldwide mission of the Christian church.

(14) To encourage and support specialized urban and town and country ministries enabling comprehensive mission related to broad metropolitan and rural issues, services ministering to the needs of persons, and supportive programs strengthening the local church.

(18) To develop strategies in response to critical community issues, with special attention to the needs of ethnic and language groups, people with disabilities, people in transitional relationships, and those living under repressive systems.

(19) To support United Methodist Committee on Relief's refugee ministry by promoting an annual conference refugee committee that relates to the annual conference board of global ministries and encourages, advises, and assists churches with their refugee programs.

(20) To support the United Methodist Committee on Relief's World Hunger/Poverty Ministry by encouraging annual conferences to appoint an annual conference hunger coordinator and form an annual conference hunger committee that relates to the annual conference board of global ministries.

(21) To appoint annual conference disaster response coordinators to assist the United Methodist Committee on Relief by encouraging the formation of an annual conference disaster response committee that relates to the annual conference board of global ministries and includes, when possible, members of the General Board of Global Ministries from the annual conference. The membership of the Disaster Response Committee may include district disaster response coordinators. Annual conference and district disaster response coordinators shall receive training at least once a quadrennium.

(23) To cooperate with the General Board of Global Ministries in the recruitment of missionary personnel and to cooperate with the appropriate conference units in the promotion and recruitment of persons for health and welfare service careers and other Church-related occupations.

(24) To review and certify applications to the General Board of Global Ministries for loans, donations, and grants; to administer such funds for their designated purposes in accordance with the established guidelines; and to participate with the General Board of Global Ministries in planning and evaluation processes related to these funds.

(26) To work with health and welfare institutions and programs related to the annual conference to develop a mutual agreement between the annual conference and each institution concerning their relationships. The term related to shall mean any relationship defined by the annual conference.

The annual conference and each health and welfare institution shall have a clearly stated document that describes their legal and financial relationships; provided that no such document shall impose as a party to it The United Methodist Church and/or the General Board of Global Ministries.

The annual conference may consult with a health and welfare institution when that institution plans to establish a new facility, alter its major purpose or function, or make a plan for expansion of an existing facility. The purpose of such a consultation would be to review the mission of the annual conference in health and welfare ministries and to ensure that the new institution, the new facility, the new purpose, or the expansion be in harmony with the mission of the annual conference and that there not be unnecessary duplication of existing services. The consultation may include a discussion of proposed plans of development, financing, and types of services to be rendered.

(27) To strive to ensure mutual representation between the annual conference unit responsible for health and welfare ministries and each health and welfare institution related to the annual conference where such representation is called for by mutual agreement of the institution and the annual conference.

(28) To encourage the health and welfare institutions and programs within the annual conference related to a connectional unit of The United Methodist Church to utilize the programmatic standards, self-study, and peer review appropriate to Church-related institutions and programs and available to them through organizations that will promote excellence in Christian ministry and mission and enhance the quality of services offered.

(29) To assist the annual conference in assessing needs in health and welfare ministries. To assist the annual conference in development of health and welfare services in local communities and within the annual conference.

(30) To work with the General Board of Global Ministries in leadership development programs and the promotion of health and welfare ministries, and to work with the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries in leadership development programs and the promotion of health and welfare ministries.

(32) To aid in planning and developing a religious ministry in annual conference-related institutions and programs and, wherever practical, in state and other institutions and programs not related to the conference where there is a need.

(33) To serve in an advisory capacity to the conference nominating processes where the annual conference participates in the selection of trustees for health and welfare institutions and programs related to the annual conference.

(35) To promote an annual Golden Cross offering or other means of giving to be received in every local church on a day or days designated by the annual conference in support of the health and welfare ministries within the annual conference. This offering shall provide financial support to care for sick persons, older persons, children and youth, and people with disabilities. Special emphasis shall be given to aiding those ministries that provide direct financial assistance to persons in need. Promotion also should include all units of the General Board of Global Ministries related to health and welfare ministries.

5. The annual conference shall establish a committee on parish and community development or assign this responsibility to an existing agency in the annual conference that will fulfill the responsibilities related to the objectives and scope of the General Board of Global Ministries (¶ 1312). The committee shall initiate and develop programs with institutional and voluntary ministries related to the work of the board. The committee may form subcommittees for these areas. The committee shall be accountable to the conference board of global ministries, or to such other agency as the conference may determine. The chairperson of the committee and the chairpersons of the subcommittees shall be members of the conference board of global ministries or such body to which the committee shall be amenable.

a) The committee shall include persons involved in significant types of parish and community ministries, lay and clergy representatives of rural, town, and urban small-membership churches, the area or conference superintendent or director of parish development, representatives of related church agencies and groups, and at-large community representatives.

[MI%2]b) The general responsibilities of the committee shall include research, evaluation, planning and strategy development, policy formulation, program implementation, local and national liaison (denominational and ecumenical) related to parish and community development, and such other functions as the conference or agency to which the committee is accountable may determine.

c) Responsibilities of the subcommittee on institutional and voluntary ministries related to the General Board of Global Ministries may include developing a relationship to all such institutional and voluntary ministries within the annual conference; consulting with them in cooperative planning and strategy for the implementation of national mission concerns relative to needs in the area of social welfare as implemented through the ministries of community centers, residences, health-care agencies, schools, and other educational agencies; and working with funding sources to provide the support needed for effective service in such agencies.

d) In annual conferences where church and community workers are assigned through the General Board of Global Ministries, responsibilities of the subcommittee on church and community ministry shall include reviewing and evaluating projects; serving as liaison between projects and the General Board of Global Ministries; and securing consultative and financial support for workers.

e) Responsibilities of the subcommittee on congregational development shall include encouraging and supporting the development of new and established congregations; conducting research studies and community surveys that plan for and assist with developing innovative strategies for mission; and reviewing, evaluating, and making recommendations for loans, donations, and grants from the General Board of Global Ministries. The subcommittee also shall encourage greater use of such pastoral ministry models as tentmaking/bi-vocational ministries, part-time local pastors, and cooperative ministries by advocating for the removal of impediments to their use and emphasizing the pastors' proven ability to produce effective nurture, outreach, and witness ministries as the primary criterion for appointment.

f) Responsibilities of the subcommittee on town and country ministries shall include mission development and ministry in rural and town areas with a population of less than 50,000. These shall include small cities of 10,000 to 50,000 and rural areas under 2,500, fulfilling the functions outlined in ¶ 631.5h.

g) Responsibilities of the subcommittee on urban ministries shall include long-range mission strategy development and ministry for metropolitan communities with a population of more than 50,000, fulfilling the functions outlined in ¶ 631.5h.

(1) consulting with the bishop, cabinet, area or conference superintendent/director of parish development, district representatives of town and country ministries and urban ministries, and the conference agencies in the development of policies for cooperative parish ministries, securing of funding for staff, and in initiating and strengthening these ministries;

(2) developing a comprehensive related missional strategy for the mission of the annual conference, the districts, and the local churches and reporting this plan to the annual conference for consideration, with the understanding that the plan may relate to a regional mission organization for purposes of larger geographical coordination; and

i) Responsibilities of the subcommittee on the small membership church shall include the following: (1) being informed about needs and opportunities of the small membership church in rural, town, and urban settings in the total life of the conference; (2) calling for representation by small membership churches in the decision-making structures of the annual conference; (3) informing and sensitizing leadership at all levels of the conference on issues that affect small membership churches; (4) enlisting the support of the bishop, cabinet, council on ministries, and conference staff on policies, plans, and practices that affect small membership churches; (5) working with the subcommittees on town and country ministries and urban ministries within the parish and with the community development committee to develop and implement strategies for the nurturing, outreach, and witness ministries of small membership churches.

j) In metropolitan areas with a population of more than 50,000, consideration shall be given to the establishment of a metropolitan commission whose purpose shall be to promote long-range planning and to provide a coordinating framework for United Methodism's mission strategy for that metropolitan area. The membership may include the bishop or bishop's representative, the district superintendents involved, a selected group of clergy and laypersons representing the annual conference board of global ministries and the annual conference committee on urban ministry, the conference commission on religion and race, the annual conference United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men, representatives from community-based ministries, representatives from district council(s) on ministries, representatives from other boards and agencies deemed appropriate, and groups and individuals who have skills and experience enabling them to fulfill creative planning and strategy functions for United Methodism in the metropolitan area.

6. There may be a short-term volunteer-in-mission coordinator who will coordinate the short-term volunteer-in-mission ministries of the annual conference in cooperation with the General Board of Global Ministries' short-term volunteer-in-mission office and the jurisdictional short-term volunteer-in-mission agency (where one exists).

1996 Discipline ¶ 631