Methodist Church Facts
The Ministry of the Methodist Church is divided into two classes – the traveling and local, or as sometimes expressed, the itinerant and local. A traveling preacher is one who holds his membership in some Annual Conference, and is subject to removal from one pastoral charge to another, and is amenable to the Annual Conference for his Christian character, and the faithful performance of his duties.
Local preachers are not subject to removal, but choose their own field of labor. Secular pursuits are not incompatible with the amount of service they are expected to render. They are responsible to the Quarterly Conference for the faithful performance of their duties.
There are three orders in the Methodist Ministry – Bishops, Elders and Deacons. The more generally received idea, however, is to say that there are but two orders – Elders and Deacons – the Bishop’s position being of the nature of an office rather than a distinct order in the ministry.
This division prevails among all Episcopal Methodists.
The Bishops are elected by the General Conference, and hold their office for life.
The Elders are elected by the Annual Conference, and ordained by the Bishop and Elders, and by virtue of their ordination are invested with all the rights and privleges of the ministry. The term Elder is synonymous with the term Presbyter.
The Deacons are elected by the Annual Conference and ordained by the Bishop, and are invested with all the rights of the ministry, except the administration of the Lord’s Supper, in which they may assist the Elder.
A licentiate is one who has received a license to preach from a Quarterly Conference.
A Presiding Elder is an Elder who has been place in charge of a district.
A preacher in charge is the pastor of a circuit, station or mission by appointment by the constituted authority. He may be a traveling Elder or Deacon, an ordained or unordained preacher on trial, or a local preacher as a supply.
When two preachers are appointed to the same pastoral charge, one of them is called the senior preacher, and the other is called the junior preacher. The junior preacher was formerly called the “helper.”
An exhorter is one who has been licensed to exhort. His business is not to sermonize. It is less formal. He may read a scripture lesson, and make a practical application of its leading sentiments to the congregation.
The stewards have charge of the financial affairs of the congregation.
A pastoral charge may be either a station, circuit or mission.
A station is a single congregation constituting a pastoral charge.
A circuit is a pastoral charge composed of a number of congregations.
A mission is a pastoral charge receiving aid from the missionary board.
A preacher “on trial” is a probationer who has not been received into full connection in the Conference.
A preacher “in full connection” is one who has passed hsi probation, and has been formally received into the membership of an Annual Conference.
An effective preacher is one who is able to do full pastoral service.
A supernumerary preacher is one who is partially disabled by personal affliction from doing the work of the ministry.
A superannuated preacher is one who is thoroughly disabled by age or affliction from doing any pastoral work.
The Conferences
The term conference is peculiar to Methodism as a designation of the official and business meetings of the Church.
A Church Conference is composed of all the members of the Churchy in one place, together, with the resident members of the Annual Conference.
The Quarterly Conference is composed of all the official members of a pastoral charge.
The District Conference is composed of representatives from each of the pastoral charges within the Presiding Elder’s district.
The Annual Conference is composed of all the traveling preachers within the Conference, and a certain number of lay delegates from each district.
The General Conference is composed of a certain number of clerical and lay delegates from the Annual Conferences, and convenes once in every four years.
