734. 1. Each annual conference at the first session following General Conference shall elect for a term of four years a Board of Diaconal Ministry, consisting of not fewer than nine persons. It is recommended that the board consist of one-third clergy, two-thirds lay members, and at least one-half of the lay members shall be in diaconal ministry careers, preferably diaconal ministers. It is recommended that the board membership include women and ethnic persons. (See 303-317.)
a) The board shall be directly responsible to the annual conference, notwithstanding its organizational relationship with any other program or administrative unit of the annual conference. Administrative costs of the board shall be a direct claim on the conference operating budget.
b) The board shall be nominated by the presiding bishop after consultation with the executive committee of the board of the previous quadrennium. The bishop shall designate a member of the Cabinet and may designate a staff person from the conference Council on Ministries to be ex-officio members of the board.
c) The board shall organize by electing from its membership a chairperson, a secretary, a registrar, other officers as may be necessary, and may name committees as needed.
d) Where there is a board of higher education and ministry the board of diaconal ministry may function as the division of diaconal ministry.
2. The board shall work in cooperation with the conference board of ordained ministry, or, if necessary, the executive committees, meeting together, at least annually to enhance the total ministry of the Church, recognizing that both diaconal ministry and ordained ministry are components of the representative ministry of the Church.
3. The duties of the conference board of diaconal ministry for the office of diaconal minister shall be:
a) To study diaconal ministry needs and resources of the annual conference with due regard to the inclusive Church.
b) To interpret diaconal ministry in the annual conference and to cooperate in the promotion of the observance of Ministry Sunday (733.2s).
c) To enlist women and men of all races and ethnic origins for diaconal ministry, in cooperation with conference agencies, district superintendents, and all ordained ministers of the conference.
d) To guide persons in the process of education, training, and consecration for diaconal ministry, recommending colleges, universities, and schools of theology listed by the University Senate.
e) To provide counsel and resources to the local Church for its examination and recommendation of persons for candidacy as diaconal ministers (303).
f) To examine all applicants as to their fitness for diaconal ministry, and to make recommendations concerning their candidacy for diaconal ministry (304-305).
g) To guide and counsel candidates for diaconal ministry throughout their candidacy.
h) To maintain accurate records of work satisfactorily completed by candidates engaged in academic preparation for diaconal ministry, based on reports received from the appropriate bodies.
i) To transfer records of candidates who move to another annual conference.
j) To ensure confidentiality in the interview and reporting process. Personal data and private information will not be available for distribution and publication without proper authorization.
k) To work with the presiding bishop to provide for an appropriate service of consecration during the session of annual conference, following the guidelines of the Division of Diaconal Ministry, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The services for consecration and ordination may be incorporated into one service.
l) To be responsible for the evaluation of the character and effectiveness of diaconal ministers in the annual conference and to make one report to the bishop and the conference in open session annually.
m) To examine candidates who have completed their candidacy for diaconal ministry and to make recommendations to the annual conference for vote concerning their consecration as diaconal ministers and their relationship to the annual conference (306).
n) To interview a diaconal minister requesting a change in his/her annual conference relationship and make recommendations for annual conference action concerning disability leave, maternity/paternity leave, study/sabbatical leave, personal leave, retirement, termination, and reinstatement. The board shall keep a record of these changes and the reasons for them and place a copy in the permanent ministerial records of the annual conference.
o) To consult with receiving bishop and to transfer the credentials and records of a diaconal minister from another annual conference. Following the consent of the receiving bishop, the receiving annual conference shall initiate the action for transfer.
p) To recommend annually for review by the Cabinet and approval by the bishop of the annual conference the names of all persons consecrated to the office of diaconal minister and their places of service.
q) To report annually to the annual conference for reading by the bishop and for publication in the conference journal the names of all persons consecrated to the office of diaconal minister and their places of service.
r) To ensure that the significance of consecration into and retirement from diaconal ministry is appropriately recognized by the annual conference.
s) To work with the annual conference and the employing agency to assure responsible conditions of employment for the diaconal minister, to provide a supportive atmosphere that will empower his/her ministry, and to see that entrance into employment and departure from employment are open and fair to all persons involved.
t) To work with the annual conference and the employing agency to assure for the diaconal minister a pension plan, an insurance program, an adequate salary base, and other employee benefits commensurate with the diaconal minister's training, ability, and experience.
u) To provide support services for the diaconal minister's career development, including personal and career counseling, continuing education, assistance in preparation for retirement, and all matters pertaining to morale.
v) To work with the bishop and district superintendents in matters of mutual concern for the personal and professional support for diaconal ministers.
w) To confer with the conference board of ordained ministry concerning the use of ministerial Education Funds for enlistment, basic professional educational aid, continuing education, and professional growth of diaconal ministers.
x) To maintain the records and files of the conference board of diaconal ministry on behalf of the annual conference, and they shall be maintained under guidelines provided by the General Council on Finance and Administration in consultation with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
4. The duties of the conference board of diaconal ministry for certification shall be:
a) To determine in consultation with the Division of Diaconal Ministry of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry whether applicants meet the standards of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for professional certification in education, evangelism, music, and other areas that may be assigned.
b) To recommend to the annual conference for vote persons who have met the standards and have been mutually approved by the conference board of diaconal ministry and the Division of Diaconal Ministry of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for professional certification in education, evangelism, music, and other areas that may be assigned; and to report the action of the annual conference to the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.71
c) To keep a current record of all persons in the annual conference who have been certified in professional Church careers, including places of service address.
d) To renew or discontinue professional certification based on an annual review and evaluation of all persons who have been certified in education, evangelism, music, or other areas that may be assigned.
e) To report annually to the annual conference for publication in the conference journal a roster of all persons certified in professional careers and the careers in which they are certified.
f) To work with the annual conference and the employing agency to assure responsible conditions of employment for the certified person, to provide a supportive atmosphere that will empower his/her service, and to see that entrance into employment and departure from employment are open and fair to all persons involved.
5. The duties of the conference board of diaconal ministry for deaconesses and home missionaries shall be:
a) To keep a record of all persons in the annual conference who have been commissioned to the office of deaconess or the office of home missionary.
b) To report annually to the annual conference for publication in the conference journal a roster of all persons commissioned as deaconess and home missionary.
6. The board shall cooperate with the Division of Diaconal Ministry and assist in the study, interpretation, promotion, and support of diaconal ministry; the maintenance of standards and processes for consecration and certification; and the interpretation and promotion of the Ministerial Education Fund.
71See Judicial Council Decision 507.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 734
1996 United Methodist General Conference