805. General Agency Membership--All provisions pertaining to the nomination and election of general agency members shall take effect immediately upon the adjournment of the General Conference which enacts them. The secretary of the General Conference shall coordinate the processes pertaining to nominations and elections of general agency members. The following provisions shall govern the nomination and election of the voting membership of those general agencies to which the jurisdictional conferences elect members:6
1. Nominations by Conferences--a) Each annual and missionary conference in the United States and Puerto Rico, upon recommendation from a committee composed of the bishop and the General and jurisdictional conference delegation, and having allowed opportunity for nominations from the floor, shall elect persons to be submitted to a jurisdictional pool from which the jurisdictional nominating committee shall select persons for election to the following general agencies: General Council on Ministries; General Board of Church and Society; General Board of Discipleship; General Board of Global Ministries; General Board of Higher Education and Ministry; General Board of Pension and Health Benefits; General Board of Publication; General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns; General Commission on Communication; General Commission on Religion and Race; and General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. Jurisdictional conferences may decide that persons elected by the annual and missionary conferences in the United States and Puerto Rico for inclusion in the jurisdictional pool shall not serve as members of the jurisdictional nominating committee.
b) Each annual and missionary conference in the United States and Puerto Rico shall nominate the persons most recently elected as delegates to the General Conference to the jurisdictional pool. In addition, it shall nominate at least fifteen and not more than forty persons to the jurisdictional pool, including, where available, at least one and not more than five persons in each of the following eight categories: (1) clergy (including at least one woman), (2) laywomen, (3) laymen, (4) racial and ethnic persons (at least one from each ethnic group--Asian American, Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, Pacific Islanders), (5) youth (264.2), (6) young adults (264.3), (7) older adults (264.5), and (8) persons with a handicapping condition. Eligibility to be nominated in one category does not preclude being nominated in another category as long as the nominee is nominated only once.
c) Each central conference, or a body authorized by it, shall nominate to each general board at least one person from each of the following three categories: (1) clergy, (2) laymen, and (3) laywomen, to form a pool from which each board is to elect the additional members that are to come from the central conferences pursuant to 805.2c(1).
d) All nominees shall list one to three preferences for agency membership. In addition all nominees shall prepare an up-to-100-word biographical statement listing experience, gifts, and training which qualify him/her for general agency membership. Biographical statements for all persons in the jurisdictional pool shall be given to each member of the nominating committee. Names and biographical data of all persons nominated by the annual and missionary conferences in the United States and Puerto Rico but not elected by the jurisdiction shall be forwarded by the jurisdictional conference secretary to the general agencies to be in a pool from which additional members may be elected (805.2c, 3b).7
2. General Program Board Membership--a) Basic Membership--Each jurisdiction shall elect one person from each of its annual and missionary conferences to each program board. In the jurisdictional nominating process for membership on those boards, special attention shall be given to the inclusion of clergywomen, youth, (264.2), young adults (264.3), older adults (264.5), persons with handicapping conditions, and persons from small membership churches. In order to ensure adequate representation of racial and ethnic persons (Asian Americans, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders), it is recommended that at least 30 percent of a jurisdiction's membership on each general program board be racial and ethnic persons. It is further recommended that the jurisdiction membership on each program board incorporate one-third clergy, one-third laymen, and one-third laywomen (except as provided in 1204.1, 1412.2. See also 1412.6, 1507.). The episcopal members shall not be counted in the computation of the clergy membership.8 Provided, however, that effective immediately, when a new annual conference or conferences are created by a jurisdictional conference and come into being following the jurisdictional conference, each such new annual conference or conferences shall be authorized to elect one person directly to General Council on Ministries and each general program board on which no person from the new annual conference already has been elected by the Jurisdictional Conference under the provisions of this paragraph.9
b) Episcopal Membership--The episcopal membership of not less than five nor more than ten members shall be nominated by the Council of Bishops and elected by the General Conference (see exception, 1412.6). At least one of the episcopal members of each general program board shall be a central conference bishop.
c) Additional Membership--(1) United Methodist--Additional members shall be elected by each general program board in order to bring into the board persons with special knowledge or background which will aid in the work of the agency, to consider differing theological perspectives, and to perfect the representation of racial and ethnic persons, youth (264.2), young adults (264.3), older adults (264.5), women and men, persons with a handicapping condition, and persons from small-membership Churches, and distribution by geographic area. There shall be not less than five nor more than nine additional members of each general program board. It is recommended that such additional membership shall maintain the one-third laymen, one-third laywomen, and one-third clergy balance.10 In addition, each board shall elect six persons from the Central Conferences, and one alternate for each who may attend if the elected member cannot attend. In the election of the Central Conference members, it is recommended that two be clergy, two be laymen, and two be laywomen.
This action shall take effect immediately after the conclusion of General Conference.
(2) Other--It is recommended that each general agency elect at least one member without vote from among the member Churches of the Consultation on Church Union other than The United Methodist Church.
3. Other General Agencies--a) Each jurisdictional conference shall elect members from the jurisdictional pool nominated by the annual and missionary conferences in the United States and Puerto Rico (805.1) in accordance with the specific membership provisions of those agencies as set forth in The Book of Discipline: General Council on Ministries (1007), General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (1602.1a), General Board of Publication (1702), General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (2006), General Commission on Communication (1907), General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (2204), and the General Commission on Religion and Race (2103).
b) Episcopal and additional members, if any, of the general agencies listed in 805.3a shall be nominated and elected by the procedures specified in the paragraphs listed in 805.3a. The agencies shall consider names forwarded to them by the jurisdictions as having been nominated by the annual and missionary conferences in the United States and Puerto Rico but not elected by the jurisdictional conferences to general agency membership. Additional names may be considered in order to perfect the representation as provided in 805.2c.
4. The membership of all agencies of The United Methodist Church, at the level of General and jurisdictional conferences and insofar as possible at the level of annual and missionary conferences and local Church, shall ensure adequate representation of racial and ethnic groups--Asian American, Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Pacific Islanders; all such boards, committees, and agencies whose membership is set forth in the Discipline shall be authorized to elect as many additional members as necessary to meet this requirement.
6See Judicial Council Decision 467.
7See Judicial Council Decisions 520, 538.
8See Judicial Council Decisions 451, 467.
9See Judicial Council Decision 538.
10See Judicial Council Decisions 377, 446, 520.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 805
1996 United Methodist General Conference