1415. Authority and Organization--The National Division shall have the authority and power to:
1. Receive and properly administer funds assigned to the National Division, including:
a) World Service and other funds designated for the program of the National Division;
b) the Advance special gifts for work related to the National Division which are cultivated through the Mission Education and Cultivation Department;
c) donation aid, loan funds, and endowments contributed and established for the work of Church extension;
d) funds allocated by the Women's Division, keeping in mind the special concerns of women;
e) bequests, earnings on investments, and other income in accordance with the provisions by which they are given and available for work related to the National Division;
f) funds appropriated by the United Methodist Committee on Relief Department for coordination of disaster response ministries and Church property damage caused by disasters.
2. Receive and properly administer all properties and funds, including:
a) all properties and trust funds, permanent funds, annuity funds, and other special funds coming into the possession of the National Division as part of a board for missionary and other purposes, in accordance with 1405;
b) all trust funds and assets of every kind and character, real, personal, or mixed, held by predecessor corporations, in accordance with the conditions under which such trusts and funds have been previously received and administered by the said predecessor corporations (1406.2).
3. Represent within The United Methodist Church and provide financial support and consultative services for new and historically related mission institutions of the National Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, including community centers, residences, multi-service mission complexes, child-care institutions, schools, and other educational institutions.
4. Assign staff to develop programs, administer such appropriations as are committed to them, and cooperate with other divisions within the board, other boards, and agencies, as their work may affect the group itself.
5. Receive from Health and Welfare Ministries Department counsel and field consultation related to health care and services to the aging and children and youth.
6. Conduct research and distribute information which will assist congregational development, cooperative parishes, districts, conferences and other units of The United Methodist Church in identifying mission opportunities and appropriate responses.
7. Encourage rural, town, city, metropolitan, or district mission structures according to the following:
a) Such structures may be organized, under such names as may be determined, wherever, in the judgment of the bishop or bishops and district superintendents concerned, it is deemed advisable. When two or more districts, conferences, episcopal areas, or jurisdictions have Churches in the same area, it is recommended that the structure be organized to include all United Methodist Churches. "Metropolitan" or "rural" shall be defined with sufficient flexibility to include separate communities which are economically or socially related.
b) It is recommended that a majority of the governing body be from the laity, men and women, young adults and youth. All bishops, district superintendents, and superintendents of ethnic ministries having jurisdiction within the geographic territory served by the structure may be ex officio members of the organization. Membership may also include representation from conference boards of global ministries, conference or district United Methodist Women, community-based young adult ministries (264.3), rural, city and suburban parish churches, community centers, and other nonparish rural and urban ministries, poverty communities, youth, and racial and ethnic groups.
c) The purpose of such a structure shall be to promote and coordinate the work of the Church (201-204) in town and country or metropolitan areas. It may:
(1) Develop special ministries and new forms of mission appropriate to new metropolitan or town and country needs, including recruitment, training, involvement of clergy and laity, and cooperative models of ministry.
(2) Promote long-term regional planning and provide coordinating framework for town and country and metropolitan mission strategy for United Methodism, especially with small congregations and ethnic and language groups.
(3) Enable and support rural, central city, and suburban Church extension, including research, organization (but not the constituting) of Churches, acquisition of real estate, and the erection and maintenance of buildings (having first secured the approval of the district board of Church location and building). Wherever possible, consideration should be given to new concepts of Church extension, such as leased space, shared facilities, revitalized small congregations, and other experimental styles.
(4) Help to initiate and participate in rural and urban coalitions and other associations with leaders in business, finance, industry, agriculture, labor, education, welfare, etc., to work cooperatively for mutually desired social change.
(5) Encourage and support the development of effective community organizations in rural, inner-city, and suburban communities, to the end that people may share in the decision-making processes, and open more effective channels of communication between all peoples.
(6) Participate with federal, state, and local governments in programs of rural and urban renewal and development, with special reference to protection and enhancement of human values, families, and family farms and businesses.
(7) Cooperate with representatives of other churches and faiths in developing, implementing, and funding new patterns of joint mission.
(8) Raise funds for the support of its work in cooperation with the annual conference council on finance and administration, including the securing and holding of endowments for general purposes and for designated Churches, institutions, or types of mission. Consideration shall be given to the use of an area or conference United Methodist foundation for the investment management of bequests, endowments, trusts, and special gifts.
d) In order to receive financial assistance from the division the structure shall meet the following conditions:
(1) It shall be organized according to the Discipline.
(2) It shall have a governing board or executive committee meeting at least once each quarter.
(3) It shall be actively at work.
(4) It shall have made a report to the division in the prescribed form provided for that purpose.
e) Each annual conference shall promote the work of such mission structures within its boundaries and receive annual reports through the annual conference board of global ministries. All moneys received shall be reported in the conference journal.
f) If a full-time executive officer is employed, it is recommended that he or she be invited into consultation with the bishop and district superintendents in the consideration of the appointments that affect missions or churches administered or aided by the organization which he or she represents.
g) Each such mission organization shall, in cooperation with the annual conference board of global ministries, annually present its financial needs to the annual conference council on finance and administration of the conference to which it is related, to determine how the needs shall be met, including possible apportionments to the Churches in its geographic area.
h) All pastors whose charges lie within the territory of the mission organization shall each year present the interests of the organization to their congregations, taking an offering or otherwise promoting support of its work.
i) Any local Church expecting to receive aid from the mission organization for building or improvement shall be required, as a condition of receiving such aid, to secure its approval with respect to location, plans, and methods of financing.
j) In a metropolitan area the National Division may cooperate, with the approval of the bishops and the conferences, in the organization of a Metropolitan Commission, which may be composed of bishops and district superintendents involved and a selected group of ordained ministers, laymen, and laywomen, representing annual conference boards of global ministries, committees on urban ministries, annual conference United Methodist Women, community-based young adult ministries (263.3), city missionary societies, local churches, representatives of other boards and agencies, and others who have skills and experience enabling them to fulfill creative planning and strategy functions for United Methodism in the metropolitan area.
The purpose of such a commission is to promote long-term planning and to provide a coordinating framework for United Methodism's metropolitan mission strategy. These functions may be fulfilled by other city, metropolitan, or district mission structures as deemed appropriate.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 1415
1996 United Methodist General Conference