STANDING RULES
Camp Meeting
1. The camp meeting board shall establish and promote a genuine prayer effort throughout the district for the purpose of having a successful camp meeting. (2006)
2. In order to help meet the financial needs of our camp meeting our churches are asked to contribute annually according to their total financial receipts as follows. (2008)
Up to $40,000.00........................ $ 50.00
$40,001.00 to $80,000.00............ 100.00
$80,001.00 to $120,000.00.......... 200.00
$120,001 or more......................... 400.00
3. The Camp Meeting Board shall consist of eleven members, including ex officio members: district superintendent, camp meeting secretary-treasurer and district youth president. The remaining members shall be elected by the district conference for three-year terms. (1994)
District Superintendent
1. The District Superintendent shall be chairperson of the Camp Meeting Board. (1943)
2. The DBA shall be empowered to provide the District Superintendent with a housing allowance. (1977)
3. The District Superintendent shall receive four weeks vacation each year. (1991)
4. The District Superintendent shall receive all other benefits as provided in the Conference Standing Rules for pastors. (1993)
Evangelism and Church Growth
1. Sources of the Board's income shall be: evangelism and church growth assessments, public offerings in the services on the field, personal donations, an appeal to the established churches once a year, and local church birthday offerings.
2. The expenses of the board may be collected from the evangelism and church growth fund. (1955)
General
1. Each auxiliary, board and/or committee, which is dependent in part, or in whole, upon the district for operating funds, shall submit a comprehensive budget projection of both income and expenditures to the District Board of Administration and the District Finance Committee by April 1. The auxiliary, board and/or committee chairperson, in cooperation with his/her executive committee, if any, shall prepare said budget. Any newly elected chairperson shall have review and recommendation privileges. (1990)
2. The annual ordination, commissioning, licensing and retiree recognition service will be held in conjunction with the district conference. (2009)
3. Salaries and honorariums of all district personnel shall be determined by the DBA and shall be recorded annually in the conference journal (see district budget report in report section). (1985)
4. A mission or developing church shall be given priority in consideration for district loan funds, when available, at a uniformly compatible rate determined by the DBA. (1979)
5. The DBA shall be authorized, in accordance with Section 1340-43 of The Wesleyan Discipline, to employ an outside auditor to audit any or all district financial records including any or all district auxiliaries. (1970)
6. All delegates to the district conference shall register immediately prior to the beginning of the first session. This roll call ballot will be accepted as the official roll of conference delegates. (1975)
7. Each year the following conference reports shall be submitted to the delegates, in written form, at the beginning of the first session of conference: district superintendent’s material
progress and statistical, assistant district superintendent, auditing committee, district treasurer, statistician, camp meeting treasurer, director of evangelism and church growth, evangelism and church growth secretary/treasurer, Wesleyan men president, Wesleyan
youth president, director of spiritual formation, children’s ministry director, Wesleyan women director, Wesleyan women treasurer, WKFM coordinator, director of best years fellowship, conference action committee, victory mountain camp treasurer, director of world missions, board of ministerial development, spiritual formation treasurer, Wesleyan youth treasurer, children's camps treasurer and junior high-senior high camp treasurer. (1975)
8. All department leaders shall submit their dates for the upcoming District calendar to the
district office by May 31st. (2005)
9. The district shall present to each retiring ordained minister and spouse and each retiring commissioned minister and spouse an appropriately inscribed plaque denoting years of service and an appropriate gift. The amount is not to exceed $200.00. Both plaque and gift
are to be presented during a session of the district conference. The District Board of Ministerial Development is to be responsible for implementation. (1993)
10. In case of death, tragedy, or serious illness among our ministers' families, the district office personnel shall notify senior pastors, DBA members and retired ministers. (1992)
11. If a minister, while pastoring or actively involved in respective ministry dies, a memento of value shall be given to the surviving spouse. The DBA shall also survey any financial need. (1979)
12. Pastors shall be encouraged to furnish names of qualified lay persons prior to the District Nominating Committee meeting, giving their various qualifications for district service. (1979)
13. Those traveling in the interest of district business shall be reimbursed at the allowable
Internal Revenue Service rate per mile. (1991)
14. Copies of The Wesleyan Discipline should be provided for members of the DBA. (1981)
15. Members of the District Finance Committee shall consist of: the district treasurer, chairperson; the district superintendent, ex officio; and an additional four ordained ministers and four laypersons elected by the district conference. Of the eight elected members, two lay persons and two ordained ministers shall be members of the DBA and two laypersons and two ordained ministers shall not be members of the DBA. (1991)
16. Highlights of the minutes of each meeting of the DBA (as determined by the District Superintendent) and the district treasurer’s report, shall be supplied to all pastors, and to all full time associate and assistant pastors of each local church. (1992)
17. At each session of the DBA, an opportunity shall be given to pastors and local church representatives to present suggestions and recommendations to the board. Such persons should contact the District Superintendent beforehand to secure placement on the agenda. (1992)
18. All departmental officers and auxiliary directors shall be welcome to attend and participate
in sessions of the DBA for consideration of concerns related to the respective department or auxiliary. Such person(s) shall contact the District Superintendent beforehand to secure placement on the agenda. Expenses of such attendance shall be borne by the auxiliary represented. (1995).
19. Two ministerial and two lay member-at-large positions on the DBA shall be reserved for representatives from churches in the Raleigh and Down East regions* of the district. (2006)
*The Raleigh region is composed of Chapel Hill, Durham newhope, Durham A Place of Hope, Garner New Life, Greenville First,
Hertford Bagley Swamp, and Hillsborough. The Down East region is composed of Fayetteville Faith, Goldsboro, Harkers Island
Free Grace, Rose Hill Bethel, Sanford First, Tabor City Old Zion, Wilmington Crosswinds, Wilmington First, and Wilmington North
Pointe.
20. DBA at large members shall be elected for two year terms; at large lay to be elected to two year terms beginning in 2008 and at large ministerial be elected to two year terms beginning in 2009, each election thereafter shall be for two years. (2007)
22. The DBA shall have two at large positions from our Hispanic churches; one ministerial and one lay. Ministerial and lay shall be elected for two year terms. (2010)
Higher Education
1. It is recommended that the local church provide at least a $500.00 per year scholarship to any full-time Wesleyan ministerial student attending a Wesleyan College or University or a Wesleyan approved seminary from its church. (2005)
Life Benefits
1. Employees and spouses who were covered by the former Health and Life Benefit Plan at the time its discontinuance was announced in January 2006, will be vested into the North Carolina East District Life Benefit Program.
2. A person is eligible for benefits as long as the minister continues to be credentialed by the NC East District of The Wesleyan Church.
3. Each person eligible for the Life Benefit will be issued a certificate of coverage by the North Carolina East District Life Benefit Program. The benefit will be paid at the time of death upon the presentation of the certificate of coverage.
4. The Life Benefit will be paid according to the following schedule:
$8,000.00 will be paid for the eligible employee who was age 60 by January 1, 2006, and $4,000.00 will be paid for the eligible spouse.
$6,000.00 will be paid for the eligible employee under age 60 on January 1, 2006, and with ten years or more participation in the former Health and Life Benefit Plan, and $4,000.00 will be paid for the eligible spouse.
$4,000.00 will be paid for the eligible employee under age 60 on January 1, 2006, and with less than ten years participation in the former Health and Life Benefit Plan, and $2,000.00 will be paid for the eligible spouse.
5. $100,000.00 shall be kept in reserve to fund the Life Benefit Program. Benefits will be paid from the Life Benefit Fund on deposit with the Wesleyan Investment Fund. The Life Benefit Committee may draw from the fund principle, if necessary. The committee is empowered to increase benefits, with the prior approval of the district board of administration. No further
premiums will be received from the participants.
6. The balance of the fund shall be maintained as an endowment for the development fund of Victory Mountain Wesleyan Camp. The endowment fund balance of $676,168.00 as of July 19, 2007, plus whatever gifts may be received toward the endowment, shall be considered the baseline amount for figuring the proceeds for the camp development fund.
Local Church
1. Local church officers shall assume their duties the first day of June. (1969)
2. The combined USF and district budget shall be assessed on the churches’ contributions income. The current percentages are: (2007)
USF general fund 2.75
USF education institutional fund 3.25
District operational fund 3.50
District evangelism & church growth fund 1.50
Victory Mountain Camp operational fund 0 .50
Total 11.50
3. The budget assessment shall be paid to the district treasurer in monthly installments and shall be mailed in time to arrive by the 20th of each month. (1984)
4. The conference year shall end May 31. All local church reports to the annual conference shall be received no later than June 10. Monies to be included in the district treasurer’s annual report, reports to the district statistician and names submitted to the Memorials Committee shall not be accepted for the current report if received after June 10. Recommendations of persons for district license shall be sent to the Board of Ministerial Development by May 1. (1993)
5. The trustees of each local church shall be responsible to see that multi-peril insurance is adequate for all church properties. Adequate insurance would cover the church buildings and properties for what it would cost to replace them. When a church is undergoing a building project, builder’s risk insurance must be added to the policy to cover the building project. Workman’s compensation insurance should be included for all church employees. All church vehicles; van, buses, etc., should be adequately insured and a list of authorized drivers submitted to the insurance company All auxiliary ministries, such as schools, day cares, etc., are to be adequately insured with liability and accident insurance. The local church trustees should review the insurance policy every three years or at the policy renewal date to make sure all coverage is adequate. (2007)
6. Each local church is urged to provide a current copy of The Wesleyan Discipline for the pastor(s) and vice chairperson. Furthermore, it is recommended that each member of the LBA and their successors should also be provided a copy. (1981)
7. The local church trustees shall determine that all new deeds are properly drawn in accordance with The Wesleyan Discipline before such deeds are recorded, and that all current deeds are brought into compliance with The Wesleyan Discipline (4610).
Pastors
1. It is recommended that vacations with pay for all ministers of the district be based on the number of years in the ministry of The Wesleyan Church as follows:
After one year of service a minimum of two weeks
After ten years a minimum of three weeks
After twenty years a minimum of four weeks
It is recommended that a vacation bonus of an additional week’s salary be given to the pastor at the time of his vacation. Unused vacation shall not accumulate from year to year, unless approved by the Local Board of Administration prior to the end of the conference year. (1993)
2. Each church in the district is urged to pay the pastor’s utilities, or adequate allowance to cover such costs. (1981)
3. Each church parsonage should be provided with basic appliances: stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer. (1981)
4. The churches shall increase pastors’ salaries at a rate no less than the national cost of living increase as defined by the DBA each year. (1982)
5. The renewal vote for pastors shall take place by the last Sunday of March. (2005)
6. A relocating pastor’s obligation to the church he/she is leaving terminates on the second Sunday of July (ref. The Discipline, paragraph 700). (1998)
7. Qualified and available ministers of the NC East District shall be given first consideration by local churches seeking a pastor. (1985)
8. The following salary scale shall be considered for implementation in each local church:
(1) A church should not consider a pastor as full time unless a pastor’s salary is at least $700.00 per week with parsonage and utilities provided. The minimum salary should be not less than $1,000.00 per week without parsonage or housing allowance. In no
way does this affect eligibility for benefits, but gives a guideline for establishing a full
time or bi-vocational charge. (2006)
(3) Ministers are enrolled in Social Security as self-employed persons. The church should pay the Social Security tax to the minister. A minister’s Social Security is figured on cash salary, housing allowance or fair rental value of the parsonage and utilities.
(3) An automobile mileage allowance equivalent to the IRS mileage rate should be paid. (1997)
(4) The pastor(s) shall be provided a health insurance plan that is mutually acceptable to the pastor(s) and the local board of administration, and the local church shall pay the premium in full. (2006)
(5) A full time pastor should receive $500.00 per year for professional expenses, including educational opportunities.
(6) A pastor should receive a bonus of one percent of his cash salary for each year of service (up to five years) to the church he is pastoring.
(7) A parsonage and utilities or a housing allowance shall be furnished by the local church. (1987)
(8) Each church shall supply a church office computer for the pastor with up to date computer software and an online connection. (2010)
7. Each church shall be encouraged to place in its annual budget a reserve fund account to be spread across a four year period to cover its pastor’s travel, lodging and meal expenses to, during and from general conference. (1986)
9. Each pastor serving at children’s camp(s) or youth camp(s) shall have the Sunday off following the camp in which he/she serves. This is not to be counted as revival or vacation time. (1986)
10. All ministers of the district are required to attend the district conference unless excused by the District Superintendent. (1987)
11. Each pastor of a local church shall be allowed two Sundays within the church year to be absent from the church for the purpose of holding revivals, giving lectures or seminars. Such time off should not be counted toward vacation time or any other time referred to in the pastors’ section of the Conference Standing Rules and shall be scheduled by the consent of the LBA. (1991)
12. When an assistant pastor resigns the assistant pastor shall notify the senior pastor and the
district superintendent at least sixty days in advance. Pastoral service shall terminate at the
time set by the district for pastoral changes (Wesleyan Discipline paragraph 700), or at a time mutually agreed upon by the senior pastor, local board of administration and district superintendent. (2009)