2016 Wesleyan Discipline: Ministerial Appointments: Assistant pastor

741. Assistant Pastor. An assistant pastor is an ordained minister or a commissioned or licensed minister, who is called of God and appointed by the Church to serve under the direction of the senior pastor as assigned by the senior pastor and approved by the local board of administration; this assignment normally includes more limited and specific aspects of the pastoral ministry (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:678). The calling and assignment of the assistant pastor shall be subject to the following guidelines:

(1) The assistant pastor shall have the training, experience, and ministerial standing which are suitable for this assignment.

(2) The assistant pastor is recommended to the local board of administration by the senior pastor. The assistant pastor cannot be employed initially without the express recommendation of the senior pastor and the written approval of the district superintendent. The call cannot be renewed without the express recommendation of the senior pastor. While the local church conference creates the position, the local board of administration employs the person subject to the recommendation of the pastor and approval of the district conference. Employment shall be for one year at a time except that its termination point can never be later than that of the senior pastor.

(3) The assistant pastor’s appointment may be terminated at any time at the pastor’s recommendation and the vote of the local board of administration. The term of service will end whenever there is a change in senior pastor in the local church where service is rendered. Whenever a senior pastor terminates service at a time other than the uniform time of pastoral change (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:700), the assistant pastor’s term shall expire at the succeeding uniform time for such change. The newly called senior pastor may recommend the reemployment of the assistant pastor to the local board of administration.

(4) The office of assistant pastor is an employed position, subject to final approval by the district conference. It is to be assigned to no one as an honor or to provide special status.

1240:I:A:

2. Pastoral and Local Service.

a. Ordained ministers appointed as pastors, associate or assistant pastors, or interim pastors within the district (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3255).

b. Ordained ministers on loan to other districts of The Wesleyan Church for service as supply pastors (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3100:2; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3260:1).

c. Ordained ministers appointed to serve in a local church spiritual formation or Christian education program (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3310:2).

3255. Regular Pastoral Service. The pastoral office is defined in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:675. In The Wesleyan Church, pastoral service includes the pastor of a church (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:735), an associate pastor (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:738), and an assistant pastor, who may specialize in such ways as minister of spiritual formation, minister of music, minister of visitation or minister of youth (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:741). An ordained minister appointed by a district conference to any of these levels of pastoral service in connection with a Wesleyan church, developing church or mission shall be placed on the appointed list (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1240:I:A:2); a commissioned or licensed minister appointed as pastor, associate pastor or assistant pastor of a Wesleyan church shall be a voting member of the district conference (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:317; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1083:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1240:II:A; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1240:III:A; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3044:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3059:2e).