2026 Charge Conference Forms

The Charge Conference is the connecting link between the local church, the MidSouth Annual Conference, and the General Church. Enclosed are the forms to be completed by each local church in the MidSouth to provide information to the Conference Council in its general oversight to resource and support the ministry of the local church.

Step 1 of 10

Cover Letter for the 2026 Charge Conference Packet

The mission of the Global Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly. Anchored in our belief in Jesus Christ, the MidSouth Annual Conference will come alongside local congregations to equip and strengthen our combined witness. To this end you will find a streamlined Charge Conference report form requesting the minimal information required at charge conference.

Within the pastoral charge the basic unit in the connectional system in the Global Methodist Church is the Charge Conference. The Charge Conference is therefore organized by the church(es) in every pastoral charge and meets at least annually. The Charge Conference will be the connecting link between the local church, the Annual Conference, and the General Church, and will have general oversight of the church council’s overall ministry of the local church.

Included you will find the forms, information, and material needed for your congregation’s annual Charge Conference. We request that all Charge Conferences be completed and submitted online no later than December 1, 2026. Your Presiding Elder will be in contact with you regarding the scheduling of Charge Conference.

Upon completion, please submit the Charge Conference packet within one week following your Charge Conference, but no later than the end of business on December 1, 2026. Once submitted online, the completed forms will be automatically emailed to your Presiding Elder and to Jennifer McCall, the Administrative Assistant to the Conference.

Should you have any questions regarding how to complete this form, please contact your Presiding Elder for assistance.

__________________________________________

Note: The business of the Charge Conference shall be prepared by the local church council. The Charge Conference shall be advertised ten days in advance by three or more of the following methods: an announcement from the pulpit, the weekly bulletin, a local church publication, email, or mail (¶ 438.6 BoDD). The Charge Conference shall be conducted by the end of November of each year.

The Presiding Elder shall preside over the Charge Conference, or they may designate another elder to do so (¶ 438.3 BoDD).

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General Instructions:

ENCLOSED YOU WILL FIND THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS FOR COMPLETION:

Section 1 of 7 - General Church Info
Section 2 of 7 - Ministry Safe Compliance
Section 3 of 7 - Clergy Compensation Form
Section 4 of 7 - Housing Allowance Resolution
Section 5 of 7 - Connectional Funding Report
Section 6 of 7 - Church Leadership/Nominations
Section 7 of 7 - Charge Conference Recommendations

PLEASE READ THROUGH THE FOLLOWING TO ASSIST YOU IN THIS PROCESS:

LOOK AHEAD TO PREPARE - You can download a sample copy of the Charge Conference packet HERE to assist in your preparation.
GATHER ITEMS FOR FORM COMPLETION - You can expect to need to have the following types of info handy in order to complete the forms: 1.) Names & contact info for any church leaders, 2.) Church operations data such as salaries, budgets, connectional funding, and so on, 3.) General church info such as mailing address, etc.
SAVING & SUBMITTING - You will have the ability to SAVE & RESUME these forms. To return later, you must enter your email address and be sure to save the generated hyperlink (this link will be emailed to you as long as you entered your email address). This hyperlink is what allows you to return and keep working. If you close the website window without saving the link, ALL WORK WILL BE LOST, and you will have to begin again.
COMPLETING EACH FORM - If a form has required fields, you will not be able to proceed to the next section until the current section is completed. If a field is required though not applicable to your church/charge, simply enter N/A, "0," or None into the field.
WHY ONLINE FORMS? - We appreciate your assistance as we streamline our MidSouth processes and database by moving away from hard copy and handwritten forms. All Charge Conference forms are to be completed and submitted online. We know change can be difficult, so we recognize how this new process may impact you; however, we can also rejoice together that there are so many congregations in the MidSouth! That growth in mission and ministry has made this a necessary step in operations.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to your Presiding Elder.

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SECTION 1 of 7 - General Church Information

UNABLE TO CONTINUE TO THE NEXT SECTION? Double check that you have completed each field on the form. If a form has required fields, you will not be able to proceed to the next section until the current section is completed. If a field is required though not applicable to your church/charge, simply enter N/A, "0," or None into the field.
NEED TO SAVE & RESUME LATER? When you click "Save & Resume Later," YOU MUST SAVE THE LINK in order to resume your work. If you do not save the link, ALL DATA WILL BE LOST.

HELPFUL HINT: You can download a sample copy of the Charge Conference packet HERE to assist you.

Church Name

District:

Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Mailing Address (if different)

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Phone Number

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SECTION 4 of 7 - Housing Allowance Resolution

UNABLE TO CONTINUE TO THE NEXT SECTION? Double check that you have completed each field on the form. If a form has required fields, you will not be able to proceed to the next section until the current section is completed. If a field is required though not applicable to your church/charge, simply enter N/A, "0," or None into the field.
NEED TO SAVE & RESUME LATER? When you click "Save & Resume Later," YOU MUST SAVE THE LINK in order to resume your work. If you do not save the link, ALL DATA WILL BE LOST.

HELPFUL HINT: You can download a sample copy of the Charge Conference packet HERE to assist you.

Please read the paragraphs below as a guide for completing the field entries accurately.

HOUSING ALLOWANCE RESOLUTION FOR REV.

Enter the pastor's name(s) or N/A if not applicable.

Whereas Internal Revenue Code § 107 permits a minister of the gospel to exclude from gross income a ministry-designated allowance paid as part of compensation to the extent used for actual expenses in owning or renting a home; and

Whereas, [ENTER PARISH NAME], a [ENTER NONPROFIT DESIGNATION] nonprofit corporation, is a Christian church and part of the Global Methodist Church, a Christian denomination with churches around the world and clergy ordained by it who hold to Wesleyan theology, that shares a common understanding of Wesleyan doctrine and is a vibrant, faithful, growing 21st century church, and that encourages vital and vibrant ministry of local churches, compensates the Rev. [INSERT PASTOR NAME(S)] for services as its pastor in the exercise of ministry;

Please complete the following 3 fields using the above paragraph as a guide.

FIELD 1: Whereas, [ENTER PARISH NAME]

Enter parish name or N/A if not applicable.

FIELD 2: a [ENTER NONPROFIT DESIGNATION]

Enter nonprofit designation (e.g., 501c3) or N/A if not applicable.

FIELD 3: compensates the Rev. [INSERT PASTOR(S) NAME]

Enter the pastor's name(s) or N/A if not applicable.

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

The section below can be repeated. Click "+ Add" to create a new field set for each additional clergy person, and click "- Remove" if too many field sets are added.

Resolved, that the compensation of the Rev. [ENTER PASTOR NAME(S)] as pastor in 2027 is [ENTER PASTOR COMPENSATION TOTAL] annually, of which [ENTER AMOUNT(S) DESIGNATED FOR HOUSING] annually is a designated housing allowance for the calendar year January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027; and resolved that this specified amount annual shall apply to all future years as the housing allowance, unless otherwise provided.

Please complete the following 3 fields using the above paragraph as a guide.

FIELD 1: Resolved, that the compensation of the Rev., [ENTER PASTOR NAME]

Enter pastor name or N/A if not applicable.

FIELD 2: as pastor in 2027 is [ENTER PASTOR COMPENSATION TOTAL]

Enter pastor's 2027 compensation total or N/A if not applicable.

FIELD 3: of which [ENTER AMOUNT DESIGNATED FOR HOUSING]

Enter the amount designated for housing or N/A if not applicable.

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SECTION 6 of 7 - Church Leadership/Nominations

UNABLE TO CONTINUE TO THE NEXT SECTION? Double check that you have completed each field on the form. If a form has required fields, you will not be able to proceed to the next section until the current section is completed. If a field is required though not applicable to your church/charge, simply enter N/A, "0," or None into the field.
NEED TO SAVE & RESUME LATER? When you click "Save & Resume Later," YOU MUST SAVE THE LINK in order to resume your work. If you do not save the link, ALL DATA WILL BE LOST.

You can download a sample copy of the Charge Conference packet HERE to assist you.

Multiple clergy on staff or leadership roles? This section below can be a repeating section. Simply click "+ Add" to create a new field set for each subsequent clergy person and "- Remove" if too many field sets are added.

Please complete the following information & contacts. For any positions not filled, you can simply N/A, "0," or None into the designated fields to continue.

Appointed Pastor

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Address

Address Line 1

City

State

Zip Code

Appointed Associate Pastor

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Address

Address Line 1

City

State

Zip Code

Lay Leader

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

S/PPRC Chair

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Lay Member to AC

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Alternate Lay Member to AC

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Administrative Council/Leadership Team Chairperson:

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Church/Charge Treasurer:

Name

First

Last

Phone Number

Please list any other officers/leadership being elected:

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2026 Charge Conference Forms

Cover Letter for the 2026 Charge Conference Packet

General Instructions:

SECTION 1 of 7 - General Church Information

SECTION 2 of 7 - Ministry Safe Compliance

Please answer the following questions:

SECTION 3 of 7 - Clergy Compensation Form

Multiple clergy on staff? Each section below can be a repeating section.

Pastor Information

Section I: INCOME

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

Section II: HOUSING

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

Section III: LOCAL PARISH EXPENSES

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

Breakdown of How Parish Expenses are Shared Among Churches

Section IV: SALARY WITHHOLDINGS (Optional)

Pastor's Contribution to Health Insurance

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

Pastor's Contribution to Pension

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

How to Calculate the Pension Cost for Section III: Line A

SECTION 4 of 7 - Housing Allowance Resolution

Please read the paragraphs below as a guide for completing the field entries accurately.

MULTIPLE CLERGY ON STAFF?

SECTION 5 of 7 - Connectional Funding Report

2026 Connectional Funding Report

SECTION 6 of 7 - Church Leadership/Nominations

Multiple clergy on staff or leadership roles? This section below can be a repeating section. Simply click "+ Add" to create a new field set for each subsequent clergy person and "- Remove" if too many field sets are added.

Appointed Pastor

Appointed Associate Pastor

Lay Leader

S/PPRC Chair

Lay Member to AC

Alternate Lay Member to AC

Administrative Council/Leadership Team Chairperson:

Church/Charge Treasurer:

SECTION 7 of 7 - Charge Conference Recommendations

Who are recommended as Certified Lay Ministers? (BODD ¶502)

Candidate

Who are recommended as Candidates for Ordained Ministry? (BODD ¶503)

Candidate

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page, enter you email address, and hit the SUBMIT button. After submitting, the completed forms will be sent to the email address you've entered.

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