BYLAWS – Mississippi Conference of The Methodist Protestant Church

BY-LAWS OF THE CONFERENCE
1. In the course of discussion or debate, no one shall speak more than five minutes at one time, nor more than twice on any subject.
2. No minister or preacher may hold membership in this Conference or be employed as pastor or evangelist, who does not definitely preach the doctrine of sanctification as that instantaneous act of God’s grace subsequent to regeneration as taught by the Discipline in Article 10 of the Articles of Religion.
3. No pastor or preacher should accept an invitation to hold revival meetings or fill appointments in another pastoral charge without an invitation from the pastor of the said charge, but this should not apply to a charge not having a regular pastoral service.
4. Be it understood that this Conference condemns all unholy conversation and foolish jesting as it is grievous to the Holy Spirit.
5. All donations made by this conference are contingent upon the applicant for donation showing deed properly recorded and made in the approved form of The Methodist Protestant Church with no reservations. It is also understood that the amount donated is to be paid back to this conference should the same ever be sold as an extinct property of the church, in conformity to previous requirements of this conference.
6. It shall be the duty of each pastor to send the names of his respective delegates to the president sixty days before the assembling of each Annual Conference.
7. The Superannuate Fund shall be apportioned to the Superannuated or his Beneficiary, in proportion to the number of years he has served in active service to The Mississippi Conference of The Methodist Protestant Church.
8. The Conference shall appoint each preacher and minister a specific territory for pastoral service, and require each person so assigned to report to the Annual Conference each year as to the effort put forth in any way of forwarding the interest of The Methodist Protestant Church, said report to include the number of regular preaching places, number of sermons preached, number of churches organized, etc.
9. The legal title of property now owned, and to be acquired by the Mississippi Annual Conference, shall be vested in the Board of Trustees, composed of three members, namely the Conference President, who shall be chairman of said Board, and two members to be elected by said conference for a period of one and two years, respectively: and said title or titles to remain in said trustees and their successors in office until conveyed by them to their successors in office: but no conveyance shall be made unless previously authorized by a majority vote of said conference. The said trustees shall be made the custodians of said property with the same rights, duties and powers as is vested in the trustees of our local churches; and the President is given authority to fill any vacancy that might occur on said Board in vacation, and said appointee shall serve until the said conference meets and fill this place by election.
10. The Stationing Committee of the conference shall be composed of two (2) ministers and two (2) laymen, to be elected by ballot by the conference, and the President of the Conference shall be the Chairman of the committee. The four members so elected shall serve for twelve months only and act in an advisory capacity to the President during the interim of the conference.
11. Ministers and preachers coming from other denominations shall be regarded as probationers for three years, and they shall be required to study and pass examinations on the discipline, history and policy of our church. They shall not be deprived of the rights and privileges of an ordained minister, but their names may be dropped or placed on the itinerant roll at the expiration of their probation.
12. Delegates are allowed the same right of appeal as ministers from the action of the Stationing Committee.
13. The legal title of all land for the purpose of erecting church edifices to be acquired by the Mississippi Annual Conference of The Methodist Protestant Church from the date of this conference (December 1942) shall be vested in the board of trustees chosen of the membership of the local church, and said title or titles to remain in said trustees and their successors in office. The following shall be the only form of deed accepted by this conference: “In consideration of $_______, we convey and warrant to (Name of local church) Methodist Protestant Church Trustees and their successors in office, the following described land, to wit: (Here describe the land). Said land can be used for the advancement of The Methodist Protestant Church only and can never be transferred to any other purpose than as stated above.”
14. The Ministerial Education and Relations Committee shall be a continuous active committee, consisting of four ministers who are high school graduates or equivalent, and four laymen: one minister and one layman to be replaced each year by conference election: the Annual Conference President shall be ex-officio member, the Committee to elect its own chairman and secretary, who shall keep in contact with all undergraduates and who shall keep records.
15. Ordination shall be dependent upon serving a minimum of one year under the supervision of a pastor selected by the Ministerial Education and Relations Committee. Requirement may be waived by the Ministerial Education and Relations Committee based on prior ministerial experience.
16. The time of meeting of the Mississippi Annual Conference shall be Wednesday before the fourth Sunday in June, annually.
17. The president of The Mississippi Annual Conference is required to visit the churches of the district on the basis of need, or by specific request of the pastor and/or laity of the church until such a time as a full-time president shall be elected.
18. The Mississippi Annual Conference Trustees and one other minister and one other layman, elected by the conference to serve two years, the terms of office to expire in alternate years, shall now be elected and hereafter compose the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Methodist Protestant Bible Campground and Headquarters. This Board of Directors are hereby authorized to:
A. Approve plans, negotiate contracts, employ personnel, or any other acts necessary to construct, maintain and/or repair facilities at the camp.
B. Buy, sell, lease or mortgage camp facilities and any lands appertaining thereto, except that in no case shall any camp property be sold or mortgaged without the prior approval of the Mississippi Conference by a majority vote.
C. Elect its own chairman, secretary and treasurer.
D. Minutes shall be printed each year as part of the Mississippi Annual Conference minutes.
19. No minister or layman of the Mississippi Conference shall be eligible to serve on more than two (2) standing committees, with the exception of the District Committee, the Stationing Committee, and the Nominating Committee.
20. Any minister who gives up his Elder’s Credentials for whatever cause, whether voluntarily or by request or requirement of the conference, shall have them restored only on examination by the Ministerial Education and Relations Committee, and after serving a period of three years probation.
21. The Methodist Protestant Bible School Campground near Collins, Mississippi, is the place of meeting for all major functions of the Mississippi District of the Methodist Protestant Church, and this facility is designated, MISSISSIPPI HEADQUARTERS OF THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH, and any permanent sign affixed thereto for publicity purposes shall bear this title.
22. The fiscal year of the local churches shall be June 1 — May 31, and the Conference Treasurer shall close the books on June 10.
23. The President’s report shall be the first matter of business after the seating of the delegates to the Mississippi Annual Conference each year, so that the conference may be informed of his activities, along with appointments, etc., and also the recommendations that he may have for the conference. The Treasurer’s report and standing committee reports shall be given along with the President’s report.
24. The Superannuate Fund Board is responsible for the management and disbursements of the funds under the by-laws of the conference.
25. The Camp Meeting Committee and the Council of Religious Education of the Mississippi Conference shall unite their efforts and conduct a Camp Meeting and Bible School concurrently. All decisions concerning the Camp Meeting and Bible School shall be made in a joint meeting of the two committees including but not limited to the selection of all personnel, programs, plans, schedules, guest speakers, music leaders, and children’s workers. This joint committee shall also select a Director of the Camp Meeting and Bible School who will be charged with contacting and inviting any guest speakers, musicians or other persons. The President of the Mississippi Conference shall act as chairman at all joint meetings.
26. Each church in the Mississippi District is to send an amount specified by the conference and the Finance Committee to the conference Treasurer to cover the expenses of the meeting of the Mississippi Annual Conference at the campgrounds.
27. The Treasurer of the Mississippi Conference is authorized to handle only official money of the conference.
28. The Nominating Committee shall be a permanent standing committee of the Mississippi Annual Conference, comprised of three (3) ministers, three (3) laymen and the President of the Annual Conference, to meet at least two (2) weeks prior to the sitting of the Annual Conference for the purpose of nominating persons to hold office and serve on the standing committees of the Mississippi Annual Conference, with the exception of the offices of President, Secretary, Treasurer, District Committee, Stationing Committee and Committee on Nominations, which are to be elected by secret ballot. This is not to impede the democratic process and every possible means shall be used to insure said process.
29. The District Committee of the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church be authorized to serve as an advisory committee to the president of the Mississippi Conference.
30. All resolutions to be considered at a sitting of the Conference must be submitted to the president at least sixty (60) days prior to the convening of the Conference.
The District Committee shall act as the Resolutions Committee and consider all resolutions submitted and provide each delegate a copy of those considered worthy to be presented to the conference at least thirty (30) days prior to the assembling of the Conference.
31. Members of the Board of Church Extension shall be elected to serve for two years, one lay person and one minister to be elected each year.
32. The Church Relations Committee shall be designated a Standing Committee with staggered terms of two years, consisting of two ministers and two laymen.
33. The final order of business of the Mississippi Annual Conference shall be an installation service conducted by the sitting president at which time the President Elect shall assume all duties and responsibilities of President of the Mississippi Annual Conference. This shall only be effective when a new President is elected by the Conference. The President Elect shall attend all committee meetings with the sitting President at which time the President Elect will receive a full update regarding the current state of the conference.