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Membership. Every local church shall have a church board, composed of the pastor, the Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI) superintendent, the president of the Nazarene Youth International (NYI), the president of the Nazarene Missions International (NMI), the stewards, and the trustees of the church, and the members of the SDMI Board when elected as the Education Committee of the church board by the annual church meeting. If the NMI president is the pastor’s spouse, and chooses not to serve on the board, the vice president may serve; however, if the president is the pastor’s spouse and chooses to serve on the board, he or she shall not be a part of the church/pastoral relationship review process of the pastor.

There shall be no more than 25 regular members of the church board. Ordained and district licensed ministers with the exception of individuals approved by the pastor and the district superintendent and paid employees of the local church are not eligible to serve on the local church board. The district superintendent, with the recommendation of the pastor and church board, may grant an exception for unassigned district licensed ministers who are students in the Course of Study or in a Nazarene institution of higher education. Such ministers are recused from church board action regarding recommending the minister to the district assembly for renewal of district minister’s license.

We direct our local churches to elect as church officers active members of the local church who profess the experience of entire sanctification and whose lives bear public witness to the grace of God that calls us to a holy life; who are in harmony with the doctrines, polity, and practices of the Church of the Nazarene; and who support the local church faithfully in attendance, active service, and with tithes and offerings. Church officers should be fully engaged in “making Christlike disciples in the nations.” (33, 113.11, 137, 141, 145147, 152.2, 159.4)