Section: Roles of Ministry

The pastor shall always show due regard for the united advice of the district superintendent and the District Advisory Board. (225.2, 538.2)

In case a licensed or ordained minister presenting a credential from another denomination shall, during the interim of sessions of the district assembly, make application for membership in a local church, the pastor may not receive such applicant without first having obtained the favorable recommendation of the District Advisory Board. (107, 228)

For the exercise of this office the pastor shall be amenable to the district assembly, to which he or she shall report annually and give brief testimony to his or her personal Christian experience. (205.3, 532.8, 538.9)

The pastor shall automatically become a member of the church of which he or she is pastor; or, in case of more than one church in his or her charge, of the church of his or her choice. (538.8)

Pastoral Service includes the ministry of a pastor or an associate pastor, who may serve in specialized areas of ministry recognized and approved by the appropriate governing, licensing and endorsing agencies. A member of the clergy called to any of these levels of pastoral service in connection with a church may be considered an assigned minister.

Supply Pastor. A district superintendent shall have the power to appoint a supply pastor, who shall serve subject to the following regulations:

1. A supply pastor may be a Nazarene member of the clergy serving in some other assignment, a local minister or a lay minister of the Church of the Nazarene, a minister in process of transfer from another denomination, or a minister who belongs to another denomination.
2. A supply pastor shall be appointed temporarily to fill the pulpit and to provide a spiritual ministry, but shall not have authority to administer the sacraments or to perform marriages unless that authority adheres to him or her on some other basis, and he or she shall not perform the administrative function of the pastor except in the filing of reports, unless authorized to do so by the district superintendent.
3. A supply pastor’s church membership shall not be automatically transferred to the church where he or she is serving.
4. A supply pastor shall be a nonvoting member of the district assembly unless he or she is a voting member by some other right.
5. A supply pastor may be removed or replaced at any time by the district superintendent.

Parent-Affiliated Congregation (PAC) Pastor. An elder or district licensed minister leading a Parent-Affiliated Congregation shall be an assigned minister and may be designated by the district as a “PAC pastor.”

Interim Pastor. An elder may be approved by the district assembly as district interim assigned (DIA) by the recommendation of the district superintendent and the District Advisory Board, and will serve when called upon by the district superintendent and a local church board. (212.1)

Song Evangelist. A song evangelist is a member of the Church of the Nazarene whose intention is to devote the major portion of his or her time to the ministry of evangelism through music. A song evangelist who has a ministerial credential and who is involved in active ministry and has evangelism as his or her primary assignment, and who does not sustain a retired relationship with the church or any of its departments or institutions, shall be an assigned minister.

Guidelines and procedures for certification of song evangelists’ roles are contained in the Sourcebook on Ordination.