Church Status Information Sheet

Quick-reference guide for Conference Offices for Church Statuses.

Church Status Information Sheet

This sheet is meant to be a quick-reference guide for Conference Offices. For official wording, see
¶6800+ of the 2019 Book of Discipline.

Pre-Church Status
A group or gathering performing ministry in a pre-church context which functions on its own under
the leadership of the conference superintendent and the annual conference. It may exist without a
constitution, bylaws, budget, members, growth/vision plan. It is, however, under the direction of
and accountable to the conference superintendent and the annual conference. These pre-churches are
strong ministries that have a desire to become their own entity but are not quite established
enough to be considered a CPP. A Pre-Church could be labeled as a Home Church, a Preaching Point
(PP), or
an Emerging Ministry Point (EMP), as determined by the annual conference.

Church Statuses
The Book of Discipline clearly outlines the steps toward a church becoming a full society. Below is
a quick list of the requirements of each step.

CPP Status (Church-Planting Project)
A church-planting project is the first phase in the formation of most new churches. To obtain a
Church ID Number, a Church Status Change Form must be submitted by the Conference Office. The CPP
comes into existence when the sponsoring agency announces its decision. A CPP shall remain in this
relationship no longer than two years unless granted an extension by its sponsoring agency.
Requirements:
• A sponsoring agency (local society or conference board/committee) which has
announced its decision to sponsor. The CPP is completely accountable to this sponsoring agency.
• The sponsoring agency is responsible for providing assistance and support in the
form of consultation, personnel, materials, and/or finances.
Responsibilities:
• Preparing persons to become members of a new Free Methodist fellowship or society
• When authorized by the sponsoring agency, full financial self-support shall be
attained as early as possible.
A church may be recognized as a CPP at any time in the year with adequate documentation provided to
the denomination (Church Status Change Form must be filled out by the Conference Office).