During the weeks leading up to Annual Conference, we are sharing a series of articles focusing on the legislative items that will be brought to the annual conference session on June 5-7, 2026, in Bismarck, N.D. Clergy and lay members should attend one of the pre-conference webinars to be held on May 26, 27, 28, or 31 to learn more about the legislation.

This legislation modifies the Conference rules to allow a person to serve on more than one Conference committee simultaneously, except for the CCFA, Board of Trustees, Board of Ordained Ministry, and Human Resources Committee. Additionally, it modifies the lay equalization rules related to youth and young adults, removing the requirement that there be one from each district. This increases the ability to fill these spots without geographic restrictions. Updating the time for churches to request an exemption from lay equalization to match a more realistic timetable for the conference and churches. Deleting 7.5.3 is done because Youth Annual Conference is an event that no longer exists. 

1.3 Revised Conference Rules  

Title: Revised Conference Rules  

Information submitted and affirmed by: Dakotas Common Table and Extended Cabinet  

Action: Remove the restriction on someone serving on more than one agency/committee except in the case of Administrative Teams that report to Susanna’s Table. Remove the requirement for additional youth and young adult lay equalization members to be from each district. Adjust the due date for churches to request an exemption from lay equalization. 

Rationale: (also included with each specific section) Recognizing we are a smaller conference and still need diversity on our strategic teams, this change means a person cannot serve on CCFA, Board of Trustees, Board of Ordained Ministry, and Human Resources Committee at the same time. While every attempt is made to find youth and young adults from each district, the spots should not remain open simply because a young person could not be found in a geographic area. Updating the time for churches to request an exemption from lay equalization to match a more realistic timetable for the conference and churches. Deleting 7.5.3 is done because Youth Annual Conference is an event that no longer exists. 

All ¶ refer to The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2020/2024. 

Section 6: Standing Rules 

REMOVE 6.3. Limitations. No person shall serve on more than one agency of the Annual Conference with the exception of ex-officio members. The Administrative Review Committee, Committee on Episcopacy, Sessions Committee, Rules, Records and Procedures Committee, Disaster Response, Task Force for Missional Appointments, Editorial Revisions Committee, Committee on Resolutions and General Conference Petitions, Generating Missional Resources Link, or a district agency shall not be counted towards this limit. 

REPLACE WITH 6.3 Limitations. No person shall serve on more than one Administrative Team of the Annual Conference that reports directly to Susanna’s Table with the exception of ex officio members or to ensure racial/ethnic diversity. A person may serve on more than one non-Administrative Team. 

6.11. Lay Members of the Annual Conference and Lay Equalization. In accordance with section VI of the Constitution of The United Methodist Church, ¶33, Article I, of The Discipline, the lay membership of Annual Conference shall be elected as follows:  

A. According to The Book of Discipline, the lay membership of the Annual Conference shall consist of professing lay members elected by each charge. Each charge served by more than one clergy member under appointment shall be entitled to as many lay members as there are clergy members under appointment. Each charge in the Dakotas Conference shall pay expenses for lay members it elects.  

Lay members by virtue of office: The Dakotas Conference shall pay the Annual Conference-allowed per diem, Annual Conference-allowed mileage, and registration fee:  

“The lay members shall have been for the two years next preceding their election members of The United Methodist Church and shall have been active participants in The United Methodist Church for at least four years next preceding their election.” (Paragraph 33, Article I)  

-Diaconal ministers  

-Active deaconesses under episcopal appointment within the bounds of the annual conference. 

-Home missioners under episcopal appointment within the bounds of the annual conference  

-Conference Co-Lay Leaders and District Co-Lay Leaders   

-Conference President of United Women in Faith 

-Conference President of United Methodist Men  

-Conference Co-Directors of Lay Servant Ministries  

-Conference Secretary of Global Ministries  

-President or equivalent officer of the conference young adult organization  

-President of the conference youth organization  

-Chair of the Annual Conference college student organization  

-One young person between the ages of twelve and seventeen from each district*  

-One young person between the ages of eighteen and thirty from each district*  

*“To be selected in such a manner as may be determined by the annual conference.” (¶33, Article I) The Conference Council of Youth Ministries is asked to designate one youth from each district in order to fulfill the younger portion of this requirement. 

B. In addition to those specified by The Discipline, the Dakotas Conference also includes the following persons as lay members of Annual Conference by virtue of office, if the person holding such office is a layperson and a member of a United Methodist Church. The Dakotas Conference shall pay the Annual Conference allowed per diem, the Annual Conference allowed mileage, and the registration fee:  

-Lay members of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration  

-Lay members of Susanna’s Table 

-Commissioned missionaries serving within the bounds of the Dakotas Conference  

-Dakotas Conference missionaries who meet the criteria of training and ministry and are approved by the Dakotas Board of Global Ministries or equivalent structure  

-General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates, if not otherwise elected from a local charge or by virtue of office  

-Campus ministers who are United Methodist lay persons and are serving a formally organized college or university campus ministry group  

-A student representative from each formally organized college or university campus ministry group (as selected by each campus ministry group)  

Any of these positions held by a Dakotas Conference United Methodist professing lay person:  

-Conference representative to general boards or agencies  

-Staff members of general boards or agencies  

-Chairs of conference boards/agencies who are lay  

-Conference Executive Director of Finance and Administrative Services  

-Conference Secretary  

-Conference Historian  

-Dakotas United Methodist Foundation Director  

-Conference Statistician  

-Conference Journal Editor  

-Area Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries  

-The Assistant to the Bishop for Connection and Communications or other bishop designee 

-Conference Chancellors  

-One young adult member to be selected per district by the Conference Superintendents in consultation with the Conference Council on Young Adult Ministries and Dakotas United Methodist Student Movement.  

-One youth member to be selected per district by the Conference Superintendents in consultation with the Conference Council on Youth Ministries  

-Four additional youth and four additional young adults - demographic and diversity are taken into consideration when identifying these persons 

-Certified Lay Ministers (CLM) under assignment  

The maximum projected number of additional lay members needed for equalization shall be determined annually by the Conference Secretary, based on the clergy members and the pastoral charges listed in the Business of the Annual Conference reported in the most recent Journal. The members needed for equalization shall then be allocated to those pastoral charges. Under this formula, certain pastoral charges, beginning with the pastoral charge with the largest reported membership and proceeding in descending order of membership, shall be entitled to elect additional lay members in keeping with this formula until equalization is reached (those lay persons attend Annual Conference at pastoral charge expense). The formula is as follows: the total number of lay members needed for equalization divided by the number of charges in the conference to get the average members per charge. The membership of each charge is then divided by the average. That resulting quotient, rounded to the nearest whole number, is the maximum number of lay equalization members a charge is eligible to elect. Lay members elected in this section are in addition to the members elected under the provisions of sections 6.11.a. and b. (by virtue of office).  

C. If a charge requests not to have an additional lay equalization member, the charge may request this exemption by September 1 or October 1 of each year, but still must follow section 6.11.a. When a charge declines to elect an additional equalization member, the next smaller charge, by membership, shall be given the opportunity to elect an additional lay member. 

Section 7: Rules of Order 

DELETE 7.5.3 

7.5.3. Appropriate items submitted by the Dakotas Youth Annual Conference will be reviewed by the Sessions Committee for possible consideration by the Annual Conference.  

This legislation is also available in the 2026 Conference Workbook.