The Discipline of the United Methodist Church shows how each church is to operate. I am going to take some time to give all of us a look at what the Discipline has to say. I will paraphrase the paragraphs in question to cut the amount of space this column would otherwise take up.

Section I. The Church and Pastoral Charge ¶ 201. Definition of a Local Church:
The local church is the place where disciples are made and trained to make disciples themselves. It is a community of believers and a redemptive fellowship under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The church exists for the maintenance of worship, the building up of the believers and the redemption of the world.
¶ 202 The Function of the Local Church:
Since it is at the level of the local church that the Church encounters the world, the local church becomes the base from which Christians move out into society. Our function, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is to help others come to know Jesus Christ personally, and to live in relationship with God. We are to minister to persons in the local community where we are located and to cooperate in ministry with other local churches. We are also to participate in the worldwide mission of the church.

¶ 203 Relation to the Wider Church: The local church is the local family of God. It is all those who have professed their faith in Christ, have been baptized, have assumed the vows of membership in the UMC and have come together as a fellowship. We hear the word of God, receive the sacraments, praise and worship the triune God, and do the work that Christ has called us to. As members of the UMC, subject to its Discipline we are also a part of the church universal, which is made up

¶ 204 Care of Members
Each local church shall have a definite evangelistic, nurture and witness responsibility for its members and the surrounding area and a missional outreach responsibility to the local and global community.

¶ 205. Definition of a Pastoral Charge
1. A pastoral charge shall consist of one or more churches that are organized under and subject to the Discipline of The United Methodist Church, with a charge conference, and to which an ordained or licensed minister is or may be duly appointed or appointable as pastor in charge or co-pastor. Where co-pastors are appointed, the bishop may designate for administrative purposes one as pastor in charge.
2. A pastoral charge of two or more churches may be designated a circuit or a cooperative parish.

Section II. Cooperative Parish
¶ 206. 1. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Local Churches may enhance their witness by joining together in cooperative minitry.
2. Annual conferences shall implement a process of cooperative parish development through which cooperative parish ministries are initiated and developed in both urban and town-and-country situations. A parish is a place where ministry can be coordinated and where outreach is enabled by the use of the combined resources of the parish. It is a place where mutual trust results in coordinated church programs and ministry happening in a larger geographic area.

In His service,
Bro. John
Brother John