United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 1

Since many have never seen or even heard of the United Pentecostal Church Manual for their licensed ministers, I thought I would share some of the rules they have. Perhaps you will discover that a minister has not followed a rule or maybe will understand why some things happened the way they did. The majority of the UPCI Manual consists of non-interesting material that explains the various departments in the organization and the leadership roles and duties. David Bernard, their current General Superintendent, announced in January 2017 that they were in the works of updating the Manual. [2023 note: This has been completed.]

If a resolution is passed at their annual fall General Conference, it will be added to the Manual the following January. Because of this and other possible changes, it usually is somewhat different from one year to the next.  At times the changes are minor and other times they are major, such as rules excluding from fellowship those who believe certain teachings.

You cannot purchase a copy from the UPCI unless you hold license. [NOTE: This briefly changed in 2018 when their Publishing House started to sell copies on their website in error. This was soon corrected.] However, sometimes older copies are found for sale through Amazon, ebay and other places. They mostly produce these digitally now, making it difficult to obtain more recent physical editions. Sometimes the prices online are listed at ridiculously high amounts. If you wait awhile, they will lower. Don’t spend more than $20.00 unless it’s an old version and be sure to ask what year is being sold as often all are advertised as the same year.

What is shared below is the same as from at least 2005, with the exception of #3 where the second sentence was added in 2006 and ‘us’ in the first sentence was changed to ‘the UPCI’.

Below are some of the ministerial rules as found in Article VII, section 7: Obligations and Rules. [2023 Edit: All of the below appeared the same through the 2020 UPCI Manual. In 2021, revisions were made in how the rules were listed and worded and these have been added to bring readers up to date through 2023.]

1. Ministers should not accept the invitation of a member or members of any assembly to hold a meeting in any church where there is a pastor without first obtaining said pastor’s consent. Where there is no pastor, the consent of the church officials in charge must be obtained.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (a).” The wording has changed to: “Credentialed UPCI ministers shall not accept the invitation of a member
or members of any UPCI assembly to hold a service/meeting in that church
without first obtaining consent from the pastor. If there is no pastor, the
consent of the District Board official(s) who has/have oversight must be
obtained.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

2. Any minister affiliated with us, desiring to hold a meeting in a town or community where there is an affiliated church or pastor shall first consult and obtain the consent of the pastor before conducting a revival or crusade on his or her own or for another assembly that is not in fellowship. He or she may appeal the pastor’s decision to the nearest District Presbyter.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (b).” The wording has changed to: “Any credentialed UPCI minister desiring to hold a service/meeting in a town or community where there is church pastored by a UPCI minister shall first consult with and obtain the consent of the pastor before conducting such on his or her own or for another assembly that is not in the UPCI. He or she may appeal the pastor’s decision to the Presbyter of the applicable section, or if the pastor is the Presbyter, to the District Superintendent.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

3. No minister affiliated with the UPCI shall endeavor to start a new work without the written consent of the District Board. Furthermore, any minister wishing to establish a preaching point, begin a daughter work, or start a church in a district other than the one in which he or she resides or holds license, must comply with all policies governing such activities in said district.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (c).” The wording has changed to: “No credentialed UPCI minister shall endeavor to start a new work without the written consent of the applicable District Board. Furthermore, any minister wishing to establish a preaching point, daughter work, or church in a district other than the one in which he or she holds credentials, must comply with all applicable policies in that district.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

4. No minister, or church congregation pastored by one of our ministers, shall relocate or move an existing church into a city or neighborhood where there is another United Pentecostal Church, without written permission from the District Board. All applications for permission to relocate or move an existing church congregation in a city or neighborhood where there is another United Pentecostal Church must be submitted in writing thirty (30) days prior to the Board meeting. The District Secretary shall notify the Sectional Presbyter of the application at least twenty (20) days prior to the Board meeting. The presbyter shall notify the neighboring pastors, if needed and necessary, at least ten (10) days before the Board meeting.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (d).” The wording has changed to: “No credentialed UPCI minister shall relocate or move an existing church
into a city or neighborhood where there is another church pastored by
a UPCI minister without written permission from the District Board.
All applications for permission to relocate or move an existing church
congregation into a city or neighborhood where there is another church
pastored by a UPCI minister must be submitted in writing at least thirty (30)
days prior to a District Board meeting. The District Secretary shall notify
the Sectional Presbyter of the application at least twenty (20) days prior
to said District Board meeting. The presbyter shall notify the neighboring
pastors, if deemed necessary, at least ten (10) days before the District Board
meeting.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

5. Ministers shall not accept the invitation of a member or members, or the pastor of any assembly, to preach in any church that is held in question without first getting the consent of the District Superintendent.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (e).” The wording has changed to: “Credentialed UPCI ministers shall not accept the invitation of a member(s)
or the pastor of any assembly, to preach in any church that is held in
question without first getting the consent of the applicable District
Superintendent within 30 days of the proposed speaking engagement. The
status of the church being formally ‘held in question’ must have been
determined by the District Board prior to the minister’s seeking consent to
speak there. Any UPCI minister seeking such consent to speak or merely
inquiring as to whether a church is ‘held in question’ shall be informed of
its status immediately.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

6. In interpersonal relationships of ministers and saints of different congregations, in the matter of volunteer services or religious activities, the pastor of local church saints will be first contacted for approval. In the event of rejection, the decision shall be held in confidence. This applies on the national, district, or sectional level.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (f).” The wording has changed to: “Any credentialed UPCI minister who desires any type of relationship with
members from a different congregation or who desires to request volunteer
or religious services from such individuals will first contact their pastor for
approval. This applies on the global, general, district, sectional, or local level.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

7. Any minister holding license or credentials who resigns the pastorate of a church, shall be expected to sever all connection with the said church and shall have no fellowship or visitation with any members who are held in question by his or her successor without his or her consent.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section, but is listed under “2. Ethics (g).” The wording has changed to: “Any credentialed UPCI minister who resigns the pastorate of a church,
shall sever all connection with the church and shall have no fellowship, intentional contact, or visitation with any of its members without his or her
successor’s consent, unless the departing minister is related to the church
member(s) by blood or marriage.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

To be continued….

United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 6
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 5
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 4
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 3
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 2
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 1