Leadership at Heritage UMC

At Heritage United Methodist Church—and at all United Methodist churches, the clergy and laity work in partnership to attend to our mission—setting vision and direction, and designing and executing the strategies that will make that vision a reality. The theology and practices governing our work together is collected in a resource called the United Methodist Book of Discipline.

Every year Heritage elects some members to serve in specific leadership roles. The following is a summary of these roles, and what each has traditionally entailed at Heritage, though each year the leaders are encouraged to make the role their own!

You Are Here
We are a part of the Gulf-Central District, one of six that make up the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. An annual conference is led by a bishop, and a district is led by a superintendent. Heritage is under the leadership of Bishop Tom Berlin and District Superintendent Emily Hotho.

Each district is divided into “charges,” which are served by a United Methodist clergy person—either a Licensed Local Pastor, a Commissioned Provisional Elder, or an Ordained Elder. (Episcopal clergy can serve UMC churches, and vice-versa, should the need arise, as there is a “full-communion” agreement almost completed by the two denominations.) Usually a charge includes one church, but it can include more than one served by the same pastor, called a multi-point charge. This usually occurs when two or more nearby churches are too small (around 25 members) to afford a pastor and/or staff members by themselves. Heritage United Methodist Church is a single-point charge, and our pastor is an ordained elder, Rev. Matt Horan.

Nominees are elected to one three-year term of service, and can be renewed once. In 2026, these are the official nominated leadership positions and groups at Heritage.

Charge Conference
Each fall, around October or November, there is a meeting of the elected leaders of each “charge,” at which time some specific items of business are conducted called Charge Conference. These include setting clergy salaries, nominating members for certification as a clergy candidate, buying or selling church property, approving major renovations, taking on debt, setting budgets, electing lay leadership teams, and other major decisions affecting the life of the church or churches of the charge.

All people elected to specific lay leadership roles or as at-large members of the charge conference are voting members. Clergy are not voting members, as they are members of their Annual Conference, and not of their local church. Staff members may be elected to serve on the charge conference, but are not automatically members by virtue of their staff role alone.

The district superintendent may call the charge conference as a “church conference” instead. In that case all members of the church are voting members.

There must be at least two Sundays between the announcement of, and the date of, any official meetings of nominated leadership groups in order for those in attendance to be a quorum. If the announcement meets this standard, whoever is in attendance shall be considered a quorum, and they will be allowed to make binding decisions related to their area of responsibility. If the meeting is not called far enough in advance, the whole membership of the group will be considered present, and any voting threshold will have to be met as a percentage of the whole.

For example, should a decision require a simple majority, and there are 10 members of the group, and a decision needs to be made by electronic means, it would take six “yes” votes to pass, even if the chair only received four responses.

Heritage Leadership Board (HLB)
For those familiar with the United Methodist Church’s past forms of leadership—the HLB assumes responsibility for the work formerly done by the Staff-Parish Committee, Finance Committee, and Board of Trustees. They meet monthly, or as needed, to provide leadership alongside the staff in matters such as human resources, budgeting, and facilities management.

Administrative Council
A charge conference may only be called with approval by the district superintendent, yet it is valuable for the members of the charge conference to meet periodically to hear reports, participate in brainstorming or focus-grouping, ask questions, talk together about the mission of the church and its strategy for accomplishing it, and receive information that they can then share with their circles of influence in the church for adoption of new initiatives when needed. Thus at Heritage we keep this group empaneled the whole year, and they meet quarterly on a 4th Monday night in the winter, spring, and summer, with the fall meeting being the charge conference meeting itself.

As the top mission-tending group in the church, should there be a change made to the church’s missional or strategic alignment, the Administrative Council is engaged in developing and implementing such a change. Then, the ongoing execution of this alignment would become the responsibility of the HLB.

Lay Leader
The Lay Leader is the counterpart to the pastor as clergy and laity serve in tandem to accomplish the work of the church. The Lay Leader serves as chairperson of the Administrative Council, and serves as a voting member of the Heritage Leadership Board. If they have a family member on staff or elected to the HLB as an at-large member, the Lay Leader will be a member of the HLB with voice but no vote.

In 2026 your lay leader is Jake Authier.

Lay Delegate to Annual Conference
Every year there are an equal number of clergy and laity delegates sent to the June meeting of the annual conference. For every pastor appointed to a church, there is one lay delegate sent to annual conference. During years when Heritage has had an associate pastor, there were two lay delegates sent. In 2026, your lay delegates are Tim Barnes and Janet Range. Next year there will be one lay delegate from Heritage.

The Lay Delegate(s) to Annual Conference are voting members of the HLB. If they have a family member on staff or elected to the HLB as an at-large member, the Lay Delegate will be a member of the HLB with voice but no vote.

Financial Secretary
Ensures the accurate recording of all contributions coming into the church. They are a voting member of the HLB unless they are a staff member or have a relative on the staff or HLB as an at-large member. Pat Bluhm serves as your Financial Secretary.

Membership Secretary
Ensures the accuracy or the membership roll of the church. They are a voting member of the HLB unless they are a staff member or have a relative on the staff or HLB as an at-large member. Pat Bluhm serves as your Membership Secretary.

Treasurer
Maintains accurate records of budget and expense information and projections, and supervises Heritage’s annual financial audit. They are a voting member of the HLB unless they are a staff member or have a relative on the staff or HLB as an at-large member. Neil Yarian serves as your Treasurer.

Missions Team
A council of people who represent our various local, denominational, and international partnerships, creating ways for the congregation to remain aware of and participate in them. These include school partnerships (Countryside High School, East Lake High School, Leila Davis Elementary, and McMullen-Booth Elementary), Maddie Williams Community Center, Pack-a-Sack, Foster-2-Foster, Zoe Empowers in Rwanda, Victorious Heritage Methodist Church in Cuba, hurricane relief efforts, Wesley Foundations, and ministries in partnership with the Florida Conference / other UMC churches. The missions team meets as needed, and members usually serve as a liaison between the missions team and one of our partnership organizations.

Justice Team
A new team being formed this fall that will discern and implement Heritage’s advocacy and work on behalf of those hurt by the long-term, systemic sins of our society.‍ More information will be shared with the congregation as our areas of focus become clear.