Instructions Manual for

Church Clerks

Potomac Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists

606 Greenville Ave | Staunton, VA 24401
 Potomac Conference Clerk:

Claudya Barrientos
[email protected]
Office 540-886-0771 x 235
Fax 540-886-5734
www.pcsda.org/membershipandstatistics

Appreciation is extended to Caryn Payne, Georgia-Cumberland Conference Clerk, for her

church clerk manual printed in 2007.

Last Revised: January 2020

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Table of Contents
ROLE OF THE CHURCH CLERK/SECRETARY ................................ 3
EADVENTIST.NET INFORMATION................................................... 4
CHURCH BOARD & BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES ...................... 5
INCOMING MEMBERSHIP RECORDS ............................................. 7
BAPTISM ........................................................................................ 7
REBAPTISM ................................................................................... 8
PROFESSION OF FAITH ................................................................ 8
LETTER OF TRANSFER................................................................. 9
OUTGOING MEMBERSHIP CHANGES .......................................... 11
DEATH .......................................................................................... 11
TRANSFER OF OUTGOING MEMBERSHIP ................................ 11
MISSING ....................................................................................... 12
REMOVED (APOSTASY).............................................................. 13
CHURCH BULLETIN ....................................................................... 14
CHURCH DIRECTORY ................................................................... 14
COMMITTEE LISTS......................................................................... 14
MISSION GROUPS ......................................................................... 15
PERMANENT CHURCH RECORDS................................................ 15
UNION PAPER SUBSCRIPTIONS................................................... 15
CHURCH OFFICERS UPDATE ....................................................... 16
ATTENDANCE REPORT ................................................................. 16

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ROLE OF THE CHURCH
CLERK/SECRETARY
Welcome to the office of Church Clerk/Secretary for your congregation! This is a
position where your spiritual gifts of “Helps, Energy and Orderliness” (1
Corinthians 12:28) will come into play as you serve your church with lists,
changes, numbers, people, history and church procedures.
Your role will be to minister to the congregation by documenting and maintaining
the church records. You will work in close relationship with the pastor and other
church officers and members. You will keep accurate minutes of church board and
business meetings and submit information regarding your church to the conference
on a regular basis.
As clerk/secretary, you must recognize the need for careful and confidential
guardianship of all church records. Even inactive members regard their church
membership and church business as important to their spiritual life.
Not all congregations have the same needs. A clerk, as well as an assistant, may
be necessary to function adequately in larger churches. In some cases, one clerk
does everything dealing with membership changes and transfers. Another clerk
deals with church board and business meetings. This arrangement works very well
and keeps the job from becoming too much for today’s busy individuals.
Some churches keep records in computer files while others use file cards and
notebooks. With the introduction of the eAdventist.net web based internet program,
record management efficiency has been greatly enhanced.
You are responsible for acquainting yourself with the latest edition of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church Manual which contains important information and procedures
for the work of the clerk (Contact your local Adventist Book Center for this
publication or visit https://www.pcsda.org/membershipandstatistics to download
the latest version).
Please read through this manual for the duties you are expected to handle. It is a
challenge, but one you will enjoy!
May the Lord bless you in your endeavors!

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EADVENTIST.NET INFORMATION
eAdventist.net is the web-based internet membership program of the North
American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
It was piloted in June of 2002 in the North Pacific Union and was made available to
the rest of the division in January of 2003. Potomac Conference went online August
2007. Currently all conferences in North America have come online.
eAdventist.net is a membership program that give you access to your church
membership data for updating member records, transfer requests, numerous
reports, etc. because it is an online program, whenever you, as clerk, or the
membership clerk of the conference, updates member information, it is immediately
seen by all who have access to your membership. For example, if a member’s
address is updated, the very next time mailing labels are generated for any of the
conference/union/NAD mailings, the most recent address will be utilized.
Consequently, savings in postage of undeliverable mail has been greatly reduced.
If you would like to become one of the many local church clerks/secretaries in the
Potomac Conference who are enjoying the benefits of being online with
eAdventist.net, please complete the Authorization Form enclosed. You, as well as
your pastor, will need to sign the form. Please email, mail, or fax this back to me at
the conference office.
Claudya Barrientos
Potomac Conference Membership Clerk
606 Greenville Avenue
Staunton, VA 24401
[email protected]
Fax number: 540-886-5734

Once I have your Authorization Form, I will contact you with training manual
information and the demo site login authorization code.
Being on eAdventist.net is not mandatory; however, we are encouraging you to
check into the benefits of eAdventist.net.

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CHURCH BOARD & BUSINESS
MEETING MINUTES
As a church clerk/secretary, you are expected to take the minutes of church board
and business meetings. If you are unable to attend a scheduled meeting, you should
make necessary arrangements in advance, which are satisfactory to the
chairperson, for a replacement to record the minutes.
Minutes should be typed as soon as possible after the meeting, while notes are still
meaningful, and details can be more easily recalled. Provide a copy for the pastor
and/or chairperson to read and approve before the final copy of the minutes is
copied and distributed.
1. Supply a copy of the previous meeting minutes for each committee member.
2. Minutes should include the following:

• Date and time of meeting

• Place of meeting
• Members present
• Members absent
• Invited guests present
• Agenda items
• Actions voted (number by year and number of the voted action)
• Major discussion items (even though no action was voted)
• Signature lines for chairperson and the clerk to sign their names
3. A sample of church board minutes is on the following page.

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 Any Seventh-day Adventist Church
MINUTES OF THE CHURCH BOARD
January 22, 2020
Anytown, State
MEMBERS PRESENT: Joy Carman, Chairperson, Mary Barnes, clerk/secretary,
John Boskind, Marilyn Carter, Donna Nammar, Sandy Welch, Missy Chapman,
etc.

MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Larry Payne, John Rhodes, etc.

INVITED GUEST: Eldon Preston

Action No.
20-01 AGENDA

VOTED: to accept the agenda as presented with the additions as suggested.

20-02 MINUTES OF THE CHURCH BOARD MEETING

VOTED: to accept the Minutes of the Church Board held November 3, 2019 with
corrections.

20-03 FINANCIAL REPORT

VOTED: to accept the December 2019 Financial Report

20-04 INSTALLATION OF WINDOWS IN YOUTH ROOM

VOTED: to approve $5,000 from the building fund to be used for the purchase and
installation of new windows in the youth SS room.

DISCUSSION OF THE UPCOMING EVANGELISTIC SERIES

Considerable discussion centered around the upcoming evangelistic meetings

planned for the Sample area. It was suggested that the pastor contact the
speaker and bring a report suggesting a preferred time and location for the
meetings.

20-05 TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP (outgoing)

VOTED: to recommend from the Any SDA church the transfer of membership for Mike
and Daisy Clark to the Lexington SDA Church in Lexington, KY.

20-06 PURCHASE OF OFFICE COPIER

VOTED: to authorize the purchase of a new copier for the church office not to exceed
$3,500.

Joy Carman, Chairperson May Barnes, Secretary

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INCOMING MEMBERSHIP
RECORDS
An individual becomes a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church in one of
three ways:
• Baptism or Rebaptism
• Profession of Faith
• Letter of transfer from another Seventh-day Adventist church
Your clerk duties for each situation is as follows (See also the SDA Church Manual):

BAPTISM
1. When a person is baptized, a Certificate of Baptism must be signed by the
pastor and church clerk/secretary. These forms are available from the
Potomac Conference’s Adventist Book Center called LivingWell
(https://www.livingwellabc.com).
2. When the person has been accepted into the church fellowship by vote of
the congregation, not just the church board, the clerk must record the
following personal information:
• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Date of birth – vitally important!!
• Marital status
• Date of baptism
• Officiating pastor
3. Record this information in eAdventist.net.
4. If NOT on eAdventist.net, this information must be sent to the conference
membership clerk right away so that it can be entered into eAdventist.net.
You are responsible for seeing that baptism information is sent to the
conference. It is not necessary for the Pastor to send in the information, just
as long as it is sent by you!!

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REBAPTISM
If a current member of your church is baptized, this is considered as re-baptism.
If the person has been dropped from SDA church membership in the past as
Missing and has been attending and the individual desires baptism, this is
considered as rebaptism.
If the person has been dropped from SDA church membership in the past as
Removed (Apostasy) and the individual returns and desires baptism, this is
considered a new baptism and not a re-baptism as far as reporting goes.
If the individual is baptized and is found that they are a member at another SDA
church, it will be necessary to transfer their church membership to your church,
provided he/she is wanting to join your church. If this is what needs to be done,
please contact the conference membership clerk for instructions on how to request
this transfer and record the re-baptism.

PROFESSION OF FAITH
1. The Certificate of Profession of Faith is signed by the pastor and the church
clerk/secretary. These forms are available from the Adventist Book Center.
2. When the person has been accepted into the church fellowship by vote of
the congregation, not just the church board, the clerk must record the
following personal information:
• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Date of birth – vitally important!!
• Marital status
• Date of baptism
• Officiating pastor
3. Record this information in eAdventist.net.
4. If NOT on eAdventist.net, this information must be sent to the conference
membership clerk right away so that it can be entered into eAdventist.net.
You are responsible for seeing that profession of faith information is sent to
the conference. It is not necessary for the Pastor to send in the information,
just as long as it is sent by you!!

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LETTER OF TRANSFER
The North American Division is now using eAdventist.net for all membership
transfers. This has done away with the former “green membership transfer card” to
request a transfer.
When an individual comes to you requesting to join your church:
1. Obtain the full name (maiden name if appropriate) of the individual and the
name of the church, city and state where their current SDA church
membership is located. You can also request their home address and their
date of birth.
2. Take the requested name to your church board to let them know who is
wanting to join your church. If you as clerk are online with eAdventist.net,
you initiate a transfer coming INTO your church directly online. You mail
nothing! If the church where the membership is currently located is not
online, the transfer request will print from the conference office and be sent
to the other church (see transfer form sample on page 7a). Your
responsibility is to see that the transfer request is entered on the
eAdventist.net system. If you are NOT online with eAdventist.net, this
information should be emailed, faxed, or called into the conference
membership clerk. DO NOT SEND A REQUEST TO THE OTHER
CHURCH. The conference membership clerk will enter it into the
eAdventist.net system for the transfer to be initiated.
3. You now wait until you receive word that the request has been granted. The
transfer request is taken to the granting church board, then to the
congregation for a first and second reading. If a church bulletin is printed
each week, those transferring can be listed in the church bulletin. The date
of the second reading is the grant/recommended date. The church clerk
enters the second reading date on the transfer form and mails it back to the
conference membership clerk or, if online, enters the date in eAdventist.net.
The date is then entered into the system and if you are online, you will
receive a notification from eAdventist.net that the grant date has been
entered. If you are NOT online with eAdventist.net, a transfer form is printed
and emailed/mailed to you that now asks for the acceptance date. This form
is sent to you, the clerk who is asking for the transfer (see transfer form
sample on page 10a).
4. This individual is now ready to be accepted into your church. Their name
goes before the church in a first and second reading whereupon the date of
the second reading is the official acceptance date. This is the date you

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 enter into eAdventist.net as the acceptance date or written in the transfer
letter.

IMPORTANT: Please remember that individual names are added or subtracted from
the church membership list ONLY after the transfer has been completed from both
churches – the granting and accepting church. At no time is an individual not listed
as a member somewhere!

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 Instructions English 2.0 28-Sept-2017

You have received the enclosed “Transfers of Membership” form

because at least one Seventh-day Adventist church member is
joining or leaving your church. If you have been asked for “Date
granted” or “Date accepted”, enter the dates in mm/dd/yyyy format,
sign the form, and mail/fax it to the conference listed in the “Return
Address”. If “Signature” is not asked for, you do not need to mail/fax
the form.

Thank you.

Use this translation as a guide

to the English form.
Transfers of Membership
Las Virtudes Adventist Church

Attn: Return Address:

Church Clerk Membership Records
Las Virtudes Adventist Church Sample Conference in NAD
Villa Prades PO Box 00000
Rio Piedras 00924 Columbia, MD 20904
Puerto Rico
Or fax to: 123-456-7890
Phone: 123-456-0987

REQUESTS TO GRANT Transferring to…

First SDA Church (Silver Spring, MD) – Clerk Name Transfers of Membership
Sue Smith Requested 2/23/2016 Date granted: __________ Your Church Name

Attn: Return Address:

Church Clerk Membership Records
GRANTED TO ACCEPT Transferring from… Your church name Address of NAD Conference
Your church address that sent you this form
Maranatha SDA Church (Laurel, MD) – Clerk Name
Jay Jones Requested 3/4/2016 Date accepted: ________
Lois Jones Requested 3/4/2016 Date accepted: ________ Or fax to: FAX number
Phone: Phone number

REQUESTS TO GRANT Transferring to…

ACCEPTED Completed transfers to… Church requesting the transfer (City, State/Province) – Clerk: Name, phone number
Person leaving Date requested, mm/dd/yyyy Fill in date granted: mm/dd/yyyy
Ephesus SDA Church (Takoma Park, MD) – Clerk Name
Patrick Harris Accepted 3/14/2016
Elizabeth Harris Accepted 3/14/2016
Patrick Harris, Jr Accepted 3/14/2016 GRANTED TO ACCEPT Transferring from…
Church granting transfer (City, State/Province) – Clerk: Name, phone number

Person joining
Signature (church clerk): X __________________________________ Date granted, mm/dd/yyyy Fill in date accepted: mm/dd/yyyy
Mail or fax to return address above
Person joining Date granted, mm/dd/yyyy Fill in date accepted: mm/dd/yyyy

ACCEPTED Completed transfers to…

Church that accepted your former member (City, State/Province) – Clerk: Name, phone number

Person that left Date accepted, mm/dd/yyyy

Person that left Date accepted, mm/dd/yyyy
Person that left Date accepted, mm/dd/yyyy

Signature (church clerk): X________________________

Some sections may be omitted. Mail or fax to Return Address above

10a
OUTGOING MEMBERSHIP CHANGES
An individual may leave the membership of a Seventh-day Adventist church in one
of four ways:
• Death
• Transfer of outgoing membership
• Missing
• Removed (apostasy)

Your clerk duties for each situation follows (See also the SDA Church Manual):

DEATH
If online, record the date of death in eAdventist.net. If NOT online, email or phone
the conference membership clerk so she can enter this information. In order for your
membership records to be in agreement with the conference, it is necessary that the
conference be aware of all such membership changes.

TRANSFER OF OUTGOING MEMBERSHIP

1. You as clerk will receive notification of the transfer request. If you are online,
you will see in the “To Grant” column of eAdventist.net a transfer request. If
you are NOT online, you will receive by email or in the mail a transfer request
(see transfer letter sample on page 10a) asking for a grant/ recommended
date for the transfer.

2. Take the transfer request to your church board for approval. The name is then
entered in the church bulletin for two weeks and presented to the congregation
in a first and second reading. The date of the second reading is the official
grant/recommended date.

3. Enter the date on the transfer form and return it to the conference membership
clerk so she can enter the date in eAdventist.net. If you are an online clerk,
enter the date in eAdventist.net directly.
Remember, the name is not removed from your records UNTIL an acceptance date
has been sent to you in the form of an acknowledgement (see transfer form sample

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on page 10a). Once you have an acceptance date, you can remove the individuals
name from your Church Record Book. The name is automatically transferred in
eAdventist.net from one church to the other.

MISSING
At times, it is necessary to go through the membership list and remove those who
have not been attending for many years (usually at least 5+ years). This is not a
joyous time but is sometimes necessary for numerous reasons.
It is suggested that you as clerk work with your pastor to compile a list of those who
have not been attending. Compose a letter to this group letting them know that you
are working on your church membership records and you have missed seeing them.
Ask if they have moved and are attending another SDA church where they would
like to have their membership transferred. Remember, the tone of this letter is
redemptive, not one of scolding. You may also want to include a dated card giving
them the option of telling you what they would like to have done with their
membership. The following are suggestions:
□ I am attending the North SDA Church and will ask the church clerk to
request my membership be transferred here.
□ I wish to have my membership remain at this church.
□ I do not accept the teachings of the SDA church any longer and wish
to have my name removed from the SDA church membership list.
Ask them to indicate their desire, sign the card, and return it in a certain amount of
time – such as a month. Be sure to include a date that indicates if you have not
received any information by this date their name will be dropped as missing by the
church in a church business meeting.
These letters need to be sent by registered mail. This will serve as official notice. Be
sure and keep accurate records of the letters that are sent and the responses that
you receive. This is part of your permanent membership record. Your next step will
be dependent on the response you receive.
Letters that are returned as undeliverable with no forwarding address, will be
dropped as Missing. The date of the church business meeting when these names
are read and voted on is the official date they are dropped as Missing.

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HELP PREVENT MISSING MEMBERS
The church clerk/secretary has a unique opportunity to help prevent “missing
member” situations.
In a small church it is not hard to notice when someone is not attending regularly. A
large church may notice when newsletters are returned by the postal service.
If the church clerk/secretary takes note of those persons, he/she can send church
bulletins with friendly notes and tell the pastoral staff that the member has been
missing. An alert clerk can keep a member from becoming “missing”. If only a short
time has elapsed between first notice of an “undeliverable” letter and intervention by
a pastor, elder or lay member, it may not be difficult to find the member and
encourage a return to active fellowship.
It also should be noted that those who have been missing for longer periods of time,
sometimes can be found by talking with members who have known them. Once
found, they can be encouraged to return to church fellowship. This is your ultimate
goal!

REMOVED (APOSTASY)
If someone wishes to have their name dropped because they do not wish to remain
a member of the SDA church, they will be listed as Removed. The date of the
church business meeting when these names are read and voted on is the official
date they are dropped as Removed.

The church can also discipline and remove members from membership. Please
refer to Reasons for Discipline on page 62 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Manual 19th Edition (2015).
A church removing members must notify them in writing of the action taken but with
the assurance of enduring spiritual interest and personal concern. This
communication should, where possible, be delivered in person by the pastor or by a
board designee.
Members should not be removed for nonattendance or for their inability or failure to
contribute financially to the Church.
The Church Board can recommend removing a member, but the vote is then taken
to the church at-large in a business meeting to vote on the removal of members.

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Under NO circumstances does the church clerk, elder, or pastor have the right to
take the final action of removing a member. The final action is at the church at-large
in a business meeting.
Except in the case of the death of members, the clerk can remove a name from the
records only after a vote of the church in a business meeting.

CHURCH BULLETIN
In small churches where there is no church secretary, the church clerk/secretary
may assume the responsibility of the weekly church bulletin. However, this is a duty
that may be delegated to someone with typing and/or computer skills if it is more
convenient to do so.

CHURCH DIRECTORY
One of the responsibilities the church clerk/secretary may have is to produce a
church directory. This may be printed, duplicated or produced using eAdventist.net
or by a company that makes photo directories. Often it will include non-member
spouses and non-baptized children from member-related homes plus regular
attendees who are not yet baptized.
Since one of the purposes of the directory is to promote friendship in the
congregation, it would be good to include a statement that “this is not an official
membership list but a directory of church families”.

COMMITTEE LISTS
The church clerk/secretary should keep a list of all committees appointed by the
church. He/she should also provide for the chairperson of the group a list of the
members comprising the committee, along with an outline of the task the committee
is being asked to accomplish.

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MISSION GROUPS
Mission Groups do not hold church membership. The members attending a mission
group have their membership located in a sponsoring church or at the Conference
Church. A mission group may elect a clerk whose first responsibility is to contact the
conference membership clerk.

PERMANENT CHURCH RECORDS

With the advent of eAdventist.net, the Church Record Book is not being used as
often by churches. Your church probably has a number of “blue” record books, all
of which are to be kept as permanent records for your church. Once you move to
eAdventist.net, your membership records are kept on computer. If you are NOT on
eAdventist.net, you can keep all your membership forms in an organized binder or
folder system.

It is recommended that monthly eAdventist.net reports be printed and kept in a 3-

ring notebook with monthly dividers. There are numerous reports that are available
on eAdventist.net that will give valuable statistical information on your church
(baptism reports, membership lists, membership statistics, etc). If these are printed
monthly and/or quarterly and filed, they will be a quick reference when attending
board meetings, church business meetings, etc. Be sure and store all such records
of your church in a fire proof safe as this is your church history and must be kept
permanently.
If the following year, you no longer are the church clerk, it is your duty to turn in all
membership files and records to the incoming clerk, since this is property of the local
church.

UNION PAPER SUBSCRIPTIONS

The church clerk/secretary ensures that each member receives a subscription to
periodicals: the monthly issue of the Adventist Review and the Columbia Union
paper Visitor. The mailing addresses for these subscriptions are generated from
eAdventist.net. Consequently, you can see the importance of keeping the member
information up to date in this system. Sending address changes and updates is a
very important function of the church clerk/secretary.

15
If a member notifies you that they are not receiving these subscriptions in the mail or
would like to make a change, you can verify and change the members’ address in
eAdventist.net. If you are not on eAdventist.net, you can send a notification to the
conference clerk of the necessary changes.

CHURCH OFFICERS UPDATE

At different times of the year churches nominate new church officers. It is the clerk’s
responsibility to update the list of Church Officers right away. If online on
eAdventist.net, you may update the church officers on the Organization tab. If NOT
on eAdventist.net, this information must be sent to the conference membership clerk
right away so that it can be entered into eAdventist.net.

ATTENDANCE REPORT
Take a count of Sabbath School attendance on the 2nd Sabbath and 7th Sabbath of
the quarter. Take a count of Church attendance every week and average for the
quarter. This report must be sent to the conference membership clerk on the 5th
of the month after the quarter ends. If you do not have an Attendance Report, call
the conference membership clerk to send you one. This is done by ALL clerks
whether or not they are online on eAdventist.net.
The purpose of this and the quarterly reports is to record a brief comprehensive
picture of the denomination. It will provide a guide to leaders at various levels, but
will also facilitate planning and pastoral care by the local church. Attendance data is
to be an accurate summary of local church and Sabbath school attendance.
Every regularly organized church and company is to report on attendance. The
count is to include the total number in attendance comprising: all adults, children
(regardless of age), SDA visitors, and non-SDA visitors. Everyone who is in
attendance on a Sabbath when attendance is being recorded must be counted.
If you do not have internet access: Submit attendance form via mail or fax at
Attention: Claudya Barrientos, 606 Greenville Avenue Staunton, VA 24401 or fax
(540) 886-5734.
If you have internet access: A website link will be provided within the Attendance
Sheets where you can provide your numbers in an online form. Please ask the
conference clerk if you do not receive the online website link.

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