The annual assignment to a field of service of ministerial members active in an annual conference. The appointment may be to a pastoral charge or to special appointments beyond the local church. Only those ministerial members who are retired or who have been granted a sabbatical leave, a disability leave, or a leave of absence do not receive an appointment.
The clergy deployment system for The United Methodist Church is referred to as the itinerant system. Under this system ordained ministers are appointed or sent by the bishop to their assignments. It is the obligation of the ministerial members to accept these appointments. The term is also often applied to the place or position to which the ordained minister has been assigned by the bishop.
Source: A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press. Used by permission.
