Editing Church of the Brethren (section)

=== Boards, committees, and agencies ===
Each congregation selects delegates to serve at an Annual Conference (traditionally called Annual Meeting), which is the final human authority in questions of faith and practice. Issues that cannot be resolved on a local level, or which have implications for the church as a whole are framed as "queries", which are submitted by a congregation to the district (since 1866), and then, if necessary, are passed on to Annual Conference. Standing Committee, a body composed of representatives from each district, processes the business that comes to Annual Conference and makes recommendations. Often a committee is formed to study the matter, and an answer is reported and adopted by a vote of the delegates at a subsequent Annual Conference, although sometimes a query is returned.

The Brethren have numerous boards and committees (sometimes called "teams") that can be either temporary or permanent and either highly focused on one issue (e.g. evangelism) or general in scope. Several agencies are given charge of carrying out the ministries of the church under the auspices of Annual Conference.

At the 2008 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, two of these agencies—the Church of the Brethren General Board and the Association of Brethren Caregivers—were combined into a single entity, the Church of the Brethren, Inc., the ministry arm of which is now known as the Mission and Ministry Board. Headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, its programs include,<ref>[https://www.brethrenpress.com/ Brethren Press]</ref> Global Mission and Service, Brethren Volunteer Service,<ref>[http://www.brethren.org/bvs/ Brethren Volunteer Service]</ref> Youth/Young Adult Ministries, Intercultural Ministries, and Discipleship Ministries. The ''Messenger'' periodical,<ref>[http://www.brethren.org/messenger/ Messenger]</ref> whose roots go back to 1851—making it one of the oldest continually operating church periodicals in the country—is the official magazine of the church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brethren.org/messenger/about.html|title=About us|website=Messenger Magazine|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref>

The general secretary, typically hired for renewable five-year terms, oversees the work of the Church of the Brethren, Inc., and is the chief ecumenical officer of the denomination. Other Annual Conference agencies include [[Bethany Theological Seminary]], Brethren Benefit Trust, and On Earth Peace.