• Qualifications 1

• Responsibilities 2

1. The body of elders selects the secretary. The secretary should have good organizational ability and should not be a procrastinator. (Rom. 12:11) He should have the ability to write in a way that is clear and understandable. The body of elders may assign another elder to assist him. If necessary, a qualified ministerial servant may be assigned by the body of elders to assist with tasks such as the compiling, posting, and submitting of the congregation’s field service activity to the branch. The branch office should be notified of a change of the brother serving as secretary by means of the Coordinator of the Body of Elders/​Secretary Change of Address (S-29) form.

2. The responsibilities of the secretary include the following:

1. (1) Along with the coordinator of the body of elders, ensuring that all elders have access to correspondence directed to the body of elders.​—See Chapter 22.

2. (2) Along with the service overseer, reviewing the activity of regular pioneers near the midpoint of the service year.​—See 9:16.

3. (3) Compiling, posting, and submitting the congregation’s field service activity to the branch office. Before submitting the report, informing group overseers of publishers in their group who did not submit a report for the month.​—See 22:12-17.

4. (4) Ensuring that any legal and financial responsibilities the congregation may have are handled in a timely manner.​—See Chapter 21.

5. (5) Maintaining an orderly congregation file. This includes filing sealed confidential envelopes and adhering to the retention policy outlined in Chapter 22, paragraphs 8-27.

6. (6) Providing durable power of attorney (DPA) cards and related materials to newly baptized publishers.​—See 11:1.

7. (7) Notifying the coordinator of the body of elders when a publisher has been baptized one year.​—See 3:3.6; od pp. 213-214.

8. (8) Overseeing congregation accounts and convention matters.​—See 1:2.7 and Instructions for Congregation Accounting (S-27).

9. (9) Maintaining a list of all publishers, including inactive ones. The list should show to which field service group the publisher is assigned. It should also contain the contact information and emergency contact information for each publisher.​—See 25:14-15; 26:2.

10. (10) Preparing and sending correspondence on behalf of the body of elders.​—See 22:1-9.

11. (11) Updating regular pioneer information on jw.org.​—See 9:1-9.