Mich. Comp. Laws § 458.82

Sec. 2. The persons desiring to organize such church shall execute and acknowledge, before any person authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds, articles of association in writing, whereby they shall agree to organize a church, which shall be governed by the discipline, rules and usages of the Free Methodist church. To such articles of association there shall be attached a certificate by the district elder of the district in which said church is to be located, that the said church was organized by and with the consent of said district elder.