Mich. Comp. Laws § 458.22: Articles and certificate of consent; execution.

Sec. 2.

The persons desiring to organize such church shall execute and acknowledge, before any person authorized to take acknowledgement 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 Methodist Episcopal church. To such articles of association there shall be attached a certificate by the presiding 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 presiding elder.