Whenever any annual conference has heretofore been organized according to the law of any branch of the Christian church or of any other religious faith or denomination but has not been incorporated, or the act of incorporation is for any reason believed to be defective or does not confer the powers necessary for the purpose of such body, the conference may become a body corporate under this article as the successor of the unincorporated or defectively incorporated body by incorporating in the declaration prescribed in Section 10A-20-3.01 the name of the body it desires to succeed; and upon the granting of a charter under this article, it shall be taken and held by the body or bodies named in the declaration and shall take and hold all the property, rights, and privileges of its predecessor as fully as though they had been granted to the succeeding corporation.