Category
Church Governance & the Board
Church Bylaws vs. Articles of Incorporation: The Difference
Bylaws vs articles of incorporation: the articles create your church and are filed with the state. The bylaws are the internal rulebook. What goes in each.
Bylaws for a Multi-Site Church
Multi-site church bylaws must answer four things single-site bylaws never do: campus authority, voting, who holds property, and what happens if one leaves.
Bylaws for a Small Church: What You Can Safely Simplify
Small church bylaws can drop committees and formality. They can't drop quorum, notice, membership or amendment rules. Here's where the line sits.
The Policies an IRS Examiner Asks For First
IRS church examination policies follow a pattern. Here are the governance records asked for first, and what a complete church file actually looks like.
The Whistleblower Policy: Why the IRS Asks About It
A nonprofit whistleblower policy gives someone a safe way to report wrongdoing without going through the person involved. Here is what it must say.
What Counts as a Conflict of Interest in a Church?
Church conflict of interest examples, from vendor bids to family on the payroll: the situations that count, and what a board should do about each one.
Annual Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures: How to Run Them
The annual conflict of interest disclosure form only works if someone runs it. Who signs, what the form asks, and what to do with what comes back.
A Year of Board Agendas: What to Cover Each Quarter
Most church board work is annual, not urgent. A four-quarter church board agenda cycle that puts every recurring governance item on a date.
Unanimous Written Consent Instead of a Meeting
A nonprofit board can act by unanimous written consent only if every director signs and the bylaws allow it. When it works, and how to record it.
Annual Congregational Meetings: Notice, Agenda and Records
A church annual meeting holds up only if notice, quorum and records follow your bylaws. What to send, what to cover and what to write down.
Virtual and Hybrid Board Meetings: Are They Valid?
Is a virtual board meeting valid for a nonprofit or a church? Usually yes, if everyone can hear each other and your bylaws allow it. What to record.
Executive Session: When the Board Should Meet Privately
A board executive session is for personnel, legal advice and negotiations, not for avoiding scrutiny. How to enter one properly and what to record.
Approving Minutes: The Step Most Churches Skip
Draft minutes aren't official until the board adopts them. How approving board minutes works, and how to clear a backlog of unapproved years.
Board Resolutions: When You Need One and How to Write It
A church board resolution is a standalone record of one decision. Here is when you need one instead of a motion, and the six parts every resolution has.
What Should and Should Not Go in Minutes
Board minutes record decisions, not conversations. Here is what to include in board minutes, what to leave out, and the judgment calls that cause trouble.
The Board Chair's First 90 Days
A new board chair at a church has three jobs in 90 days: find the records, fix the meeting, and close the biggest gap. Here is the plan, month by month.
Directors and Officers Insurance for Churches
Church D&O insurance covers decisions, not accidents. Here is what it pays for, what it excludes, and the policy terms boards should check before renewal.
Family on the Board: Related-Party Rules
Family members on a church board are rarely prohibited, but they change how decisions get made. Here are the related-party rules and the recusal steps.
Term Limits and Board Rotation for Churches
Church board term limits work when terms are staggered and someone tracks the dates. Here is how rotation is structured and where churches get stuck.
Onboarding a New Board Member: The First 30 Days
Church board member onboarding done properly takes about four hours across 30 days. Here is the packet, the conversations and the paperwork it needs.
Board vs. Staff: Drawing the Line on Authority
Church board vs staff authority comes down to one line: the board decides direction and limits, staff decide within them. Here is how to put it on paper.
Statement of Faith and Doctrinal Clauses in Bylaws
Your statement of faith bylaws clause does real work: membership, hiring, facility use. How to write and adopt one the church can actually rely on.
Quorum, Voting and Proxies in Church Bylaws
Church quorum voting rules decide whether a decision holds up. How to set them, count them, and record them so a close vote is never disputed later.
Bylaws Red Flags: Clauses That Cause Fights Later
Most church bylaws problems are silences, not bad clauses. Here are the gaps that turn an ordinary disagreement into a fight nobody can resolve on paper.
How to Amend Church Bylaws Properly
To amend church bylaws you follow the amendment clause in the bylaws themselves: right body, proper notice, quorum, the stated vote, and a written record.
Building Your Church Policy Manual From Scratch
A church policy manual gets built one adopted policy at a time. The order to build in, how each gets adopted properly, and how to keep it from going stale.
The Conflict-of-Interest Policy Every Church Board Needs
A church conflict of interest policy sets out who must disclose, what happens next, and how it gets recorded. The eight parts a workable policy contains.
How to Take Church Board Minutes That Protect You
Church board minutes are a record of decisions, not a transcript. What to record, what to leave out, how to fix an error, and where the signed copy lives.
Can Board Members Be Held Personally Liable?
Board member personal liability at a church is narrower than most fear. The situations that create real exposure, and the four protections that stack.
The Three Fiduciary Duties of a Church Board Member
Care, loyalty and obedience: the fiduciary duty board members owe a church, how boards breach it by accident, and how to show you met the standard.
The 12 Sections Every Set of Church Bylaws Should Have
Most church bylaws fail on the boring sections: quorum, notice, terms and amendment. Here are the 12 sections a workable set covers, and what to leave out.