Are we incorporated? (Should we be?)

If your church or ministry is incorporated, generally this would be reflected in your bylaws. Bylaws are internal rules that govern how your organization operates.

Do we follow our bylaws?

First Amendment protection of religion places churches in a unique legal position. Essentially, the courts allow churches to describe why they exist, how they’re structured, and how they operate.

Are we putting the ministry’s interests first?

Church board members have been placed in a position of trust. As such, you have a legal responsibility to place the church’s needs ahead of your own. If that trust is betrayed, you could be sued for breaching your fiduciary responsibility to the church.

Are we protecting our ministry from loss?

Perhaps a wet floor in the kitchen causes volunteers to slip every time there’s a church dinner. Maybe the unpadded wall behind the basketball hoop contributes to sporting injuries. Could the string of fender benders in the church van be traced to inexperienced drivers?

Are we covered by the church’s insurance policy?

When a difficult or controversial decision is needed, the church board likely will handle it. These decisions are recorded in meeting minutes and can be the source of church splits and even lawsuits against the church.

More information

Protect Your Church’s Directors and Officers

Tags: Church insurance

This entry was posted on February 13, 2015 at 4:11 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Church Insurance Church Risk Church Safety by Scott Stuart Comments Off on Things Every Church Board Member Should Know