Copyright law intersects with church governance in a number of important ways. Sermons and other forms of oral or written ministry are subject to copyright. As is the music performed by a church [...]
Regardless of how a church is organized, whether as a nonprofit association or corporation, it should have a governing document that sets out the basic features of its management. Unincorporated [...]
Since its beginning under George W. Bush, the federal government’s “faith-based initiative” has offered grants to qualified religious organizations to assist them with their charitable work. The [...]
Nonprofit groups of all kinds, especially churches, often begin their existence as unincorporated associations and only later decide that forming a nonprofit corporation is the right choice for [...]
In recent years the role of churches as sanctuaries and asylums for people fleeing law enforcement has entered the spotlight. People facing deportation for immigration law violations have [...]
For a wide variety of reasons, many with deep historical or theological roots, churches often want to avoid entanglements with government agencies. Concerns about state interference in religious [...]
Church leaders owe their organizations and each other a range of special obligations. Some of these obligations are moral and ethical in nature, but some also have a legal character. Anyone who [...]
Churches often begin as an informal community of individuals who gather together to pursue common religious interests. A church can successfully operate like this for many years without problems. [...]
Like any legal entity, religious corporations can reach a point where they no longer have a purpose. A corporation can be formed for a church that ends up not going forward, or it can be formed [...]
Like any organization a church often has a range of confidential information that it would prefer not to have shared publicly or with other churches and businesses. Financial matters, employee [...]