With the start of a new year, many churches need to begin the process of organizing important legal documents, while other churches need to ensure that systems they have set up in the past are still working well. Here are some practical reminders.Obtain a heavy-duty...
In a way, January marks the end of a busy season. The election season is over, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season has become a memory to be treasured. In January, the air is crisp, and we have high hopes for the New...
Under U. S. law, those who qualify as volunteers must be pure volunteers indeed! Suppose Jenna wants to volunteer as a teacher for the Christian school operated by her local church. Suppose she is willing to teach full-time and to receive no money whatsoever as wages....
Many churches livestream their services, which can be a great help to people who are sick, shut in, or are for whatever reason unable to attend church in person. The copyright rules and regulations are a little strange. Essentially, churches may place a copyrighted...
We recently became involved in a situation in the Deep South involving a high school instructor who worked in a local public school. This rather large school had a number of student-led clubs, including a chess club, an archery club, and a Bible club. This instructor...
Churches, Christian schools, and other Christian ministries constantly transport people. Some provide bus transportation to church. Some provide van transportation to activities. Unless we are careful, we can easily let an important recordkeeping requirement...
We are thankful to live in a nation that still allows us to share the Gospel message. Yet, we understand that there are reasonable limits to how we express ourselves. For example, no one would think it reasonable to proclaim a message on loudspeakers at three o’clock...
Finding and hiring the right employees is an important and difficult task. Once you have identified personnel that will work well with your ministry, be careful that you don’t miss these important requirements.• Complete an I-9 form with each new employee. Form I-9 is...
Most people understand that ordained members of the clergy may opt out of Social Security, and if they do so, they simply don’t have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. For many ministers, frankly, that is a significant savings. If a minister is considered...
In recent days, our attorneys have fielded several questions about IRS Publication 78. Many churches wonder if there is a legal requirement for their organization to appear on that list. Publication 78 is a formal list of organizations that have formally filed with...
