It’s the elephant in the room for many church leaders: how are your governing documents looking?
Incomplete, out of date, in need of review? Maybe you’re not sure what state they are in, or maybe your church recently updated them, but you are not sure if they were done correctly.
Governing documents – your employment policies, bylaws, constitution, facility use policy, and others – are critically important. They help protect and even guide your ministry.
These documents can either increase religious liberty legal protections or put your church at greater risk. For example, if your employment policies do not clearly communicate expectations for conduct and behavior, your church may be at a greater risk of a lawsuit from an employee.
Your church needs to take action to ensure its documents are providing the best legal protections possible, as soon as possible. We’ve seen churches encounter legal challenges that could have been avoided altogether if their governing documents had been properly prepared and adhered to – which includes having them reviewed by an experienced religious liberty attorney.
We’ve partnered with ADF Church Alliance to help you ensure that your documents provide your church with the greatest religious freedom protections possible.
ADF Church Alliance is an affordable legal membership program for churches. Members get direct access to attorneys who can review your documents, answer questions, and more – its virtually all inclusive for religious freedom legal issues.
Even if your documents were recently updated or have been reviewed by another lawyer, we still recommend consulting with an ADF Church Alliance attorney. They are focused on protecting the religious freedom of churches and have reviewed countless documents, so they know what to look for. And, if your church has missing or incomplete documents, ADF has some templates and sample documents you can use.
Activate your membership today and your church will get a 20% discount on this already affordable program. Enter code SBCV20 when you apply. The SBC of Virginia receives no financial benefit for your membership – in fact, we’ve invested in ADF Church Alliance to get this discount and help ensure membership is affordable for your church.
Once you’ve become a member, start the process of reviewing your documents. It’s simple, and ADF will help you each step of the way.
