profile

The Church Attorney Consulting Services, LLC

When Was the Last Time Your Church Had a Legal Checkup?

Published 27 days ago • 2 min read

Hello Reader ,

Most churches schedule regular reviews of their finances.

Many conduct annual ministry planning sessions.

Some even perform facility inspections to identify maintenance issues before they become costly repairs.

But when was the last time your church conducted a legal and governance checkup?

For many churches, the answer is simple:

"It's been a while."

Many churches discover governance, policy, HR, or documentation gaps only after a challenge arises—a staffing question, board disagreement, leadership transition, or important decision that forces leaders to ask, "Are we handling this correctly?"

That's why I encourage churches to periodically pause and evaluate their legal and operational foundation. Not because something is wrong, but because good stewardship includes reviewing the systems, policies, and practices that help support healthy ministry.

Here are a few questions worth asking:

When were your bylaws last reviewed?
Do your policies reflect how your church actually operates today?
Are compensation decisions properly documented?
Does your board understand its fiduciary responsibilities?
Are important decisions being documented clearly and consistently?

If any of those questions give you pause, you're not alone.

That's exactly why I'm hosting a FREE webinar on June 25th:

Mid-Year Church Legal Checkup: 5 Areas Every Church Should Review

During this practical training, I'll walk through five key areas every church should evaluate to strengthen governance, improve accountability, reduce unnecessary risk, and help leaders move forward with greater confidence.

Whether you're a pastor, administrator, board member, trustee, finance leader, or ministry leader, this webinar will provide practical guidance you can apply immediately.

As an added bonus, webinar attendees will be among the first to receive details and Early Bird registration information for the Church Law & Leadership Summit happening September 17–18.

I hope you'll join us.

Faithful Foundations Member Spotlight

Recently, we asked our Faithful Foundations members to complete a satisfaction survey, and we were incredibly encouraged by the positive feedback and thoughtful responses we received.

As a thank-you, everyone who completed the survey was entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.

🎉 Congratulations to David Smith, our winner!

To everyone who participated, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. And to all of our Faithful Foundations members, thank you for trusting us to help guide your church. It is a privilege to serve you through our trainings, resources, legal updates, and ongoing support as you work to strengthen the health of your ministry.

Blessings!

This email is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, accounting, or tax advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. The information provided here was based on certain federal and/or state statutes and does not encompass all applicable requirements or other regulations that may exist, such as local ordinances or case law.

Thanks for reading! If you loved it, tell your friends to subscribe. To change your email or preferences manage your profile. If you didn’t enjoy the email you can unsubscribe here.

6925 Oakland Mills Rd Box 171, Columbia, MD 21045

The Church Attorney Consulting Services, LLC

The Church Attorney®

As The Church Attorney®, denominations and churches select my proprietary Legal Audit System to position themselves to operate in integrity, avoid IRS audits, and position themselves for growth. Every church leader should take advantage of my free Church Law podcast and subscribe to my free newsletter.

Read more from The Church Attorney Consulting Services, LLC

This year’s theme is: The Time Is Now: Building Resilient Churches for a Shifting World The Team Pass allows up to five members of your church leadership team to attend the fully virtual summit together. It also includes replay access and the comprehensive summit guide for each team member. Is there an elephant in the room??? And here is what makes it such a strong investment: your church can bring five leaders to the summit for less than the cost of one hour of a lawyer’s time. Sometimes,...

1 day ago • 1 min read

Hello Reader , This year’s 19th Annual Church Law & Leadership Summit is not just longer. It is more interactive, more practical, and more focused on the real issues church leaders are facing right now. For the first time ever, the summit is expanding to two days: Thursday, September 17Friday, September 1811:00 AM–2:00 PM ET each dayFully virtual Day 1 includes a welcome and framework from Erika E. Cole, Esq., The Church Attorney®, followed by a featured session with Frank and Elaine...

5 days ago • 1 min read
A colorful soccer ball rests on green grass.

Hello Reader , Our family has been watching the World Cup, and we are loving it. There is something so fun about gathering around the TV together, cheering, reacting, and watching these teams compete at such a high level. But as I have been watching, one thing keeps standing out to me: No one wins alone. It does not matter how gifted one player is. A strong team needs communication, trust, preparation, strategy, and people who understand their roles. That is true on the field. And it is true...

6 days ago • 2 min read