Administrative Assistance

A rebuttal against those advocating the "Free Church" movement, expressing a fear of incorporating, and of being "501(c)(3)."  Essentially, the proponents of the ‘Free Church’ movement argue that to allow “Caesar’’ into our church by incorporating, or to take the steps to be 501(c)(3) compliant, will “give ‘Caesar’ control over the church.”

The answer will be found within the church By-Laws.  Some churches have a ‘Democratic’ form of government, where the congregation [Membership] has all authority, while other churches are under virtual dictatorship by the pastor.  Church by-laws provide for Boards of Directors or Trustees; but what ‘rights’ the pastor has, is always defined in the By-Laws:

Unless, and until, authority has been granted an individual by action of the Board, no person [the pastor; the pastors wife; NO one] has authority to spend church monies.  The only exception to this is where a Budget has been set, [established] and monies have been approved for specific projects/programs.

There is great confusion over whether the Pastor is Self Employed, or a Staff Minister.  The answer is not simple, but YES - he is BOTH!  The one has to do with how taxes are paid, the other with how the church is required to report.

This information is provided to help you understand the process of creating your church non-profit corporation. You can save a lot of time and money, with the added benefit of knowing exactly what you have in your documents.