Policies and Procedures Every Church Needs Copyright 2012©

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY

Policies and Procedures Every Church Needs

Copyright 2012©

Why Have Policies and Procedures?

• Help improve the security posture of the Church

• Assist with meeting compliance requirements at local, state, and Federal levels.

• Meet IRS reporting requirements • Meet Dept of Labor requirements• Meet Insurance requirements• Have a Standard Operating Procedure

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES

A Word About Policies and Procedures

• Policies and procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental regulations, such as the American Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring full openness in accounting practices.

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY POLICIES & PROCEDURES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act

A Good Policy• According to the IRS http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=200581,00.html

• Purpose – define the purpose of the policy – what is the goal or desired outcome? What are the drivers or triggers that make this policy a requirement?

• Scope – define the scope of the policy – what will it cover, e.g., all agency IT systems that store, process, transmit or receive FTI? All agency IT systems regardless of function?

• Roles and Responsibilities – define the departments and people that are responsible for policy creation, policy implementation and monitoring policy compliance. Use titles instead of actual people’s names.

• Management Commitment – to be effective the policy needs organizational visibility and management support. Identify the management lead for the policy with a statement emphasizing their commitment to the policy.

• Coordination Among Organizational Entities – What other internal/external organizations must be coordinated with to carry out the policy? Define these relationships here.

• Compliance – How will compliance with the policy be measured to ensure requirements are being met?


http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=200581,00.html

A Word About Policies and Procedures

• All churches share things in common• All churches have unique aspects and

ministries• Danger of “Policy Death”– Too few, too many, too long

• This is a sample or “Boiler Plate” set


Major Headings in a P & P Manual• Administration• Personnel• Buildings and Grounds• Children and Youth• Financial• Ministries


Administrative Support Issues• Accountable Reimbursement• Housing Allowance for Ministerial Staff• Church Auto Policy• Personnel Review and Pay Raises

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES

Administrative

• Accident-report form• Announcements• Confidential Information• Conflict of Interest• Credit Card• Emergency Response• Internet Useage• Cell Phone Useage


Administrative• Purchasing• Leave of Absence• Personnel Files• Photo Release• Auto-Church Vehicle• Communicable Disease• Social Media


Personnel Files• Employment Application• Interview Form• Job Applicant Log• Resume and References• I-9 and W-4• Evaluation form and time line• Hiring and Dismissal Checklist

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY PERSONNEL POLICIES

Personnel• Conflict of Interest• Discipline• Employee Handbook• Paid Leave• Visitation• Intellectual Property• On Call• Political Activity


Personnel• Training and Education• Trainees-legal status• Sexual Misconduct • Clergy/Penitent Privilege• Pastoral Counseling• Sexual Harassment• Reporting Abuse• Termination


Employee Benefits• Retirement• Vacation• Sabbatical for Ministerial Staff• Outside Speaking Engagements• Hiring Issues• Work hours• Pay periods


Employee Benefits• Health Insurance• Disability Insurance• Life Insurance• Flexible Spending Account• Sick Leave• Personal Use of Church Computers• Qualified Tuition Reduction Plan


Children and Youth• Child and Youth Safety• Safe Nursery• Adult/Child ratio• Volunteer Screening/Background Checks• Child Check In Procedure• Out-of-Town Trips

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY CHIDLREN & YOUTH POLICIES

Buildings and Grounds• Building Use– Groups you will and will NOT rent to

• Conditional Use-facilities rental• Technical Systems Use• Websites

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY BUILDINGS & GROUNDS

Buildings and Grounds• Transportation• Transportation Registration/Medical/License• Church Inventory• Fire Emergencies• Security


Buildings and Grounds

• Keys Policy• Building Access• Medical Emergencies• Legal Services


Financial

• Charitable Contributions and Gifts• Money Trail• Fraud• Fund Raising• Internal Review• Purchasing• Missions• Designated Giving• Discretionary Fund

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY FINANCIAL POLICIES

Financial• Investment Plan• Laptop Computer• Money Counting• Reimbursement• Record Retention

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY FINANCIAL POLICIES

Community Ministry• Disaster Relief Plan• Non Member Funeral• Weddings– Who you will and will NOT perform weddings for

• Benevolence• Event Planning

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY COMMUNITY POLICIES

Church Ministry

• Volunteers• Member Funeral• Weddings• Benevolence• Event Planning• Men’s Ministries• Women’s Ministries• Celebrate Recovery

STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY CHURCH POLICIES

Final thoughts• No Manual covers every event that comes up– Principle driven, not event or circumstance

• Sometimes less is more• Policies should be just long enough to cover

issue-200 page documents are overkill• Policies that are too long will not be read or

remembered-ineffective• www.yourchurchmatters.com


http://www.yourchurchmatters.com/

Compensation Policies for Ministers and Paid Staff

Meeting their Needs and Balancing the Budget

What Questions do you have for me?


[email protected]

559 287-7840 cell 559 256-0858 direct line

Documents

Policies and Procedures Every Church Needs Copyright 2012©