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The law governing business meetings for churches is state-specific, meaning that whether your church can hold a virtual business meeting through a video conference or other technological means is ultimately governed by the law of the state where your church is incorporated. Once you have gained an understanding of what applicable state laws say about virtual business meetings for your board or membership, you then need to check your bylaws and any other organization-specific rules applicable to business meetings.
Step one: Find bylaw language relevant to board and membership meetings
First, look at the section in your bylaws that discusses the church board and its meetings. Find language that discusses when and how the church leaders or officers may meet.
Next, look for language in your bylaws that discusses membership meetings. That language might be in the section titled “Members,” or it could be in a section titled “Meetings” or “Annual Meeting.”
As you look at the bylaws language regarding board meetings and member meetings, you are looking for language that indicates “yes, you may have a virtual meeting”—wording that addresses whether the board or membership may meet other than when the members are physically present in the same room.
If the bylaws allow virtual meetings, the language describing this permission could take various forms:
- An explicit provision allowing participation via communication equipment that allows for simultaneous participation; or,
- Language that states a quorum is present either through the physical presence of a specific number of members, or presence through remote communication technology.
Alternatively, the bylaws may not address virtual or remote meetings at all. They might simply say something general, such as, “Meetings may be held at a place determined by the board.”
Step two: Evaluate how the relevant bylaw language relates to applicable state law
Once you have identified the bylaw language that is relevant to how your board and membership may meet, you need to fit that language together with the applicable state law.
Understanding how the law and your governing documents fit together on the issue of virtual meetings is one of the most important parts of my virtual church meetings toolkit. The section below explains three possible—and common—scenarios. The toolkit also contains a useful decision tree that can provide you with a visual guide. If you are unsure of how to proceed, consider contacting qualified legal counsel for help.
Three common scenarios
These are the three most common scenarios churches encounter when interpreting state law and bylaws to determine whether they can validly conduct business or membership meetings through virtual technology:
- If applicable state law expressly allows virtual business meetings but only if your bylaws also allow virtual business meetings, your board or membership cannot meet virtually unless your bylaws include language that expressly allows virtual business meetings.
- If applicable state law expressly allows virtual business meetings unless your bylaws expressly disallow them, your board or membership can meet virtually unless your bylaws expressly disallow virtual business meetings.
- If applicable state law is silent about virtual business meetings, your board or membership cannot meet virtually unless your bylaws include language that expressly allows virtual business meetings.
Excerpted from Your Complete Guide to Virtual Church Meetings: A toolkit for legal and compliant business meetings, by Sarah Merkle. Used with permission.
The downloadable, step-by-step toolkit helps churches determine whether virtual business meetings are permitted, make decisions when virtual business meetings are not an option, and prepare to hold a legal and compliant virtual business meeting. It also offers easy-to-reference resources, such as a guide to state laws addressing virtual meetings and a detailed list of the special rules necessary for holding a compliant virtual meeting. Get your copy today at ChurchLawAndTaxStore.com.
