policies and procedures every church needs copyright 2012©
TRANSCRIPT
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
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?
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES
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
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Major Headings in a P & P Manual• Administration• Personnel• Buildings and Grounds• Children and Youth• Financial• Ministries
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES
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
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES
Administrative• Purchasing• Leave of Absence• Personnel Files• Photo Release• Auto-Church Vehicle• Communicable Disease• Social Media
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES
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
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY PERSONNEL POLICIES
Personnel• Training and Education• Trainees-legal status• Sexual Misconduct • Clergy/Penitent Privilege• Pastoral Counseling• Sexual Harassment• Reporting Abuse• Termination
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY PERSONNEL POLICIES
Employee Benefits• Retirement• Vacation• Sabbatical for Ministerial Staff• Outside Speaking Engagements• Hiring Issues• Work hours• Pay periods
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES
Employee Benefits• Health Insurance• Disability Insurance• Life Insurance• Flexible Spending Account• Sick Leave• Personal Use of Church Computers• Qualified Tuition Reduction Plan
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES
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
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY BUILDINGS & GROUNDS
Buildings and Grounds
• Keys Policy• Building Access• Medical Emergencies• Legal Services
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY BUILDINGS & GROUNDS
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
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY OFFICE POLICIES
Compensation Policies for Ministers and Paid Staff
Meeting their Needs and Balancing the Budget
What Questions do you have for me?
STEWARDSHIP GOD’S WAY POLICIES & PROCEDURES
559 287-7840 cell 559 256-0858 direct line