Church business meetings

[Guest Nash]

Does a small church of 10 members have to have business meetings?

Is it illegal for a small church to not have business meetings each month?

If the Pastor is moderator, can he vote on any decisions?

[Joshua Katz]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

Does a small church of 10 members have to have business meetings?

 

A church could, in principle, be organized in all sorts of ways. Whether or not meetings are needed (or even appropriate) depends on how it is organized. Who owns it? What's the structure?

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

Is it illegal for a small church to not have business meetings each month?

 

Almost certainly not, although you'll have to consult your local laws.

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

If the Pastor is moderator, can he vote on any decisions?

The assembly is not, by definition, a small board or committee, and so the chair would be prohibited from voting unless his vote would decide the outcome. However, you could adopt other rules if you wish, such as rules approximating those for small boards and committees in RONR.

[Josh Martin]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

Does a small church of 10 members have to have business meetings?

I don't know whether the full church membership is an assembly under the organization's governing documents, and therefore, I don't know whether it is required to have business meetings.

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

Is it illegal for a small church to not have business meetings each month?

It certainly seems highly unlikely this is "illegal" in the sense that this would violate some rule in applicable law.

As a parliamentary matter, the organization's governing documents would define the frequency of business meetings. There is no particular reason meetings must be held monthly. Some assemblies only meet annually (or even less frequently).

On 8/12/2023 at 10:33 AM, Guest Nash said:

If the Pastor is moderator, can he vote on any decisions?

Assuming the Pastor is a member, he has a right to vote on any decisions, however, the chair of the assembly should not vote unless his vote would affect the result, unless the assembly has adopted rules providing otherwise.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:47 AM, Joshua Katz said:

The assembly is not, by definition, a small board or committee, and so the chair would be prohibited from voting unless his vote would decide the outcome. However, you could adopt other rules if you wish, such as rules approximating those for small boards and committees in RONR.

Before we get to that we need to make sure that the pastor is a member of the assembly.  There are examples where this is true, and others where it's not.  Even if the pastor is considered a salaried employee, or named as the moderator of all meetings, he may still be a non-member of the assembly.