Will Our Virtual Business Meetings Be Valid?

Will Our Virtual Business Meetings Be Valid?

We received this question last week from a reader in California:

With the COVID-19 shelter-in-place requirements, if a congregational church needs to take a vote during this time, what happens? The bylaws read that the members are required to vote in this case.

This type of question seems inevitable for most churches, whether for convening board meetings or business meetings involving members. If government directives prevent gatherings of 10 or more people deep into the spring (or maybe even into the summer), then how can these types of meetings—and with them, critical votes and decision-making—get done?

The natural response is to simply have everyone jump on a video conference call. That makes sense. But it’s not quite that easy—and doing so without any thought to the church’s bylaws (and state laws) could result in votes and decisions that could be legally challenged later.

To help churches keep moving forward—and avoid possible legal challenges down the road—we called upon attorney Sarah E. Merkle, a professional registered parliamentarian. Merkle explores five initial questions church leaders should answer regarding potential virtual meetings. She then delves deeper through this new toolkit, which includes standards governing business meetings, a chart listing where to find each state’s governing law for meetings conducted by incorporated entities, a virtual meeting decision tree, and a checklist of special rules for conducting virtual church business meetings.

Want more? Join Merkle and me for a free, one-hour webinar discussing virtual business meetings on May 5.

Also this week:

The Lord bless you and keep you,