What documents should every church have? That question causes concern for many churches. The following list is not intended to be exhaustive, but it does list some of the basic documents that are needed by churches today.

Incorporation - A church needs to incorporate as an non-profit corporation in the State of Texas. This gives the church a status of being a legal entity. Some materials refer to this as a charter. An incorporated church provides a liability protection for its members. To get the form and instructions for Non-profit Incorporation, go here.

Church Constitution - A church constitution contains many of the same items required for the Incorporation form. A constitution contains the basic of who (name, location) and why (purpose, belief). A constitution usually requires a greater burden of effort and time to change. The sample constitution available here is intended to be only an example of the types of articles a church might desire to include in their own constitution. Click here for a sample document.

Church Bylaws - Church bylaws tends to be a longer document than the constitution because its emphasis tends to be on the details of how the church is structured and functions. The sample bylaws available here is intended to be only an example of the type of articles a church might desire to include in their own constitution. Click here for a sample document.

Policy Manual - While many larger churches have official policy manuals, all churches have policies. Even the smallest church might want to put into writing its verbal or understood policies and publish them for all staff and volunteers for easy access. For an example of a Policy Manual, feel free to check out our resource, Keeping Your Church Out of Court which is a DVD full of PDF samples your church could download and personalize. 

Strategic Statements (Mission, Vision, Core Values) - Strategy statements help a church to have a more focused direction and purpose. Core values remind the church of the integrity of their foundation.