This past week I received an interesting email.  A Christian bookseller was offering The Left Behind series; Collector’s Edition.  That got me to thinking. (Which at times can be a very dangerous concept!)  As a young boy I was thrown out of many Sunday School classes for asking questions like this:

Isn’t this an oxymoron?  I mean, if it is true (as the Left Behind Series teaches) that soon we will all be “raptured” out of this present world, why would we want to be collecting much of anything?  Oh well, just wondering…

Speaking of collecting, one thing I have noticed is that most churches are habitual collectors. At least when it comes to documents.  Often we are asked by our church clients how long they should keep documents.  When we press the question, we often learn that the church keeps virtually everything.  In fact, it is not uncommon to find a church with offering envelopes dating back more than ten years!  On the other hand, we often discover that the corporate minute books of the same church cannot be located or have not been updated in years! What this tells us is that many churches are confused about what documents are important and what are not.   

Document management is crucial.  Keeping items too long can provide information that can only do one thing; hurt the church.  Conversely, not keeping or failing to update permanent records can have the same effect.

Every church must make document retention a priority.  A starting point is the development of a comprehensive document retention and destruction policy.  If your church does not have one, may I recommend you start the process soon?

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at verne@pskcpa.com.  Also, if your questions concern corporate documents (minutes, by-laws, etc.) you might want to contact our friends at the Church Law Group (www.churchlawgroup.com)