How do you legally start a church campus?

Adding a new campus to your ministry

Opening a new church campus is a big step for any organization that wants to reach more people, serve more people, and make a bigger difference. But launching a campus is more than just getting a building and holding services. It also requires thorough legal preparation, changes to the governance structure, an operational strategy, and risk management to make sure your ministry expands in a way that is both legal and sustainable.

The Pastor Support Plan from Church Law and Strategy gives churches with 2,500 to 10,000 members the legal advice, operational audits, and strategic oversight they need to open new campuses with confidence.

Why start a new campus?

Opening a new campus can help you grow by:

• Making it easier for members to get to new places
• Allowing customized ministry programs that match the requirements of the area
• Making the community stronger and reaching out more
• Giving people in the church chances to grow as leaders.

But starting a campus is complicated, so it's important to deal with a number of legal and operational issues early on to prevent making mistakes that cost a lot of money.

Legal Bases for Starting a Campus

Registering and following the rules for nonprofits

Your church is a single nonprofit at the federal level, but some states need you to register your campus as a separate business or as a branch of your current nonprofit. Important legal steps are:

• Checking to see if the campus is a ministry under your main church's 501(c)(3) or if it needs to be registered separately
• In states where your school generates money, you need to file charity solicitation registrations.
• Making sure that unrelated business income and activities follow IRS rules

Our church 501(c)(3) compliance legal services assist you in dealing with these complicated federal and state compliance challenges, which lowers the chance of getting in trouble or losing your tax-exempt status.

Changes to the bylaws and governance

To start a campus, you may need to change your church's bylaws to:

• Set up the rules for how the main church and the campus will work together.
• Explain the differences between the tasks and duties of campus leaders and central leaders.
• Give the campus the power to make decisions about money, staffing, and ministry matters.

The church rules of Church Law and Strategy will reflect the realities of your ministry's multi-campus structure thanks to the skills of a writing service and a church governance attorney.

Local Rules, Zoning, and Property Use

Choosing and obtaining a property for your campus means:

• Confirming that the zoning laws allow religious gatherings or worship
• Following local building laws and rules for accessibility, like ADA compliance
• Knowing about rules or permits for parking, signs, and occupancy

Getting guidance from a local lawyer and using the Church Law and Strategy network can help you get around zoning and regulatory problems.

Things to think about for operations and risk management

Following the rules of HR and employment law

When you launch a campus, you need to hire more people, both staff and volunteers, in different places. Some good legal practices are:

• Making sure that all employees follow the same rules that are in line with federal and state labor regulations
• Making sure that liability waivers and child safety certifications are part of the volunteer onboarding process
• To reduce the dangers of misclassification, make sure you correctly label personnel as employees or contractors.

Our church HR and employment law compliance service helps churches set up staff and volunteer systems that follow the law.

Liability Waivers and Risk Management

New campuses put your ministry at danger in many ways, including property damage, personal injury claims, and problems with running the business. Some important things to do are:

• Making complete liability waivers and release papers for activities and events
• Doing safety checks and making sure that all locations have insurance coverage
• Teaching campus leaders how to be ready for emergencies and lower legal risks

Church Law and Strategy's church risk management and liability waivers service gives you customized documents and ongoing help to protect your ministry.

Tax and Money Plan

Starting a campus will change how your church reports its finances and plans its taxes. Some things to think about are:

• Putting together financial documents or keeping track of several campus budgets
• Looking at how new sources of income or unrelated business revenues affect tax-exempt status
• Using the church ordination tax savings report and the overhead efficiency review that are part of the Pastor support plan

We work with your finance leaders to make sure your ministry is following the rules and to improve its financial health.

How the Pastor Support Plan Helps You Start Your Campus

For churches with 2,500 to 10,000 members, the Pastor support plan offers full legal and operational support:

• All of Tier 2 (legal audit, trademark filings, and tax savings for ordination) and
• Quarterly meetings of the leadership team to plan the launch and growth of the campus
• Priority email access for quick advice
• Insurance reviews and overhead efficiency to keep costs and hazards under control
• The Pastoral Support Program includes personal IP, wealth planning, and audits of executive pay.

The Pastor Support Plan includes a comprehensive range of specialist services designed to help with the challenges of expanding to several campuses.

A step-by-step legal guide to starting your campus

1. Do an audit of your legal and operational readiness using Church Law and Strategy.
2. Review and change governance documents, like bylaws, to match the structure of the campus.
3. Make sure your property is safe and that it meets local zoning laws.
4. If necessary, register your school with state charity regulators.
5. Put in place HR rules and onboarding mechanisms for personnel and volunteers on campus.
6. Make and send out safety rules and liability waivers.
7. Create ways for the campus to track and report on its finances.
8. Set up ways for the main church and the campus leadership to talk to each other on a regular basis.
9. Use executive meetings and strategic discussions from the Pastor support plan to help you grow.

Questions that people ask a lot

Q: Does a campus have to be a separate nonprofit?

Most of the time, no, although state laws are different. Some states need universities to register with the government in another country or file certain papers. Your lawyer can confirm your duties.

Q: How do we manage staffing at a campus?

Use the same HR policies on all campuses. Make sure volunteers are legally protected and that you correctly separate workers from contractors.

Q: What are problems with zoning?

Local rules about how religious groups might use their property can be very different. Getting in touch with local zoning boards and lawyers early on helps avoid surprises.

In conclusion

Starting a church campus is a gratifying yet difficult task. To make sure your ministry's new campus does well, legal compliance, clear governance, operational excellence, and risk management all need to work together. The Pastor support plan from Church Law and Strategy gives your ministry the legal and strategic support it needs at the executive level for this vital step.

Your church can safely grow and reach new communities without taking on too much risk by working with expert lawyers and using customized support services.

This blog article is simply meant to give you information and is not legal advice. You do not become a customer of Church Law and Strategy or its agents by reading this article. If you need legal counsel that is specific to your church or organization, please talk to a professional lawyer.

Links inside

• Church Bylaws Drafting Service
• Church HR and Employment Law Compliance
• Church Risk Management and Liability Waivers

Links to Other Sites

• IRS Tax-Exempt Status: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations
• ECFA Guidelines: https://www.ecfa.org/
• ADA Compliance Overview: https://www.ada.gov/