Church bylaws template
A complete, ready-to-adapt set of bylaws written for a church. It has the standard 501(c)(3) articles every nonprofit needs and the church-specific ones a generic template leaves out — a statement of faith, church membership and discipline, your form of government, pastoral leadership and ordination, elders and deacons, and the ordinances. Fill in the brackets, choose your polity, have an attorney look it over, and adopt it.
Plain text — paste into Word, Google Docs, or Pages and edit.
What's in the template
Fifteen articles built for a church, plus an adoption / certification block.
- I Name & Affiliation — Legal name, state of incorporation, and your denominational affiliation (or independent status).
- II Statement of Faith — The doctrinal statement that defines what the church believes — the piece a generic nonprofit template skips.
- III Purpose — The 501(c)(3) religious-purpose clause the IRS looks for, framed for a church.
- IV Membership — Admission and baptism, member expectations, voting, and redemptive discipline and restoration.
- V Church Government — Pick your polity: elder-led, elder-led/congregational, congregational, or denominational.
- VI Pastoral Leadership — Calling, biblical qualifications, ordination, compensation, and removal of the pastor.
- VII Elders &/or Deacons — Roles, qualifications, and how each is selected and serves.
- VIII Officers — Secretary (clerk) and Treasurer — and their duties, including handling designated gifts.
- IX Meetings — Members' meetings, quorum, congregational votes, and notice requirements.
- X Ordinances — Baptism and the Lord's Supper — who administers them and how often.
- XI Committees — Standing and special committees, including a pastor search committee.
- XII Conflict of Interest — Disclosure and recusal rules that protect the church and its leaders.
- XIII Finances & Fiscal Year — Records, budget, internal controls, and when the church's year ends.
- XIV Amendments — How the bylaws and statement of faith can be changed.
- XV Dissolution — The required clause sending assets to another 501(c)(3).
How to use it
- 1. Download the file and open it in your word processor.
- 2. Replace every [BRACKETED] placeholder with your church's details.
- 3. Start with Article V (Church Government) — pick the polity that fits your church, then delete the other options. That choice shapes how Articles VI–IX read.
- 4. Write or adopt your Statement of Faith in Article II, and name your denominational affiliation (or independent status) in Article I.
- 5. Leave Article III (Purpose) and Article XV (Dissolution) close to the wording given — the IRS expects both.
- 6. Have an attorney in your state review the draft, then adopt it by congregational or elder vote and sign the certification block.
A few things people get wrong
A church is a 501(c)(3) — so the IRS clauses still apply
Churches are automatically considered tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3), but your bylaws should still read like a 501(c)(3) organization's: a clear religious-purpose clause (Article III) and a dissolution clause (Article XV) that sends remaining assets to another tax-exempt organization, never to members or leaders. For background on what that status means and why it matters, see are churches tax exempt?.
Your polity choice shapes the whole document
Whether your church is elder-led, congregational, or denominational changes who holds final authority — who calls the pastor, who approves the budget, who can amend the bylaws. That's why Article V asks you to choose one form of government first; the articles on pastoral leadership, elders and deacons, and members' meetings all flow from it. Decide your polity, then make sure the rest of the bylaws match it.
This is the church-specific version
This template adds a statement of faith, baptism and the Lord's Supper, church discipline, ordination, and elders and deacons — the things a general nonprofit template doesn't cover. If you're forming a non-church nonprofit instead, use the nonprofit bylaws template. Once your governance is set, good books keep you compliant: see our guide to church accounting.
This template is a starting point, not legal advice — church polity and nonprofit requirements vary by state and tradition, so have your bylaws reviewed by an attorney before adopting them. Want the bookkeeping side handled once your church is up and running? Start free in Vestrybooks.