What Church Treasurers Should Know About "Conversion"

Kenyon v. Abel, P.3d (Wyo. 2002)

Background. As a church treasurer, you may think that you know everything there is to know about conversion. After all, isn't it simply a matter of an unbeliever coming to faith in the redemptive work of Christ? While this may be true theologically, the word "conversion" has an entirely different meaning from a legal perspective, and this is the meaning that is addressed in this article.

A recent case. Whenever property is donated to a church, there is a possibility of a mistake in the valuation of that property by either the donor or the church. The tax code has greatly reduced the risk of overvaluations of donated property through more rigorous substantiation requirements. But occasionally, donated property may be substantially undervalued, and this can lead to unexpected consequences, as a recent case illustrates.

A woman (Ruth) was a friend ...