Church Business Meetings

• Key point. State nonprofit corporation law ordinarily does not override provisions in an incorporated church's bylaws.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a provision in the state nonprofit corporation law mandating annual membership meetings did not take priority over a provision in a church's bylaws calling for membership meetings once every four years. The members of a church filed a lawsuit in civil court seeking to compel their church to conduct an annual membership meeting. The members relied upon a provision in the state nonprofit corporation law specifying that a nonprofit corporation "shall hold a meeting of members annually at a time stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws." The church's bylaws call for a membership meeting once every four years. A trial court ruled in favor of the members, and ordered the church to hold annual membership meetings. The church appealed, ...