Churches and religious organizations conduct their temporal and spiritual affairs through individuals. State laws generally require that church corporations appoint an initial board of directors which in turn elects the corporation's first president, secretary, and treasurer. The initial board of directors adopts a set of bylaws that specifies the term of office of both officers and directors and sets forth the procedure for electing successors.
Directors of church corporations occasionally are called trustees. This terminology is perfectly appropriate if it is intended to suggest that the business and spiritual oversight of the church is delegated "in trust" to such individuals, or if it is required by law.[161] Osnes v. Morris, 298 S.E.2d 803 (W. Va. 1982). However, in many cases such terminology is a holdover from a church's pre-incorporation status when title to church property was held ...
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