While a church records management policy can help you be more efficient in the storage of both paper and digital records, saving both time and space, it should also promote responsible storage and disposal of records.
Some of the material in board minutes is sensitive. Much of the membership and personnel data is private. Church leaders must assume the responsibility of guarding that information so it is not at risk of being found or stolen. That means not only writing a church records management policy about the storage and disposal of records but also making sure it is consistently implemented.
Other information might not require confidentiality but needs to be kept safe for historical preservation or tax or audit purposes. Churches are not immune from vandalism, fire, storm damage, and the like. Even digital records can be lost through computer crashes or file corruption.
Church leaders must put measures in place to guard information through …
1) Safe Storage of Records
2) Safe Disposal of Records
The Steering the Church Toward Christ-like Character Leadership Guide also gives some brief thoughts about what the above measures might involve.
All Posts about Records and Reporting:
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Measure Your Objectives
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Keep Pulse on Body
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Facilitate Ministry
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Assess Growth
- Church Record Keeping Resources
- Church Records Management
- Transparency in Church Records Management
- Confidentiality in Church Records Management
- Responsibility in Church Records Management
- We’ve Been Hacked!
- Record Keeping & God’s power?
- Record Keeping Based on Human Wisdom
- Records & Reporting Point Back to God’s Grace?
- Record Keeping & Reporting Kept in Check by God’s Grace
- Records Keeping & Spiritual Gifts
- Record Keeping That’s Not Mundane
- Lay It All Before the Lord
- Meaningful Record Keeping
- Whether Good or Bad, Make Records about the Name of the Lord
- Records and Reports from the Resurrection
Talk about sensitive board minutes. I once worked at a church and had issues with a church board member that got brought up in board meetings. The next day when in the office, found photocopies of notes laying face up in trash can. Anybody could have seen them and then it could have gotten out to other people and cause disunity because of what the issue was. I properly discarded photocopies. Since people in church didn’t know the problem, it never became point of division but very well could of.
Robert, you provided a good example of why records must be safely disposed of, preferably with a cross-cutter type of shredder. Praise God you found the photocopies before anyone else did and that unity was preserved in your church.