Vital Church Records
Vital records are those which are essential to the continued functioning of an organization. In a practical sense, however, a church probably has no records that are truly vital in this respect. Numerous church buildings have gone up in flames or suffered another disaster that destroyed all the congregation's records, but they have continued to exist. Churches that have suffered such a loss faced inconveniences and a diminished understanding of its heritage, but they did survive.
The safe retention and placement of the church's vital records make the continuation of the congregation and its work much easier in case of such a disaster. Some records would be impossible to replicate, extremely inconvenient to lose, and vastly time-consuming for the staff to reduplicate. Therefore, it is important and prudent to identify vital records and see that they are properly stored and copied in case the originals are lost or destroyed.
Identifying Vital Records
Membership records do not have the same significance to a church as a customer list does to a business; however, whether a church is 25 or 200 years old, the destruction of these records is a tragic loss. From a practical point, then re-development of the membership list would be extremely time-consuming for the church staff and perhaps even impossible.
From a historical standpoint, the loss is much greater. Membership records often show when individual joined the church and when and by what method they left the fellowship. In some rare cases, Baptist churches have marriage and death records. These also should be viewed as vital records as they can be of interest to family historians, as well as a help in documenting church and local history.
Membership records also provide clues to the ethnic makeup of the church, where the early members came from, division or unity in the congregation at certain points in time, and other interesting and vital information about the congregation.
Legal documents are valuable to individuals and to organizations. The church's deeds, mortgages, property abstracts, incorporation documents, and perhaps insurance policies fall into this category. In addition to these papers, some churches might have copies of bequests, annuities, trusts, or will. These records document and describe legal and financial obligations related to the church. In case of legal action or the need for clarification on certain maters, these records or copies of these records should be accessible. The absence of these records could result in a financial loss to the church.
Usually, legal documents for a church are not voluminous and are best suited for placement in a safety deposit box or bank vault. Photocopies can be made and placed in the church office where they can be available for reference.
Minutes of the church's business meetings are the core of the congregation's history. These records not only have historic value, but may contain certain actions of the church related to property, governance, and affiliations. Therefore, they may include essential information related to legal or financial matters. Related to minutes are copies of the church constitution, by-laws, and convenant. Minutes and related records should be copied and stored separately from the originals.
Financial records have a short, useful life, most of the time; but some have vital significance. The original journal entry records and general ledger are permanent records. Copies of completed budgets and audits should be retained permanently as well. These records have both current and historical importance, but may not be essential to the continued functioning of the church. Some financial information is more vital to current operation, such as bank account information (account names, account numbers, signers, and banks); securities (bonds, pension plans); and tax documents. Duplicate copies of the most important financial records should be made.
Cemetery records are essential, especially for churches with an adjoining cemetery, for locating grave sites and providing information on the individuals buried. The need to relocate cemeteries or damage suffered by graver markers makes the survival of these records important to family members and the church. Cemetery records are usually good candidates for microfilming.
Architectural drawings and blueprints of church buildings merit special attention as well. Their significance in many cases will be more practical than historical. The lack of a complete set of blueprints can complicate many repairs or renovations.
Annual Church Profile form is typically not viewed as vital. Usually, a great deal of effort and time has been expended to gather the information and complete this form. Some information in the form appears in associational annuals and state convention annuals, but most of the information is not recorded in a published format. Keep copies of these forms in a safe and accessible location.
Photographs, although vital documentation media, are not even considered as church records. They do not have vital significance from a legal, business, or polity point of view; but, historically and even spiritually, they are immensely valuable. Photographs often link the membership to their fore bearers and their heritage. Good quality negatives should be produced of these special photographs, stored in archival quality sleeves, and placed in a safe and separate location from the originals.
Duplication of Vital Records
In most instances, vital records and documents should be duplicated and stored separately from the originals. Church minutes, vital financial records, blueprints and architectural drawings, membership records, the Annual Church Profile, and cemetery records can best be duplicated on microfilm.
Legal documents are best photocopied. The originals should be placed in a bank vault or safety deposit box and the duplicates placed with other valuable records in the church office.
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