How long should a church retain documents and records? This is an important question, especially for church boards. Church staff members who watch the mountains of paperwork grow steadily higher look to the church board for guidance on how long to keep such information. This is not an easy task, mostly because of the variety of records involved and the lack of any single "rule" that can be applied to all records.
The General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) provides guidelines to facilitate the planning and creation of retention schedules for Annual Conferences and local churches.
GCAH offers a number of resources, including the following, to assist local churches:
Visit the GCAH website for records management.
View the Department of Labor's guidelines for payroll retention requirements.
Questions? The conference archivists can assist you. View the contact information for the Kansas archives and the Nebraska archives.
Resources