Does your church have a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account? Here is something that is overlooked very often by churches and can get them into legal trouble. Check out this legal alert about using social media for church.
Using Social Media For Church – What You Need To Know
There’s a rising issue for churches when they use social media as a means of advertising.
Stay right there. Today’s legal alert might just keep you out of trouble with the law. Here’s attorney David Gibbs, Jr. of the Christian Law Association.
With the rise of social media, many churches are utilizing websites like Facebook and others to promote their church ministries. This brings up a concern over policies that address using pictures without permission of other church members. The attorneys at the Christian Law Association suggest implementing the use of release forms whenever you are going to use pictures of church members. When using an individual’s photograph, whether they are an adult or a minor, it is wise to to have a release signed in every case. A simple written signed form by the photographed individual will authorize the church’s use of their photographic image. Without this signed form, the church opens itself up to many possible legal liabilities.
This legal insight is provided by the Christian Law Association. Since 1969, CLA has been providing free legal assistance to Bible-believing churches and Christians who are experiencing difficulty in practicing their religious faith because of governmental regulation, intrusion, or prohibition in one form or another. The Christian Law Association exists to preserve Christian liberty for your children and grandchildren. CLA receives in excess of 100,000 phone calls annually, not counting the thousands of pieces of correspondence from those who are in some way facing legal difficulties for doing what the Bible commands. These cases involve Christians arrested for witnessing to others in public, public school students being told they do not have the right to read their Bibles at school, churches being excluded from communities, Christians being fired for sharing their faith at work, and thousands of other shocking assaults on our precious religious freedoms. CLA provides free legal services based in part on the generosity of God’s people.