N.J. Stat. tit. 16, ch. 4

in effect

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-1 Incorporation

Any church or congregation now or hereafter established by a branch of any society or confraternity of clergymen in this state may incorporate in the following manner: The pastor of such church or congregation for the time being, and four of the clergymen resident in the house or parsonage connected with the church or congregation, and members of the society or confraternity by which the church or congregation has been established, who shall be elected by a majority of the clergymen resident as aforesaid, may sign a certificate setting forth the name by which they and their successors shall be known as a corporation, and transmit such certificate to the clerk of the county in which such church or congregation is located, who shall forthwith file and record the same, for which service he shall be entitled to receive the fee provided in section 22:2-19 of the title Fees and Costs. Thereupon such church or congregation shall be a corporation by the name or title so taken, certified and recorded.

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-2 Trustees; powers

The persons so signing such certificate shall be the trustees of the corporation, and they and their successors shall by such name of incorporation have all the powers enumerated in section 16:1-4 of this title.

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-3 § 16:4-3

The successor in office for the time being of such pastor shall, by virtue of his office, be the trustee of such church or congregation in place of his predecessor. The office of any of the trustees shall become vacant by his removal out of the limits of the church or congregation, and whenever the office of any trustee, except the pastor, shall become vacant for any reason whatsoever, his successor shall be chosen in the manner herein provided for the selection of the original members of the board of trustees.

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-4 § 16:4-4

The corporation may elect annually, or oftener if necessary or expedient, one of its own members to be president, who shall keep the minutes and enter the orders and proceedings of the corporation in a book to be kept for that purpose. He shall have the custody of the common seal, and the papers, documents, deeds, writings and books of or relating to the corporation, and may convene the corporation as occasion may require.

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-5 § 16:4-5

The proceedings, orders and acts of a majority of all the members of the corporation, but not of a less number, shall be valid and effectual.

N.J. Stat. § 16:4-6 § 16:4-6

If any corporation created under or by virtue of the provisions of this chapter shall be dissolved by failure to continue the succession of the trustees thereof, it may be revived and the church or congregation incorporated under this chapter, in the mode herein prescribed, at any time within six years from the date of the dissolution, and thereupon all the property, real and personal, belonging to the dissolved corporation at the time of its dissolution, shall vest in such new corporation.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026