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PRIVACY POLICY
Last Updated February 14, 2023

INTRODUCTION

As noted in the policy below, the English language version of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use will govern your relationship with GT Church. While the English version will govern, you can also use an automatic translation tool like Google Translate to view the documents in your language
 

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

In the wake of the 2020 pandemic, GT Church began growing its online presence. This included a website, social media presence, and launching an online campus ministry. The digital nature of these applications requires the collection of some personal and technological data; however, you choose what you access. You choose what you share and with whom. Your data is yours. GT Church does not sell your information, nor will we share it with others without your consent.

And every aspect of GT Church’s digital tools is completely free, with no strings attached and no advertising. We intend to remove every possible barrier so you can focus on getting to know God more intimately.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully because it discusses how we will collect, use, share, and process your personal information. You agree to this Privacy Policy and its terms by using GT Church sites and services.

 

We welcome any questions or comments you may have about this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices. If you have any questions or comments, you may contact us by mail at GT Church, attn.: GT Church Technology Support, 2200 E. Washington St., East Peoria, Illinois 61611, or by email at help@gtchurchonline.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DEFINITIONS
2. BRIEF OVERVIEW
3. YOUR PROFILE AND THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO US
4. YOUR POSTS
5. GIVING PRIVACY
6. VOLUNTEER INQUIRIES
7. AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION TECHNOLOGIES
8. GT CHURCH CONTENT
9. COMMUNICATIONS FROM US TO YOU
10. RECOMMENDATIONS AND GENERAL INFORMATION
11. GIVING INFORMATION
12. SECURITY, LEGAL, AND TECHNICAL ISSUES
13. NOTICE
14. ANALYTICS AND PERFORMANCE
15. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
16. DISCLOSURE ON YOUR BEHALF
17. DISCLOSURE BY YOU
18. INTERNAL DISCLOSURE
19. SERVICE PROVIDERS
20. CONTENT PROVIDERS
21. LEGAL PROCESS SUBPOENA
22. YOUR REQUESTS
23. SECURITY AND PROTECTION
24. CHURCH ONLINE
25. CHILDREN
26. PROCESSING OF DATA
27. THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION COLLECTION
28. USERS FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
29. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
30. CONTACT INFORMATION

DEFINITIONS

To make this document easier to read, we’re going to use some shorthand throughout. For example, when we say “our sites” or “GT Church sites” (whether we reference them individually or collectively), we’re talking about the websites and applications offered by GT Church, including (but not limited to) www.gtchurchonline.com, www.gtagep.org, www.gladtidingsep.com, gladtidingsep.online.church, together with their subdomains and content. These are owned and operated by Glad Tidings Assembly of God. LLC, together with its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, which we’ll refer to as “GT Church,” “us,” or “we” throughout this policy. When we refer to persons interacting with GT Church in this policy, we’ll use the term “you.”

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Please note that the use of Facebook and YouTube applications and services is governed by a separate privacy policy found here on those individual applications and services.

BRIEF OVERVIEW

This Privacy Policy outlines the types of data we collect from your interactions with GT Church and how we process that information. You have choices about how your personal information is accessed, collected, shared, and stored by GT Church, which is discussed below. We take the privacy of the information you provide and that we collect seriously and implement security safeguards designed to protect your data, which are also discussed below.

 

In general, the information we collect depends on the services you request. In addition to the personal information that you provide (such as your name, email address, financial information, and other personally identifiable information), we collect Internet and other network activity information with cookies and other automated technologies, as discussed below. We use the data we collect and that you provide, as well as inferences we make from that information as follows:

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  • To provide, support, and personalize our sites and services;

  • To create, maintain, customize, and secure a  GT Church profile or account, if any;

  • To process your requests and respond to your inquiries;

  • To provide information on our products or services;

  • To maintain the safety, security, and integrity of GT Church sites and the infrastructure that facilitates the use of our sites;

  • For internal development and analysis of our products and services;

  • To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it;

  • To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights;

  • As described in this Privacy Policy;

  • In a manner we may describe when you provide the information; and

  • For another purpose with your consent.

YOUR PROFILE AND THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO US
We collect personal data from you when you provide it to us both offline and online. You do not need to provide personal information to us to use the GT Church sites; however, we allow you to create a profile that will enable us to tailor our sites and services to be a more personalized experience. To create a profile, we require your first and last name, email address, and password to authenticate you when you try to access your profile. Beyond the personal information needed to create a profile, you have choices about what additional information you provide to us, which may include your physical address, phone number, the names of your family members, school district, attending grade, gender, and your marital status, all of which will be stored in association with your profile. Certain information may be required based on your specific requests, such as your social security number for employment inquiries and volunteer requests; we will notify you of this at the time of such a request. We also collect information about you when you send, receive, or engage in communications with us, including when you submit personal information or requests by emailing help@gtchurchonline.com. We retain those communications to process inquiries, respond to requests, and improve our sites and services.
 
 If you have a profile with us, the information you provide us is generally associated with your profile and is stored internally in our third-party relationship management system or “CRM system.” We will use this information to authenticate you and allow you to access your specific profile. We also create user profiles for offline purposes, including volunteerism and inquiries concerning employment. We may combine the information you provide us for your profile and interactions with our sites with information you provide us through other GT Church sites, services, and products and inferences we make from the same for our internal development to improve the overall quality of our sites, services, and products.  

YOUR POSTS
Our GT Church sites have a wide array of functionality, including streaming videos, creating prayer requests, and identifying and communicating with your GT Church groups and teams. Some GT Church sites may allow you to publish, distribute, and display certain content, which we will refer to as “posted” and the content as “posts.” Posts may be made on public areas of websites and social media accounts you access through our sites or may otherwise be transmitted to third parties. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in a public manner, whether through collaborative postings, social media, message boards, or other public online forums, this information may be collected and used by others. We cannot control the actions of other users or third parties with whom you choose to share your posts. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that unauthorized persons will not view your posts, nor do we accept any liability associated with your posts.

GIVING

If you choose to provide a voluntary donation through those GT Church sites where you are able to make a donation, then and only then will you be prompted and required to provide a credit card, bank account, and other payment information necessary to process the transaction. We will collect the designation for your donation, if you provide one, the GT Church campus designated for your donation (if any), and personal information such as your name, address, phone number, and/or email address to ensure that your donation is used for the purpose you request and to provide you with an “Annual Giving Statement” that itemizes your donation(s) for tax purposes or your personal use. This information (with the exception of your financial information) is stored in connection with your profile. If you have created one for another purpose or have no preexisting profile with us, we will use this information to create a profile for you in our internal CRM system. We will not store or otherwise process financial information provided to us online for the purpose of making a donation. As of the date of this Policy, we use Stripe and PayPal to process your online donation payments. For information on how these third parties process your information, please refer to their privacy policies which may be found here: https://stripe.com/privacy; https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full. For donations you provide to us in person or by mail, we store your financial information in our databases in an encrypted form for as long as necessary to process your donation and as required by applicable law and GAAP accounting principles.

VOLUNTEERS INQUIRIES
You agree that we have the right to: You may apply to be a volunteer for miscellaneous activities and events in person at a GT Church campus, over the phone, and through one or more of our sites. The information we require for volunteer applications is your first and last name, telephone number, address, social security number, and date of birth. We will use this information to create a profile or associate it with your profile if one exists. We will use your social security number and date of birth solely for a background check in connection with your application to be a volunteer and/or employee. We will not share either with any other party except for third-party service providers that enable us to perform background checks, which are obligated not to share your information or use it for any other purpose. As a ministry volunteer, you may have access to third-party software that allows you to schedule and check in to your volunteer activity and manage other volunteer activities. This location-based information is stored in association with your profile to enable you to see your past volunteerism. We also use it for our own internal analysis of volunteerism.

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION TECHNOLOGIES

By agreeing to our Privacy Policy, you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies (for example, web beacons, pixels, tags, and device identifiers, which we collectively refer to as “cookies”) as described in this policy. If you use GT Church sites without changing your browser or device settings to disable cookies, we assume that you consent to receive all cookies provided through GT Church sites.

 

We use cookies to recognize you and/or your device(s) on, off, and across the different applications of our sites and devices. Cookies help to facilitate the best possible user experience of our sites as they allow us to recognize you and maintain your user preferences from session to session, help us keep your account safe, and generally improve the functionality of the products and services offered through GT Church sites. They also help us ensure that profile information is used in association with the correct profile. Importantly, we do not use cookies to facilitate interest-based ads from third parties for third-party goods or services.

 

We log usage data when you use GT Church sites, including when you view or click on content, browser type, browser language, perform a search or request, the date and time of your request, install an update, seek new functionality, or use one or more tools offered through our sites. We use cookies to identify you and log your use. When you access or leave our sites, we receive the URL of both the site you came from and the one you go to next. We also get information about your IP address, proxy server, operating system, web browser and add-ons, device identifier and features, and/or ISP or your mobile carrier. If you use our sites from a mobile device, that device will send us data about your location based on your phone settings and access you have granted the GT Church sites, as discussed below.

 

We store this information and information pertaining to your use of our sites in connection with your profile. We do not share any of your personally identifiable information along with your device identification or location without your explicit permission. We advertise on third-party sites such as Facebook and Google and use third-party software development kits (“SDKS”) to attribute a download of a GT Church application to the advertisement placed on the third-party site. We may provide these third parties with aggregate information concerning ads placed on their sites and downloads that result from those ads.

 

We use this information to provide a tailored GT Church site experience for you and to communicate with you more effectively. The information is also collected to determine the aggregate number of unique devices using our sites, track total usage, and analyze usage data to provide you with a better experience and improve the quality of our services. If you do not want us to collect this information, you should cease the use of our sites.

Although most internet browsers accept cookies by default, you can control these types of technology through your browser settings and similar tools and agree to refuse all cookies altogether. If you refuse to accept cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser or smartphone, you may prohibit us from delivering the full capability of our sites.

 

Please note that we cannot regulate other sites, content, or applications of third parties, which may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information from you. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) targeted content. We do not control these third-parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.

GT CHURCH CONTENT

We collect the manner you use the content available through our sites and the language in which you choose to utilize that content. We also may collect and store your posts. We process this information to allow you to access and use content and posts through each session of your use of our sites. It is your choice whether to create, access, or store information and content on our sites. If you do, we will store it in association with your profile for so long as you opt not to delete it. We may use information about your use of our sites and the inferences we make from that use to provide recommendations to you of other GT Church sites, products, services, and content.

COMMUNICATIONS FOR US TO YOU

From time to time, we may contact you as set forth below. You may opt out of receiving certain communications from us by modifying the settings of your application (where applicable) or by contacting us at the information below.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GENERAL INFORMATION

We use the data we have about you and inferences we make from that data to recommend certain content and functionality as well as additional products and services offered by GT Church. We may contact you through push notifications, email, mail, or in-app messages to discuss these recommendations, how to use our sites, and other news messages.

GIVING

If you have given a donation to us, we use the data we collect about that donation to inform you of the impact of your giving. We may contact you through push notifications, email, mail, or in-app messages to discuss these opportunities.

SECURITY, LEGAL, AND TECHNICAL ISSUES

We use your personal information to respond to and resolve technical issues and complaints concerning our sites and as necessary for security purposes or to investigate possible fraud, violations of law or agreement, or attempts to harm self or others. We may use your information to contact you about these accounts, security, legal, and other service-related issues. Please be aware that you cannot opt out of receiving such messages from us.

​NOTICE

We may use your personal information to provide notice regarding a security incident or data breach by: (i) sending a message to the email address you provide (as applicable); (ii) posting to a publicly facing page of GT Church sites, or through an in-app message; (iii) through major statewide media; and/or (iv) telephonic means, including calls and/or text messages, even if sent via automated means including automated dialers. Standard text and data messaging rates may apply from your carrier. Notices sent by email will be effective when we send the email, notices we provide by posting will be effective upon posting and by in-app messaging when the message is made, and notices we provide through telephonic means will be effective when transmitted or dialed. You consent to receive electronic communications from GT Church relating to your use and access to the services provided by GT Church. It is your responsibility to keep your email address and any other contact information you provide to us current so that we may provide these communications to you.

ANALYTICS AND PERFORMANCE

We internally analyze the personal data available to us and the use of content found on our sites. In some cases, we work with trusted third parties to perform this research under controls designed to protect your privacy, as discussed below. We may disclose statistics concerning the use of our site in an aggregated manner with de-identified and anonymized information that does not disclose any particular user or that user’s personally identifying information. For example, we may use your data to generate statistics about the overall usage of one of our sites worldwide or in specific geographic regions.

 

We also use de-identified and aggregate user data to market our sites, including communications that promote membership and network growth. Where we share stats of our growth publicly, we make sure to analyze and publish the data in an aggregated form, protecting your privacy and keeping your identity and personal information confidential. We use data, including data collected through the use of our sites, public feedback, and information inferred from this data, to conduct internal research and development in order to provide a better overall experience on GT Church sites, measure the performance of our sites and increase the use of our sites and their features. This is done by making changes to GT Church sites that are generally available, as well as sending messages suggesting functionality and content.

​DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

We do not share your personal data with any third-party advertisers or ad networks for third-party advertising purposes. We may disclose your personal information to third parties, as discussed below.

​DISCLOSURE ON YOUR BEHALF

We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy to fulfill our obligations, the purpose for which you provide it, a purpose you request, or a purpose for which we have your consent.

​DISCLOSURE BY YOU

If and when you share information through our sites, that information is viewable by you and by anyone else you choose to share it with. If you give access to your account to other applications and services, based on your approval, those services would then have access to your shared information. The use, collection, and protection of your data by such third-party services are subject to those third parties’ policies.

​INTERNAL DISCLOSURE

We will share your personal data internally within GT Church to help combine the personal information covered across the different aspects of GT Church sites and our other products and services to help provide services to you in a personalized and useful manner. For example, we can personalize potential services to recommend to you using cookies or similar technologies that track what functionality you have already opted to receive.

​SERVICE PROVIDERS

We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy to contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use solely to support our sites (such as cloud hosting, maintenance, analysis, audit, payments, fraud detection, communication, and development). These third parties will have access to your information as reasonably necessary to perform tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose it to others or use it for other purposes.

CONTENT PROVIDERS

We utilize certain third parties to provide content on our sites. We do not share the personal information of users with these third parties. We may, however, provide these third parties with analytics concerning the use of their content using de-identified and anonymized data.

​LEGAL PROCESS AND SUBPOENA

It is possible that we will need to disclose information about you when required by law, subpoena, or other legal processes. We may dispute third-party demands when we believe, in our discretion, that the requests are overbroad, vague, or lack proper authority, but we do not promise to challenge every demand. We may also need to disclose your information if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is reasonably necessary to (i) investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities or to assist government enforcement agencies; (ii) enforce our agreements with you; (iii) investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations; (iv) protect the security or integrity of our sites; or (v) exercise or protect the rights and safety of GT Church, our users, personnel, you, or others. We also reserve the right to confidentially disclose personal information we have about you in connection with a potential or actual merger or acquisition, such as the sale of all or substantially all of our assets.

YOUR REQUESTS

Certain laws provide for requests concerning personal information. To make such a request with respect to your personal information, you may send us an email at help@gtchurchonline.com. You may also contact us at GT Church, Inc., Attn.: GT Church Support, 2200 E. Washington St., East Peoria, Illinois 61611. When contacting us, please indicate your name, address, email address, and what personally identifiable information you request to be accessed, corrected, or removed. We may decline to process requests if we cannot verify the requestor’s identity, if we believe the request will jeopardize the privacy of others, if we believe the request would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect, or for a similar legitimate purpose. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights under applicable law. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to a verifiable request concerning your personal information unless it is excessive, unduly burdensome, repetitive, or unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

 

If you ask that we modify or delete some or all of your personal information, we will retain your personal data if reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations (including law enforcement requests and obligations concerning financial records and tax returns), meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our agreements or fulfill any others requests from you (for example, to opt-out of further messages or for a copy of your data). Additionally, third parties addressed in this policy may have their own policies with respect to data retention and deletion. We have no control over the information you have shared with others through one of our sites after you close your account or are asked to delete information or attempt to delete your account yourself. Your information and content you have shared may continue to be displayed in the services of others (for example, search engine results) until they refresh their cache.

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