We at Church of the Woods understand the spiritual benefits of the Internet and the numerous ministry opportunities using it yields. However, we also understand the importance of respecting and protecting your privacy. Therefore, Church of the Woods has enforced policies meant to ensure your personal information is handled securely and responsibly.
This Privacy Policy exists to let you know what kind of information we collect, how it is handled, and with whom it may be shared. It is very important to be aware that this Privacy Policy may change as we are developing our website, applications, and online service. For this reason, we encourage you to consult this Privacy Policy regularly.
When you visit the website of Church of the Woods, we will collect two types of information.
This kind of information is exchanged between your computer and our computer when visiting our website. It is anonymous and cannot personally identify you. This type of information includes, but is not limited to, your IP address, referring URL, ZIP code, kind of web browser, browser display settings, and whether you are a first-time visitor or a returning visitor. We may place a “cookie” on your computer, which is used to recognize you when you visit our website.
Cookies are small files a website transfers to your computer through your web browser so that the website remembers how to interact with you and provide a personalized experience. The technical information collected from those visiting our website allows Church of the Woods to improve the usability of the website and lower the number of problems that may occur when viewing our site. If you have questions about the use of technical information gathered through our website, you should contact us by emailing us at tblack@churchofthewoods.org.
This is information you voluntarily share with Church of the Woods by filling out the form on our website or by talking to us on the phone. It is information you provide us for things such as prayer requests, church membership, or volunteering. All personal information is kept confidential and is not distributed, sold, or shared with anyone. We collect your personal information depending on how you use our website. For instance:
In most circumstances, we will not collect or process your personal information without your consent. We will ask for your consent where required or where we find it appropriate. By using our website, you consent to our Privacy Policy. If you choose to give us personal information through our website, we will assume legitimate interest and consent, and we will collect and retain that information. If you choose not to consent, please do not use our website and do not provide us with any personal information.
We use your technical information to improve the usability, performance, and effectiveness of our website. Church of the Woods uses your personal information for one or more of the following purposes:
We strive to maintain the security of information collected on our website, and we use multiple effective security measures to do so. Naturally, there is always some risk in transmitting information electronically. As we deem appropriate, we use security measures consistent with industry standards.
However, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you give us, and you should understand that any information you transmit to our website is done at your own risk. Any credit card or bank account information you provide through our website will not be stored on our servers and will instead be passed directly to our payment processor.
Church of the Woods may share your personal information with various affiliates so that we can send you information about resources or events that may interest you. Nevertheless, we require our affiliates to agree to process such information based on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Policy and other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
We may share your personal information with outside companies that perform services for Church of the Woods. For example, we may use outside companies to manage a database containing customer information or to create and distribute emails. When we share your personal information with a third-party provider, we also require these parties to agree to process your personal information based on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.
Church of the Woods may share non-personal information with affiliates and third parties for marketing, advertising, and other uses. We may also disclose your personal information and other information in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other lawful requests by public authorities if we have to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. Church of the Woods may collect and share personal information in order to investigate or take action concerning illegal activities, suspected fraud, violations of our Terms of Service, or as required by law or by government and regulatory authorities.
Our website is directed to people who are at least 13 or older. It is our current policy not to knowingly collect personal information from any person under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that their child has provided us with personal information without their consent, they should contact us by email at tblack@churchofthewoods.org. If at any time a parent or guardian wishes to access, correct, delete, or control the disclosure of personal information given by their child, they should contact us by email, too. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will strive to delete it from our files as soon as possible.
If you are under 18 years of age and live in California, you have the right to request the removal of content posted by you on our website. Upon receiving a fully completed removal request, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to remove content posted by you from our website. Any such request does not ensure the complete removal of your posted content. For instance, your content may continue to appear on our website if it has been reposted by other users. While Church of the Woods will remove the content you posted from our website, it may continue to be stored on our servers. You must complete the removal request form accurately and completely for the request to be processed.
This online privacy policy applies only to information gathered through our website and not to that collected offline.
You can contact Church of the Woods at any time at tblack@churchofthewoods.org to:
We will take all possible and reasonable steps to make the requested changes. However, it is not technologically possible to change or delete each and every instance of the information we hold on you from our systems, and data may remain in non-erasable forms. We may retain data for a period in our backup or temporary systems. We may also retain some information for longer periods as required by law, contract, or auditing requirements.
California residents have the right to request a list of all third parties to which we have disclosed certain information during the preceding year for marketing purposes. Still, it is our policy to neither disclose personal information nor to sell it to third parties for direct marketing purposes without your consent.
As we continue to develop our website, including any website or URL that we have linked to this Privacy Policy, and improve the services we offer, this Privacy Policy will likely change. We encourage you to refer to this Privacy Policy periodically so that you understand our current Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy was last modified on May 16, 2022.