BeLoved City Church Personal Information Protection Policy

Policy Statement

BeLoved City Church recognises the importance of protecting your rights to privacy in respect to the collection, management, and disclosure of your personal information.

This Personal Information Protection Policy, in compliance with Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), outlines the principles and practices that we follow in protecting personal information. This policy also explains what personal information we collect, why we require the information, how we may use your information, and under what circumstances we may disclose your information.

This Personal Information Protection Policy applies to BeLoved City Church and its subsidiary, BeLovedU.

Collection of Personal Information

BeLoved City Church will collect and retain information when necessary for the purpose of its ministry and related activities.

We will collect your information that is necessary to fulfill the following purposes:

- to verify identity
- to enrol you in a program
- to safeguard your child(ren)
- to provide counselling services
- to keep you informed
- to invite you to upcoming events
- to connect you with authorized team members
- to provide yearly Giving Statements for tax purposes

We collect your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. We may collect information from you in the following ways: 

- When you complete any of our paper and electronic forms
- When you check your children into BeLoved Kids events
- When you fill out a Giving Envelope during our services
- When you connect with us using the Church Center App
- When you join a City Group 

Consent 

We will obtain your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted below, we are authorized to do so without consent).

Consent can be provided orally, in writing, electronically, or through an authorized team member, or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting using or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious and you have provided personal information for that purpose.

Consent may also be implied where you have been given notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of your personal information being used for mail-outs or emailed communication.

Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide services, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), you can withhold or withdraw your consent for BeLoved City Church to use your personal information in certain ways. Your decision to withhold or withdraw your consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service. If so, we will explain the situation to assist you in making the decision.

We may collect, use, or disclose personal information without your knowledge or consent in the following limited circumstances:

- When the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is permitted or required by law
- In an emergency that threatens an individual's life, health, or personal security
- When the personal information is available from a public source (ex. Google or social media)
- When we require legal advice from a lawyer
- To protect ourselves from fraud

Using and Disclosing Personal Information

The purpose of collection, holding, use, and disclosure of the personal information is to fulfil the ministry and administrative functions of BeLoved City Church. This may include the following:

- To communicate information to you about our weekend services, events, and any updates.
- To enable you to assist with volunteering and other church activities.
- To provide relevant giving statements, event registrations, and other payments.
- To provide you with access to BeLoved City Church Centre and Planning.
- Your personal information may also be used for other specific purposes for which it was requested, and which was advised to you prior to collection. Your personal information will not be shared, sold, rented, or disclosed other than as described in this Privacy Policy.

At times we may make some personal information available to strategic partners that work with us to provide services or assist us in our mission, but only where we have your consent to do so. We also make some personal and sensitive information available to some key BeLoved City Church volunteers and leaders, where they have agreed to a confidentiality statement, in order for them to provide pastoral services or manage certain aspects of our ministries. This does not reduce our commitment to your privacy. We work with our partners, leaders, and volunteers to ensure that your privacy is respected and secured.

Storage of Information

BeLoved City Church takes reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is protected from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our processes include:

- Hard copy documents and forms are stored in a secure location.
- Electronic data is password protected and complies with applicable security standards.
- Only authorised personnel are permitted to access your data.
- We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the providers we use have privacy policies in place that comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
- Personal information is destroyed or deleted when no longer needed.

As our website is linked to the internet, and the internet may be insecure, we cannot provide any assurance regarding the security of transmission of information you communicate to us online. We also cannot guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the internet. Accordingly, any personal information or other information which you transmit to us online is transmitted at your own risk.

Access and Updates to Personal Information 

BeLoved City Church will provide individuals with access to their personal information as required by law and take reasonable steps to correct information, which is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. An inquiry or request to correct personal information can be forwarded to our administrator at admin@belovedchurch.ca.

If the personal information is confirmed to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will make note of your request in your file.

Questions and Complaints

The Board of Directors are responsible for ensuring BeLoved City Church’s compliance with this policy and the Personal Information Protection Act.

Any complaints, concerns, or questions regarding BeLoved City Church’s compliance can be directed in writing by mail or email to admin@belovedchurch.ca. If unable to resolve the concern, the individual may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.

We will regularly review and update our policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

 

BeLoved City Church
Office Phone: (250) 591-4722
Mail: PO Box 1137, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 6E7