Data Protection and Privacy policy
Influence Church uses personal data about individuals for the purpose of general church administration, pastoral care and communication.
Influence Church recognises the importance of the correct and lawful treatment of personal data. All personal data, whether it is held on paper, on computer or other media, will be subject to the appropriate legal safeguards as specified in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and subsequent legislation.
Influence Church fully endorses and adheres to the principles of the GDPR. These principles specify the legal conditions that must be satisfied in relation to obtaining, handling, processing, transporting and storing personal data. Employees and any other individuals who handle, process, transport and store personal data for Influence Church must adhere to these principles:
| Lawfulness, fairness and transparency | Personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject |
| Purpose limitation | Personal data shall be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes |
| Data minimisation | Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed |
| Accuracy | Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date |
| Storage limitation | Personal data shall be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed |
| Integrity and confidentiality | Personal data shall be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures |
| Accountability | The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR |
How we collect your personal data
We collect personal information each time you are in contact with us. For example when you:
- Visit our website
- Sign up to serve in any of our campuses or ministries
- Make a donation when completing an offering envelope
- Register for a conference or church event
- Provide your details online, in the app, in writing or orally to church staff or volunteers
Maintaining Confidentiality
Influence Church will treat all your personal information as private and confidential. Your personal information will only be disclosed to those within the church responsible for facilitating the day to day administration and day to day ministry of the church, and who also have a need to access your information.
All Influence Church staff and volunteers who have access to personal information will be required to agree and sign a Confidentiality Policy and Data Protection Policy.
There are four exceptional circumstances to the above where we may be permitted by law to disclose personal data:
- Where we are legally compelled to do so
- Where there is a duty to the public to disclose
- Where disclosure is required to protect your interest
- Where disclosure is made at your request or with your consent
Use of Personal Data
Influence Church will use your data for four main purposes:
- The day to day administration of the church including: pastoral care and oversight including calls and visits, preparation of ministry rotas, and maintaining financial records of giving for audit and tax purposes
- Contacting you to keep you informed of church activities and events
- Statistical analysis including attendance and gaining a better understanding of church demographics (NB. Collated data may be disclosed to third parties, i.e. general connect group attendance, but personal information will always be removed).
- Employment and payroll for individuals in the employment Influence Church
- To support the NHS Test and Trace programme
We do not sell or pass any of your personal information to any other organisations and/or individuals without your express consent, with the following exceptions:
By providing us with your details you are giving Influence Church the express permission to transfer your data to service providers including mailing houses, such as MailChimp, to enable the fulfilment of the purpose for collection.
The Database
Influence Church utilise a database called Elvanto to assist with church administration and the pastoral care of church members. The database is accessed through the cloud and therefore can be accessed by authorised individuals through any computer or smart device with internet access. The server for the database is in the EU and hosted by Elvanto:
- Access to the database is strictly controlled through the use of individual usernames and passwords which are selected by the individual
- The online site for accessing the database is secured by SSL certificates, and safeguards are in place to prevent against brute force attack
- We employ role based access controls to ensure those authorised to use the database only have access to their specific area to enable them to fulfil their role. These security parameters are maintained by the designated database manager.
- Individuals with access to the database are Influence Church staff, Department Heads, and Connect Leaders.
Elvanto EU Privacy Policy
Elvanto Terms of Service
Website and the App
Influence Church utilise websites (www.influencechurch.co.uk), as well as a smartphone app in order to publicise details about church and our events to you and the wider public. From time to time we may collect data or manage sign ups through the website or app.
As most sites do, our website and app utilise cookies in order to give you the best possible browsing experience. Within our site there is also embedded content from third party sites such as Google Maps, YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram. These third party sites may also utilise cookies for the same reason. You can block cookies at any time using your browser settings if you wish to do so.
We also track usage stats on the website and app using Google Analytics
In the app you can create a social profile either directly within the app, or by linking to your chosen social media profile. By leaving a comment, you acknowledge that your chosen profile name, and or social media profile picture will be publically available to anybody who installs and visits the app.
NHS Test and Trace
In order to support the NHS Test and Trace programme, we are taking contact details (Name and Telephone Number) for all visitors, as well as recording times entering and leaving Influence Church.
For those attending a Church service where they are required to book a ticket, this information will be collected at the time of booking. You may also at the time of booking choose to share your details with us for the other purposes as set out in the Privacy Policy.
For those visiting the building at other times, this will be by means of a volunteer register managed by the department manager, or other data collection method.
In line with guidance issued by the Department for Health and Social Care, we will keep your details safely and in compliance with GDPR legislation for 21 days before securely disposing of or deleting them. We will only share your details with NHS Test and Trace, if asked, in the event that it is needed to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. We will not use your details for any other purposes or pass them on to anyone else.
Right to access information
All individuals who are subject to information held by Influence Church are entitled to:
- Ask what information the church holds about them and why
- Ensure their data is kept up to date
- Request a copy of the data held by them
- Request the erasure of data held about them in certain situations
Any queries of this nature should be addressed in writing to:
FAO: Data Protection Officer
Influence Church
Victoria Road
Richmond
DL10 4AS
Influence Church aims to comply with all request for access to personal information as quickly as possible, but will ensure that it is provided within 30 days of receipt unless there is good reason for delay.