Privacy Policy of Newnan First SDA Church

Effective Date: January 26, 2026
Last Updated: January 26, 2026 (subject to change; see “Changes to this Policy” below)

Introduction

Newnan First Seventh-day Adventist Church (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information, both through our website and any digital forms or services we provide. It is designed to comply with applicable United States privacy regulations and best practices – including the CAN-SPAM Act for emails and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for calls/SMS – as well as guidelines provided by our service platform, GoHighLevel (HighLevel), to ensure the security and proper handling of your data. By using our website, signing up for our communications, or providing your information to us, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and consent to our data practices described here.

Information We Collect

We collect various types of personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) from you, as well as some non-personal data, in order to fulfill our ministry activities and provide services. The types of data we collect include:

Contact Information: This includes identifying and contact details such as your full name, email address, phone number, and mailing address. For example, when you fill out a welcome form, prayer request, or subscribe to our newsletter, we may ask for your name and contact details.
Donations and Payment Details: If you choose to make a donation or payment through our website or at an event, we (or our payment processor) collect information necessary to process that transaction, such as the donation amount and payment method details. Important: Online donation payments are processed via third-party payment providers (e.g. PayPal or credit card processors), which collect your billing information directly on their secure systems. We do not receive or store your full credit/debit card numbers or bank account details beyond what is needed for record-keeping (such as confirmation of payment or the last four digits of a card for receipt purposes).
Event Registration Information: When you register for a church event, program, or service (for example, a seminar, retreat, or community service event), we collect the information you provide on the registration form. This typically includes your contact information (as noted above) and may also include details such as the names of additional attendees (e.g. family members), your preferences or notes for the event, and any other information relevant to the registration.
Communications and Inquiries: If you contact us or interact with us in various ways, we may collect the content of those communications. For instance, when you send an email, submit a prayer request or a question via a form, call us, or chat with us, we will receive whatever information you choose to provide in those communications. This may include personal details (like information about your family or circumstances if mentioned in a prayer request) and any other data you share with us for ministry or support purposes. We treat this information as confidential within the church pastoral/administrative team.
Consent and Preference Records: We maintain records of your consents, preferences, and opt-ins for communication. This means that when you opt in to receive certain communications (such as checking a box to receive text messages or subscribing to our email newsletter), our systems log that consent along with the date, time, and method of consent. We also keep track of your communication preferences (e.g. if you have opted out of certain communications or specified the channels you prefer) to ensure we honor your choices.
Website Usage Data: Like many websites, our site automatically collects certain technical information about your visit. This can include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit on our site, the time and date of your visit, and other statistical data. We may use cookies or similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our website – for example, to remember your preferences or to understand how visitors use our site. This usage data and cookies help us analyze trends, administer the site, and improve our website content. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings; however, note that some site features might not function properly if cookies are disabled. (For more information on cookies, see Cookies & Tracking below.)

Special Note: We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under the age of 13. Our website and digital services are not directed to children under 13, and we strive to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided personal information to us without your consent, please contact us and we will remove that information. We also ask minors under 18 not to submit personal information without parental consent.

How We Collect Information

We collect the above information through several methods:

Directly from You: Most of the personal data we collect comes directly from you. For example, you provide information when you fill out forms on our website or physical forms at church (such as visitor cards or event sign-up sheets), when you communicate with us via email, phone, SMS, or in person, and when you make donations or register for events. We will only collect the personal information that you voluntarily provide to us (or that your authorized representative provides on your behalf).
Through Our Digital Platforms: We use an all-in-one church management and communication platform (GoHighLevel) which powers our website forms, event registrations, email/SMS subscription forms, and scheduling tools. When you enter information into one of our online forms or scheduling pages, that data is collected via our platform. Similarly, if you interact with features such as our website chat or messaging widgets, the information you provide is collected through those tools.
Automated Technologies: As noted under Website Usage Data, we use cookies, server logs, and analytics providers to automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing actions when you use our website. This automated collection is standard for websites and helps us improve our online services. This data does not typically identify you personally, but if it can be linked to you, we treat it as personal data under this policy.
Third-Party Sources: Generally, we collect information directly from you. In some cases, we might receive information about you from third parties – for example, if you use a third-party donation service or event ticketing service that passes your information to us. Another example would be if someone registers you for an event or requests on your behalf that we contact you (we will obtain your consent as required in such cases). If we receive your personal information from a third-party source, we will treat it in accordance with this Privacy Policy and any additional obligations we have (and we will only use it for the purposes for which it was provided to us).

How We Use Your Information

We use the personal and other information we collect to support the mission and operations of Newnan First SDA Church, to communicate with you, and to provide you with services or information you request. Specifically, we may use your information for purposes such as:

Providing and Improving Services: To facilitate the ministries, programs, and services you engage with. For example, we use your information to register you for events or classes you signed up for, to arrange volunteer activities, or to provide spiritual support or resources you request. We also use data to improve our offerings and website – understanding user interests and feedback helps us enhance our programs and online content.
Responding to Inquiries and Requests: To answer any questions or requests you send us. If you reach out for information about our church, request prayer, or ask for help, we will use your contact information and any details you provided to communicate with you and address your inquiry.
Donations and Payments: To process financial transactions that you initiate. This includes using payment information to complete your donations or other payments, generating donation receipts or acknowledgments for your records, and maintaining donation history for accounting and tax purposes. (Financial details are handled securely as described above, and we limit use of payment data to these transactional purposes.)
Event and Scheduling Communication: If you register for an event or schedule an appointment (for example, a pastoral visit or counseling session), we use your information to confirm your registration/appointment and to send you relevant updates or reminders. For instance, we might email or text you a reminder of the event time or provide additional details about the event.
Communications & Notifications: To communicate with you about church news, updates, inspirational messages, and promotional content related to our mission. This may include sending you newsletters, announcements of upcoming events or sermon series, service time changes, emergency notifications (such as weather closures), and fundraising or volunteer opportunity appeals. These communications may be sent via email, SMS/text messages, phone calls, or postal mail, depending on the contact information you have provided and your preferences. We will only send marketing or mass communications to you if you have given consent or as otherwise permitted by law, and we provide opt-out options (see Your Rights & Choices below for how to manage communications). Notably, any email we send for these purposes will comply with CAN-SPAM Act requirements (e.g., clear sender information and an unsubscribe link), and any text message will comply with TCPA and industry guidelines (e.g., sent only with prior consent, with instructions to opt-out).
Transactional Messages: In addition to general communications, we use your information to send you specific transactional or relationship messages. These include messages like: confirmation emails or texts when you sign up for something, receipts or thank-you notes for your donations, account-related alerts (if you have an account or profile with us), follow-ups after you visit or attend an event (e.g., a “Thank you for joining us” email or a feedback survey), and other non-promotional correspondence directly related to your interactions with us. These messages are considered necessary for providing you with good service and are sent regardless of marketing preferences (though you may still ask not to receive any communications at all, which we will respect).
Maintaining Our Church Records (CRM): We input and organize your information in our secure Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system (powered by GoHighLevel) to manage our congregation and contacts. This helps us keep track of membership status, volunteer roles, communication logs, and engagement in church activities. By maintaining accurate records, we can better serve you – for example, remembering your participation in previous events or your birthday (if provided) so we can personalize our interaction with you. We also use the CRM to note and honor any communication preferences or restrictions you have (such as opting out of certain channels).
Sending Reminders and Follow-ups: As part of our service to you, we might send reminders (for example, a text reminder about an upcoming class you enrolled in, or an appointment reminder if you scheduled a meeting with church staff) and follow-up messages (such as a follow-up on a prayer request or an invitation to return/visit again after you’ve visited us). We send these to be helpful and to stay connected with you in the context of your relationship with the church.
Analytics and Improvement: We may use aggregated and de-identified data (information that does not identify you personally) to analyze how our website and outreach efforts are performing. For example, we might review website traffic patterns to see which content is most popular, or analyze email engagement (open rates, click-through rates) to gauge the effectiveness of our communications. This analysis helps us improve the user experience and the content we provide. We do not use this data to make automated decisions about individuals; it is only for broad improvements and performance tracking.
Security and Fraud Prevention: To protect our ministry and everyone’s data, we monitor and use information as needed to detect and prevent fraud, unauthorized activities, or other issues that could harm the integrity of our systems or the safety of personal information. For example, IP addresses and logs may be reviewed to filter out malicious attempts to access our site, and unusual activity in an account or in our donation system might be flagged for investigation. These measures are part of keeping your information secure when you interact with us.
Legal and Compliance: To fulfill our legal obligations and protect our rights. This includes using and retaining certain information for tax and accounting purposes (e.g., donation records must be kept for financial reporting and IRS compliance), and using contact information to send any legally required notices. If necessary, we may also use data to comply with laws like valid law enforcement requests or to enforce our legal agreements (for instance, ensuring we comply with communication laws like CAN-SPAM for emails and TCPA for texts). We aim to adhere to all applicable privacy and communications laws in our use of your data.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes we’ve stated (or purposes that are compatible with those) unless we obtain your consent for other uses or as otherwise required/allowed by law. In summary, the data we collect is utilized to provide, maintain, and improve our services to you, to communicate effectively (with your permission), and to safeguard our community, in line with best practices and relevant regulations.

Use of GoHighLevel and Third-Party Services

To operate our online and communication services efficiently, Newnan First SDA Church relies on certain trusted third-party service providers. Chief among these is our all-in-one church management and marketing platform, GoHighLevel (also known as HighLevel). We want to be transparent about how these third-party services come into play with your data:

GoHighLevel Platform: We use GoHighLevel as our CRM and digital communications platform. In practice, this means that when you submit a form on our website, schedule an appointment online, or subscribe to our communications, your information is being collected and stored in our GoHighLevel account. We also use GoHighLevel to send out our bulk emails and text message campaigns, to host certain pages (such as event landing pages or forms), and to manage our contact database. GoHighLevel acts as a data processor on our behalf – they process and store your data under our instructions and for our ministry purposes, but they do not use your data for their own purposes. We (Newnan First SDA Church) remain the data controller, meaning we decide how your data is used in accordance with this Policy, and GoHighLevel simply provides the technology platform to carry it out. GoHighLevel has its own stringent privacy and security measures in place to safeguard data on their systems (including commitments to compliance and security certifications), and we have a Data Processing Agreement in place with them to ensure your information is handled properly. In short, your data may reside on GoHighLevel’s secure servers, but it is only accessed and used by us (via the platform) in line with what is described here.
Email and SMS Delivery Services: GoHighLevel works with integrated communication providers to actually deliver emails and text messages (for example, they may route emails through an email delivery service and SMS through telecommunications gateways). We want to assure you that these communications partners are also covered under GoHighLevel’s compliance umbrella and/or our agreements, and they are only given the limited information needed to send the messages (such as your email address for emails, or your phone number and message content for texts). These providers are not allowed to use your information for any purpose other than to fulfill the communication.
Payment Processing: As noted, when you donate or make payments online, we utilize third-party payment processors (such as PayPal, Stripe, AdventistGiving, or similar services) to handle the transaction. These processors are independent from us and have their own privacy and security policies. We recommend you review the privacy policy of whichever payment service you use on our site. We do not store your sensitive financial information on our own systems; instead, those details are collected and processed directly by the payment provider over an encrypted connection. The payment provider then informs us of the result (e.g., that a donation was successful, the amount, date, and your name/contact info for receipt). We treat any such information with confidentiality and use it only for record-keeping and acknowledgment purposes.
Scheduling and Calendars: If you schedule an appointment (for example, a meeting with a pastor or a signup for a church facility use), this may be facilitated through a scheduling tool (possibly within GoHighLevel or an integrated service). That tool will collect your name and contact info and the appointment details. It will use your information to send you confirmations or reminders on our behalf. As with other services, any third-party scheduling service is only using your data for our purposes and not for its own marketing.
Other Service Providers: We may employ additional third-party companies or individuals to assist us in various areas – for instance, IT support, website hosting (if separate from our main platform), analytics services (like Google Analytics for website traffic), or email newsletter tools. When we do so, we ensure that these providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and can only use personal information as needed to perform the services we requested. For example, if we use Google Analytics, it may collect usage data as described above, but Google does not get to use our specific user data except as aggregated analytics. Any mailing or printing service (for sending physical mail like contribution statements) would similarly only get the information needed to perform that task. We do not share more information with third parties than necessary, and we vet our service providers for strong data protection practices.

In all cases, third-party service providers are not allowed to use your information for their own unrelated purposes. We do not sell your personal information to any third party, and we do not share your information with outside parties for their independent marketing or promotional use. The sharing that does occur is either with your consent, at your direction, or for the purposes of providing church services and communications as described. We also may share information if required by law or for safety (see Disclosure of Information below), but we will never trade or rent your personal data for profit.

(See the next section for more specifics on how and under what circumstances information may be disclosed.)

Disclosure of Your Information

We treat your personal information with respect and do not disclose it to unauthorized parties. There are limited circumstances, however, in which we may share information – all in line with our mission and legal obligations. These include:

Within the Church Organization: Your information may be shared internally with church staff, leaders, and key volunteers who need it to perform their duties. For example, if you volunteer for a department or join a small group, the leader of that ministry may receive your contact information to communicate with you. All such personnel are trained or informed to handle your data confidentially.
Service Providers and Partners: As detailed above, we share necessary information with third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf. This includes our CRM/technology platform (GoHighLevel), email and text message delivery services, payment processors for donations, cloud storage or IT service providers, and similar partners. These entities act under our direction and are contractually obligated to keep your information secure and use it only for the purposes we specify. For instance, if we use an email marketing service, that service gets your email address and the content of the email to send out, but cannot use your email for anything else. Our SMS messaging provider (through GoHighLevel) receives your phone number and message content solely to transmit our text messages to you and is bound by strict carrier rules and confidentiality. We ensure all vendors we work with commit to strong privacy standards.
Text Messaging Data – Special Note: We take particular care with your mobile phone number and text message consent data. We do not share any mobile phone information (your number or any text opt-in/out records) with any third party or affiliate for marketing or promotional purposes. The use of your phone number is strictly for church communications that you have consented to (such as text updates, reminders, or alerts). We may share your phone number with our contracted text message service provider or aggregator only for the purpose of sending you the text messages you signed up for, under secure conditions. Aside from facilitating the delivery of messages, your text messaging opt-in data will not be disclosed or sold to any outside party. This is in accordance with industry requirements and our commitment to your privacy. In other words, if you trust us with your phone number for texting, that information stays within our church’s direct communication ecosystem.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if we are compelled to do so by law or legal process. For example, if a valid subpoena, court order, or government investigation requires us to provide certain data, we will comply with applicable laws. We will only provide the minimum necessary information and, when allowed, we will inform you of such disclosure. Additionally, if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to an emergency, we may share information as needed. (For instance, if you were in danger and we had information that could help emergency services, or if required to report certain information by law, we would act accordingly.)
Organizational Transitions: Although it is unlikely for a church, if there were ever a significant change in our organization structure – for example, a reorganization, merger with another church, or transfer of our assets to a denominational entity – your personal information might be transferred as part of that process. If that happened, your data would remain subject to the promises made in this Privacy Policy (or you would be given notice and an opportunity to opt out of any new policy). We repeat that such scenarios are rare; this is included for completeness.
With Your Consent: In any situation not covered above, we will seek your consent before sharing your information. For instance, if an outside Christian organization wanted to invite our members to an event, we would not share your contact info with them unless you explicitly gave permission. Or if we wanted to highlight your testimonial or story on our website, we’d ask for your consent to use your name or picture. You are in control of whether we share information in ways other than the routine cases listed.

No Selling of Personal Data: We want to reiterate that we do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing or any profit-driven motive. Your trust is important to us, and your information is used only to further the ministry and communications of Newnan First SDA Church as described. Any sharing that does occur is either internal, with service providers under strict privacy rules, or compelled by legal reasons as outlined. We also do not engage in mass sharing of data between organizations; for example, we won’t give out our mailing list to another charity or company.

In summary, disclosures of personal data are limited and done with care and respect for your privacy. If you have specific questions about a potential disclosure of your information, you are welcome to contact us for more details (see Contact Information below).

Data Security and Storage

We understand that the security of your personal information is paramount. We take reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include both technical safeguards and organizational policies. Here are some key aspects of our data security approach:

Secure Storage: Personal data collected by us is stored in secure environments. Electronically, this means your information resides in protected databases (primarily within the GoHighLevel platform’s cloud servers and our secure cloud storage) that employ security measures such as firewalls, encryption, and access control. GoHighLevel’s infrastructure is designed with data security in mind – including encryption of data at rest and in transit – and they maintain industry-standard certifications and compliance (for example, they are aligned with frameworks like the EU Data Privacy Framework and have an ISO 27001 certified data center). We also may keep certain information in our local church systems (computers or physical files); any such systems are password-protected, kept in secure locations, or otherwise restricted to authorized personnel.
Encryption: Whenever you provide personal or financial information through our website, we use encryption protocols to protect that data in transit. For instance, our website and forms are served over HTTPS, which means data is encrypted between your browser and our server. Our payment processing pages are also encrypted and compliant with PCI-DSS standards for handling payment info. Additionally, as mentioned, our cloud databases encrypt data at rest. Encryption helps ensure that even if data were intercepted or accessed improperly, it would not be easily readable or usable by unauthorized parties.
Access Controls: Access to personal data within our organization is limited strictly to those who need it to perform their duties. Church staff or key volunteers who handle data have unique logins and strong passwords for our systems. We employ permissions so that each user can only see the information relevant to their role (for example, our treasurer may access donation records, while a communications leader may manage the email list, but they wouldn’t necessarily have access to each other’s data areas unless required). Our third-party service accounts (like GoHighLevel) are likewise only accessible to authorized church personnel. We periodically review user access and remove or adjust permissions when people’s roles change.
Monitoring and Training: We monitor our systems for any signs of unauthorized access or anomalies. This includes using security features provided by our platform (such as login alerts or audit logs) and staying updated on security patches and updates for all software we use. We also ensure that our team is trained on basic cybersecurity practices (for example, recognizing phishing attempts, using secure networks, and not sharing account credentials). By fostering a culture of awareness, we reduce the risk of human error leading to breaches.
Maintenance and Updates: We keep our website platform, plugins, and related software up to date to patch security vulnerabilities promptly. Our service providers (like GoHighLevel) also maintain and update their systems regularly to address security issues. We may perform routine audits or checks on our processes to ensure continued compliance with security standards.
Data Retention and Minimization: We store personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. For example, we retain donation records for the number of years required by tax regulations and church policy, and we keep contact information as long as you are an active member, subscriber, or interested person in our community. If you unsubscribe or request deletion, we will remove or anonymize your information in our active systems (subject to any need to keep certain records archived, which we’ll restrict). When personal data is no longer needed, we take steps to securely delete or destroy it. By minimizing how long we keep data (and how much data we collect to begin with), we limit potential exposure.
Incident Response: In the unlikely event of a data breach or security incident that affects your personal information, we have a response plan in place. This includes identifying and containing the issue, assessing the scope of impact, and notifying affected individuals and authorities as required by law. We would notify you as soon as reasonably possible if your data was involved in a breach, and advise you on steps to protect yourself (consistent with legal requirements and “Fair Information Practices”). Our goal is full transparency and swift action in such situations.
Physical Security: Any physical documents containing personal information (for example, paper forms or printed reports) are kept in locked files or secure areas at our church office. Only authorized staff can access those files. We shred or securely dispose of any sensitive documents that are no longer needed. Additionally, any computers or devices at the church that store personal data are protected by passwords and security software.

While we implement robust security measures as described, it’s important to note that no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security of information. However, we strive to use industry-accepted means to protect your data and continuously improve our security posture. You also play a role in security: please use strong passwords for any accounts, do not share your account credentials, and notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorized activity related to your information or our communications.

Your Rights and Choices

We believe in giving you control over your personal information and how we communicate with you. In accordance with applicable laws and best practices, you have certain rights and choices regarding your data. Below, we outline those rights and how you can exercise them:

Opt-Out of Email Communications: If at any time you no longer wish to receive our email newsletters or promotional emails, you may opt out. Each marketing or announcement email we send includes an “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom; simply click that link and follow the instructions to remove your email from our list. Alternatively, you can contact us at our email address (provided in the Contact section) and request to be unsubscribed from some or all email communications. We will honor your unsubscribe request promptly and in accordance with the CAN-SPAM Act (usually immediately, but no later than 10 business days as required by law). Please note that even if you opt out of marketing emails, we may still send you important transactional or relationship emails (such as a donation receipt or an event reminder that you specifically need) if those are necessary to provide you with a service you requested. However, we will not send further marketing or newsletter emails once you have opted out. We do not use false or misleading headers or subjects in our emails, and we always include our church’s name and contact information in our email footers, in compliance with CAN-SPAM requirements.
Opt-Out of Text Messages (SMS): If you have consented to receive SMS/text message updates from us, you can opt out of these at any time. To stop receiving texts, simply reply “STOP” to any message we send. Upon receiving your STOP request, we will send a final confirmation text and then cease texting you. No further automated texts will be sent to you unless you opt in again in the future. We make it easy to opt out – every text message from us will include instructions such as “Text STOP to unsubscribe” (often automatically included) so you have a constant reminder of how to stop messages. You may also contact us directly (by email or phone) to request removal from SMS communications, and we can manually remove your number from our texting lists. We respect your choice and will not send you texts if you opt out. Additionally, in compliance with the TCPA and industry guidelines, we obtained your consent before sending any automated text messages, and we maintain records of that consent. Message frequency of our texts may vary (typically based on church activities or any subscription you signed up for), and standard message and data rates may apply as your mobile carrier’s plan dictates – we include a “Msg&Data rates may apply” notice in our initial text to you for transparency. If you need help regarding texts, you can reply “HELP” to any of our messages or contact us at the church, and we will assist you.
Opt-Out of Calls: If we ever call you with automated or outreach calls (for example, a voice broadcasting of an important announcement), it would only be to numbers you have provided and with consent as required. However, should you prefer not to receive phone calls from us (automated or live), please let us know. You can ask to be placed on our internal “Do Not Call” list, and we will honor that request. We will still call you for emergency or critical matters if necessary (or return your calls), but we will avoid any routine or marketing calls if you’ve opted out. We also comply with the National Do Not Call Registry rules and applicable telemarketing laws for any call outreach, even though as a non-profit religious organization many such communications are not considered “commercial”; we aim to respect your wishes and privacy regardless.
Access and Correction: You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. This means you can ask us to confirm whether we are processing your personal data and to provide you with a copy of that data (in a common format, and subject to some exceptions). If you would like to know what information we have about you in our records, you can contact us with a request. We may need to verify your identity before providing extensive data to ensure we don’t disclose your information to an unauthorized person. In addition, if any of the personal information we have about you is incorrect or has changed (for example, you change your phone number or move to a new address), please let us know. We will update and correct inaccuracies in your personal data promptly upon your request. Keeping your information accurate helps us serve you better, so we appreciate updates to things like contact info or family status. There is no charge for requesting access or corrections, within reasonable limits.
Deletion (Right to Erasure): You have the right to request that we delete your personal information from our systems (also known as the right to be forgotten), subject to certain limitations. If you no longer want us to have or process your information, you can send us a deletion request. We will then remove or anonymize the personal data we have about you to the extent feasible. Do note that in some cases, we might not be able to completely delete all your data – for example, we might need to retain certain records for legal, financial, or archival purposes. Examples include donation records (which we must retain for financial auditing and tax-reporting obligations) or records of your communications if required for legal compliance. However, we will remove you from active mailing lists, and we will delete what we can. Any data we are obliged to keep will be tightly restricted and kept only for the required period. We will also inform you if we are unable to delete certain information and the reasons (e.g., “We cannot delete your donation history for 7 years due to IRS regulations, but we have marked it as archived and it will not be used for any other purpose”). In many cases, if your primary concern is to stop receiving communications, we can achieve that simply by unsubscribing you as described above, without needing to fully erase data needed for other purposes. But we will work with you to honor the spirit of any deletion request.
Withdrawal of Consent: Where our processing of your personal information is based on your consent (for example, sending you devotional text messages because you opted in), you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, but it means we will stop the activities that relied on consent. Practically, this overlaps with the opt-out rights above: by opting out of emails or texts, you are withdrawing your consent for those communications. If you have given consent for us to use or share data in a specific way, you can revoke it and we will cease the use of your data in that manner.
Non-Discrimination: We will never discriminate or retaliate against you for exercising any of these privacy rights. For example, if you opt out of marketing emails or ask us to delete some of your data, we will not deny you any services or treat you differently. (As a church, we welcome you regardless of your communication preferences!) The only consequence of opting out is that you might not receive certain updates or conveniences via that channel.
California and State Privacy Rights: While Newnan First SDA Church is a non-profit organization (and thus not directly subject to some state consumer privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act), we endeavor to uphold high standards of privacy for all our users. If you are a resident of California or another state with specific privacy laws, you may have additional rights (such as the right to obtain a list of what personal information has been shared and to whom, under California law). We believe the rights outlined in this section cover much of those rights, but we will gladly address any state-specific privacy inquiries you have. Simply contact us with your request or question. We will do our best to accommodate state-specific requirements even if they may not mandatorily apply to us, as part of our commitment to privacy.

To exercise any of your rights or choices, or if you have any questions about them, please reach out to us using the contact information provided in the Contact Information section below. We may need to verify your identity for certain requests (for example, access or deletion requests) by asking for information that matches our records. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe. For opt-out requests (like unsubscribing), our response is typically within a few days at most (often immediate, if automated). For requests involving access, correction, or deletion, please allow up to 30 days for us to process (we strive to be faster, but will communicate if we expect it to take longer).

Your privacy and preferences are important to us, and we will make every effort to fulfill your requests and resolve any concerns.

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

(This section provides more detail about cookies and similar technologies, some of which was touched on earlier.)

Our website may use “cookies” and other tracking technologies to enhance your experience and gather information about visitors and visits. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit; they are widely used to make websites work or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to site owners. Here’s how we approach cookies and tracking:

Types of Cookies We Use: We primarily use cookies for functional and analytical purposes. For example, we might use a cookie to remember that you’ve visited our site before, or to keep you logged in (if we offer account login areas), or to save your preferences (like your preferred language, if applicable). We may also use Google Analytics or similar tools which set cookies to collect aggregate information about how visitors use our site – e.g., which pages are most popular, how long people stay, and how they found our site. These analytics cookies do not identify you personally; they just provide us with statistical data to help improve our web content. We do not use cookies to serve advertising on our site, nor do we currently use any third-party advertising networks that track you across different sites. In other words, you should not see targeted ads on our site, and we are not building advertising profiles on our visitors. Any third-party content on our site (for instance, an embedded YouTube video or a social media plugin) may set their own cookies; those would be governed by the third-party’s policies (e.g., YouTube/Google’s privacy policy for YouTube cookies).
Cookie Consent: When you first visit our website, you may see a banner or notice about cookies. By continuing to use the site, you consent to our use of cookies as described. If we deploy a cookie consent tool, you can also explicitly accept or decline certain categories of cookies.
Managing Cookies: You have the ability to control cookies through your browser settings. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. The method for doing this varies by browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.), so check your browser’s help menu for instructions on managing cookie settings. Please note that if you disable cookies, some features of our site might not function properly. For example, forms might not remember your inputs, or we might not remember your preferences on your next visit. However, you will still be able to navigate the site. If you delete cookies, new ones will be set on your next visit unless you also block them.
Do Not Track Signals: “Do Not Track” (DNT) is a preference you can set in your web browser to indicate that you do not wish to be tracked across websites. The Internet industry is currently still working on what DNT means exactly, and how to honor it. Given that we do not engage in cross-site tracking or behavioral advertising, our website does not currently change its behavior in response to a DNT signal – we simply do not collect personal tracking data beyond our own site analytics, whether DNT is enabled or not. We do, however, honor DNT in the sense that we refrain from planting any additional tracking cookies (like advertising trackers) when a DNT browser signal is detected. In short, we take a privacy-friendly approach by default and do not have third-party trackers to stop, but we respect the spirit of DNT by not doing any behavioral profiling.
Third-Party Websites and Links: Our website may contain links to external websites or embedded content (such as YouTube videos, social media feeds, or donation portals like AdventistGiving). Clicking those links or interacting with that content may allow those third parties to collect certain information (for example, when you play an embedded YouTube video, YouTube might place its own cookies or record your interaction). This Privacy Policy does not cover third-party sites or services. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external sites you visit. We have no control over how those third-party sites use cookies or your data, but we aim to only partner with reputable services that value privacy.
Analytics Opt-Out: If we use Google Analytics or a similar analytics tool, you might have additional opt-out options. Google, for example, provides a browser add-on to opt out of Google Analytics tracking. If you wish to opt out of our collection of site usage data for analytics, you can install such tools or simply block analytics scripts via your browser or an ad-blocker. Since our analytics are anonymized, it’s not mandatory to opt out, but the choice is yours.
Cookies Summary: In summary, any cookies and tracking technologies in use on our site are there to provide or improve our service to you. They are not used to invade your privacy, but rather to ensure the website functions correctly and to help us understand how to better serve our visitors. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies as described. If you have concerns about cookies or tracking on our site, please contact us – we will be happy to provide more information or assistance in managing your preferences.

Compliance with Laws and Regulations

We strive to ensure that our privacy and communication practices comply with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. The following are key laws and principles we adhere to (some of which have been mentioned above, but are highlighted here for clarity):

CAN-SPAM Act (Email Communications): The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is a U.S. law that sets rules for commercial emails, gives recipients the right to have emails stop being sent to them, and outlines penalties for violations. Although much of our email communication may be considered non-commercial (since we are a church, our emails often contain informational or inspirational content), we choose to comply with CAN-SPAM’s best practices for all bulk emails. This means: we do not use false or misleading subject lines or “From” names in our emails; we clearly identify the sender (our church name) and include a valid physical mailing address in each email; if the email is a general announcement or newsletter, we include a notice that it’s coming from our organization (implicitly or explicitly as needed); we provide a clear and easy way to unsubscribe (as noted, usually an automated link at the bottom of the email); and we honor all opt-out requests promptly and fully. We also monitor any third-party email services we use to ensure they meet these standards on our behalf. By following CAN-SPAM guidelines, we respect your inbox and give you control over receiving emails from us.
TCPA and Telecommunications Laws (Phone/SMS): The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and associated FCC regulations govern how organizations can make telephone calls or send text messages (particularly via automated systems) to consumers. We comply with these laws by obtaining the appropriate consent from you before sending autodialed or pre-recorded calls or texts to your phone. Practically, this means we use a “opt-in” approach: you will only get mass texts from us if you have knowingly provided your number for that purpose (for example, by filling a form that asks for your consent to text updates, or by texting a keyword to our number to join). We also fulfill the TCPA’s requirements by immediately honoring any opt-out (STOP) requests for texts, by including identification and opt-out instructions in messages, and by limiting text/call hours to appropriate times (we won’t text or call you in the middle of the night or other odd hours for marketing, in line with best practices). Furthermore, we maintain internal Do-Not-Call lists for any phone outreach we do, and we will ensure we do not call any number on the National Do Not Call Registry for any telemarketing purpose. Nonprofits like churches have some exemptions (for example, purely informational calls might not fall under telemarketing rules), but we err on the side of courtesy and compliance regardless. CTIA guidelines (industry standards from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) also influence our SMS practices: for example, when you first opt in to a text program, we send a “confirmation message” that includes the church name, the frequency of messages, instructions to STOP or HELP, and the note that message & data rates may apply. These measures ensure transparency and protect you from unwanted messages. In short, we treat your phone number with care and only use it as you have agreed, in compliance with the law.
General Data Privacy Principles: We also adhere to general fair information practices and principles of privacy by design. This includes: collecting only what data we need for the stated purposes (data minimization), being transparent about our practices (through policies like this and in-context notices on forms), allowing you to access and control your data (user rights as described above), keeping data accurate and up-to-date, securing the data appropriately (security measures as described), and being accountable for our practices. If there are state laws (such as CalOPPA, the California Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires posting a privacy policy and disclosing how we respond to Do Not Track signals – which we do by posting this policy and honoring DNT as described) or other regulations that apply to our web presence, we comply with them. For example, CalOPPA requires that we let you know that you can use our site anonymously (you can browse without registering or giving personal info), and that we will post updates to this policy on our website and note the effective date (as we have done). We meet those requirements. If we ever needed to comply with laws like GDPR or other international laws for any users (such as missionaries or international visitors), we would do so, but our primary audience is U.S.-based. We also follow the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) which are a foundation of many privacy laws: in case of a data breach, for example, we will notify affected users and take appropriate action, and we uphold the principle of giving individuals recourse (you can hold us accountable, ask questions, or complain if you feel we’re not living up to our obligations).
Accessibility and Nondiscrimination: In compliance with various laws and moral responsibility, we ensure that our communications (email, SMS, website content) include identifying information and are accessible. For instance, every email or text includes who it’s from (our church name, as caller ID or signature), and we aim to make our website accessible to people with disabilities (consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act’s goals for public communication). We do not discriminate in offering services or communications based on any protected characteristic or any choice you make regarding your data (as noted in the Non-Discrimination bullet above).

Overall, our approach is to follow the law and go beyond it to respect your privacy. We continuously monitor the legal landscape for any changes (for example, new state laws or updates to federal laws) and will update our practices and this policy as needed to remain compliant. If you ever have a concern about our compliance with a particular regulation or law, please contact us – we take such inquiries seriously and will address them expeditiously.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update or revise this Privacy Policy from time to time, as our practices evolve or as laws change. When we make changes, we will notify users in a manner that is appropriate and effective. Here’s what you can expect:

Posting of Updated Policy: Any changes will be reflected in an updated Privacy Policy document posted on our website (typically on the same page or section where the current policy resides). We will update the “Last Updated” date at the top so you can quickly see if the policy has changed since the last time you read it. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.
Notice of Significant Changes: If we make any material changes to how we handle personal information or to the rights and options described in this policy, we will provide a more prominent notice. This may include, for example, posting a notice on our website’s homepage or main page (or as a banner/alert on the privacy policy page) and/or sending an email notification or text message to our contact list, informing you of the update. The notice will outline what is changing and, if applicable, choices you may have as a result. We do this to ensure that you are not caught by surprise by any new practices. Significant changes might include (but are not limited to): expanding the types of data we collect, changing how we use data in a way that you wouldn’t expect under the current policy, or planning to share data with additional third parties. Minor changes (like rewording for clarity or updating our contact information) may not be broadly announced, but the updated effective date will still signal that something is different.
Consent for New Uses (if required): In the unlikely event we wanted to use your personal information for a new purpose not originally disclosed to you, and if that new purpose is not obviously related to the original purpose, we would first obtain your consent. For example, if in the future we partnered with another organization and wanted to jointly contact our combined mailing list, we would ask for your agreement before including you in any such collaboration. Generally, though, our uses of data remain within the scope of church-related communication and service.
Archiving Old Versions: For transparency, we may keep prior versions of this Privacy Policy accessible (for example, by archive or upon request), so you can see how our policy has evolved. If you have questions about past versions, let us know.

By continuing to use our website or services after a new Privacy Policy takes effect, you will be deemed to have accepted the updated terms, to the extent permitted by law. If you do not agree with changes, you may exercise your rights (such as opting out or requesting deletion) as described above.

In summary, we will keep you informed about changes to this policy and will not materially alter how we handle your data without letting you know. Our aim is to keep our Privacy Policy accurate, understandable, and reflective of our actual practices.

Contact Information

Thank you for taking the time to read our Privacy Policy. Your trust is important to us, and we are dedicated to safeguarding your personal information. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your data, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Newnan First Seventh-day Adventist Church
Address: 265 Yeager Rd, Newnan, GA 30265, USA
Email: prayer@newnanfirstsda.org
Phone: 770-251-8378

Attn: Privacy Officer (or Church Communications Department)

Please include as much detail as possible in your inquiry so that we can assist you effectively (for example, the context of your interaction with us, or the specific information you’re concerned about). We will respond to privacy-related inquiries as promptly as we can, typically within 7 days or sooner.

If you prefer to contact us by mail, please send any correspondence to the address above, marked “Attention: Privacy Inquiry.” If you are contacting us to exercise any of your rights (such as accessing or deleting your data), please make sure to provide adequate information for us to verify your identity (we may reach back out for verification if needed, to protect your data from unauthorized access).

We sincerely value your participation in our church community and your trust in us with your information. We pray that our communications with you are a blessing, and we are committed to respecting your privacy in all our interactions.

Effective Date of this Policy: January 26, 2026.

This Privacy Policy will be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to remain compliant with laws and reflect our current practices. We encourage you to revisit this page from time to time. By maintaining transparency and openness about our privacy practices, we aim to cultivate a safe and trusting environment for all members and visitors.