Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Baseline Family Church Midvaal ("the Church", "we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through this website (the "Website"), why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and, where applicable, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECT Act").

By using this Website or otherwise interacting with us (including via WhatsApp, phone, email, or in person), you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.

2. Who We Are

Baseline Family Church Midvaal is a branch of Baseline Family Church Bassonia, meeting at Fundamental High School, 4 Ring Road, Three Rivers, Vereeniging, 1935, Gauteng, South Africa. For the purposes of POPIA, we are the "responsible party" in relation to the personal information described in this Policy.

Our Information Officer is responsible for ensuring our compliance with POPIA. Until a different person is formally appointed and registered, this role is fulfilled by our Senior Pastor. You can contact our Information Officer using the details in the "Contact Us" section below, marked for the attention of the Information Officer.

3. Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

• Contact details you give us directly — such as your name, phone number, WhatsApp number, and email address, when you message us via WhatsApp, call, email, or speak to us in person or after a service.
• Event & form information — if you register for an event or activity (for example, through a Google Form linked from this Website), we receive the details you enter into that form, such as your name, contact number, and any other information the form requests.
• Giving & donation references — if you give via EFT or the QR-code payment portal shown on our Giving page, we may see the payment reference you use (e.g. your name) via our bank statements. We do not collect or store your card, banking app login, or account credentials — these are handled directly by your bank or the relevant payment provider.
• BaseGroup and ministry interest — information you share with us about wanting to join a BaseGroup, ministry team, or WhatsApp broadcast list.
• Information about children — where you register a child for Kids Church or another children's ministry, we may collect the child's name and relevant details (such as allergies or emergency contact information) from a parent or legal guardian. See "Children's Information" below.
• Technical information — such as your device type, browser, general location (derived from IP address), and pages visited, collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies used by this Website and the third-party services embedded in it. See our Cookie Policy for full details.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information (such as health, biometric, or religious belief information) through this Website, except where you volunteer it to us directly (for example, a prayer request or a medical detail relevant to a child in our care), and only to the extent necessary to serve you.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and messages sent to us;
• plan for and welcome visitors to our services;
• register and communicate with you about events, BaseGroups, and ministries;
• keep our membership, partner, and giving records accurate;
• safeguard children in our care during Kids Church and other children's ministries;
• operate, secure, and improve this Website; and
• comply with our legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

We do not use your personal information for any purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected, and we do not sell your personal information to any third party.

5. Our Legal Basis for Processing

We only process your personal information where we have a valid justification under POPIA, including where:

• you have consented to the processing (for example, by messaging us on WhatsApp or submitting an event registration form);
• the processing is necessary to carry out a request you have made (for example, planning your visit or registering you for an event);
• the processing is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests as a church (for example, maintaining ministry and giving records), provided this does not unreasonably override your own rights; or
• the processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

6. Children's Information

We take the protection of children's personal information seriously. Where we collect information about a child (for example, for Kids Church registration), we do so with the consent of, and information provided by, a parent or legal guardian, and only to the extent necessary to safely run our children's ministries. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through this Website.

7. Cookies & Similar Technologies

This Website uses cookies and similar technologies, including some placed by third-party services embedded on our pages (such as Google Fonts, YouTube, and Google Maps). Full details of what we use, why, and how to manage them are set out in our separate Cookie Policy.

8. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with:

• service providers who help us run this Website and our ministry operations (for example, our website developer/host, AutoWeb Solutions), who are only permitted to process your information on our instructions;
• third-party platforms you choose to use to contact us or engage with our content, such as WhatsApp/Meta, Facebook, YouTube, and Google (Forms, Maps, Fonts) — your use of these platforms is also governed by their own privacy policies and terms;
• our bank, for EFT giving and reconciliation of donations;
• our leadership, pastoral, and ministry teams, on a need-to-know basis, to serve you effectively; and
• regulators, law enforcement, or other parties where we are legally required or permitted to do so.

9. Third-Party Services We Use

This Website currently embeds or links to the following third-party services, each of which may process personal information (typically technical/device information) under its own privacy policy:

• Google Fonts — used to load the typefaces on this Website;
• YouTube (via the privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com domain) — used to embed our sermon videos;
• Google Maps — used to show directions to our meeting venue on our Contact page;
• Google Forms — used for some event registrations, linked from this Website; and
• WhatsApp/Meta — used when you message us via a "Join Us" or "Find a BaseGroup" button.

10. International Transfers

Some of the third-party services referred to above (such as Google and Meta) may process or store information on servers located outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we rely on the relevant safeguards those providers have in place (such as their own compliance with recognised data protection standards) to ensure your information remains adequately protected, as required by section 72 of POPIA.

11. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law (for example, financial and donation records may need to be retained for tax purposes). Where information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it.

12. How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

13. Your Rights Under POPIA

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• be told what personal information we hold about you and why;
• request access to the personal information we hold about you;
• request that we correct or update inaccurate or outdated information;
• request that we delete or destroy personal information we no longer have a valid reason to keep;
• object to the processing of your personal information, on reasonable grounds;
• object to your information being used for direct marketing; and
• withdraw any consent you have given us at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew it.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in the "Contact Us" section below.

14. Direct Marketing & WhatsApp Communication

We will only add you to a WhatsApp broadcast list, newsletter, or similar communication channel with your consent (for example, by filling in a form at church, as described on our Contact page). You may unsubscribe or ask to be removed from any such list at any time by contacting us.

15. Links to Other Websites

This Website contains links to third-party websites and platforms (such as Facebook, YouTube, and Google Maps). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third-party sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information to them.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our use of third-party services (for example, if we introduce Google Analytics), or legal requirements. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when this Policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

17. Complaints & the Information Regulator

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator:

18. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us: