Privacy Policy

Agape House of Worship ("AHOW," "we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through our website at https://ahowfc.org/ (the "Site") and our AHOW mobile app (the "App"), how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

We are a church. We collect only what we need to serve you, answer your messages, process orders and run our ministries. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

1. Information You Give Us

We collect the information you choose to submit, including:

• Contact and prayer requests: your name, email address, optional phone number, a subject and your message, sent through the contact form on the Site or the Contact Us screen in the App. These are emailed to our staff so we can reply or pray with you.

• Ministry forms, such as worship team auditions, Church in the Community (CTC) group requests and leader applications, and Women of Purpose inquiries: your name, contact details and the answers you give. The worship audition form may also ask for your date of birth, address, musical experience, church membership, availability and a link to a recording.

• Shop orders: your name, email address, phone number and shipping or billing address. Card details are entered directly with our payment processor (see Section 5); we never see or store your full card number.

• Accounts: if you sign in, your name, email address, and any profile details you add. If you sign in with your Church Community Builder (CCB) account, we receive your CCB profile, which may include contact details, addresses, family members, group memberships and giving history, so we can show you your church information in one place.

• Questions to our online assistant: if you use the Ask page, the questions you type and the answers given are stored so the conversation can continue, and are processed by our AI service provider to generate answers. Please do not enter sensitive personal information there.

2. Information Collected Automatically

On the Site

• Analytics: we use Google Analytics to understand how the Site is used, such as which pages are visited and whether people tap Give or Register. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects information such as your device and browser type, the pages you view and an approximate location derived from your IP address.

• Error monitoring: we use Sentry to find and fix problems on the Site. When something goes wrong, it may record technical details such as your IP address, browser and the page you were on.

• Browser storage: the Site stores small pieces of data in your browser, such as your sign-in session, your shopping cart and preferences like dismissed banners, so the Site works as expected.

In the App

• Usage analytics: we use Google Analytics for Firebase to see which screens are opened and which features are used, such as playing a sermon or tapping Give. This data is linked to a random app identifier, not to your name or account, and it includes an approximate location derived from your IP address. The App does not collect your device's advertising identifier and does not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

• Push notifications: if you allow notifications, your device receives a notification token from Apple or Google, which we store with your device type and app version so we can send you church announcements. You can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings.

• On your device: the App stores your preferences, such as light or dark mode and the podcast you were listening to, on your device.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To reply to your messages and prayer requests.

• To process and deliver shop orders and send order confirmations.

• To organize ministries, events, small groups and auditions you ask to join.

• To send church announcements by push notification, if you allow them.

• To understand how the Site and App are used and to improve them.

• To keep our services secure and working, and to fix errors.

• To meet our legal obligations.

We do not use your information for third-party advertising, and we do not sell or rent it to anyone.

4. How We Share Information

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the Site and App, and only as needed for them to do that work:

• Pushpay, for online giving. Donations are made on Pushpay's own site, under Pushpay's privacy policy.

• Stripe, for shop payments.

• Church Community Builder (CCB), our church management system, where event and class registrations are made.

• Google (Google Analytics and Firebase), for analytics and push notification delivery; Apple, for push notifications on iPhone.

• Amazon Web Services, which hosts the Site and our data and sends our emails.

• Sentry, for error monitoring.

• Anthropic and OpenAI, AI services that answer questions on the Ask page and help our staff prepare content.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the safety of our members or the public, or to protect our rights.

5. Payments and Giving

Gifts are made through Pushpay, and shop payments are processed by Stripe. Your card or bank details are entered directly with them and are handled under their own privacy policies and security standards. We receive confirmation of the payment, the amount and the payment method type, but never your full card or bank account number.

6. Embedded Content and Links

The Site and App show sermons and videos from YouTube and Vimeo and podcast episodes from Sermon.net, and link to services such as Pushpay, CCB and Google Maps. When you watch, play or open them, those companies may collect information under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to read them.

7. How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, such as answering your message or completing your order, or as required for legal, accounting or tax purposes. Notification tokens are removed when they stop working, for example after you uninstall the App.

8. Your Choices and Rights

• Access, correction and deletion: you can ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing info@ahowfc.org. We will respond within a reasonable time.

• Notifications: turn push notifications on or off at any time in your device's settings.

• Analytics: you can block analytics cookies in your browser settings or with Google's Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

• Emails: you can unsubscribe from any marketing email using the link in that email.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law. Contact us to exercise them.

9. Children

The Site and App are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without a parent's or guardian's consent. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us at info@ahowfc.org and we will delete it.

10. Security

We protect personal information with reasonable safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls and trusted hosting providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to limit access to people who need it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the effective date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be highlighted on the Site or in the App.

12. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information: