Privacy Policy

At Pioneer Seventh-day Adventist Church, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria ("Pioneer SDA Church", "the Church", "we", "us", or "our"), we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal data when you visit our website or use our services.

This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019, issued by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and other applicable Nigerian data protection laws. As a faith-based organisation, we also handle your information in accordance with our Christian values of integrity, transparency, and respect for every individual.

For the purposes of the NDPR, Pioneer SDA Church is the Data Controller responsible for your personal data. Our contact details are:

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

3.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

• Contact information: Name, email address, phone number, and location when you submit forms on our Connect page, prayer requests, or ministry sign-ups
• Prayer requests: Personal and sensitive information you choose to share when submitting prayer requests (treated with utmost confidentiality)
• Volunteer information: Skills, interests, and availability when expressing interest in joining a ministry
• Messages and correspondence: Any information you provide when contacting us through our Platform

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, and navigation patterns
• Device information: Browser type, operating system, device type, and screen resolution
• IP address and location data: General geographic location derived from your IP address
• Cookies and similar technologies: As described in Section 8 below

3.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

We want to be clear that this Platform does not collect, process, or store:

• Bank account numbers, credit/debit card details, or any financial credentials
• National identification numbers (NIN), voter card numbers, or international passport details
• Biometric data of any kind
• Health or medical records (except information voluntarily shared in prayer requests)

We use the information we collect for the following purposes, based on the lawful bases specified under the NDPR:

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share your personal data with third parties for their commercial purposes. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With your consent: When you have given us explicit permission to share your information for a specific purpose
• Service providers: With trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website (such as hosting providers and analytics services), bound by confidentiality agreements
• Church leadership: Prayer requests may be shared with the pastoral team and prayer ministry leaders solely for the purpose of intercessory prayer, unless you request otherwise
• Legal compliance: When required by Nigerian law, court order, or governmental regulation
• Protection of rights: When necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Pioneer SDA Church, our members, or the public

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using secure SSL/TLS protocols
• Regular review of our data collection and storage practices
• Limiting access to personal data to authorised Church personnel who need it for legitimate purposes
• Secure hosting infrastructure with industry-standard security controls

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. In the event of a data breach, we will notify affected individuals and the appropriate regulatory authorities as required by the NDPR.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable Nigerian law. Specifically:

• Contact form submissions and prayer requests: Retained for up to 12 months unless you request earlier deletion
• Ministry sign-up information: Retained while your involvement is active, plus 6 months after you disengage
• Website usage data: Retained for up to 26 months for analytics purposes

When personal data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.

Our Platform may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your device that help us understand how you use our website.

We may use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Necessary for the Platform to function properly
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website (anonymous, aggregated data)
• Preference cookies: Remember your preferences and settings for a more personalised experience

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of our Platform.

Our Platform is intended for a general audience, including families and young people. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child under 13 without proper consent, we will promptly delete such information from our records.

Parents and guardians who believe their child has provided personal data to us without their consent should contact us immediately through our Connect page.

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit how we process your data
• Right to data portability: You may request your data in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint: You may file a complaint with NITDA if you believe your data rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our Connect page. We will respond to your request within 30 days as required by the NDPR. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

As a local church in Nigeria, we primarily store and process your data within Nigeria. However, some of our service providers (such as hosting and analytics platforms) may process data in servers located outside Nigeria. In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in compliance with the NDPR.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. The updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your privacy.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out to us:

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the regulatory authority for data protection in Nigeria, at their official website or office in Abuja.