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Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 18 June 2026
Last Updated: 18 June 2026

International Missionary Society, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Reform South African Union ("we," "our," or "us") operates the website located at https://imssdarm-sau.org.za (the "Site").

As a church community, we deeply value the trust you place in us when sharing your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and safeguard your data in strict compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa. We do not require visitors to create user accounts or log in to use our Site.

If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site or submit your information.



1. Information We Collect

We only collect the minimum personal information necessary to serve our community, process tithes/donations, manage church events, and support you. We collect this data when you voluntarily type it into our online forms or payment portals:

  • Contact Forms: Your name, email address, and the text of your message.
  • Event Registration Forms: Your name, email address, phone number, and any specific attendance preferences or ministry-related details you provide.
  • Newsletter Sign-up Forms: Your name and email address, provided voluntarily when you explicitly opt-in to receive church updates.
  • Prayer Request Forms (Special Personal Information): Your name (or anonymous designation), email address, and the specific details of your prayer request.
    • Note on Special Personal Information: Under Section 26 of POPIA, information relating to your religious beliefs is classified as Special Personal Information. We process this data solely based on your explicit consent given at the time of submission. We treat all prayer requests with strict pastoral confidentiality and specialized technical security.
  • Online Giving & Donations: Your name, email address, donation amount, and payment reference.
    • Note on Financial Data: We do not collect or store credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or CVV codes on our servers or in our database. All financial transactions are processed securely by our third-party payment gateway.



2. Purpose of Processing

In line with POPIA conditions, we use the data collected through our web application exclusively for the specified, explicit purposes of:

  • Routing, delivering, and responding to your church inquiries via email.
  • Processing event registrations, managing attendance lists, and emailing you event confirmations or logistics.
  • Reviewing, organizing, and praying over submitted requests in accordance with your explicit intent.
  • Processing your tithes, offerings, and donations safely and issuing donation receipts.
  • Sending you church updates, weekly newsletters, and bulletin notifications (only if you have explicitly opted in via direct marketing consent).
  • Protecting our website forms and communication channels from automated spam, cyber abuse, and security threats.



3. Data Storage and Third-Party Operators

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with third-party marketers or commercial entities. Your data is processed securely through the following specific infrastructure and cross-border operators:

  • Database Storage: When you register for an event, your registration details are securely stored in our database so church organizers can manage attendance and logistics safely.
  • Email Transmission: We use as our email API provider to securely transmit the text data from your form submissions directly to our staff email inboxes, and to distribute our email newsletters to subscribed individuals.
  • Online Payment Gateway: We use an Online Payment Gateway as our checkout and payment processing provider to handle all online tithes, offerings, and contributions safely. The Online Payment Gateway manages your financial data according to their own strict, secure privacy policies.
  • Spam Protection: We use Google reCAPTCHA on our web forms to prevent malicious bot submissions. This tool analyzes hardware and software data (such as your IP address) to evaluate security risks, governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.



4. Cookies and Tracking

Our website is a streamlined, custom build. We do not deploy tracking cookies, tracking pixels, or commercial analytics scripts that follow your web activity across South African or international web networks.



5. Data Security, Confidentiality, and Retention

  • Security Measures: We utilize industry-standard technical and organizational measures, including SSL/TLS encryption, to secure data as it travels from your browser to our custom server environment and our database, preventing unauthorized access or data breaches.
  • Confidentiality: Prayer requests are strictly restricted to authorized pastoral staff and designated prayer teams. They are never shared publicly or with the wider congregation without your explicit, written permission.
  • Data Retention: In accordance with POPIA Section 14, we do not retain your personal information longer than necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. Event registration data is deleted from our database once post-event reporting is completed. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you choose to unsubscribe. Prayer requests and general contact forms are removed from our active mail systems once they have been fulfilled or resolved.



6. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to look after your personal information. You can request to:

  • Access: Confirm whether we hold your personal information and request a description or copy of the record.
  • Correction: Request that we correct, amend, or update inaccurate, irrelevant, or outdated personal information.
  • Destruction: Request that we delete or destroy your personal information from our database and email records.
  • Objection/Unsubscribe: Object to the processing of your data for direct marketing. You can click the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email we send you via to stop receiving newsletters.

To exercise these rights, please contact our designated Information Officer using the details below.



7. Children's Privacy

We care deeply about protecting children. While we provide family-centric events, our online forms are intended for use by adults or youth under parental supervision. Under POPIA, processing the personal information of a child (under 18) requires parental or guardian consent. If a child has submitted data through our forms without consent, please contact us, and we will wipe it from our systems.



8. Contact Our Information Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints regarding a breach of privacy, or requests to remove your data from our database, please contact our Information Officer:

  • Church Name: International Missionary Society, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Reform South African Union
  • Designated Information Officer: Sbuliso Mbokazi
  • Email Address: zaunion@imssdarm-sau.org.za 
  • Physical Address: 98 Bertha Street, Turfonein, Gauteng, South Africa

If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator at complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za.