Privacy Policy

Elmbrook Church collects two different types of information. One type is voluntary information, which you provide, on our site, in person, or on a site we use to collect information such as registration information for events, membership information, or shipping and billing information. The other type of information Elmbrook Church obtains is user information provided by your computer each time you visit any of our sites, such as IP address, browser, or time spent on our sites. The information that Elmbrook Church collects helps us provide information and improve our service. We may combine information from other sources or with the information voluntarily provided.

Information you provide to Elmbrook Church or obtained through this website may be used for church purposes. Elmbrook Church will not knowingly sell, rent or lease your personal information. Elmbrook Church does utilize third-party software with whom we have business relationships, and in some cases, we cannot control or know their privacy practices or the changing nature of them. By visiting our sites, you affirmatively consent to our collection, use, and distribution of your data.

Elmbrook Church may offer services to you, such as chat rooms, message boards, or other similar discussion forums. Please be aware that any information you divulge in these arenas is deemed public information and is not protected.

Registration. Some of our sites allow you to register with us; sometimes, registration is required before site features can be used. Our registration forms may request your contact information (such as your name, email address, mailing address, etc.), demographic information (such as your country, gender, etc.), and profile data (such as your listening/viewing preferences, etc.). You may be assigned a site username and password. We use this information to communicate with you, provide the services you requested, and provide a more personalized experience on our sites for our internal purposes. For example, your registration may allow you to use and post to site message boards, create site profiles, etc. We use aggregate demographic and profile information about our audience to improve our service for research purposes, marketing/promotional purposes, and industry reporting purposes. By visiting our sites, you affirmatively consent to our collection and use of your data.

Data Collection, Online Profile for Children We strive to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without appropriate parental notice and consent. In compliance with COPPA, we will not create an online profile for any of our sites for anyone under 13. If any services or features on the site require registration, a user 13 years old and older in the same household will be required to register for the underage child. Allowing us to notify the child’s parent/guardian they are registered for a service or feature. Identifying a user as 13 or under is not always easy, and Elmbrook Church cannot be held responsible for anyone misrepresenting as over 13 when they are not.

If you believe we might have accidentally created a profile for a minor child or unknowingly collected a minor’s data without parental or guardian consent, please get in touch with us at the information provided at the end of this policy.

NOTICE: Visit the Federal Trade Commission at the below link for more information about the Children’s Online Privacy Act and protecting your child’s online privacy.

FTC Protecting Your Child’s Privacy Online

Emails, Newsletters, and Other Communications from Us. Users, congregants, and customers may receive newsletters, email communications, or communications through other channels. We may also offer other visitors to our sites the opportunity to sign up to receive such information. This information is for, among other purposes, promoting and marketing a product, ministry, or service from our family of sites. When there is a separate sign-up for newsletters, we ask for contact information such as name, email address, and, sometimes, demographic and profile information. By visiting our sites, you affirmatively consent to our collection and use of your data. We use this information in the same manner as we use the contact information in the Registration process described above. Recipients of our mailings can unsubscribe by following instructions that may appear at the end of email communications.

Note: To keep our registered users informed about the operation of our services, we may send emails and announcements that are needed for the proper functioning and administration of our sites, ministries, and service.

Communications with Us. We have features to submit information to us (such as contacting us with a question or feedback). We may retain your emails and other information you submit to us for our internal purposes and to help us to serve you better.

Interactive and Community Features. Our sites may offer interactive and community features, such as message boards, chat, email accounts, short message service (SMS), instant messaging, profiles, personal homepages, etc. All information posted or sent through these features may be publicly available. Please be aware that when you voluntarily disclose personal information (e.g., user name, email address, phone number) through these features, that information can be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited communications from people other than Elmbrook Church. By accessing these features and disclosing personal information, you affirmatively consent to distribute your data as described above. Users’ posts may be publicly or internally associated with their profiles/screen names. Users are solely responsible for the content of messages they post or send on public forums.

Contests, Giveaways, and Surveys. We may also have contests, giveaways, and surveys at our sites. When you enter or participate in them, we request contact information from you (such as your full name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number). We may also request demographic or profile information. We will use the information you provide to conduct the promotion (for example, to contact you if you have won). We may also use the information to send you newsletters and other information we think may be of interest. Recipients of our mailings can unsubscribe by following instructions that may appear at the end of the email communication. Any personal information we collect may be associated with registration information. We may share aggregated information with others. We may sometimes partner with sponsors in offering contests, giveaways, or surveys and may share (provide and receive) information with them. By entering or participating in such contests, giveaways, and surveys, you affirmatively consent to our collection and use of your data.

Some of our sites or offered services have merchant/e-commerce areas where users can purchase goods and services or give online. Those areas are powered by third-party E-Commerce vendors that we have engaged. Elmbrook Church only uses vendors who comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

Cookies are small text files with alphanumeric characters that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser for record-keeping purposes. Cookies permit us to automatically recognize you when you return to our website, log in faster, and enhance your website’s navigation. They also allow us to track and collect information about your interactions with our website, including how frequently you use our provided services, the pages you view, the links you click, and your usage over time. For more information about cookies, including how to refuse cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org

Note: if cookies are disabled, you may not enjoy certain features of our website or provided services.

Elmbrook Church does not allow third-party marketing within its platforms. Third-party social media companies, and services to collect information about browsing behavior from users of our services through cookies, plug-ins, or other tracking technologies, for the use of third-party ad networks is not permitted.

At Elmbrook Church, we value how photos, videos, and other media help our faith community grow and flourish. Photos and videos tell our story, provide visitors with information and give all who come through our doors an idea of what to expect. Photos and videos give us the unique opportunity to celebrate and communicate our vision as a church to all people via our website, digital, and print media.

Accordingly, photography, videography, live streaming, and other recordings may be in progress at Elmbrook’s Worship services, ministry activities, classes, programs, and other events. Elmbrook may use the media recorded at these events in materials produced by or for the church, including but not limited to our posters, brochures, newsletters, social media, and other printed and electronic/digital materials.

By participating in Elmbrook’s services, ministry activities, classes, programs, and events: you consent to be photographed, videotaped, or otherwise recorded; you grant your permission for Elmbrook to use recordings containing your image, likeness, voice, or statements without compensation, credit or other consideration to you, for Elmbrook’s promotional, publicity and other purposes, throughout the world and in perpetuity; and you agree to release, hold harmless and indemnify Elmbrook from any and all liabilities and claims involving the use of your image, likeness, voice or statements.

While we reserve the right to photograph and record church events, we strive to ensure that photography and videography are used safely and positively. We will not knowingly and intentionally post any photo, video, or other recordings that would be embarrassing, objectionable, or hurtful to any clearly, personally identifiable individual in the recording.

Additionally, if you see a photo on an Elmbrook website or social media page (e.g., Facebook) that includes you or your child and would like it removed, please contact the Director of Technology and Administration. Please note we cannot remove your image from video or live stream messages. Please understand that Elmbrook has no control over the recording, using, and posting of images or other media by non-church staff (e.g., by community members and news outlets). We cannot remove such media from publications, including the internet or social media sites, that Elmbrook Church does not run.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, and in certain situations, you may be transferred to a third-party website, but it may appear that you are still on this site. These websites have separate privacy policies that you should review. While we make efforts to carefully choose the links on our website, we cannot take responsibility for the content of linked websites or those companies’ data-handling practices.

We understand the importance of safeguarding your information and taking appropriate administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, unauthorized use, disclosure, or modification. However, please be aware that no security measures or data transmission over the Internet are 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Please note that we may store and process your information in the United States. The United States may have laws regarding data collection and use different from, or less stringent than, the laws in your home country.

Elmbrook Church is located in the United States. Our website and its Services are intended for use by individuals and organizations in the United States. We do not seek personal information about individuals outside the United States. Accordingly, our collection of personal information and other data through our website and its subsequent use and disclosure is subject only to the United States and its laws, as applicable.

Please note that we may change this policy from time to time. We will post changes here and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document. Continued use of this website after any changes are deemed to be acceptance of those changes. We encourage you to check the policy periodically for updates.

If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please feel free to contact our Administration Department at: