This statement is a draft published here for review. It has not yet been approved by the Elders and is not the church's final position. Please do not rely on it. If you have a privacy question in the meantime, contact the church office on office@pncbc.org.nz.
Palmerston North Central Baptist Church (PNCBC) holds personal information about the people in our church family and those who come into contact with us. People trust us with that information, often at significant moments in their lives, and we take looking after it seriously. This statement explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and what rights you have. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 2020.
What we collect
- Your name and contact details.
- Information about your involvement in the life of our church, such as membership, groups, ministries and events.
- Giving and donation records.
- Emergency contact details. We may also collect your name and contact details from a relative or friend who lists you as their emergency contact.
- Health, dietary or accessibility information, where you give it to us for an event or for your safety.
- Information about children and young people taking part in our programmes, usually provided by a parent or guardian.
- Photographs, video and audio, including our livestreamed services.
- Information shared with our pastors in the course of pastoral care.
Why we collect it
- To keep in touch with you about the life of our church.
- To maintain an accurate membership roll.
- To issue your annual donation receipt.
- To run our ministries, groups and events well.
- To keep people safe, including health and safety, safeguarding, and emergencies.
- To understand our community through general statistics about who we are.
Who sees your information
Within the church, we share information on a need-to-know basis:
- our staff, according to their role;
- our Elders, in governing the church;
- our Treasurer and Finance Deacons, for giving records and donation receipts;
- ministry leaders and rostered volunteers, limited to what their ministry needs; and
- other members through the church directory, only if you choose to be included.
Outside the church, we share information with the providers who host our systems, and where the law requires or allows it, or where it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to someone's safety.
Livestreaming, photographs and video
Our Sunday services are livestreamed and remain available online afterwards. Photographs and video are also sometimes taken at church events and used in our communications.
- If you would prefer not to appear, please talk to us. We will do what we reasonably can, including suggesting where to sit.
- We take particular care with children and young people. We do not publish their names alongside their images, and we seek a parent or guardian's consent before using an identifiable image.
- If something involving you has already been published and you would like it removed, contact us and we will consider your request.
Keeping your information safe
Your information is held in our church systems, with access limited to those whose role requires it. Some of our providers store information on servers outside New Zealand, and we rely on providers that are subject to comparable privacy safeguards. We do not keep personal information for longer than we need it.
Giving us your information is sometimes optional
- If you would rather not give your full legal name, we will not be able to issue a donation receipt or process church membership, including the right to vote at Members Meetings.
- If you would rather not give contact details, we will not be able to keep you informed about the life of the church.
- If you would rather not give emergency contact details, we will not be able to contact anyone on your behalf in an emergency.
Your right to see and correct your information
You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and you can ask us to correct it if you think it is wrong. These are your rights under the Privacy Act 2020, and you are welcome to use them. You do not need to put your request in writing or use any particular words.
We will respond as soon as we can, and no later than 20 working days after your request. If we cannot agree to correct something, you can ask us to attach a note recording the correction you wanted, and we will do that.
Questions or concerns
Our Privacy Officer is our Senior Pastor, Steve Fail. If you have a question, a request, or a concern about how we have handled your information, please contact us:
- office@pncbc.org.nz
- 06 357 3659
- 190 Church Street, West End, Palmerston North
If you are not satisfied with how we respond, you can raise it with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: 0800 803 909 or privacy.org.nz.
A PDF version of this draft is also available: PNCBC Privacy Statement (draft, PDF) .