Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 July 2026 This Privacy Policy explains how The Well Church Wakefield ("we", "us", or "our") handles information in connection with our website thewellchurch.org.uk (the "Website"), our mobile application (the "App"), and the church management services we use to communicate with and care for our church family, including ChurchSuite (together, our "Services").

1. Who We Are

The Well Church Wakefield is a Christian church based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, UK, and part of the Elim Pentecostal Church (registered charity 251549 in England & Wales and SC037754 in Scotland). We are the "data controller" for personal information collected through our Services. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at privacy@thewellchurch.org.uk.

2. What This Policy Covers

This policy covers our Website, our App, and personal information you provide when you sign up to or interact with ChurchSuite through us (for example, when you register your details, join a Life Group, give online, or complete a connect/contact form). Where a third-party service collects information directly from you under its own terms, that service's own privacy policy also applies, and we link to these below.

3. Information We Collect

Through the App. The App does not require you to create an account or provide any personal information to use it, and we do not collect, store, or process personally identifiable information directly through the App itself. The App integrates with the third-party services described in Section 8. Through the Website. Our Website is hosted on Squarespace. When you visit, Squarespace automatically collects standard technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited, and it sets cookies (see Section 7). If you submit a form on our Website — for example a contact enquiry, a prayer request, a Gift Aid declaration, or a volunteering enquiry — we collect the information you provide, which may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, and the content of your message. Through ChurchSuite (signing up). When you register your details with us through ChurchSuite — whether by completing a connect card, signing up for a Life Group or event, creating a My ChurchSuite account, or setting up giving — you provide personal information directly. Depending on what you complete, this may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth, family or household details, and information about your involvement in church life. If you give financially and choose Gift Aid, we also collect the information required to claim it. ChurchSuite processes this information on our behalf as our service provider, and it is stored securely within ChurchSuite.

4. How We Use Your Information and Our Lawful Bases

We use the information we collect to: respond to your enquiries, prayer requests, and messages (our legitimate interest in caring for and responding to those who contact us); keep you connected to church life and send you church news, sermons, and updates where you have asked us to (your consent, which you may withdraw at any time); administer membership, Life Groups, events, and pastoral care (our legitimate interest in running the life of the church, and where relevant your consent); process and record donations and claim Gift Aid (to perform giving you have set up and to meet our legal obligations to HMRC); operate, maintain, and improve our Website and App (our legitimate interest in providing and securing our Services).

5. Push Notifications

If you choose to enable push notifications, the App uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google LLC) to deliver them. When you allow notifications, Firebase generates a unique device token that allows us to send you notifications about new sermons, devotionals, and church news. This token does not identify you personally and is not linked to any contact information you provide elsewhere. You can disable notifications at any time in your device's settings. Firebase device tokens are not shared with third parties. They are stored securely by Google and used only by us to deliver notifications you have opted into. For more information, please review Google's Privacy Policy and Firebase's Privacy and Security information.

6. Maps and Location

When you tap on a location within the App or Website (such as the address of our Sunday service venue), your device's default Maps application (Apple Maps on iOS, Google Maps on Android) may open. We do not access, store, or transmit your device's location at any time.

7. Cookies and Tracking

The App itself does not use cookies or tracking technologies. Our Website, hosted on Squarespace, uses cookies that are necessary for the site to function and may use cookies to understand how the site is used so we can improve it. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Third-party web content displayed within the App or Website (such as devotional or giving pages) may set its own cookies, governed by the relevant provider's policy.

8. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services. When you interact with them, they may collect data in accordance with their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review: Squarespace — hosts our Website. Squarespace Privacy Policy ChurchSuite — our church management system, used for registrations, communication, Life Groups, events, and online giving. ChurchSuite Privacy Policy Cognito Forms — used to collect Gift Aid declarations submitted through our Website. Cognito Forms Privacy Policy YouTube (Google LLC) — used to display sermon videos from our YouTube channel via the YouTube Data API v3. Google / YouTube Privacy Policy Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google LLC) — used to deliver optional push notifications (only if you opt in). Firebase Privacy and Security SermonSend — used to display weekly devotional content, loaded via a web view and governed by SermonSend's own privacy policy.

9. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers above who process it on our behalf to run our Services, and where we are required to do so by law (for example, providing Gift Aid records to HMRC). Our service providers are required to keep your information secure and to use it only for the purposes we have specified.

10. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. Contact enquiries are kept only as long as needed to respond and follow up. Membership and pastoral information is kept while you remain connected to the church and for a reasonable period afterwards. Gift Aid and financial records are retained for at least six years to meet HMRC requirements.

11. Children's Privacy

Our App is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children through it. Where children and young people take part in the life of the church, any personal information is collected and handled with the consent of a parent or guardian and in line with our safeguarding responsibilities. If you believe a child has provided personal information through a third-party service linked from our Services, please contact that service directly, or contact us so we can help.

12. Links to External Sites

Our Services may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

13. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), you have rights regarding the personal data we hold about you, including the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@thewellchurch.org.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk — though we would be grateful for the chance to put things right first.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date. Continued use of our Services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: The Well Church Wakefield
Email: privacy@thewellchurch.org.uk
Website: thewellchurch.org.uk