Privacy Policy

Gateway International Church · gicfamily.org and the Gateway Connect app

Effective date: 2 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Gateway International Church ("GIC", "we", "us") collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information when you use our website, www.gicfamily.org, and our mobile app, Gateway Connect (together, the "Services").

If you have any questions, email us at [email protected].

1. Who we are

Gateway International Church is a church headquartered at 30/32 Elioparanwo Road, Off Ada-George Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. We are responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you give us

  • Account details: your name, email address, phone number, username and password. We store only an encrypted version of your password. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address and Google account ID.
  • Profile details: your profile and cover photos, date of birth, gender, marital status, age group and the church location you attend. If you choose to tell us, this also includes your baptism details and membership progress, such as membership classes completed.
  • Church life: the eGroups and departments you join, meeting attendance, duty rosters, department dues, discipleship lessons, exam results, certificates and internship records.
  • Things you send us: prayer requests, testimonies, questions, first-timer, new-convert and baptism forms, and other forms on our Services. These may include your address, occupation, how you heard about us, or personal matters you choose to share.
  • Community content: prayer wall posts (which you can post anonymously), member posts, comments, likes, follows, celebration messages and chat messages with church staff.
  • Invitations: if you invite a friend, the name and contact details you give us for that person. We use them only to send your invitation.
  • Giving and purchases:
    • The amount, currency, type and purpose of each gift, plus the payment method, reference and receipt.
    • Purchases of sermons, devotionals and store items, subscriptions and wallet credits.
    • Delivery addresses for store orders.
    • We never see or store your full card or bank details. Our payment providers handle them.

2.2 Information collected automatically

  • Device and log information: your IP address, browser or device type, and the pages or features you use. We keep a log of changes made to records, and we note when you were last active.
  • Push notification token: if you allow notifications, we store a token for your device so we can send you event and service reminders.
  • Location: only if you give the app permission. The app uses your location on your phone to show nearby branches and give directions to events. We do not store your location on our servers. You can turn location access off at any time in your phone's settings.
  • Camera and photos: used only when you choose to take or upload a picture, such as a profile photo. When you upload a profile picture, we remove its embedded data, such as the GPS location where it was taken.
  • Cookies and local storage: our website uses only what it needs to work. That means keeping you signed in, protecting forms against misuse, and remembering settings such as light or dark mode. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies.

3. How we use your information

We use your information to:

  • Create and run your account and let you sign in.
  • Provide church services, such as connecting you with an eGroup, department or branch, discipleship classes, events and tickets.
  • Provide pastoral care, such as praying for you, following up on first-timer, new-convert and baptism forms, and answering your questions.
  • Process gifts, purchases and subscriptions, and send receipts.
  • Send you messages by email, SMS and push notification, such as event reminders, receipts, birthday wishes and church updates. You can change most of these in your notification settings.
  • Keep the Services safe by preventing spam and fraud, protecting accounts and investigating misuse.
  • Meet our legal, accounting and tax obligations.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use it for third-party advertising, or to track you across other companies' apps or websites.

4. Our legal reasons for using your information

Data protection laws require us to have a legal basis for using your information. These laws include the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and, for members in the UK or European Union, the GDPR. We rely on:

  • Contract: to provide the account and services you ask for.
  • Consent: for optional profile details, push notifications, location and marketing messages. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Legitimate interests: pastoral care, running the church, and keeping the Services secure.
  • Legal obligation: keeping financial records.

5. Sensitive information

Using our Services shows that you are connected with a Christian church. Prayer requests, testimonies and messages may also include details about your health, family or beliefs. We treat all of this as sensitive information. Only the pastors, ministers and staff who need it to care for you can see it. We publish a testimony only after reviewing it, and only with your agreement.

6. Who we share information with

We share personal information only with the following people and organisations:

  • Church leaders and staff who need it for their role, such as your eGroup leader, department head or the follow-up team.
  • Service providers who work for us:
    • Flutterwave and PayPal, which process payments.
    • Google (Firebase), which delivers push notifications, and Google Sign-In if you use it.
    • SMSClone, which delivers SMS messages.
    • Cloudflare, which protects our forms from spam.
    • Our email delivery provider and our website hosting provider.
    • Our AI assistant service, which answers questions about sermons, events and locations. If you ask it to, it can also pass on a prayer request or testimony for you.
    • Gravatar and UI Avatars, which provide a default picture if you have no profile photo. To do this, they receive a scrambled (hashed) version of your email address or your name.
  • Embedded media providers: we show videos from YouTube (in its privacy-enhanced mode) and Vimeo, and audio from Mixlr. These providers may receive your IP address when you play their content.
  • Authorities, where the law requires it, or where we need to protect someone's safety or our legal rights.

7. International transfers

Some of our service providers process data outside Nigeria, for example in the United States or Europe. When they do, we rely on the safeguards the law requires, such as contractual protections.

8. How long we keep information

  • Your account and profile: until you delete your account.
  • Giving and payment records: for as long as accounting and tax laws require, even after you delete your account.
  • Prayer requests, questions and other forms: for as long as we need them to care for you and follow up. You can ask us to delete them at any time.
  • Security logs: for as long as we need them to keep the Services safe.

9. Children

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under 18, you need permission from a parent or guardian.

We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13, except when a parent or guardian gives it to us, for example when registering a child for Children's Church or a children's event. If you believe a child under 13 has given us information without permission, email [email protected] and we will delete it.

10. Your rights and choices

You have the right to:

  • See and update your details, using your profile in the app or on the website.
  • Get a copy of your information.
  • Correct information that is wrong.
  • Delete your account and personal information (see section 11).
  • Object to, or limit, certain uses of your information.
  • Withdraw your consent, for example by turning off notifications, location access, or SMS and email messages.
  • Complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (ndpc.gov.ng). If you live outside Nigeria, you can complain to your local data protection authority instead.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. We will reply within 30 days.

11. Deleting your account

You can delete your account in either of these ways:

  • On the website: sign in, open your profile, then choose Delete Account.
  • By email: write to [email protected] from the email address on your account. We will delete your account within 30 days.

When you delete your account, we permanently remove your profile, photos, posts, comments, group memberships, discipleship records and notification settings.

Some records are kept, but they are no longer linked to your account:

  • Gifts and payments, which we must keep for legal and accounting reasons.
  • Prayer requests and forms you submitted. You can ask us to delete these too.

12. Security

We protect your information with encrypted connections (HTTPS), encrypted password storage, access controls and optional two-factor authentication. No system is completely secure, so please use a strong password. Tell us straight away if you think someone else has accessed your account.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make important changes, we will tell you in the app or by email, and we will update the effective date at the top of this page.

14. Contact us