Privacy Policy

Last updated: October, 2026

Artisan Church respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the choices you have.

As a church in British Columbia, we follow BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). This policy covers information we collect through artisanchurch.ca, our Church Center pages, and our ministries and gatherings.

Information We Collect

We collect only what we need. Depending on how you connect with us, that may include:

  • Community Life emails: your first name, last name, and email address.
  • Contact and prayer requests: your name, email address, and anything you choose to include in your message.
  • Giving: your name, mailing address, email address, and gift details, so we can process your gift and issue a tax receipt. If you sign up for pre-authorized debit (PAD), we also collect your banking information.
  • Events, groups, and Artisan Kids registration: your contact details, plus information about your children that you provide as a parent or guardian, such as names, ages, and anything we need to know to care for them well.
  • Volunteering: your contact details and availability. For roles with kids and youth, we also collect what we need for screening and training [such as references and a police information check].
  • Website visits: basic technical information, such as browser type and the pages you visit. [Remove this line if the site doesn’t use analytics.]

How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

  • Send Community Life emails and other updates you’ve asked for
  • Respond to questions and prayer requests
  • Process gifts and issue official donation receipts
  • Manage event registrations, groups, and Artisan Kids
  • Coordinate, screen, and train volunteers
  • Keep our community safe, especially children and youth
  • Meet our legal and financial obligations as a registered charity

We won’t use your information for a new purpose without asking you first, unless the law allows or requires it.

Prayer Requests

Prayer requests sent through our website go to our Administrator, who passes them on only to the person best placed to respond. We won’t share your request more widely, such as with a prayer team or during a gathering, unless you tell us that’s okay.

Children and Youth

Information about children comes from their parents or guardians. We use it to care for kids in our programs and to stay in touch with families. Only staff and trained volunteers who need it can see it.

All staff, lead team members, and kids and youth volunteers complete abuse prevention training through Plan to Protect® before they serve.

Giving

Online giving. Gifts made through Church Center are processed by Stripe. Your card or bank details go directly to Stripe and are not stored by Artisan Church or Planning Center.

E-transfers. When you send an e-transfer to admin@artisanchurch.ca, we record your name, the amount, and the date so we can issue your receipt.

Pre-authorized debit (PAD). Banking information submitted through our PAD form is sent over an encrypted connection. We use it only to set up and process your debits, and only [the people who manage PAD gifts] can access it. You can cancel your PAD at any time with 30 days’ notice.

Giving records are shared only with the people who manage our finances, or with others when the law requires it.

Email Updates

We send Community Life emails using [Email service provider]. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email, or by contacting us.

Who We Share Information With

We don’t sell, rent, or trade personal information.

We use a small number of service providers to run our ministries. They handle information on our behalf and only for the services they provide:

  • Planning Center (Church Center): event registration, groups, Artisan Kids registration, and online giving
  • Stripe: payment processing for online gifts and registrations
  • Google Workspace: church email and documents
  • [Email service provider]: Community Life emails
  • Amazon Web Services: website hosting

We may also share information when the law requires it, such as with the Canada Revenue Agency for charitable receipting records.

Information Stored Outside Canada

Some of our service providers store information outside Canada, including in the United States. Information stored in another country is subject to that country’s laws, which may allow courts or government authorities to access it.

Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses a small number of cookies to work properly, such as keeping site administrators signed in.

[If using analytics: We use [Google Analytics] to see which pages are visited and how people find our site. We don’t use it to identify individual visitors.]

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the site may not work as expected if you do.

Our website links to other sites, including Church Center, Facebook, and Instagram. When you visit those sites, their privacy policies apply.

How We Protect Your Information

  • Our website uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect information you submit.
  • Only staff and volunteers who need personal information for their role can access it.
  • We choose service providers with strong security practices.
  • Paper records are kept in a secure location.

No system is perfectly secure. If a privacy breach could cause you significant harm, we’ll let you know.

How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the reason we collected it, or as long as the law requires. Giving records are kept for the period required by the Canada Revenue Agency. If we use your information to make a decision that affects you, we keep it for at least one year so you have a chance to ask about it.

When we no longer need information, we delete it or securely destroy it.

Your Choices and Rights

Under PIPA, you can:

  • Ask what personal information we hold about you, how we’ve used it, and who we’ve shared it with
  • Ask us to correct information that’s inaccurate or incomplete
  • Withdraw your consent, with reasonable notice (we’ll let you know if this affects anything we can do for you, such as issuing a tax receipt)

We’ll respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first. In some cases the law limits what we can share, such as when a record includes someone else’s personal information.

Contact Our Privacy Officer

[Name, Role] is responsible for privacy at Artisan Church. If you have a question, request, or concern, get in touch:

Email: [admin@artisanchurch.ca]

Mail: Artisan Church, Japanese Hall, 3rd Floor, 487 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C6

If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia at https://www.oipc.bc.ca.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed.