At Power Up Church (“we”, “our”, or “us”), your privacy matters — whether you’re Covenant Crew, a Watcher keeping the far lights burning, a seeker, skeptic, or simply passing through our corner of the digital seas. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you engage with our online presence, join our live-stream Mission Briefings, donate through our platforms, sign the Crew Covenant or Watcher Acknowledgment, or interact with us across social media and third-party platforms.
Nothing in this policy overrides our Bylaws; where questions arise, the Bylaws control (Bylaws 12.8).
📦 What Information We Collect
We may collect personal information in the following ways:
🧾 Personal Information
When you:
- Fill out forms on our online platforms
- Subscribe to newsletters or mailing lists
- Sign the Crew Covenant or the Watcher Acknowledgment
- Give tithes and offerings or submit a designated gift
- Join our Stoat community server
- Register for online events, campaigns, or ministry training
- Submit a written application for ministry candidacy (Bylaws 7.4(a))
We may collect:
- Name
- Email address
- Username/handles on our community, streaming, and social platforms (e.g., Stoat, Twitch)
- Billing/donation details (via secure third-party processors)
- General demographic info (age range, interests)
- Signature and date on covenant or acknowledgment documents (and parent/guardian co-signature if under 18)
- Service hour logs, self-reported per the honor system the Council provides (Bylaws 3.3(b))
🌐 Technical Information
When you use our online platforms or live streams, we may automatically collect:
- IP address
- Browser type
- Device type
- Operating system
- Pages visited and interaction data (via cookies or similar technologies)
- Participation data from Mission Briefings and gaming sessions (e.g., attendance in stream chat)
🔒 How We Use Your Information
We use the data we collect to:
- Provide online church experiences and content — with digital presence held of equal standing to in-person gathering (Bylaws 8.1)
- Process donations and send receipts
- Maintain the roll of the Crew and the roster of Watchers (Bylaws 3.2, 3.4(b))
- Record and honor volunteer service hours faithfully served
- Communicate updates, encouragement, and opportunities to engage
- Maintain the safety of our digital communities, including moderation of our community and chat spaces
- Analyze engagement to improve ministry and reach
We will never sell your data. Ever.
👥 Crew, Watchers, and Covenant Status
Your covenant or affiliate status affects how your information flows:
- Covenant Crew: Your signed Crew Covenant is retained by the Church, and your name is recorded on the roll of the Crew. If you depart, your name is removed from the roll with respect and goodwill, and the door of return stays open (Bylaws 3.7).
- Watchers: By signing the Watcher Acknowledgment, you consent to the use of your Stoat username and any voluntary profile information for moderation and community engagement. Watchers carry no service-hour obligations and are not counted on the Active Crew roll (Bylaws 3.4(b)).
- Everyone: Pastoral care, prayer, and teaching are offered without precondition (Bylaws 3.5). What you share in pastoral confidence stays in confidence, within the limits of mandatory reporting duties (Bylaws Art. IX, 11.6).
💳 Donation Information
All donations are processed via secure third-party services (e.g., Stripe, PayPal). We do not store your payment information on our servers.
Our giving channels are the Operations Fund (tithes and offerings, funding the general mission) and the Frontier Support Network (designated gifts for missions and outreach) — all governed by designation integrity: if you designate it, it goes to that purpose (Bylaws 10.2).
Nobody at this church will ever attach spiritual standing to financial standing, and we will never ask about your income (Bylaws 3.3(a)).
🌐 Third-Party Services
We use and link to platforms such as:
- Stoat (community server)
- Twitch
- YouTube
- Kick
- Rumble
- Stripe (for giving)
- Google Analytics or similar
These platforms have their own privacy policies, and we recommend reviewing them for their data handling practices. Our digital ministries run on platforms that are not hackproof — none are — though the Church labors diligently to protect all who sail with her (Bylaws 9.7). The Church guarantees no absolute security of any third-party platform.
🛡️ Leadership Privacy and OPSEC
To protect the Church’s leaders and their families, we do not publish their home addresses, schedules, or family details, and we ask all Crew, Watchers, and visitors to likewise refrain from publishing such information (Bylaws Art. IX).
🧑🤝🧑 Community and Chat Spaces
By joining our Stoat community server, you consent to the use of your Stoat username and any voluntary profile information for moderation and community engagement. We may moderate content for safety and alignment with our values. Moderation decisions (human or AI) may be appealed to the Lead Pastor or Command Council (Bylaws 11.7). Watchers are warmly invited to serve in many ministries but do not serve as moderators, as moderation is an office of covenant responsibility (Bylaws 8.3(a)).
🍪 Cookies
Our online platforms may use cookies to improve your experience. You can disable cookies via your browser settings if desired.
📬 Email Communication
If you opt-in to our newsletter, blog, or ministry updates:
- You may unsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of any email.
- We will never spam or sell your info.
🚨 Mandatory Reporting
Privacy has limits where safety is concerned. If we learn of a danger of self-harm, harm to others, or abuse of a child or vulnerable person, the duty to report to civil authorities promptly outranks confidentiality — always (Bylaws 11.6). This applies to Crew, Watchers, and strangers passing through alike.
🧒 Children’s Privacy
Our services and online ministries are directed to a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. Because our community spaces involve live chat and interaction with adults, parental supervision is required for all online interactions involving minors — including community server participation, live streams, and gaming sessions. Covenant and acknowledgment documents for participants under 18 require a parent/guardian co-signature.
🔁 Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to:
- Access the personal information we have about you
- Correct or delete your data
- Opt out of communications
- Have your name removed from the roll of the Crew or roster of Watchers upon departure, handled with respect and goodwill (Bylaws 3.7)
Email us at [email protected] to make such requests. For questions specifically involving financial records, you may also direct inquiries to the Secretary-Treasurer, who holds custody and oversight of the Church’s financial records (Bylaws 4.6(b)).
📩 Contact Us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact:
Keep the far lights burning.