Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

At Heart of God Church Group (“HOGC”), we respect the confidentiality of personal data and the privacy of individuals and are committed to complying with the Personal Data Protection Act (Act 26 of 2012)(“PDPA”) and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), where applicable.

We have developed this Privacy Policy to assist you in understanding how we collect, use, disclose, process, protect and retain your personal data that is in our possession.

This Policy applies to the website (hogc.sg), other websites, applications and or other online platforms operated by HOGC including but not limited to pastorhow.com, pastorlia.com, generationsmvmt.com (“Web Services”).

2. How HOGC Collects Your Personal Data

2.1 Personal data refers to any information that can uniquely identify an individual person (a) on its own, or (b) when combined with other information. Under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA), business contact information (e.g. full name, business address, business telephone number) is not considered as personal data so long as it is used strictly for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), business contact information is considered as personal data.

2.2 We collect your personal data in the following ways (non-exhaustive list):

2.2.1 Church Attendee/Members

When you attend our church services and connect groups or register for our programmes and activities such as seminars and mission trips.

When you respond to our invitations to services, programmes and activities, both online and onsite.

When you provide your personal information for purposes of sharing and/or publication of testimonies.

When we respond to your queries or requests for prayer, ministry or any form of pastoral care.

When you give tithes, offering and other forms of monetary contributions.

When you make payment for fees and charges for goods and services provided by HOGC.

When you submit your application to volunteer or work in our church.

When you enquire about us and communicate with us via phone calls, emails, letters or on any of our Web Services.

When you are within our premises and your images are being captured via CCTV.

When you provide us with goods and services as our service providers.

2.2.2 Online User

When you sign up for a user account on any of our Web Services.

When you attend our online church services or visit our other Web Services and leave behind your contact information and give us comments.

When you subscribe to request for updates or to receive any information from us.

2.2.3 Event Attendee

When you register for and attend our GenerationS Pastors Conference, Strong Church Summit or any other conference or events.

3. Types of Personal Data HOGC Collects About You

3.1 The types of personal data we collect about you may include:

3.1.1 Church Attendees/Members

Identity information such as name, date of birth, gender, race, nationality as well as photos and videos including CCTV.

Personal information such as school, occupation, family members, baptism dates.

Contact information such as address, email address, mobile phone number, platform user handles.

Giving information such as how much you contribute in tithes and offerings.

Payment information such as items purchased when you purchase goods and services.

Pastoral information such as family or health background when you request for prayer, ministry or any form of pastoral care.

Medical information where necessary for physical activities organised by us which you participate in.

CV information such as academic history, work background and experience when you apply for an intern or employee position.

3.1.2 Online Users

Account profile information such as username.

Usage and Technical information such as use of our Web Services, internet protocol addresses, cookies, browser, pixels, beacons and computer system information related to your use of any of our Online Platforms.

Marketing and communication information such as your preferences in receiving details of our services and programmes.

3.1.3 Event Attendee

Attendee information such as name, email address, age, name of church, role in church, country.

3.2 We do not directly collect any debit or credit card details for giving/payments made via electronic means at our premises or on our online platforms. All such payments are handled by third party service providers or payment gateways who encrypt card information sent from the Web Services.

4. How HOGC Uses Your Personal Data

4.1 We use the personal data we have collected about you for one or more of the following purposes (non-exhaustive list):

4.1.1 Church Attendees/Members

manage your church participation and attendance.

administrate and plan for church, connect group and ministry programmes and activities.

provide prayer, ministry and pastoral care.

process membership.

process tithe, offering and other forms of giving.

process applications for purposes of recruitment and screening as well as manage training and deployment of volunteers in ministries.

process applications for purposes of employment and internship.

monitor the movement of visitors to our physical premises for safety and security purposes.

process payments and refunds.

process demographic data for statistical analysis and reporting.

carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.

comply with legal obligations and regulatory requirements.

4.1.2 Online Users

process and manage registrations.

maintain user accounts.

respond to requests and enquiries.

analyse Web Services visitors to personalise Web Services experience.

4.1.3 Event Attendee

process registration and applications for events and conferences.

plan and administrate activities for events and conferences (current and future).

5. Who HOGC Discloses Your Personal Data To

5.1 We disclose some of the personal data we have collected about you to the following parties outside HOGC:

Government agencies such as the Ministry of Manpower, Commissioner of Charities, Registry of Societies.

Providers of professional services such as lawyers, auditors.

Banks, insurers, payment gateway service providers and other financial institutions.

Third party service providers such as freight and courier services, data processing, cloud services, web hosting companies. Some of these parties may be located outside the European Economic Area. Where applicable, we will abide by the GDPR.

5.2 We do not sell your information to third parties but only use their services. We will use our best endeavours to ensure that your personal data is protected by such third parties. Such third parties should only use the information for the purpose of performing that service and cannot keep or use the data for any other purpose.

5.3 Where required to do so by law, we will disclose personal data about you to the relevant authorities or to law enforcement agencies.

6. How HOGC Manages the Collection, Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Data

6.1 Obtaining Consent

6.1.1 Before we collect, use or disclose your personal data, we will notify you of the purpose why we are doing so. We will obtain written confirmation from you on your expressed consent. We will not collect more personal data than is necessary for the stated purpose. We will seek fresh consent from you if the original purpose for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal data has changed.

6.1.2 Under certain circumstances, we may assume deemed consent from you when you voluntarily provide your personal data for the stated purpose such as when you apply for a job with us.

6.1.3 We may rely on exceptions to the need for consent under the PDPA for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal data under the following circumstances (only those relevant to HOGC are included):

The personal data is publicly available.

The personal data is disclosed by a public agency or disclosed to a public agency.

The personal data is necessary for any investigation or proceedings.

The personal data is necessary for evaluative purposes (e.g. determining the suitability of a job applicant for the job applied for).

The personal data is necessary for the purpose of managing or terminating an employment relationship.

Under the GDPR, we may rely on the following legal grounds for the processing of personal data in lieu of consent (only those relevant to HOGC are included):

Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or to enter into a contract.

Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.

Processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by HOGC.

6.2 Handling Sensitive Data

6.2.1 While the PDPA does not have a separate classification of sensitive data, the GDPR defines the following as sensitive or special categories of data: racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade-union membership; genetic data; biometric data; data concerning health or sex life; and sexual orientation.

6.2.2 Where applicable under the GDPR, we will only process special categories of data pertaining to you upon your explicit consent, except under certain circumstances such as in the context of employment; protecting your vital interests; personal data made public by you; for legal claims; or for reasons of public interest.

6.3 Third-Party Consent

6.3.1 If you have a one-on-one meeting with us, communicate with us in any form or have a transaction with us on behalf of another individual (e,g your spouse, child or family member) , you represent and warrant that the collection, use and disclosure of that personal data to us, as well as the further processing of that personal data by us for the purposes set out in this Policy is lawful.

7. How You Can Limit HOGC's Processing of Personal Data

7.1 Withdrawal of Consent

If you wish to withdraw consent, you should give us reasonable advance notice. We will advise you of the likely consequences of your withdrawal of consent, e.g. without your personal contact information we may not be able to inform you of future services offered by us.

Your request for withdrawal of consent can take the form of an email or letter to us or through the “UNSUB” feature on an online service.

8. How You Can Access and Make Correction to Your Personal Data in HOGC's possession / control

8.1 You may write to us to find out what personal data about you that we have in our possession or under our control and how it may have been used and/or disclosed by us in the previous one year. Before we accede to your request, we may need to verify your identity by checking your legal identification document. We will respond to your request as soon as possible, or within 30 days from the date we receive your request. If we are unable to do so within 30 days, we will let you know and give you an estimate of how much longer we require. We may also charge you a reasonable fee for the cost involved in processing your access request.

8.2 If you find that the personal data we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date, you may ask us to correct the data. Where we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that a correction should be made, we will correct the data as soon as possible, or within 30 days from the date we receive your request.

9.1 Under the GDPR, if you are an EU resident, you will have additional rights besides the Right of Access and the Right to Rectification that are similar to the Access and Correction Obligation under the PDPA. These additional rights are:

9.1.1 Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’). You have the right to request HOGC to erase your personal data based on certain grounds and in certain specified situations.

9.1.2 Right to Restriction of Processing. You have the right to obtain a restriction on the processing of your personal data, such as pending verification of a legal ground to process your personal data or where you dispute the accuracy of your personal data.

9.1.3 Right to Data Portability. You have a right to, under certain circumstances, request HOGC to provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to transmit such data to another organisation without hindrance.

9.1.4 Right to Object. You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes; for scientifichistorical research statistical purposes; or for purposes based on legitimate interest grounds.

9.1.5 Automated Individual Decision-Making, Including Profiling. You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or significantly affects you. We do not use automated processes to make decisions about any of our stakeholders.

9.2. Where applicable, HOGC will fulfil each of your request(s) as far as practicable, within a reasonable timeframe.

10. How HOGC Ensures the Accuracy of Your Personal Data

We will take reasonable precautions and verification checks to ensure that the personal data we have collected from you is reasonably accurate, complete and up-to-date. From time to time, we may do a verification exercise with you to update us on any changes to your personal data. If we are in an ongoing relationship with you, it is important that you update us of any changes to your personal data (such as a change in your mailing address).

11. How HOGC Protects Your Personal Data

11.1 We will make the necessary security arrangements to protect your personal data that is in our possession to prevent unauthorised access, use, disclosure, or similar risks. We will take reasonable and appropriate measures to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of your personal data, and will only share your data with authorised persons on a ‘need to know’ basis.

11.2 When we engage third-party data processors to process personal data on our behalf, we will ensure that they provide sufficient guarantees to us to have implemented the necessary organisational and technical security measures and have taken reasonable steps to comply with these measures (as required under the GDPR).

12. How HOGC Retains Your Personal Data

We will not retain any of your personal data under our charge when it is no longer necessary for any business or legal purposes. Based on our Document Retention Policy, we will ensure that your personal data that are no longer needed by us will be destroyed or disposed of in a secure manner.

13. How HOGC Transfers Your Personal Data

Where there is a need to transfer your personal data to another country outside Singapore, we will ensure that the standard of data protection in the recipient country is comparable to that of PDPA and / or GDPR, where applicable. If this is not so, we will enter into a contractual agreement with the receiving party to accord similar levels of data protection as those in Singapore.

14. How HOGC Handles Queries and Complaints

If you have any query or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy, or any complaint you have relating to how we manage your personal data, you may contact our Data Protection Officer at: [email protected]

Any query or complaint should include, at least, the following details:

Your full name and contact information
Brief description of your query or complaint

We treat such queries and complaints seriously and will deal with them confidentially and within reasonable time.

15. Links to Other Sites from HOGC’s Web Services

Our Web Services may contain links to other Web Services that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s website. It is important that you review the privacy policy of every site you visit. We have no control over, and are unable to assume any responsibility for, the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

16. Phishing

Phishing is the practice of tricking someone into giving confidential information. Examples include falsely claiming to be a legitimate company when sending an email to a user, in an attempt to get the user to send private information that will be used for identity theft and fraud.

Should you receive an email that claims to be from HOGC requesting this kind of information that you suspect is phishing then please do not respond but contact us immediately so we can investigate.

We do not request for personal information and/or donations via private messaging or email platforms. We urge you to exercise caution and report any suspicion of scams to the relevant authorities.

17.Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the latest version of our Privacy Policy on our Web Services. Please revisit this page periodically for any changes. Changes to this Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

18. Contacting HOGC

If you have any questions about our collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal data about you; feedback regarding this Policy, or any complaint you have relating to how we collect, use, disclose and store personal data about you, you may contact our Data Protection Officer(s) at: [email protected].