Privacy Policy

Deliverance Church International Riruta ("DC Riruta," "the Church," "we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with integrity, as guided by our Christian values and in strict compliance with the **Kenyan Data Protection Act, 2019** (the "Act").

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, transfer, and protect your information when you visit our website at www.dcriruta.org or interact with our ministry services.

1. Information We Collect

Sensitive Personal Data (Religious Beliefs & Affiliation)

When you interact with our website to submit prayer requests, sign up for ministry work, register for church membership, or request pastoral care, you may share details about your personal faith, challenges, and religious affiliation. Under the Act, this is Sensitive Personal Data. We process this data:

• Only with your explicit, opt-in consent
• Under strict pastoral confidentiality
• With access restricted to ordained pastors and authorized prayer team members

General Personal Information You Provide

We collect information you voluntarily share with us when you:

• Submit a Contact Form: Full name, email address, phone number, and message content.
• Request Prayer: Name, contact details, and the prayer request (treated with absolute confidentiality).
• Join a Ministry or Service: Name, contact details, areas of interest, and spiritual background.
• Make a Donation, Tithe, or Offering: Full name, contact details, payment references (e.g., M-Pesa transaction IDs, bank transfer references). Note: Online payments are processed securely via encrypted third-party payment gateways; we do not store your credit card or bank login details.
• Register for Church Events & Conferences: Name, contact details, gender, and event-specific requirements.
• Subscribe to Communications: Email address and mobile phone number for announcements and newsletters.

Information Collected Automatically (Non-identifiable)

When you browse our website, we automatically collect certain technical information (only if you accept cookies):

• IP address (anonymized for analytics).
• Browser type, language, and operating system.
• Pages viewed, interaction time, scroll depth, and navigation paths.
• General location data (country/city level, not precise).

This information is collected through Google Analytics and cookies. If you reject cookies, this tracking is completely disabled. See our Cookie Policy for more details.

2. Lawful Bases for Processing Data

In accordance with Section 30 of the Act, we process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

• Consent: You have given explicit consent for us to process your data for specific purposes (e.g., subscribing to newsletters, submitting prayer requests, or loading cookies). You may withdraw this consent at any time.
• Legitimate Activities of a Non-profit Body: As a registered religious organization, we process data of our members or regular attendees to run ministries, provide pastoral care, and coordinate church events, provided it does not prejudice your fundamental rights.
• Legal Obligation: To maintain giving records, financial accounts, and tax receipts as required by Kenyan nonprofit regulations.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to fulfill our spiritual mission, including:

• Providing pastoral care, counseling, and coordinating intercessory prayers.
• Connecting you to church ministries, cell groups (home fellowships), and volunteer opportunities.
• Processing tithes, offerings, building fund contributions, and providing donation receipts.
• Sending important notifications, event details, service times, and newsletter updates.
• Optimizing our website structure and performance to make spiritual resources easily accessible.
• Protecting the safety, security, and integrity of our online platforms and congregation.

4. Data Security and Protection Measures

We implement comprehensive technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, or alteration in accordance with Section 41 of the Act:

• Data Encryption: All communications between your browser and our website are encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols (HTTPS).
• Access Control: Access to sensitive personal data (e.g., prayer requests and member registries) is restricted to ordained pastors and authorized ministry staff under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Secure Storage: Digital records are stored in secure cloud systems with multi-factor authentication (MFA). Physical forms are locked in secure files at our church office.
• No Cookie Tracking on Rejection: If you reject cookies on our consent banner, we block GTM and Google Analytics from running, ensuring zero tracking.

5. Your Data Subject Rights (Section 26 of the Act)

As a data subject in Kenya, you have the following legally protected rights under the Act:

• Right to be Informed: To know whether we hold your personal data, what it is, and how we use it.
• Right of Access: To request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Object: To object to the processing of all or part of your personal data at any time (including opting out of promotional SMS/emails).
• Right to Correction (Rectification): To request that we update, correct, or complete any inaccurate or misleading data we hold about you.
• Right to Deletion (Erasure): To request that we delete or destroy personal data we no longer have a lawful basis to retain.
• Right to Data Portability: To request your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, or have it transferred to another data controller.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at info@dcriruta.org with the subject "Data Subject Request". We will verify your identity and respond to your request within the statutory timelines.

6. Children's Privacy (Under 18 Years)

In strict accordance with the Kenyan Constitution and Section 22 of the Data Protection Act, 2019, a child is defined as any person under the age of 18 years.

We do not knowingly collect, process, or store personal data of children under the age of 18 through our website without explicit written consent from a parent or legal guardian.

For Sunday School registration, youth camps, and children's choir activities, registration forms must be filled out directly by a parent or guardian. If we discover that a minor under 18 has submitted personal details through our website without parental consent, we will delete that data immediately.

7. Data Sharing and Cross-Border Transfers

We respect your privacy and do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We only share your data with trusted partners under the following conditions:

• Denominational Reporting: With our parent body, Deliverance Church International, for statutory reporting, ministerial audits, or denominational conferences (strictly with aggregate data or consent).
• Trusted Service Providers: We use reputable global cloud providers (Vercel for hosting, Resend for email delivery, and Google/YouTube for media streams).
• Cross-Border Transfer Compliance: Because our servers and secure third-party services are hosted globally (such as in the EU and US), your data may be transferred outside Kenya. In compliance with Section 48 and 49 of the Act, we ensure that these service providers maintain high standards of encryption and are bound by data processing agreements that guarantee a level of protection comparable to Kenyan laws.
• Legal Mandates: If required by Kenyan law enforcement, court order, or regulatory bodies.

8. Data Retention Policy

We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to serve the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law:

• General Contact Inquiries: Retained for 2 years after resolution.
• Prayer Requests & Pastoral Counseling Logs: Retained securely for the duration of pastoral follow-up (up to 2 years), after which they are securely deleted or fully anonymized.
• Ministry Registrations: Retained while you are active in that ministry and archived 1 year after you step down.
• Donation & Financial Records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years in compliance with Kenyan tax and accounting laws.

9. Complaints and Dispute Resolution

If you have any concerns regarding how we process your personal data, we encourage you to contact our team directly at info@dcriruta.org so that we can address your issue in a spirit of fellowship and mutual understanding.

However, if you feel we have not resolved your concern adequately, you have the right to lodge an official complaint with the regulatory authority:

10. Contact Details

For any inquiries, requests to exercise your data subject rights, or feedback on our privacy practices, please contact us at: