Communicate Privacy Settings
Here are resources you can use to help educate congregants about privacy settings and the online directory.
Many people regard the church as a safe haven. In fact, in a broken world, they desperately need the church to be a safe place for them and their family. While congregants may rarely consider the online tools and data their churches and denominational offices use on a daily basis, we do and we know you do as well! For this reason, ACST dedicates an abundance of time and resources to protecting the privacy and security of Realm data. And we strongly recommend transparency with congregants and parishioners when it comes to protecting them and their privacy.
We encourage you to educate and communicate with your staff and congregants on the importance of managing privacy settings in Realm. Share your internal policies for safeguarding data and vulnerable members, and make sure people know how you plan to communicate financial needs in your church.
While you'll write a message that suits your particular situation, we provided a sample communication below to get your thoughts flowing around this topic. We'll continue to update the online resources mentioned in this article as well.
Sample Email to Congregants
Dear [First Name],
We understand that your online privacy is important to you. For this reason, we'd like to routinely communicate about how we conduct the business of the church. For example, our staff reviews all new Realm registrations, and will work to engage and legitimize all new members with a welcome for the purpose of protecting others. We run annual background checks for anyone directly involved in ministering to children and vulnerable adults. Additionally, we'll never ask you directly for money or gift cards, but instead will ask that you give through various funds set up by the church.
While we want to encourage community, especially among teams and small groups, we recognize that not everyone is comfortable sharing personal information church-wide. Please take a few minutes to sign into Realm and update your privacy settings.
To review your privacy settings, go to [Your URL], and, in the upper-right corner, click Manage Privacy. For your convenience, here's an explanation of privacy settings.
Online Resources
Church Growth Blog: Information Security and Privacy for Congregants
Search our help portal for topics on congregant privacy, passwords, and settings.