Churches are now more digital than ever before. Between ChMS platforms, social media, email, offering wifi to members, sermons on powerpoint and mobile giving; technology has become a central player in sharing the gospel. In fact, Church Management Software (ChMS), which helps ministers and staff do their work more easily, has become a central pillar of many churches. This software is really useful because it helps with organizing things, keeping track of information about members, and improving the communication in a church.

But it’s important for churches to think about privacy when using ChMS software. This means being careful with how they handle and protect people’s personal information. Respecting the privacy of your congregation is not just the right thing to do, it’s also the law. As a Church leader you need to make sure to follow all applicable laws and do your utmost to protect the body of faith you shepard and their privacy.

Understanding Privacy in a Church Context

Respecting the privacy of people is extremely important for any organization, including churches. It’s not just a legal and ethical duty, but it’s also about building trust within the faith community. By protecting people’s privacy, churches show their dedication to keeping things confidential and following high ethical standards.

In a church, privacy goes beyond just safeguarding personal information. It includes respecting people’s beliefs, spiritual practices, and private matters shared within the community. When members know that their privacy is protected, they feel more comfortable engaging openly, seeking support, and actively participating in church activities.

As churches start using ChMS software, they have a powerful tool for managing data and communication more efficiently. But it’s important to find a balance between benefiting from technology and safeguarding sensitive information. While ChMS software makes administrative tasks easier and improves communication, churches must make sure to have strong privacy measures in place to keep congregational data confidential and secure.

By making privacy a priority, churches show their commitment to respecting personal boundaries and the trust people have in the church community. It’s through this commitment that churches create a safe environment where individuals can freely share, connect, and grow in their faith journey.

Your responsibility as a church leader should be

Taking the privacy of your congregation seriously. Represent it at meetings, consider the impacts to privacy when new programs are instituted, treat privacy like we chastity. Once someone’s privacy is violated it While the idea of privacy is nebulous and the definition changes from person to person and from year to year; become the privacy champion for your flock. Your church will feel so much safer knowing there is someone who is watching out for them.

Potential Privacy Concerns with ChMS Software

Data Breaches

ChMS software keeps lots of personal and financial information in one place for a church community. It includes things like names, addresses, contact details, attendance records, donations, and sometimes private notes from counseling sessions. Because this data is sensitive, it’s attractive to bad actors who want to break in and get unauthorized access.

To protect against this, churches need to make sure their ChMS software has strong security measures. This means using different layers of security to keep the information safe and private.

By taking security measures seriously, churches can greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to data and protect congregational members. It keeps personal and financial information safe and shows that the church can be trusted.

Your responsibility as a church leader should be

Planning for what your organization’s reaction will be when a data breach occurs. Data Breaches should not be an ‘if’ concern but rather a ‘when’ concern. Make sure you have proper insurance to cover such an event. In the following sections we consider other risks and responsibilities of operating a ChMS. Along these lines; make sure to catalog everything church leadership does and when they do it to avoid a potential Data Breach.**

Third-Party Data Sharing

When churches use ChMS software, they might come across situations where they need to use other services or connect with other systems. These outside services can add more functions or make the ChMS software even better. But churches need to be careful and take the time to review the privacy policies of these outside providers.

Churches need to make sure that any outside services or connections they use follow the same privacy rules as the church. This means checking if the outside service follows data protection laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), depending on where the church is located.

When data is shared with outside services, it’s a good idea for churches to have agreements or contracts in place. These agreements should say what both parties need to do to protect data and follow privacy rules. They should also explain how the outside service can use the church’s data and make sure they follow the privacy regulations.

By carefully looking at the privacy policies of outside services and having clear agreements, churches can keep their data safe when using ChMS software and other connections. This helps the church stay in control of its data, lowers the risk of data being shared without permission, and makes sure the church follows privacy laws.

Your responsibility as a church leader should be

Cataloging all the Third-Party relationships your church has and ensuring these Third-Parties respect the privacy of your flock as much as you do. Additionally, because you’re the privacy champion of your church, you’ll probably be first to be notified when licensing agreements, privacy policies or end-user license agreements change. Take these notifications from your Third-Parties seriously.

Consent and Communication

ChMS software has features like email and text messaging that help churches connect with their members more easily. But it’s really important for churches to get permission from their members before using their contact information for communication. Respecting people’s choices and privacy is crucial for building trust and privacy within the church community.

Getting permission shows that churches care about their members’ rights and privacy. Churches should have clear rules and ways to get permission, making sure that people have the chance to say yes or no to receiving communication. This can be done with options like checkboxes or consent forms, where people can choose if they want to get messages from the church.

It’s also important for churches to only use the contact information collected for communication purposes. They should not share or sell it to others without proper consent. This helps maintain trust and protects the privacy of congregational members.

By focusing on consent and respecting individual choices, churches can create an environment where members feel valued and listened to. This not only builds trust within the church but also ensures that privacy rules and ethical standards are followed. Good communication practices that prioritize privacy give congregational members the power to actively engage with the church while keeping control over their personal information.

Your responsibility as a church leader should be

Two pronged. Firstly, ensure you have systems and processes in place to record and catalog all consent forms and communication preferences (most modern ChMS should handle communication preferences) for your flock. They should be properly backed up and accessible for staff and administration.

Secondly, ensure that staff and administration adhere to the consent forms and communication preferences of your members. Your flock has spent the time to tell you what they want. You should make all the best efforts to honor their requests.

Access Control

To keep sensitive data secure and private, churches should set up strong access controls in their ChMS software. By doing this, they can limit access to important information only for authorized people, which helps prevent internal breaches and accidental leaks.

Access controls involve assigning specific roles and permissions to each user in the ChMS software. These roles determine what information users can access. By giving access only to those who really need it, churches can reduce the number of people who can see sensitive data. This lowers the chances of it being shared without permission or misused.

When setting up access controls, churches should follow the principle of least privilege. This means each user should only have the minimum access necessary for their job. By doing this, churches can minimize the exposure of sensitive data and limit the impact if someone unauthorized gets access to the system.

It’s also important to use strong authentication methods to confirm the identity of authorized users. This can include secure login credentials like unique usernames and strong passwords. Extra layers of security, like two-factor authentication (2FA) or using biometric information, add even more protection and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

Regularly reviewing user access rights is important to keep access controls effective. Churches should regularly check and update user roles and permissions to match the responsibilities and positions of authorized personnel. This means removing access for individuals who no longer need it, like staff members who changed roles or left the organization.

It’s also important to educate and train staff members about access controls and their role in keeping data secure and private. By creating a culture of responsibility and accountability, churches can empower their staff to follow access control protocols and identify potential security risks.

By setting up strong access controls in their ChMS software, churches can protect sensitive data from internal breaches and accidental leaks. These measures help maintain the confidentiality and integrity of congregational information, giving members confidence that their data is handled responsibly and securely.

Part of your responsibility as a church leader should be…

Scheduling regular audits for your access controls. At the very least do it quarterly. The best practice here would be to evaluate access controls whenever there is a change in personnel (hiring, firing, retiring, etc).

When you elect new elders, deacons or ministers make sure your entire staff has the correct rights and permissions. Ensure that no one has too much control or access.

Additionally, a chain is only so strong as its weakest link. Encourage staff and members to have strong passwords and also to enable 2FA. A weak or leaked email password can be just as dangerous for the privacy of your flock.

Best Practices for Protecting Privacy

Data Encryption

Using strong encryption protocols is essential for protecting data in ChMS software. Encryption adds an extra layer of security, keeping the data confidential and intact, even if there’s a breach. It makes the stolen information unreadable to unauthorized people.

When data is moving, like when it’s sent over the internet or through networks, encryption ensures that no one can intercept or access it. This prevents unauthorized people from listening in or tampering with the information.

Similarly, encrypting data at rest means securing the data stored within the ChMS software or databases. Encryption ensures that even if someone unauthorized gets access to the stored data, they won’t be able to understand it without the right keys. This adds extra protection against data breaches and unauthorized disclosure.

By ensuring your ChMS is using strong encryption protocols, churches can keep their congregational data protected, even if there’s a breach. Encryption acts as an important defense against unauthorized access and keeps sensitive information private and confidential within the ChMS software.

Part of your responsibility as a church leader should be…

Ensure your ChMS is encrypting your data in transit and at rest. There are so many things that can interrupt proper encryption: bugs, vulnerabilities, lies and ignorance. Unfortunately, from your perspective, as a church leader, all of this is a black box and you’ll need to take the word of your ChMS vendor. It would be in your best interest that the ChMS vendor provides this in writing.

Regular Audits and Updates

Regularly checking your ChMS software is important to keep church data secure. By installing security updates quickly, ChMS vendors can fix any weaknesses and make their ChMS software more secure.

Over time, vulnerabilities in software can be found through testing or security research. These vulnerabilities can be used by bad people to get unauthorized access to church data. To reduce these risks, your ChMS software vendor should release security updates to fix the vulnerabilities and make the software stronger.

Part of your responsibility as a church leader should be…

Ensure that your ChMS vendor is regularly updating their software and infrastructure to prevent breaches and the exploitation of new vulnerabilities. Like encryption this is very much a black box. Your ChMS vendor could be ignorant, lazy or just lie about the frequency of their update processes. It would be in your best interest that the ChMS vendor provides this in writing their commitment to security.

Privacy Policies and Disclosures

Creating a clear privacy policy is important for churches to build trust with their members and explain how they handle data. The policy should explain how the church collects, stores, and uses member information in a way that everyone can understand.

The privacy policy should use simple language that is easy to read, without complicated legal terms. This way, all members can understand the policy and make informed decisions about their personal information, regardless of their technical or legal knowledge.

The policy should cover different things like the types of data collected, why it’s collected, and how long it’s kept. It should also describe how the church keeps the data safe and secure, using things like encryption, access controls, and regular security checks.

Additionally, the policy should talk about any third-party services or integrations used in the ChMS software and how data is shared with them, if it happens. This way, members know if their data is shared and can make informed choices about their personal information.

To promote openness and trust, churches should make the privacy policy easily available to congregational members. This can be done by putting the policy on the church’s website, giving out physical copies at the church office, or including it in membership or event registration. By making the policy accessible, churches show their commitment to transparency and give people a chance to read and understand how their information is handled.

Regularly reviewing and updating the privacy policy is important to keep it relevant and follow changing privacy laws. When new ways of handling data are used, the policy should be changed and shared with congregational members.

By creating and sharing a detailed privacy policy, churches show they care about protecting members’ privacy. This openness builds trust, makes people feel safe, and lets them make informed choices about sharing their personal information within the church community.

Part of your responsibility as a church leader should be…

Authoring a privacy policy and making sure staff and administration are adhering to it.

Staff Training and Awareness

Teaching staff members about privacy best practices is important for handling sensitive data responsibly and keeping information confidential in a church setting. By highlighting the significance of privacy and providing regular training, churches can effectively reduce potential privacy risks.

The training sessions should cover different aspects of privacy and data protection. Staff members should learn about the types of data that are considered sensitive, like personal information, financial details, or private pastoral records. They should understand the importance of handling this information carefully and keeping it confidential.

The training should also cover privacy regulations and legal requirements that apply to the church, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) or local privacy laws. Staff members should become familiar with the main principles of these regulations, including the lawful reasons for processing data, consent rules, and individuals’ rights regarding their personal information.

It is important to provide staff members with training on security practices to keep sensitive data safe. This includes topics like managing strong passwords, using encryption for data protection, and handling physical and digital records securely. Staff members should also be aware of common tactics used by cybercriminals, such as phishing emails and social engineering, and know how to avoid falling victim to them.

In addition, staff members should understand their responsibilities when it comes to protecting sensitive data. This includes following access control rules, sharing data only with authorized individuals, and promptly reporting any potential data breaches or privacy incidents.

Regular training sessions are necessary to reinforce privacy best practices and keep staff members informed about the latest developments in privacy and data protection. These sessions can cover emerging privacy risks and provide guidance on new technologies or practices related to data handling.

By prioritizing privacy and security education, churches foster a culture of awareness and responsibility among staff members. This helps create a strong focus on privacy, where everyone understands their role in protecting sensitive data and keeping it confidential. It also reduces the risk of privacy breaches and ensures compliance with privacy regulations, ultimately building trust within the congregation and demonstrating the church’s commitment to privacy and data protection.

Part of your responsibility as a church leader should be…

Authoring a training plan for new staff; as well as making sure you have appropriate training for any new platforms or ChMS your congregation plans on using in the near future.

Conclusion

As churches use ChMS software to improve their operations and be more efficient, it’s important to focus on privacy. By understanding the potential risks and taking strong measures, churches can protect member information, build trust, and maintain ethical standards.

To sum up, as churches embrace ChMS software, it’s important to focus on privacy. By understanding risks, implementing safeguards, and building trust and responsibility, churches can protect member information, uphold ethical standards, and use ChMS software to enhance their operations. Prioritizing privacy ensures that the church operates in line with its values, respects the privacy rights of members, and maintains the trust of the community.

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash