Privacy Policy — THE WAY
THE WAY ("the app," "we," "us") is operated by The Way Community Intl. This policy explains what information we collect through the app, why we collect it, and how it's protected.
Information We Collect
Contact details — name, email address, phone number, birthdate, gender, and household/family grouping information.
Faith milestones — salvation date, baptism records (water and Spirit), church roles, and discipleship (Jumpstarter) progress.
Attendance records — house church and hub meeting attendance, and visitor counts (first-time and returning).
Pastoral care notes — private notes entered by leaders, visible only to authorized leaders within that person's own hub.
Group-level discipleship indicators — an aggregate health/progress indicator for a house church's Jumpstarter journey. This reflects the group as a whole, not any single person's individual data.
Meeting locations — addresses manually entered by leaders, at suburb level or, optionally, full street address. This is typed information, not data collected from your device's GPS or location services.
Account information — login email, assigned role, and hub/nation assignment within the network structure.
Push notification token — used solely to deliver reminders (e.g. attendance reminders to leaders, pastoral follow-up alerts).
Feedback submissions — bug reports and feature suggestions, submitted with your name attached.
We do not use analytics or advertising software of any kind. We do not collect device usage data, browsing behavior, or any information beyond what is listed above.
How We Use This Information
We use the information above only to operate the app's core functionality:

• Organizing and displaying house church, hub, and network structures

• Tracking attendance and visitor engagement

• Guiding discipleship progress through the Jumpstarter pathway

• Enabling pastoral leaders to provide care and follow-up

• Sending reminders and notifications relevant to your role

• Responding to feedback and bug reports

We do not sell your information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
Who Can See Your Information
Access is role-based:

• House church leaders see data for their own group only.

• Hub and network leaders see aggregated or broader data appropriate to their oversight role.

• Pastoral care notes are restricted specifically to authorized leaders within your own hub — not visible network-wide.

Data Sharing
We do not share personal information with third parties for advertising or marketing purposes. Limited sharing may occur with service providers who help us operate the app (for example, hosting or notification delivery), solely to provide the service, and under obligations to protect your data.
Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption of data in transit. No system is completely secure, and we encourage users to safeguard their own login credentials.
Data Retention & Deletion
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the app's services. To request deletion of your data, contact us at appsupport@theway.community.
Children's Information
THE WAY is designed for use by adult leaders and members. Children may appear within a parent or guardian's household/family record, but children do not hold their own accounts and do not interact with the app directly. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children through app accounts.
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal information, or to object to certain uses. To exercise these rights, contact us at appsupport@theway.community.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or how your information is handled, contact us at:
appsupport@theway.community