Privacy Policy

Great Light Church London (GLC London, we, us or our) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data securely, transparently, and in accordance with your rights under UK data protection law.

The data controller is:

This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which we collect and process your personal data, including that of any third party whose data you supply to us. Please read it carefully.

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity data: your full name, date of birth
• Contact data: postal address, email address, phone number
• Family data: names and details of family members you register with us
• Financial data: donation records, Gift Aid declarations (we do not store full payment card details)
• Church participation data: attendance records, small group membership, ministry involvement, volunteering history
• Event and course registration data
• App usage data: push notification preferences, app login and engagement
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, cookies (see Section 11)
• Communications data: records of correspondence with us by email, phone, letter or in person

We may also collect Special Category data (sensitive personal data) such as health information (e.g. for pastoral care or accessibility needs) or religious beliefs where relevant to our charitable purposes. We will always establish a lawful basis before processing such data.

We collect personal data when you:

• Visit or register on our website at www.glclondon.church
• Register as a member of the church or provide your family details
• Make a donation online or offline (e.g. by cheque, bank transfer or our website)
• Register for a church event, conference, course, or Bible study
• Sign up to or use the GLC London app
• Provide your contact details in writing, orally, or electronically to church staff or volunteers
• Communicate with us by email, letter, telephone, or social media
• Attend church services or participate in church activities
• Attend face-to-face meetings with staff or volunteers

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. We use your data to:

• Manage, administer and promote the life and activities of the church
• Maintain records of our congregation, volunteers, and service users
• Administer financial transactions and Gift Aid donations
• Administer courses, events, and programmes
• Process donations and send acknowledgements or tax receipts
• Send you information about church activities, services, and events you are involved in
• Manage our website, app, and social media accounts
• Manage our volunteers and HR functions
• Respond to your enquiries and correspondence
• Comply with legal or regulatory obligations
• Pursue our legitimate interests as a charity, including defending our legal rights

We will not use your data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected. If we intend to use it for a new purpose, we will notify you and seek your consent where required.

We rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

• Consent - where you have given us clear consent (e.g. for marketing communications)
• Contract - where processing is necessary to fulfil a commitment to you
• Legal obligation - where we are required by law to process your data
• Legitimate interests - where processing is necessary for our charitable purposes and does not override your rights
• Vital interests - in exceptional circumstances, to protect someone's life

We will only contact you for marketing purposes (e.g. newsletters, event promotions, sermon updates) where you have given your explicit consent. You may withdraw consent at any time by:

• Clicking 'unsubscribe' in any marketing communication
• Emailing us at info@glclondon.church

We will never sell your data or share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

As part of our legitimate charitable activities, we may share your personal data with:

• Service providers and processors who store or manage data on our behalf (e.g. our church management system, email platform, app provider)
• Third-party payment processors for online donations (they handle card data directly; we do not store it)
• Professional advisors (e.g. legal or financial advisors) who are bound by confidentiality
• Regulatory or statutory bodies where we are legally required to do so

We do not share personal data with unrelated third parties for their own purposes. Any third-party processors we engage are required to handle your data lawfully and securely.

GLC London currently collects and processes personal data in the UK only. Should we need to transfer data outside the UK in the future, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including compliant data processing agreements, in accordance with UK GDPR requirements.

We only store your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. As a general guide:

• Membership and pastoral records: retained while you are an active member and for 6 years thereafter
• Donation and Gift Aid records: retained for 6 years in line with HMRC requirements
• Event registration data: retained for 2 years after the event
• Job applications (unsuccessful): retained for 6 months

We will regularly review what personal data we hold and delete or anonymise data that is no longer needed.

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, destruction or damage.

All data is stored on secure servers. Passwords to access church systems are confidential and must not be shared. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. While we make every reasonable effort to safeguard your data, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted electronically.

Our website at www.glclondon.church uses cookies. A cookie is a small data file stored on your device that helps us understand how our site is used and improve your experience. You can configure your browser to accept, reject, or be notified about cookies. Rejecting cookies may limit your access to certain features of our site.

We may use analytics tools such as Google Analytics to understand site usage. These tools may set their own cookies. Please refer to our Cookie Policy on our website for full details.

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at info@glclondon.church or by post at: Data Protection Officer, Great Light Church London, 57 Skylines, Canary Wharf, London, E14 9TS.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO at www.ico.org.uk.

Our website and app may contain links to third-party websites (e.g. Eventbrite, YouTube, payment platforms). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Please review their own privacy policies before submitting any personal data to them.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any significant changes will be communicated to you and posted on our website. The date of the most recent update is shown at the top of this document.

This policy was last reviewed in June 2026.