Effective date: October 8, 2026
Overview
Lineage Church ("Lineage," "we," "us," or "our") operates the website at lineage.us, a podcast feed hosted at wp.lineage.us, and a YouTube channel. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you interact with these services, how we use it, and the choices you have.
Information we collect
Information you give us directly
We collect information you voluntarily provide through our website, such as:
- Name and email when you subscribe to our newsletter, fill out a connect card, or submit a prayer request.
- Optional details you share through community group or volunteer sign-ups.
- Plan Your Visit details: your name, email, optional mobile number, planned Sunday, party size, optional children’s ages, notes, and your contact permissions. These are saved in our Operations Team Airtable base so the church can welcome you and follow up about your visit.
- Donation information submitted through our giving page (processed by third-party payment providers).
Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, our hosting provider and analytics tools may automatically collect basic technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and referring URL. We use hosting information to operate the site. Optional advertising measurement is described below.
Information about our own YouTube channel (via Google APIs)
Lineage Church uses a custom internal application built on the YouTube Data API to publish sermons to our own YouTube channel. This application runs on our own server and uses credentials authorized by a Lineage Church staff member who manages the channel. It does not collect, access, or process data from any YouTube viewer, subscriber, or any third-party's account. The only Google/YouTube data it touches is our own channel's metadata and upload targets.
How we use information
We use the information we collect to:
- Respond to your connect cards, prayer requests, and volunteer inquiries.
- Send newsletters and church updates to people who opt in.
- Process donations.
- Publish sermon audio and video to our website, podcast feed, and YouTube channel.
- Improve our website and understand how visitors use it.
How we share information
We do not sell personal information. We share information only with trusted service providers who help us operate our ministry, including:
- Hosting and deployment (Vercel, SiteGround, Hetzner) — for the website, podcast server, and automation infrastructure.
- Payment processors — for handling donations.
- Airtable — for visit registration and church operations.
- Email delivery — for requested signup follow-up and newsletters.
- Meta — for optional advertising measurement when you allow it.
- Google services — for publishing videos to our own YouTube channel via the YouTube Data API.
- AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) — for transcription and metadata generation on our own sermon content. These providers process our sermons. If you opt in to texts from Pathway, our AI assistant may process the visit details and messages you share to help with your visit. AI text permission is optional; it does not include unrelated marketing.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our ministry and community.
YouTube API Limited Use disclosure. Lineage Church's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically, we do not transfer YouTube API data to any third party to serve advertisements, and we do not use YouTube API data for any purpose other than publishing our own sermons to our own channel.
Cookies and similar technologies
Our website may use a minimal set of cookies and local storage for essential functionality (such as remembering whether a banner has been dismissed) and basic analytics. On the homepage and Plan Your Visit page, optional Meta Pixel advertising measurement starts only after you choose “Allow ad measurement.” It shares page visits and technical browser information with Meta, which may use that information under its own privacy policy, including for advertising. We do not send visit form answers, names, email addresses, mobile numbers, children’s ages, notes, or signup events to Meta. You may decline without affecting the form, and use “Cookie choices” on those pages to withdraw permission. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track signals disable this measurement. See Meta’s privacy policy.
Your choices
- You can unsubscribe from newsletters at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email.
- You can request that we delete information you've shared with us by emailing info@lineage.us.
- You can control cookie behavior in your browser settings.
Plan Your Visit text terms
Lineage Church’s optional visit text program uses Pathway, an AI assistant, to help arrange your visit, answer practical questions, and follow up afterward. A church team member can assist when needed. Text permission does not subscribe you to unrelated church announcements or marketing, and is not required to plan a visit or attend.
Message frequency varies with your visit and replies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop texts or HELP for assistance. You can also contact pb@lineage.us about this program or request a person’s help. Mobile carriers are not responsible for delayed or undelivered messages. Please provide a mobile number you are authorized to use.
Data retention
We retain the information you provide for as long as we have an ongoing need to keep it (for example, while you are subscribed to our newsletter or are an active member). When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it.
Children's privacy
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
Third-party links
Our website may contain links to third-party sites (such as YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and payment processors). Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, and we encourage you to review them.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent update. Significant changes will be communicated via our website or newsletter.
Contact us
Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy can be directed to:
Lineage Church
Email: info@lineage.us
Web: https://lineage.us