Legal & Policies

NearFaith is operated by Golden Consulting Partners, LLC, an Arizona company ("we," "us," "NearFaith"), from the United States, for people in the United States. It is not directed to residents of any other country. Visitors in the United Kingdom receive only the read-only church directory described in section 3a.

NearFaith is an informational service. By using NearFaith, creating an account, or posting, you agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy in section 3. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

• iNearFaith is not affiliated with any specific church, denomination, or religious organisation. We do not represent, endorse, or act on behalf of any church listed on this site.
• iYou must verify all information directly with each church before making any plans or decisions. Service times, locations, group schedules, and contact details can change without notice.
• iWe do not guarantee the accuracy of service times, group schedules, locations, contact information, or any other data displayed on this site.
• iChurch data is aggregated from publicly available sources using artificial intelligence and may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information.
• iThis service is provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis, without warranties of any kind — express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Use at your own risk.

We work to surface useful church information, but we cannot guarantee it is current or complete.

• iChurch information is gathered from publicly available sources such as church websites, social media pages, public directories and map data, and is processed with the help of AI.
• iService times, group meeting schedules, events, and contact information may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect. Schedules change seasonally, and data may not reflect recent updates made by a church.
• iAlways confirm service times, group schedules, and contact details directly with the church before attending a service, event, or group meeting.
• iChurches can request corrections or removal of their information at any time at nearfaith.com/contact.

NearFaith collects only what a feature needs. Browsing needs no account. If you create an account, ask a question, post, request Care, or pay, we store what you submit, such as your email address, name, message and a payment reference.

What we collect

• iWhat you give us. Email address (accounts, sign-in codes, newsletters you opt into), name, messages and questions, wall posts and replies (public), visit plans, church submissions and claims, Care requests (name, phone, city, state, church, the need you describe), and contact-form messages.
• iMessages to churches. If you ask us to deliver a message to a church: your name, email address, message, the answers to guided questions, and confirmation and delivery records. See section 3c.
• iEmails you ask us for.If you ask for a church's weekly update (or set a church as your home church while signed in, which turns that update on), a Christmas or Easter services reminder for your city, or plan a visit (which sends one “How was your visit?” note the day after), we keep your email address, the church or city you chose, when you confirmed and when we last emailed you. We use it only to send those emails. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops it right away.
• iUsage records. Pages viewed, the page address, referring site and campaign tags, search terms you enter, browser, operating system and device type, screen size, approximate region (city and state derived from your IP address), a random session identifier, a device identifier stored in your browser, and a salted, hashed form of your IP address. The IP hash is a keyed hash that changes every month, so it cannot be reversed without our server secret and cannot be linked across months.
• iLocation.If you tap “Find churches near me,” your browser asks permission and the coordinates are used to run the search. They may appear in the page address (and so in our usage records) and are remembered on your own device so later visits are faster. If you decline, search by city or ZIP code.
• iCookies and browser storage.We set sign-in session cookies only when you sign in (accounts, church-owner portal, Care) and a region cookie. Your browser's local storage holds your cookie-notice choice, the device identifier above, saved items, your wall name and avatar, and remembered location. We do not use advertising cookies. If you click an Amazon link, Amazon may set its own cookies.

Who processes data for us

• iPayments: Stripe. Card details go to Stripe and never touch our servers.
• iEmail: our email provider delivers sign-in codes and messages sent from hello@nearfaith.com.
• iHosting and security: Railway hosts the site and its database, and a rate-limiting service (Upstash) may see IP addresses to stop abuse.
• iAI providers: xAI (Grok) receives the text you submit to AI features such as church questions, recommendations, the front-desk assistant and triage of help requests. We do not use any other AI provider.
• iLocation and media services: to estimate a region from an IP address, lookup services (ipwho.is, GeoJS and ipapi.co) receive that IP address, either from our server or from your browser. Church pages may load Google Maps, and the Listen page loads YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode); those providers see your IP address and browser details under their own policies.

How we use and share it

• iTo run and secure the service, answer you, keep listings accurate, prevent abuse, understand what is used, and meet legal obligations.
• iWe do not sell personal information and we do not share it for advertising. We share it only with the processors above, when you ask us to (for example, passing a question or visit plan to a church), or when the law requires.
• iWall posts, replies and prayer requests you publish are public. Do not include anything you want to keep private.
• iSensitive details. Please do not enter medical, addiction or other sensitive details in free-text fields. See section 3b.

Your choices and rights

• iAccess, correction, deletion. Ask us at nearfaith.com/contact and we will respond within the time the law requires. We keep records only as long as needed for the purposes above and delete or de-identify them on a valid request.
• iCalifornia and other US state residents: we do not sell personal information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of. You may request access, correction or deletion as above, and we will not treat you differently for doing so.
• iEEA residents: NearFaith is not directed to the EEA. To the extent the GDPR applies to you, our lawful basis is legitimate interest in operating a public informational service, and you may contact us to exercise your rights of access, erasure or portability.

This section is NearFaith's Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy under the Washington My Health My Data Act, Nevada SB 370, Connecticut's consumer health data provisions and similar laws.

• iWhat may be entered. NearFaith is not a health service and does not ask for health information. Because people write freely in prayer requests, wall posts, questions and help requests, some of what you type may describe a health condition, treatment, addiction or crisis. We ask you not to include health details.
• iWhy we collect it. Only to deliver the feature you used: to show your post, answer your question, route a help request to a church, keep the service safe, and respond to you. We do not use it for advertising or profiling.
• iNo sale, no sharing. We do not sell consumer health data and do not share it with anyone except the processors that run the service (see section 3, including xAI for AI features and our hosting and email providers), a church you ask us to contact, or as required by law. Wall posts and prayer requests are public by design.
• iAccess and deletion. You may confirm whether we hold such data, access it, withdraw consent, and ask us to delete it, including from our processors, at nearfaith.com/contact. If we deny a request you may appeal by replying to our response.
• iNot for emergencies. See section 5.

On a church page you can write a message to that church. After you confirm your email address, NearFaith delivers the message to the church by email on your behalf. This section explains how that works.

Confirming before anything is sent

• iNothing is sent to a church until you open the confirmation link we email you and press “Confirm and send”. The link expires in 48 hours. If it expires, nothing is sent and the message is discarded. If you are signed in to NearFaith with the same email address, that sign-in already confirms the address, so the message is sent when you submit it.
• iWhen you submit, you confirm that you are 18 or older and that you ask NearFaith to send the message and to share your name and email address with the church.

What the church receives

• iYour name, your email address (set as the reply-to address), your message, and the answers you gave to the guided questions.
• iThe church replies directly to you. After delivery, NearFaith is not part of the conversation.
• iIf we cannot deliver your message for any reason, we email you to say so and include the church's other public contact details. If your confirmation link expires unused, we send you one short note saying the message was not sent.

Where the church's address comes from

We use an address the church itself published on its own website, or provided when it verified its listing. We do not send to a personal address of an individual staff member unless the church chose that address. If we do not have a usable address, we send nothing and show you the church's public phone, website or contact page so you can reach out yourself.

Our rules for what we send

• iMessages are one-to-one and sent only at your request.
• iThere is no advertising or marketing inside the message.
• iSender information is honest: the message comes from NearFaith on your behalf and replies go to you.
• iEvery message includes a stop link for the church.

Churches' choices

Any church can stop receiving messages through NearFaith at any time, instantly, with the link in the message or by emailing hello@nearfaith.com. When a church has opted out, we tell you and show you its public contact details instead.

What not to send

These uses are not allowed:

• iCommercial solicitation, or vendor and sales pitches.
• iFundraising or donation requests.
• iPolitical campaigning.
• iHarassment, threats or impersonation.
• iAnything unlawful.
• iUse by anyone under 18.

We screen messages automatically and may decline to send one. If we do, we tell you so you can change it.

Limits

We cap how many messages a person can send (including one message to the same church every 30 days) and how many a church receives each day and each week, so the service stays useful for everyone.

What we keep, and for how long

• iThe message text and your guided answers are deleted 90 days after delivery.
• iWe keep delivery records (who, which church, when, whether it was confirmed and delivered) longer, for safety, to prevent abuse, and to show churches how often visitors reach out.
• iAbout a week after delivery we send a one-time check-in email asking whether you heard back. Your answer is stored as a simple yes or no.

Churches are independent

Churches are independent third parties. We do not control whether or how they reply. A message to a church is not a message to NearFaith. To reach NearFaith, use hello@nearfaith.com.

Not for emergencies

Do not use church messages for urgent needs. See section 5. For suicide or emotional crisis, call or text 988.

United Kingdom

Messaging is not available to visitors in the United Kingdom, or for churches listed in the United Kingdom. See our United Kingdom section.

NearFaith uses artificial intelligence, provided by xAI, to aggregate church data, write church summaries, answer questions and suggest first-visit recommendations.

• iAI-generated content is general information only and is not personal, spiritual, pastoral, medical, mental-health, legal, or professional advice.
• iAI output may contain factual errors, invented details, or content that does not reflect the position or policies of any church. We make no representation that it is accurate or complete.
• iRecommendations are based on general patterns and public information. They are not personalised counselling and do not account for your circumstances or beliefs.
• iAlways use your own judgment and confirm with the church before acting on AI-generated content.
• iText you enter into AI features is processed by xAI under its own terms. See section 3.

NearFaith is not an emergency, crisis or medical service and no one monitors messages in real time. If someone is in danger, call 911. For suicide or emotional crisis, call or text 988. For poison emergencies, call 1-800-222-1222. Prayer, Care and AI content is not medical, legal, mental-health or pastoral advice.

NearFaith is an interactive computer service. Content posted by users, including wall posts, replies, prayer requests, questions and visit reports, is the speech of those users, not ours, and we are not its publisher or speaker (47 U.S.C. § 230). You keep ownership of what you post and grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display and distribute it in connection with the service. You are solely responsible for what you post.

We may remove or decline any content at our discretion and without notice. To report a post, use the Report control on the post or contact us at nearfaith.com/contact. AI-generated church summaries are produced by us and are covered by the disclaimers in sections 2 and 4.

NearFaith is an editorial directory. What we list, how we categorize it, and what we exclude are our own judgments about the service we publish, and are protected by the First Amendment. We may add, remove or reclassify any listing.

• iUnited States listings follow the scope of the directory as we define it. We remove listings that fall outside that scope.
• iUnited Kingdom listingsare excluded only on a church's own public self-declaration.
• iAny church may ask for correction or removal at nearfaith.com/contact (see section 17).

• iChurch data sources. Listings combine information from church websites, public directories, OpenStreetMap, and place data from Google Places. Powered by Google. We display Google-sourced data and maps in line with Google's terms as they apply to us.
• iMaps.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL). openstreetmap.org/copyright.
• iMarks. Church names, logos and photos are used only to identify churches and belong to their owners. Their use does not imply endorsement of, or affiliation with, NearFaith.
• iYouTube. Audio and video on the Listen page is embedded from YouTube using the privacy-enhanced embed domain (youtube-nocookie.com). Embedded content is governed by YouTube's Terms of Service.

To the fullest extent the law allows:

• iGolden Consulting Partners, LLC and its members, officers, employees, contractors and agents are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages arising out of or related to your use of NearFaith, including reliance on inaccurate church information, missed services or events, or decisions made from AI-generated content.
• iOur total liability for all claims is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.
• iNothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you.

You will defend and indemnify Golden Consulting Partners, LLC against third-party claims arising from your content, your misuse of the service, or your violation of these Terms or of others' rights, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

These Terms and any dispute are governed by Arizona law and applicable federal law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Except for small-claims matters and as provided in section 12, each party submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state courts in Maricopa County, Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, and waives any objection to that venue.

Foreign judgments.NearFaith operates from the United States and does not direct its services to any other country's courts. A judgment from a foreign court that is inconsistent with the First Amendment, or that treats us as the publisher of user content contrary to 47 U.S.C. § 230, is not enforceable against us in the United States (SPEECH Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 4101-4105).

Any dispute not resolved within 30 days of written notice sent through nearfaith.com/contact will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, seated in Maricopa County, Arizona (or held by video). Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court.

You and NearFaith waive any right to a jury trial and to bring or join any class, collective or representative action. Claims may be brought only on an individual basis.

Opt out. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first using NearFaith by writing to us at nearfaith.com/contactwith the subject “Arbitration opt-out.” Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

We may update these Terms and policies. When we make material changes we will change the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of NearFaith after a change means you accept the revised Terms.

If a court or arbitrator finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, it is severed and the rest remain in effect. If the class waiver in section 12 is found unenforceable, the arbitration clause will not apply to the claim affected.

You must be at least 13 to use NearFaith, and at least 18 to give, request Care, or post to the wall. NearFaith is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. We delete information we learn was provided by a child under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has given us personal information, contact us at nearfaith.com/contact.

NearFaith lists church youth groups and children's programs for the benefit of parents and guardians, not for direct use by minors.

Golden Consulting Partners, LLC respects intellectual property rights. If you believe material on NearFaith infringes your copyright, send a notice to our designated agent under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) containing all of the following:

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorised to act on the owner's behalf.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed (or a representative list if one notice covers several works).
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing, and information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it, such as a URL.
4. Your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorised to act for the owner.

Counter-notice

If your content was removed and you believe that was a mistake or that you have authorisation, you may send a counter-notice to the same agent containing: your physical or electronic signature; identification of the material removed and where it appeared before removal; a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; and your name, address and telephone number, with your consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address (or, if outside the United States, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona) and your agreement to accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice. Unless the complaining party tells us within 10 to 14 business days that it has filed a court action, we may restore the material.

Repeat infringers

We will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts and access of users who are repeat infringers. Knowingly false notices or counter-notices may create liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

We respect every church's right to control how it is represented online.

• iAny church can request removal of its listing at any time at nearfaith.com/contact. We act on removal requests within 24 hours.
• iChurches can also request corrections to service times, group schedules, contact information, or any other detail shown.
• iWe do not charge for listing, removal or corrections, and we do not sell listing placement.

NearFaith is a for-profit company operated by Golden Consulting Partners, LLC. Payments to NearFaith are not charitable contributions and are not tax-deductible. NearFaith does not collect or hold gifts for other people; anyone who wants to give to a church or neighbor should do so directly through that church.

As an Amazon Associate, NearFaith earns from qualifying purchases. Some pages show sponsored product recommendations, labelled Advertisement or Sponsored, that link to Amazon.com using the affiliate tag goodpickr-20. If you click one and buy, NearFaith may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Prices and availability change; check Amazon before you buy.

• iAffiliate commissions do not influence church listings or recommendations. NearFaith does not accept payment to rank, feature, or favour any church.
• iNearFaith is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
• iWhere we take payments (for example, one-time support payments), they are processed by Stripe.

We work to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. If something is hard to use, tell us at nearfaith.com/contact and we will provide the information another way.