Last updated: July 21, 2026
This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how Tower of Praise, Inc. (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information through onlinebibleinstitute.org (the “Website”) and its related programs and services, including student registration, coursework and transcripts, the Site-Wide Activity Feed and Kingdom Encouragers community, donations, and our merchandise store (collectively, the “Services”).
Online Bible Institute is part of a shared ministry ecosystem that also includes churchencourager.com and churchconsultant.org. This Policy covers onlinebibleinstitute.org specifically; each affiliated site has its own privacy policy.
Information We Collect
Account and student information. When you register for the Bible Institute, we collect your name, email address, and any information you provide on your student dashboard, including uploaded coursework and academic records used to generate your student transcript.
Community and profile information. If you participate in the Site-Wide Activity Feed, join a group such as Kingdom Encouragers, or set up a member profile, we collect the information you choose to include in your profile (such as a photo/avatar) and the posts, comments, and messages you submit. This content is visible to other registered members as part of how the community features work — please don’t post anything in a public post, comment, or profile that you don’t want other members to see.
Donations. If you make a donation, our third-party payment processor collects your payment details to process the transaction; we do not store your full card or bank information ourselves.
Merchandise purchases. Our merchandise store is hosted by a third party (Spreadshop). Purchases made there are handled entirely by Spreadshop under its own privacy policy — we do not receive or store your payment information from merchandise orders.
Information collected automatically. We use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) that use cookies and similar technologies to collect standard usage data. This data is aggregated and not used to personally identify you.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information described above to:
- Register you for courses, track your progress, and issue transcripts and certificates
- Operate the community features (Activity Feed, groups, member profiles)
- Process donations
- Send you updates about your coursework, our programs, or ministry news, through our email service provider, Brevo
- Respond to inquiries and provide support
- Maintain the security and proper functioning of the Website, including reviewing reports of harassment, spam, or other misuse of community features
We do not sell your Personal Information and do not use it to serve third-party advertising.
How We Share Your Information
We share information with the following categories of service providers, who are only permitted to use it to perform services on our behalf:
- Brevo — our email service provider
- Payment processors — for processing donations
- Spreadshop — our third-party merchandise store provider (handles its own payment and order data independently)
- Website hosting and technical service providers
- Analytics providers
We may also share limited information with our affiliated ministries (churchencourager.com and churchconsultant.org) for cross-promotional communications about related programs. We do not share your Personal Information with unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes, and we may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights or safety of our users.
Community Content and Conduct
Content you post to the Activity Feed, groups, or your profile is visible to other members. We provide tools to report or block other members, and we reserve the right to remove content or restrict access to the Services for violations of our community standards (including harassment, spam, misinformation, or abusive content), consistent with our Terms and Conditions.
Privacy of Children
Our Services are intended for adult students and ministry leaders and are not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us so we can delete it.
Data Retention
We retain student records (including transcripts) for as long as necessary to provide the Services, support alumni requests for transcripts, and comply with legal obligations. We retain other Personal Information for as long as needed for the purposes described above. You may request deletion of your account and community content at any time, subject to our need to retain academic records.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your Personal Information, and to opt out of marketing emails at any time via the unsubscribe link or by contacting us.
California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to request the categories of information we’ve collected and to request deletion. We do not sell Personal Information as defined under the CCPA, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information below. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Cookies and Analytics
The Website uses cookies for basic functionality and analytics as described above. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling them may affect site functionality (including staying logged in to your student dashboard). The Website does not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals at this time.
Data Security
We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards to protect your Personal Information. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Data Breach Notification
If we become aware of a security incident affecting your Personal Information, we will take reasonable steps to investigate and, where required by law or where we believe there is a meaningful risk of harm, notify affected individuals.
Links to Other Resources
The Website links to other resources, including our affiliated sites (churchencourager.com, churchconsultant.org) and third-party resources (including Spreadshop). This Policy does not apply to those other resources — please review their privacy practices separately.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes to how we use previously collected Personal Information will not be made without your consent.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Policy or want to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us:
Tower of Praise, Inc. 100 County Rd., Big Pine Key, FL 33043. Or use our Contact page