1. Purpose
MinistryCount includes communication tools that may allow churches to send SMS, emails, announcements or other notices to members, visitors and selected audiences. This policy explains responsible use of those tools.
2. Church responsibility for recipients
Each church is responsible for the contacts it uploads or stores in MinistryCount. Churches should ensure that recipients have a legitimate relationship with the church or have otherwise agreed to receive church communication.
Churches should keep phone numbers and email addresses accurate and should honour reasonable requests from people who no longer want to receive certain messages.
3. Allowed SMS use
SMS features may be used for church-related communication such as service reminders, meeting notices, pastoral care messages, attendance follow-up, announcements, event invitations, emergency notices and administrative updates.
Messages should be respectful, truthful, clear and relevant to the recipient.
4. Sender IDs
Sender IDs are subject to approval and telecom/provider restrictions. A sender ID should clearly represent the church, ministry or approved organisation and must not mislead recipients.
- Do not request deceptive sender IDs.
- Do not use names connected to money, cash, bundles, data, banks or telecom offers unless lawfully approved and clearly legitimate.
- Sender IDs may be rejected, disabled or changed if they violate provider rules or create risk.
5. Prohibited SMS content
Churches must not use MinistryCount to send spam, scams, misleading offers, fake payment claims, fake data bundle promotions, fraudulent links, abusive messages, harmful content or unrelated commercial promotions.
Messages advertising cheap data bundles, cash deals, suspicious loans, fake prize claims, betting or other restricted offers are not allowed through church accounts.
6. SMS credits and deductions
SMS credits may be deducted based on recipients and message units. One message sent to many recipients consumes multiple units. Long messages or messages with special characters may count as multiple units per recipient.
A preview or confirmation screen may show estimated recipients, valid phone numbers and expected units before sending. Churches should review this carefully before confirming.
7. Delivery and provider limitations
SMS delivery depends on telecom networks, phone number validity, provider availability, sender ID status, message content rules and other factors outside MinistryCount’s full control.
MinistryCount may show delivery status where available, but successful submission to a provider does not always guarantee that every recipient’s phone receives the message immediately.
8. Misuse and suspension
MinistryCount may block SMS sending, reject sender ID use, suspend an account or report provider abuse where SMS features are misused, create risk, violate telecom rules or harm recipients.
Church admins should monitor SMS usage and ensure that only authorised users can send messages.
9. Contact
For SMS sender ID support, credit questions or suspected SMS misuse, contact support@ministrycount.com.