- +27 15 296 9920
- christseminary@christbaptist.co.za
Last Updated: May 22, 2025
This Privacy Policy explains how Christ Seminary, Polokwane (“the Seminary,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use our website, christseminary.ac.za (“the Website”).
We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the lawful processing of your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) of South Africa.
By using our Website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Website.
We collect various types of personal information from you when you interact with our Website, primarily when you voluntarily provide it to us. This may include:
Identity Data: Your first name, last name, title.
Contact Data: Your email address, postal address, phone number.
Application Data: Information provided during the application process for our academic programs (e.g., academic history, previous qualifications, church affiliation, references, etc.).
Enquiry Data: Information you provide when submitting enquiries through contact forms or direct email.
Subscription Data: Your email address if you subscribe to our newsletters or updates.
Technical Data: Information about your device and browsing actions, such as your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this Website.
Usage Data: Information about how you use our Website, products, and services.
Marketing and Communications Data: Your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.
We collect personal information through the following methods:
Direct Interactions: You may give us your Identity, Contact, and Application Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise. This includes personal information you provide when you:
Apply for admission to our programs.
Make an enquiry about our programs or services.
Subscribe to our newsletter or other publications.
Register for an event.
Provide feedback.
Automated Technologies or Interactions: As you interact with our Website, we may automatically collect Technical and Usage Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies. Please see Section 7 below for more details on cookies.
We use your personal information only for specific, explicitly defined, and lawful purposes related to the Seminary’s functions and activities. These purposes include:
To Process Applications: To assess and process your applications for admission to our Diploma in Theology and Bachelor of Theology programs.
To Respond to Enquiries: To respond to your questions, comments, and requests for information about our programs, services, or the Seminary in general.
To Send Communications: To send you newsletters, updates, event invitations, and other information that may be of interest to you, where you have opted to receive such communications.
To Improve Our Website and Services: To understand how our Website is used, to improve its functionality, content, and user experience, and to develop new services.
For Internal Administration: For our own administrative and operational purposes, including record-keeping, data analysis, and internal reporting.
To Comply with Legal Obligations: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests, including those under POPIA and the Higher Education Act.
To Protect Our Interests: To protect the rights, property, or safety of Christ Seminary, our students, staff, or the public, as required or permitted by law.
We will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties. We may share your personal information with:
Service Providers: Trusted third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as IT support, website hosting, email delivery, and analytics. These providers are contractually bound to protect your information and are only permitted to use it for the specific purposes for which we engage them.
Affiliated Entities: Other entities within the Christ Baptist Church ministry for legitimate purposes consistent with our mission and your interaction with us.
Legal and Regulatory Authorities: If required to do so by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.
We ensure that any third parties with whom we share your personal information are subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.
We are committed to ensuring the security of your personal information. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss, or destruction. These measures include:
Physical Security: Protecting our premises and equipment.
Technical Security: Using secure servers, firewalls, encryption (where appropriate), and other technological safeguards.
Organisational Security: Implementing internal policies, procedures, and training for our staff regarding data protection and privacy.
Access Control: Restricting access to personal information to authorised personnel only, on a “need-to-know” basis.
While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
As a data subject, you have specific rights regarding your personal information under POPIA:
Right to Be Informed: You have the right to be informed that your personal information is being collected and the purpose for which it is collected. This Privacy Policy serves to inform you of this.
Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. We will provide you with a copy of your personal information, subject to certain legal limitations.
Right to Correction/Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct or update inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information we hold about you.
Right to Deletion/Erasure: You have the right to request the deletion or destruction of your personal information in certain circumstances, for example, if it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.
Right to Object to Automated Decision Making: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. (Note: Christ Seminary does not currently use automated decision-making that would fall under this category.)
Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights under POPIA have been infringed.
The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: https://inforegulator.org.za/
Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 9. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.
We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Our Website may use “cookies” to enhance your experience. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.
We may use cookies for:
Essential Website Functionality: To enable core features and ensure the Website works correctly.
Analytics: To collect information about how visitors use our Website (e.g., which pages are most popular, how long users spend on the site). This helps us improve the Website’s performance and design.
Preferences: To remember your preferences and settings (e.g., language choice).
You can choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, please note that some parts of the Website may not function properly if you disable cookies.
Our Website may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights under POPIA, please contact us:
By email: [Insert Christ Seminary’s official email address here, e.g., info@christseminary.ac.za]
By visiting this page on our website: [Insert link to Contact Us page, e.g., christseminary.ac.za/contact]
By mail: 375 Marshall Street, Polokwane, 0699, South Africa
Christ Seminary, Polokwane, is a ministry of Christ Baptist Church, Polokwane and has been faithfully training pastors from Africa since its inception in 1997. The seminary trains men from various recognized Christian denominations.
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