1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using Black Church Websites's services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our services.
Black Church Websites, a service of 3nity Corporation ("we," "us," "our"), strives to provide the best possible service to all our customers. We respect freedom of speech and expression unless it is harmful to others. These terms are imposed to protect you, other Black Church Websites members, and us against such harm.
Agreement: By creating an account, making a purchase, or using any Black Church Websites service, you enter into a legally binding agreement with 3nity Corporation under these terms.
2. Services Description
Black Church Websites provides website design, hosting, and digital marketing services primarily for churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. Our services include, but are not limited to:
- Website design and development
- Web hosting and domain management
- Content management system (Black Church Websites Church Growth Platform with Advoc8 framework)
- Email hosting and management
- Online giving and e-commerce solutions
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Digital marketing and advertising services
- Technical support and training
Service availability and features may vary by plan. Detailed service descriptions are available on our pricing page and in individual service agreements.
3. Account Terms
To use our services, you must create an account and provide accurate, complete information. You are responsible for:
- Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
- All activities that occur under your account
- Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use
- Ensuring your contact information remains current
Account Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and have the legal authority to enter into contracts to create an account. By creating an account, you represent that you meet these requirements.
Account Security
You are solely responsible for maintaining the security of your account. Black Church Websites will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account credentials.
4. Payment & Billing
Payment Requirements
For orders totaling $5,000 or less, full payment is required before any service is rendered. For orders totaling more than $5,000, work begins upon receipt of a 50% deposit, with the remainder due within 30 days of the first payment. Monthly services are paid one month in advance. This includes setup fees, membership fees, domain names, renewals, and design services. All monetary transactions are in US dollars.
Billing Cycle
All payment-due notices will be sent by electronic mail. No bills or invoices will be sent by postal mail or fax. Prepayment is due each anniversary (monthly, quarterly, or annually) following the date the account was established. Billing will continue until you cancel your membership.
Price Changes
Black Church Websites reserves the right to change prices at any time. You will receive at least 30 days' written notice of any price change, which will take effect at the start of your next billing cycle after that notice period.
Promotional Pricing
Written quotes for products and services are valid for thirty (30) days. Quotes automatically expire without notice at midnight of the thirty-first day. Promotional pricing is only valid during the stated date range and expires automatically.
We accept checks by mail, American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and ACH payments via eCheck. Wire transfers are accepted only for one-time payments over $1,000, not for recurring payments. All payment information is processed securely through our PCI-compliant payment processors.
5. Refunds & Cancellation
Refund Policy
Our refund policy is designed to be fair while protecting the significant investment we make in each new client:
- New websites, within 24 hours AND before consultation: Full refund of all fees in the order (except domain name registrations)
- All other services: No refunds; credits for unused services may be provided on request
- After 24 hours OR after consultation: No initial fees are refundable
- Domain names: Non-refundable under any circumstance (purchased within minutes of order)
- Prepaid services: No refunds for unused portions of prepaid services
If cancellation is done by Black Church Websites due to policy violations, there will be no refund. We reserve the right to negotiate fair arrangements on a case-by-case basis for requests made in good faith.
How to Cancel
Each plan has a minimum term: 6 months for Launch and Thrive, 12 months for Impact, Grow and Ascend. After the minimum term, your plan renews month to month until you cancel. To cancel your account:
- Submit a cancellation request through the Cancellation Form in your Control Panel (Account Management section)
- Submit it at least 30 days before your next billing date. The Cancellation Form counts as written notice
- Secure email confirmation from Black Church Websites that your account has been cancelled
If you have not received email confirmation, your account remains active and you will continue to be invoiced. Cancellation does not absolve you of any outstanding financial obligations. If you cancel before your minimum term ends, the remaining months of the term are due.
Returned Payments
| Situation | Fee |
|---|---|
| Returned check, bank draft, or chargeback | $30 |
| Chargeback after 24 hours or consultation | $500 + account cancellation |
All refunds are processed within 7-10 business days and are issued by check only. To request a refund, submit a Help Request from your Client Dashboard.
6. Content Policy
All services provided by Black Church Websites may be used for lawful purposes only. The following content policies apply to all customers:
Prohibited Content
Transmission, storage, or presentation of any of the following is prohibited:
- Content violating any United States Federal, State, or City law
- Copyrighted material without proper authorization
- Trademark or intellectual property violations
- Material we judge to be threatening or obscene
- Material protected by trade secret without authorization
- Pornography and sex-related merchandising
- Sexually explicit content, nudity, or sexually suggestive content
- Profanity or racist rhetoric
- Content promoting illegal activity
- Links to adult content websites
Specifically Prohibited
- Pirated software or warez sites
- Hacker programs or archives
- IRC Eggdrops
- Proxy servers (NPH-Proxy, The Anonymizer, etc.)
- Soap mailers or spam tools
- Competitor websites or promotions
Any illegal activity, including adult content, links to adult content websites, spamming, or hacking will result in your site being shut down and all files deleted without warning. No refund, even for pre-paid service, is given in this case. Black Church Websites will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation.
7. Prohibited Uses
In addition to content restrictions, the following uses of our services are prohibited:
- Any attempt to interfere with service to any user, host, or network
- Introduction of malware, viruses, or other malicious code
- Attempting to gain unauthorized access to any system
- Using our services to attack or disrupt other services
- Violating any applicable law or regulation
- Impersonating any person or entity
- Collecting or storing personal data without consent
Any deliberate attempt to cause damage to Black Church Websites or any other Internet servers will result in immediate account deactivation without prior notice and no refund.
8. Anti-Spam Policy
Black Church Websites maintains a zero-tolerance anti-spam policy. We prohibit spam or any unsolicited commercial email from being sent:
- Over the Black Church Websites network, by customers or any users of our network
- Over ANY network if the message advertises or mentions a site hosted on our servers
Email Marketing Requirements
All email sent through our service must adhere to these guidelines:
- All recipients must have previously requested email correspondence from your organization
- Recipients must be aware of the type of information you will send and the frequency
- All mass emails must include a clear statement of how recipients were added to the list
- All mass emails must include clear unsubscribe instructions
- All mass emails must contain the physical mailing address of the organization
Accounts canceled due to spam will be billed a "clean up" fee of $500. We react quickly and seriously to violations and reserve the right to terminate services without prior notice.
If you have complaints or comments regarding spam on our network, please contact us via email.
9. Email Policy
Black Church Websites may not be the source, intermediary, or destination address involved in the transmission of:
- Unsolicited email
- Email bombs
- Hate email
- Any mass email (without proper consent)
Your email account may not be referenced as the originator, intermediary, or reply-to address of such email. "Safe-lists" are also strictly forbidden.
Email Storage
We do not back up email data stored in POP accounts. POP service is intended for use with desktop email clients such as Microsoft Outlook. You should never use our email server as permanent email storage.
10. Intellectual Property
Client-Owned Content
Clients retain ownership of all textual content, images, logos, and data supplied by them to Black Church Websites. Any graphical or textual work performed for clients also remains property of the client upon final approval and settlement of all outstanding balances.
Template Designs
Template designs created under our funded or discounted CMS programs, including Advoc8 websites built with no upfront design cost, are an exception and remain our property. Clients are granted a limited license to utilize these designs on the Black Church Websites platform. To use the design in another hosting environment, design rights must be purchased at the non-CMS price.
Black Church Websites-Owned Content
Black Church Websites retains ownership of any server-side and client-side programming implemented for clients using our platform, even if a fee was paid for modifications.
Image Licensing
It is the sole responsibility of Black Church Websites clients to obtain and/or verify licensing for all images and graphics used on their websites, even if provided by our production staff. Black Church Websites uses royalty-free images from legitimate sources but does not assume responsibility for trademark infringement fees assessed for licensing violations.
Account Suspension
In the event of account suspension, Black Church Websites is not responsible for supplying or retaining copies of client-owned content. Any available client-owned artifacts can be provided upon settlement of all outstanding balances for the current standard hourly fee.
Use of Your Name
We may use your organization's name in case studies, press releases, and marketing materials.
11. Backups & Data
Backup Schedule
- Full backups: Made weekly
- Incremental backups: New/changed web data backed up daily
No guarantees are made of any kind, either expressed or implied, as to the integrity of these backups. Backups are made for web server restoration purposes only. It is your responsibility to maintain local copies of your web content.
Data Recovery
| Situation | Fee |
|---|---|
| Data loss due to Black Church Websites error | No charge |
| Data loss due to client negligence or action | $50 |
12. Technical Support
Technical support is included as a standard part of our service and is provided via:
- Help Requests: Submitted from your Client Dashboard, with unlimited access for all clients
- Help Center: Written tutorials, documentation, and guides
Help Requests can be submitted from your Client Dashboard 24/7 and are the primary way to reach our technical team, so that every request is logged and tracked to resolution. Live phone support is included with the Thrive, Impact, Grow and Ascend plans, Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm ET. Support is not offered by live chat or email.
Help Request Limits
Black Church Websites reserves the right to limit support for any client who overutilizes our staffing resources. Additional support may be purchased if your need exceeds:
- 45 minutes of staff time per month, OR
- 3 non-critical incidents per month
Critical incidents are defined as outages or software errors and do not count toward these limits.
Training
Every new client receives one complimentary one-hour live training session. Additional live training sessions are available for $70 per one-hour session.
13. Bandwidth & Resources
Traffic Allowance
All account plans include "unlimited" traffic allowance. However:
- Sites transferring more than 1 GB per month will be reviewed
- Sites using more than 10 GB per month must move to a dedicated server solution
- Bandwidth over plan limits is billed at $1 per GB
Resource Usage
Customers are discouraged from storing files that cause excessive traffic. High-bandwidth uses such as shareware, sound, video, image archives, mirror sites, or file distribution sites require add-on services.
Scripting
You may not upload or install any CGI, ASP, or PHP scripts. Each account includes the full Black Church Websites Technology Platform features. Custom programming services are available through Black Church Websites.
14. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Black Church Websites, its agents, customers, officers, and employees from any and all demands, liabilities, losses, costs, and claims, including reasonable attorney's fees, that may arise or result from:
- Any service provided or product sold by you
- Any injury to person or property caused by products sold or distributed through our servers
- Any material supplied by you infringing on third-party proprietary rights
- Copyright infringement
- Any defective products sold from our servers
15. Limitation of Liability
You agree to use all Black Church Websites services and facilities at your own risk.
Black Church Websites specifically disclaims all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Black Church Websites be liable for any loss, or loss of data, or other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Communication Monitoring
Black Church Websites reserves the right to monitor any and all communications through or with our facilities. You agree that Black Church Websites is not considered a "secure communications medium" for the purposes of the ECPA, and that no expectation of privacy is afforded.
No Ranking or Results Guarantees
Services are provided "as is." We do not guarantee any particular search engine ranking, traffic, or marketing result.
Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida. Any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Florida.
Time Limit for Claims
Claims for alleged breaches must be brought within the period stated in your service agreement, which is the length of your plan's initial term, measured from the date of termination.
16. Termination
Termination by You
You may cancel your account following the cancellation procedures outlined in Section 5, including 30 days' notice and your plan's minimum term.
Termination by Black Church Websites
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason not prohibited by law. We may terminate service:
- For violation of these Terms of Service
- For non-payment of fees
- For any reason not prohibited by law
Inactive/Abandoned Projects
If we need your feedback on a project and none is provided within 5 days of our written request, we may pause work on it. When you ask us in writing to resume, we will restart work within 30 days. Client projects placed on hold, suspended, or considered abandoned due to non-communication are automatically closed and cancelled after 90 days of inactivity from the date of the client's last written communication about the project. Projects closed under this policy will not be refunded. Services may be repurchased at current pricing.
17. Archival of Records and Correspondence
All records and correspondence Black Church Websites and your organization is carefully archived for the purpose of collaboration, reference, and confirmation. This includes written correspondence, such as e-mail and all messages sent through your client dashboard, as well as all phone conversations for quality, control, confirmation, and training purposes. Upon signing up for service, you are consenting to this policy and authorize Black Church Websites and its representatives to record and maintain your correspondence and records during the course of your service and up to ten (10) years after cancellation of all services. Black Church Websites may at its discretion choose to discard any records at any time after the cancellation of the services related to those records. We may, as a courtesy, provide a copy of recorded correspondence. However, please note that we are not obligated to do so unless required by law.
18. Changes to Terms
Black Church Websites reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time. Changes may be made without notice. Your continued use of our services after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated terms.
We encourage you to review these terms periodically. Material changes will be communicated via email or prominent notice on our website.
19. Contact Information
If you have questions about these Terms of Service or need assistance, please contact us:
Get in Touch
Our team is available Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm ET.