Hey Church

Proof of Consent (Opt-In) — Hey Church

Last updated: July 2026

Hey Church is a communications platform used by churches to send email and SMS updates to their congregations. This page describes how consent is collected, recorded, and enforced before any contact receives a message through our platform.

How Consent Is Collected

Hey Church is used by churches ("Customers") to communicate with their own members and attendees ("Contacts"). Consent to receive messages is obtained directly by the church from their Contact — not by Hey Church — through the church's own sign-up process (e.g., a connection card, digital welcome form, small group sign-up sheet, or in-person request).

Before adding a Contact to Hey Church, the church confirms that consent was obtained by checking one or both of the following, presented as two separate, independently required checkboxes:

  • "Consent to Email"
  • "Consent to SMS"

These are never pre-checked or bundled. A Contact is only messaged through the channel(s) explicitly confirmed. If neither box is checked, the Contact receives no messages of any kind.

Recommended Opt-In Language for Churches

Hey Church requires and recommends that churches use clear, affirmative opt-in language with their members at the point of original signup — whether on a physical connection card or a digital form. Example language provided to all church customers:

"I'd like to receive updates from [Church Name].
☐ Yes, text me updates. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help.
☐ Yes, email me updates."

Churches are instructed to retain a record of how and when each Contact's consent was given (e.g., the original connection card, a form submission timestamp, or CRM record from Planning Center Online).

Technical Enforcement

  • Hey Church's system will not send a Contact any SMS message unless "Consent to SMS" is checked on that Contact's record.
  • Consent status is stored per Contact, per channel, and is auditable by the church administrator at any time.
  • A Contact synced via Planning Center Online (PCO) is not automatically enrolled in SMS or email messaging — consent checkboxes must be explicitly set by the church admin regardless of sync source.

Opt-Out Handling

Every SMS sent through Hey Church includes clear unsubscribe instructions. Contacts may reply STOP at any time to immediately opt out of SMS messaging from that church. Replying HELP returns support contact information. Opt-out requests are processed automatically and immediately suppress all future SMS to that number.

Consent Records

Hey Church retains a timestamped record of:

  • When each consent checkbox was set (and by which church admin)
  • Any opt-out (STOP) events and their timestamp

These records are available to churches and to Hey Church upon request for compliance verification.

Questions

For questions about this consent process, contact: hey@heychurch.co