Church Subscription Agreement

This Church Subscription Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into between The Sunday Thread LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company ("Provider"), and the church or ministry organization completing the online registration process ("Church"). This Agreement governs Church's use of The Sunday Thread platform ("Platform"). By completing the online onboarding process and acknowledging the Care Protocol, the authorized representative of the Church agrees to be bound by this Agreement on behalf of the Church.

1. The Platform

The Sunday Thread is a discipleship software platform that transforms a church's Sunday sermon into daily devotional content — adult, teen, and kids tracks — delivered to congregation members Monday through Saturday via app, email, and additional formats as they become available. The Platform is operated by The Sunday Thread LLC.

The Platform is a technology service. Provider is a software company. Nothing in this Agreement, the Platform, or any related documentation constitutes the provision of counseling, mental health services, crisis intervention services, pastoral care, or any licensed professional service.

2. Subscription and Fees

2.1 Pricing Tiers

After the first month (Section 2.4), subscription fees are based on the number of member accounts associated with the Church, counted as set out in Section 2.2:

• Up to 500 member accounts: $99 per month
• 501 to 2,000 member accounts: $199 per month
• 2,001 or more member accounts: $399 per month

Pricing is subject to change with 60 days' written notice to the Church; this does not change the twelve-month tier hold in Section 2.4.

2.2 Member Count

The member count is the number of individual member accounts associated with the Church at the time the count is taken, whether or not those members have opened or received content. Deleted accounts are not counted, and the pastor's own login is not a member account.

2.3 Grace Buffer

Each tier includes a 10% grace buffer above its published limit: a Church is placed in the first tier at up to 550 member accounts and in the second tier at up to 2,200. Once set, a Church's tier applies for twelve months (Section 2.4), and members joining during that time do not change it. Provider may notify the Church when its member count reaches 440 (first tier) or 1,760 (second tier); that notice does not change the price. The tier is reassessed when the twelve months end, and any change applies from the next invoice after that.

2.4 First Month and Initial Tier

The Church is charged $99 at signup for its first month of service, whatever its size. Thirty days after that first payment, the Church's tier is set under Sections 2.1 and 2.3 by the number of member accounts associated with the Church at that time, and that tier applies for the following twelve months; growth during those twelve months does not change it. The tier is reassessed when the twelve months end.

2.5 Annual Billing

Annual billing is not currently offered. All subscriptions are billed monthly. If annual billing is offered in the future, Provider will publish its terms before any Church can choose it.

2.6 Payment

Payments are processed by Stripe. Church agrees to provide and maintain a valid payment method. Invoices are due upon issuance. Accounts more than 14 days past due may be suspended. Accounts more than 30 days past due may be terminated.

2.7 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

If the Church asks for a refund within 30 days of its first payment, Provider will refund that payment in full, once per Church, and the Church's account will close. After that, fees are non-refundable; cancelling stops future charges, and service continues through the end of the paid period.

3. Church Obligations

3.1 Care Protocol

Before any content is delivered to congregation members, the Church must complete and acknowledge the Care Protocol. The Care Protocol requires the Church to designate a responsible person and backup person for responding to member disclosures that indicate a crisis or urgent pastoral need, and to confirm that local crisis resources and reporting procedures are in place.

The Care Protocol acknowledgment is a hard gate. Content delivery does not activate until the Care Protocol is completed.

The Platform's member submission channels (Ask Deeper, Prayer Requests, Encouragement Feed) include AI-assisted urgency detection. When a submission is flagged as potentially urgent, it is surfaced prominently in the pastor's dashboard and both the pastor and the designated Care Protocol person are notified by email, including the name of the member who submitted it. The pastor and designated Care Protocol person are responsible for reviewing flagged submissions and responding in accordance with applicable law and the Church's own pastoral care procedures.

3.2 Authorized Representative

The person completing Church's registration represents and warrants that they are authorized to enter into this Agreement on behalf of the Church and to bind the Church to its terms.

3.3 Sermon Content

Church grants Provider a limited, non-exclusive license to process Church's sermon content (transcripts, audio, video) solely for the purpose of generating devotional content for the Church's congregation members. Provider does not claim ownership of sermon content. Provider does not use sermon content to train AI models for use outside the Church's account without the Church's express written consent.

3.4 Acceptable Use

Church agrees not to use the Platform to:

• Deliver content that is illegal, defamatory, harassing, or abusive
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent the Platform's safety systems, including urgency detection, the Care Protocol requirement, or the anonymity of the Encouragement Feed
• Share access credentials with unauthorized parties
• Reverse engineer, copy, or resell any portion of the Platform

4. Provider Obligations

Provider agrees to:

• Maintain the Platform with reasonable availability (target: 99% uptime, excluding scheduled maintenance)
• Process and store Church data in accordance with the Privacy Policy
• Provide notice of material changes to pricing, terms, or data practices with at least 60 days' advance notice
• Maintain commercially reasonable security measures to protect Church and member data
• Not sell Church's sermon content or member data to third parties

5. Data and Privacy

Provider's collection and use of personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy.

Questions and prayer requests submitted by congregation members are stored with the submitting member's identity and are visible to that member's pastor. Members are told, at the point of submission, that their pastor will see what they wrote and who wrote it, and that it stays between them and their pastor. Church is responsible for honoring that representation. Church shall ensure that pastors and any designated Care Protocol personnel treat member submissions with the same confidentiality the Church applies to private pastoral conversations, and shall not disclose the content or authorship of a submission outside the pastoral care of that member or a disclosure required by law.

Where a submission is flagged as potentially urgent, the submitting member's name is disclosed to the pastor and to the designated Care Protocol person so that the Church can reach that member. Church acknowledges that this disclosure is intentional and is described to members at the point of submission.

Encouragements are stored without identity. Provider cannot identify the author of an encouragement and cannot do so on Church's behalf.

The Shepherd's Thread — weekly briefing letters delivered to the pastor — is generated from aggregated engagement data and sermon content, reported as totals and recurring themes rather than as individual member activity. It is not made available to congregation members under any circumstances.

6. Platform Limitations and Disclaimer

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available." Provider makes no warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Provider is a technology platform operator. Provider does not provide counseling, mental health services, crisis intervention, pastoral care, or any licensed professional service. The Platform's urgency detection system is an AI-assisted tool to help surface member submissions that may warrant pastoral attention — it is not a substitute for trained crisis response, licensed counseling, or mandatory reporting obligations under applicable law.

Church is solely responsible for:

• The pastoral and spiritual care of its congregation members
• Compliance with mandatory reporting laws applicable in its state (including but not limited to Minnesota Statute 260E.06 and applicable equivalents)
• The Church's own response to member disclosures, whether or not surfaced by the Platform
• The content of any communications sent by the pastor or church leadership in response to member submissions

7. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Provider be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, loss of revenue, or failure to detect or respond to a member crisis, even if Provider has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Provider's total cumulative liability to Church for any claims arising under or related to this Agreement shall not exceed the total fees paid by Church to Provider in the three (3) months immediately preceding the claim.

8. Indemnification

Church agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Provider and its officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) Church's use of the Platform in violation of this Agreement; (b) Church's failure to comply with applicable law, including mandatory reporting obligations; (c) any act or omission of Church's pastor, staff, or designees in connection with member care; or (d) any claim by a third party arising from Church's sermon content.

9. Term and Termination

This Agreement begins on the date Church completes onboarding and continues on a month-to-month basis until terminated.

Either party may terminate this Agreement for any reason with 30 days' written notice. Provider may terminate immediately upon material breach, including non-payment, misuse of the Platform, or conduct that poses a risk of harm.

Upon termination: (a) Church's access to the Platform ceases; (b) sermon content and member data are deleted within 90 days; (c) any outstanding fees remain due.

10. General

Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Minnesota.

Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service, and the Care Protocol, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the Platform and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings.

Amendments. Provider may update this Agreement with 60 days' written notice. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance.

Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

No Waiver. Failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Assignment. Church may not assign this Agreement without Provider's prior written consent. Provider may assign this Agreement in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Acknowledgment

By completing the online onboarding process — creating your account, acknowledging the Care Protocol, and accepting the Terms of Service — the authorized representative of the Church acknowledges that they have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Church Subscription Agreement on behalf of the Church. A copy of this Agreement is sent to the pastor's email at signup and is available anytime at thesundaythread.org/agreement.

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