Tend is software used by congregations. Each congregation that uses Tend keeps its own directory and sends its own email and text messages to its own members and visitors. Still Standing Studios, LLC ("Still Standing Studios," "we," "us," "our") builds and operates the software on that congregation's behalf. Messages you receive through Tend are sent by your congregation, not by us.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern use of the Tend application (the "App"), available as a web application and on mobile devices. By creating an account, using the App, or submitting a communication card through it, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App. If you are looking for the text messaging terms, they are in Section 9.
Tend is a church management application. It helps a congregation keep a member directory, receive and route communication cards and prayer requests, record attendance, track outreach, and send announcements and reminders by email and text message to people who have given permission to be contacted. Tend is primarily a web application and runs in a browser on any device; it also runs on phones and tablets, which is useful for tasks like adding a member photo on the spot.
Tend holds no financial data. There is no giving module, no contribution tracking, and no payment processing of any kind within the App. This is deliberate.
Accounts in Tend are created by a congregation for people acting on its behalf — ministers, elders, office staff, and volunteers. You must be at least 18 years old to hold an account. Sign-in is handled by Firebase Authentication. You are responsible for keeping your credentials secure and for activity that occurs under your account, and you agree to notify the congregation's administrator and us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.
A visitor may submit a communication card without any account. Doing so creates no account and no obligation.
A congregation using Tend determines what it records about people and whom it contacts, and is responsible for that. By using Tend to send messages, a congregation agrees that:
We may suspend messaging for a congregation that does not meet these obligations, and will do so if a carrier or messaging provider requires it.
We provide and operate the software, store congregation data with the service providers named in the Privacy Policy, and work to keep the service available and secure. We do not review the content of a congregation's messages before it sends them, and we are not the author or sender of those messages.
Subject to these Terms, we grant your congregation a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the App for the internal purposes of that congregation, on devices and browsers you own or control. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
You agree not to:
A congregation's data belongs to that congregation. We claim no ownership of member records, communication cards, attendance, outreach notes, photos, or messages. We do not sell congregation data, do not use it for advertising, and do not use it to train machine-learning or artificial-intelligence models. A congregation may request an export of its data, and may request deletion when it stops using Tend.
The App itself — its software, design, text, graphics, and the Tend name and marks — is owned by Still Standing Studios, LLC.
Tend uses Google Cloud / Firebase (hosting, database, authentication, file storage, push notifications), Postmark (email delivery), and Twilio (text message delivery). Use of those services is subject to their own terms and privacy policies. Their role in handling data is described in the Privacy Policy.
Each congregation using Tend sends text messages to its own members and visitors who have given permission to be contacted, using the Tend application. Still Standing Studios, LLC operates the software on the congregation's behalf.
Current sending congregation: OrangeView Church sends text messages to members and visitors who have given permission, using the Tend application. Additional congregations that adopt Tend send their own messages under these same terms, and are identified in the messages they send.
Service reminders; schedule requests and changes for those serving in a congregational role; congregational announcements; and replies to communication cards a person has submitted. Messages are conversational and account-related in nature. No marketing, advertising, or promotional messages are sent, and no messages about giving, donations, or payments are sent.
Members: a member is added to the directory by their own congregation and gives their contact details to that congregation directly — on a membership form, in conversation, or by asking to be added.
Visitors and communication cards: a person filling in a communication card sees a separate, unticked checkbox reading "It's okay for the church to contact me." Ticking that box grants permission. The exact wording shown, its version, and the date and time permission was given are stored with the submission.
Permission is never assumed and never bundled with anything else. A card submitted without that box ticked is stored so the congregation can read it, but that person is not eligible to be messaged. Permission is checked twice before any message goes out — once when the audience is assembled, and again at the moment of dispatch. No phone number is ever purchased, scraped, rented, or imported from a third-party list.
Reply STOP to cancel. Messages to that number stop immediately and permanently, unless and until the person opts back in. Opting out of messages does not remove a person from their congregation's directory; those are separate things.
Reply HELP for help, or contact your congregation directly. You may also write to support@stillstandingstudios.com or call 803-403-1506.
Message frequency varies. Most recipients receive only a few messages per month, depending on their involvement in the congregation and the features their congregation uses.
Message and data rates may apply. Neither the congregation nor Still Standing Studios charges you for these messages; any charges come from your own mobile carrier under your plan.
Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
How phone numbers and consent records are handled is described in the Tend Privacy Policy. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, excluding aggregators and providers of the text message services.
Email sent from Tend carries an unsubscribe mechanism. Unsubscribing from email stops those messages and, like a text opt-out, does not remove a person from their congregation's directory.
We work to keep Tend available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Maintenance, third-party outages, and factors outside our control can interrupt it. Support requests may be sent to support@stillstandingstudios.com.
The App and all content are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components, that messages will be delivered, or that the App will meet your requirements.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event will Still Standing Studios, LLC or its members be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenues, data, or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with use of the App, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the App or these Terms will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount paid to us for the App in the twelve months preceding the claim, or (b) US $100.
A congregation using Tend agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Still Standing Studios, LLC from and against any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of its breach of these Terms, the content of messages it sends, its handling of its members' information, or its violation of any law or third-party right.
A congregation may stop using Tend at any time and request export or deletion of its data. We may suspend or terminate access if these Terms are breached, if use of the App risks harm to us, to other congregations, or to message recipients, or if a carrier or messaging provider requires it. Sections 7, 12, 13, 14, 17, and 18 survive termination.
We may update the App and these Terms. If we make material changes to the Terms, we will post the updated version at this address, revise the effective date above, and notify congregations using Tend. Continued use after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Richland County, South Carolina, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. This section does not deprive you of any mandatory consumer protections under the law of your place of residence.
Still Standing Studios, LLC
1901 Main Street, 18th Floor, #2044
Columbia, SC 29201, USA
Phone: 803-403-1506
Email: mike@stillstandingstudios.com