Welcome to the web site of Rest Ministries, Inc., the largest Christian organization in the USA that specifically serves the chronically ill. Below you will find our privacy statement in order to assure you about your privacy while visiting our web site.

When referring to "Rest Ministries, Inc." below it refers to the organization. The breakdown of this is the Board of Directors and then the President/Director. Lisa Copen, founder and President is often the one who makes the fast decisions necessary for online situations, and she counsels with the Board of Directors or legal counsel when appropriate or necessary.

Volunteers are considered a valuable part of our leadership team and are often consulted on decisions that impact Rest Ministries programs, online and offline, however, they have no authority in the decision-making process.

Rest Ministries is not a membership-based non-profit. Only board members have voting and decision-making rights.

Rest Ministries never collects personal information without your knowledge during your visit to our web site or our program web sites. [This includes Rest Ministries, Rest Publishers, Rest Ministries Sunroom, HopeKeepers Magazine, National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, etc.]

However, Rest Ministries does invite you to share your contact information while online, which typically is related to the type of service or resource that you are requestint information on. All information is voluntary, but certain information may be required to receive what you are requesting.

For example, you can request that books be sent to you, but you must be able to provide a proper mailing address. You are welcome to express your thoughts, opinions, concerns or personal experiences. We welcome suggestions and input.

At times we will ask you for information besides just your name and contact information in order to better serve you.

Rest Ministries does not sell, lease or rent your confidential information. We may, however, send something to you, such as a postcard, about a HopeKeepers group starting in your area, a special Hope Endures Radio guest, or a new book. A guest on our Hope Endures Radio program may request to send a mailing on his or her specific program, but Rest Ministries mails them and does not distribute your personal information to the guest.

Be aware that Rest Ministries will always adhere to the law, which means that if requested, we will disclose personal information as required by law, such as in the case of a regulation, court order, subpoena, search warrant, etc.

All content, written, audio, video, graphics, etc. is the copyrighted property of Rest Ministries, Inc.
All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Rest Ministries, Inc.

Most online articles can be reprinted for personal use or for the use of distribution if the "resource box" and contact information is included. Please contact us with any questions.

While we don't mind an individual printing out a devotional or encourageing article to share with friends, we don't want to see chunks of our content on other web sites with not link back to our services.

Therefore, use your discretion in personal use, but do not share paragraphs of our content to be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way.
When using our information we request that you understand:

• Rest Ministries retains all copyright, trademark and propriety notices;
  
• You should not make any modifications to the content;
  
• You are not given permission to download quantities of materials to a database, server, or personal computer for reuse for commercial purposes.
  

We wish to spread awareness of chronic illness and bring people closer to Christ, but it is disheartening to see a video on YouTube where a person basically reads our brochure and then makes no mention of Rest Ministries, but rather takes full credit. Please use Christ-like judgement in your choices.

All remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, comments, or other information that you send to Rest Ministries through our various web sites (other than your personal contact information), becomes and remains our property, even if this agreement is later terminated.

This means that submissions are not confidential and that you are unable to sue us or request payment for ideas or content that you submit. If you send us an email that shares how Rest Ministries has made a difference in your life, and we want to use it in our ezine or other publications, we usually ask persmission to be considerate. However, we are not required to do so, we will just not use your last name.

You will not be compensated financially or otherwise for your submissions unless prior arrangements have been made, such as payment for an article. You grant Rest Ministries a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, unlimited, world-wide right and license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, sublicense, copy, and distribute all such content submitted by you, in whole or in part, and/or to incorporate such content in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such content.

These are guidelines set up to protect the rights of Rest Ministries, Inc. but on a personal level, we rarely use information without contacting the individual and requesting persmission.

Please note that NO INFORMATION ON OUR WEB SITE or through other sources, such as any materials published by Rest Publishers, audio podcasts, or anything distributed or recommened by Rest Ministries should be considered a substitute for professional medical advice and information.

The information that Rest Ministries provides is considered general health information in nature. One should aways contact their personal physician before making any changes that Rest Ministries provides, such as alternative treatments, a diet, exercise or any other content or advice.

Please know that by using our web site you are acknowledging that you are responsible for any submission you make including its legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality, and copyright. Rest Ministries is not responsible.

Rest Ministries retains the right to monitor any content from any of our programs, discussions, chats, forums, postings, transmissions and bulletin boards. Rest Ministries is not under a legal obligation to do so and Rest Ministries assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the content of an online posting; however, as a Christian ministry the appropriateness of postings is one of our priorities.

Rest Ministries is the sole authority on questions of appropriateness. By using our web site you agree not to post on or transmit through this web site any content or comments that is unlawful; libelous; constitutes an invasion of privacy; harmful; threatening; abusive; harassing; defamatory; vulgar; obscene; sexually explicit; profane; hateful; racially, ethnically, encourage what could be considered a criminal offense, or otherwise objectionable in any manner.

Rest Ministries has the right in its sole discretion to edit, refuse to post or remove any material submitted to or posted on any part of our web site.

Any of this material constitutes a breach of your agreement to the terms of use of Rest Ministries, Inc. web sites.

Rest Ministries reserves the right in its sole discretion to prohibit any conduct, communications, content, or use of this web site, and to remove any content or communications, which in its sole discretion it finds objectionable or unacceptable in any manner. Though we try to be reasonable, we are a Christian organization and expect that people know what is considered objectionable. When certain situations occurs, such as vulgar photos are uploaded to your Sunroom profile, you may not receive a second chance. While we seek to use Christ-like leadership and be polite in our explanation of why your ability to be involved in our ministry has been terminated, we respect the individuals or our ministry too much to risk their additional exposure to inappropriate content.

If we discover that you are posting material from another source in one of our forums without permission, you will be asked to remove it promptly. Rest Ministries also retains the right to remove it without permission from a group participant or "owner." We understand that it's usually a misunderstanding of copyright issues when this occurs, but Rest Ministries respects the law and copyright issues of other companies and individuals and will not condone it by allowing our forum to be a place for breaking this law.

Rest Ministries, Inc. was incorporated under the laws of California, in the United States of America. If you use our sites from locations outside of the United States, you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws.

Rest Ministries, Inc may modify these Terms of Use, and the agreement they create, at any time, simply by updating this posting and without notice to you. This is the ENTIRE agreement regarding all the matters that have been discussed.