Part A — Terms of Use
1. About these terms
3 CORDS (www.3cords.com.au and the 3 CORDS apps) is operated by Jonathan Frank Gray trading as 3 CORDS CHRISTIAN NETWORK, ABN 31 422 651 754 ("we", "us"). By using 3 CORDS you agree to these Terms, the Community Guidelines (Part B) and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use 3 CORDS.
2. What 3 CORDS is — and isn't
3 CORDS helps Christians from different churches find one another, join groups, message each other and access resources about Jesus. It is not a church, does not replace your church, is not a dating service, and is not an emergency or counselling service. In an emergency call 000.
3. Who can join
- Anyone may read our public pages. You must be 18 or older to join the waitlist or hold an account.
- Members must be 18 or older, live in Australia during Phase 1, profess faith in Jesus Christ, agree with our statement of faith (the Nicene Creed, see What we believe) and these Terms.
- We are designing a separate, safer way for 13–17-year-olds to take part in a later phase, with parent or guardian consent; until then, accounts for under-18s are not available and will be removed if found.
- You must give accurate information (including your age) and keep one account only.
4. Approval
Membership is approved by a church champion for the church you choose, or by the 3 CORDS team. Approval is at their discretion; it confirms you may join 3 CORDS and is not a statement about your standing in any church. We may decline, suspend or end membership in line with these Terms.
5. Champions and group leaders
Champions are appointed by us to approve members for their church and may run official church groups. Group owners and admins run their groups. You must use these roles honestly, only for their purpose, keep information confidential and follow the Community Guidelines. Champions must only upload pre-approval lists of people who have agreed to be included.
6. Your account and security
Keep your password safe and use two-factor authentication where required. Tell us at hello@3cords.com.au if you think your account has been misused. You're responsible for activity on your account.
7. Your content
You keep ownership of what you post (posts, comments, messages, group details and group images). You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display and transmit it so 3 CORDS can work, for as long as it remains on 3 CORDS (and in backups for a short period after). You promise you have the right to share it and that it follows the Community Guidelines. We may remove content that breaks these Terms.
8. Safety, reports and moderation
You can report users or content and block other members. We review reports and aim to respond within 24 hours; child-safety reports are treated as urgent. We may warn, remove content, preserve evidence, suspend or ban accounts, and we may share information with police or authorities (including the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and the eSafety Commissioner) where required by law or to protect someone's safety. We act on notices from the eSafety Commissioner within the time the notice requires (normally 24 hours).
9. Acceptable use
You must not: break the law; harass, threaten, bully, exploit or endanger anyone; seek romantic or sexual contact; post or share illegal or seriously harmful material (see Community Guidelines item 6); impersonate others; collect members' information or scrape 3 CORDS; send spam or unsolicited advertising (business promotion will come with the future directory); upload malware or interfere with the service; try to get around safety features or age rules; or use 3 CORDS in a way that harms others or our ministry.
10. Third-party services
3 CORDS uses services such as Google Maps, YouTube and Vimeo. Their terms apply to your use of those features.
11. Availability and changes
We're a small ministry. We'll do our best to keep 3 CORDS running and secure but can't promise it will always be available or error-free. We may change or stop features, and we'll give notice of significant changes where we reasonably can.
12. Liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded. Subject to that, 3 CORDS is provided free of charge "as is", and to the extent permitted by law we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for what members say or do, including meetings or arrangements made between members. Please use wisdom when meeting people you've connected with — meet in public places and involve your church.
13. Ending your use
You can delete your account at any time (Settings → Delete account). We may suspend or close accounts that break these Terms. Sections that by their nature should survive (such as licences already used, liability and governing law) continue after your account closes.
14. Governing law and contact
These Terms are governed by the laws of Western Australia, Australia. Contact: hello@3cords.com.au.
Part B — Community Guidelines
Jesus. You. Me. We put Jesus first, others second and ourselves last. These guidelines describe how we live that out on 3 CORDS.
- Point to Jesus. Encourage one another in the main things of the faith (the Nicene Creed).
- Keep secondary debates for your church. Christians differ on some matters. 3 CORDS isn't the place to argue them. Share your views with humility, and never attack another person's church or denomination.
- Love one another. Be kind, honest and patient. No insults, harassment, bullying, threats, hate or discrimination.
- Keep it pure. No sexual content, no romantic or sexual approaches. 3 CORDS is not a dating service.
- Protect children. 3 CORDS is for adults (18+) in this phase. Child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in any form is prohibited: this includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sexualised depictions or discussion of minors, grooming, sextortion and any attempt to arrange contact with a child for a sexual purpose. We remove such material, ban the account, preserve evidence and report to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and/or the eSafety Commissioner, and cooperate with law enforcement. Our child safety standards and designated child-safety contact are published at www.3cords.com.au/child-safety.
- No illegal or seriously harmful material. No child sexual abuse material, pro-terror material, material depicting or promoting extreme violence, pornography or sexualised content, or material promoting suicide, self-harm or disordered eating. These are "class 1" and "class 2" material under Australia's Online Safety Act 2021, whose industry codes apply to 3 CORDS.
- Respect privacy. Don't share other people's personal information, screenshots of private messages, or prayer requests without permission.
- Be genuine. Use your real name, one account, and accurate details. Don't impersonate anyone.
- No spam or selling (for now). Don't advertise or solicit money. Group events and ministry opportunities are welcome.
- Share only what you have the right to share. Group images must be yours or used with permission.
- Speak up. If something is wrong or someone may be at risk, use Report. If someone is in immediate danger, call 000.
What happens if guidelines are broken: we may remove content, warn, suspend (1–90 days) or ban an account. You can ask us to review a decision by emailing hello@3cords.com.au. You can also complain to the eSafety Commissioner (esafety.gov.au) about cyberbullying of a child, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse or illegal content; we act on eSafety notices within 24 hours.