Terms of Service

Effective date: October 26, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Chris Unseth, an individual doing business as Be Small ("Be Small," "we," "us," or "our"). They govern your use of besmall.org, app.besmall.org, our emails and text messages, and any related services (together, the "Services").

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. SECTION 15 CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 15.

By creating an account, signing in, joining or requesting to join a group, or otherwise using the Services, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Acceptable Use Policy, and, if you receive text messages, our Text Messaging Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. What Be Small Is

Be Small provides software that helps churches, ministries, and similar organizations ("Organizations") organize small groups: listing groups, handling requests to join, sharing resources, sending messages and meeting reminders, and collecting RSVPs.

Be Small is a technology provider only. We are not a church, ministry, counseling service, or religious authority. We do not organize, run, supervise, or attend any group or meeting. Each Organization, and the leaders it appoints, is solely responsible for its groups, its people, its content, and what happens at its meetings.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Services. The Services are not directed to children, and you may not use them, or provide information about anyone, under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will delete it.

If you use the Services on behalf of an Organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that Organization to these Terms and to our Organization Terms, and "you" includes that Organization.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, for keeping your sign-in credentials and email account secure, and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at privacy@besmall.org if you suspect unauthorized use. We are not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized use of your account.

We may refuse, suspend, or close any account at any time, for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.

4. Organizations, Leaders, and Administrators

Organizations decide who may use their part of the Services and appoint administrators and group leaders. Administrators and leaders can see information about members of the groups they manage, approve or decline requests, send messages, and manage content. Organizations, not Be Small, decide who leads a group and who may join it.

Be Small does not screen, vet, perform background checks on, endorse, or supervise any Organization, administrator, leader, or member. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other people, online and in person, and for deciding whether to attend any meeting. You should take reasonable precautions, especially when meeting in private homes or meeting people you do not know.

5. In-Person Meetings and Activities

The Services may be used to arrange gatherings that take place in homes, churches, or other locations. Be Small has no control over, and no responsibility for, any meeting, location, event, or activity, or the conduct of anyone attending. You attend any meeting or activity entirely at your own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release Be Small from all claims, demands, and damages (including for personal injury, emotional distress, property damage, or death) arising out of or connected with any meeting, activity, or interaction with other users.

If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party." You waive any similar law of any other jurisdiction.

6. Not Professional or Pastoral Advice

Content shared through the Services, including messages, resources, and prayer requests, comes from Organizations and users, not from Be Small. Nothing in the Services is medical, mental-health, legal, financial, or pastoral advice from Be Small. The Services are not an emergency service. If you or someone else is in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.

7. Your Content

"User Content" means anything you or an Organization submits through the Services, such as profile details, messages, resources, links, and RSVPs. You keep ownership of your User Content.

You grant Be Small a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, copy, transmit, display, and process your User Content as needed to operate, secure, support, and improve the Services and to comply with law. This license ends when your User Content is deleted from the Services, except for copies we must or reasonably may keep under our Privacy Policy (for example, in backups or security logs).

You represent that you have all rights needed to submit your User Content and that it does not violate these Terms, any law, or anyone else's rights. We do not review User Content before it is posted and are not responsible for it. We may remove or disable any User Content at any time, for any reason, without notice.

8. Acceptable Use

You must follow our Acceptable Use Policy. Among other things, you may not use the Services to harass anyone, send spam, share other people's private information without permission, upload malicious code, or attempt to access data you are not authorized to see.

9. Emails and Text Messages

By creating an account or joining a group, you agree that we and your Organization may send you service-related emails, such as sign-in codes, welcome messages, group messages, and meeting reminders. You can turn off group emails in your profile; sign-in codes and essential account notices cannot be turned off while you have an account.

Text messages are sent only if you opt in, and are governed by our Text Messaging Terms.

10. Fees

The Services are currently provided to individual members at no charge. Organizations may be charged fees under separate terms. We may introduce or change fees with advance notice.

11. Our Intellectual Property

The Services, including the software, design, text, logos, and the name "Be Small," are owned by Be Small or its licensors and are protected by law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Services for their intended purpose under these Terms. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, reverse engineer, or create derivative works of the Services, except as the law expressly permits.

If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without restriction or compensation to you.

12. Third-Party Services and Links

The Services rely on, and may link to, services operated by others (for example, email and hosting providers, and websites linked in resources). We do not control and are not responsible for third-party services, content, or practices.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BE SMALL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or free of harmful components; that any message, reminder, or sign-in code will be delivered or delivered on time; that data will not be lost; or that any information in the Services is accurate. You use the Services at your own risk. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers, so some of these may not apply to you.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (A) BE SMALL WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY; AND (B) BE SMALL'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (I) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID BE SMALL FOR THE SERVICES IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (II) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100).

These limits apply to every theory of liability, including contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, and statute, and apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose. They do not limit liability that cannot be limited by law, such as for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct where such limits are prohibited. "Be Small" in Sections 13 through 16 includes Chris Unseth and any future affiliates, successors, contractors, and agents.

15. Dispute Resolution: Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

Informal resolution first. Before starting any claim, you agree to email a description of the dispute and the relief you want to privacy@besmall.org and try to resolve it informally for at least 60 days.

Agreement to arbitrate. If the dispute is not resolved, you and Be Small agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services, including their formation, scope, or enforceability ("Dispute"), will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration, not in court. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or, for Organizations, its Commercial Arbitration Rules), before a single arbitrator. Unless both parties agree otherwise, the arbitration will be conducted remotely or in Connecticut. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this Section. Fees are paid as the AAA rules provide.

Exceptions. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies, and (b) seek an injunction in court to stop actual or threatened infringement or misuse of intellectual property or unauthorized access to the Services.

Class action and jury waiver. YOU AND BE SMALL MAY BRING CLAIMS ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU AND BE SMALL WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims or award relief to anyone other than the individual party. If this class waiver is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim must be decided by a court, not in arbitration.

Mass filings. If 25 or more similar demands are filed by or with the help of the same law firm or coordinated group, they will be administered in batches of no more than 25, and both parties will cooperate in good faith to resolve them efficiently.

Time limit. To the extent permitted by law, any Dispute must be brought within one (1) year after it arose, or it is permanently barred.

30-day right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing privacy@besmall.org within 30 days after you first accept these Terms, with the subject "Arbitration Opt-Out" and your name and account email. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

Changes. If we change this Section, the change will not apply to Disputes we already knew about before the change.

16. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Be Small from and against all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, fines, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: your use of the Services; your User Content; your violation of these Terms or any law; your violation of anyone's rights; any meeting or activity you lead, host, or attend; and, for Organizations, your groups, leaders, members, and your collection and use of personal information. We may assume the exclusive defense of any matter at your expense, and you will cooperate with us.

17. Ending Your Use

You may stop using the Services and delete your account at any time from your profile page. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 5, 6, 7 (license for retained copies), 11 through 16, and 18 through 20.

18. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act. Subject to Section 15, any court action must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Connecticut, and you and Be Small consent to their personal jurisdiction.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may change these Terms at any time. We will post the updated Terms with a new effective date and, for material changes, give reasonable notice (for example, by email or a notice in the Services). Your continued use after the effective date means you accept the changes.

20. General

These Terms, together with the policies they reference, are the entire agreement between you and Be Small about the Services. If any provision is unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary and the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them freely, including to a business entity we form or in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. Notices to you may be sent to the email address on your account. Headings are for convenience only, and "including" means "including without limitation."

21. Contact

Be Small · privacy@besmall.org