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Statistics Table IVFor the first time, the Missouri Annual Conference, has decided to collect a few additional points of data from our local churches. We are doing this for two reasons. First, as we embark on a new vision and three Conference priorities, we need data in order to assess our progress. Second, and maybe more importantly, we acknowledge that many of the requests in Tables I-III do not always reflect the actual practices of local churches in Missouri. Keep in mind that Tables I-III are not generated by the Conference. Rather, we collect the data and immediate provide it to the General Council on Finance & Administration. We certainly look at trends within that information (e.g. worship attendance, individuals involved in mission, giving, etc.), but the statistics are used more extensively by the greater Church. A new Table IV will allow the Conference to develop much better tools for our local churches. We are committed to broadening and exploring what constitutes “success” or “health” for our local churches. We are also committed to re-focusing our mission and vision along the lines of our new Conference priorities. In fact, these requests are often tailored from an original survey completed by most local churches in mid-2018. That survey provided us with a solid benchmark to begin exploring what our churches were already doing, and how the Conference might work to better resource them. Now, we must transition to collecting these metrics in a manner more consistent with past practices. On each item, please read the request carefully. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Christa Daro (cdaro@) or Nate Berneking (nberneking@). Worship Attendance: Table I already asks for the average worship attendance for each reporting church. The Conference has also set forth a suggested protocol for counting attendance each Sunday. That said, other data points may well be more helpful as you consider the health of your local congregation. And, for multi-site congregations, counting by site will provide a much better look into the health and viability of a congregation. Total Average Worship Attendance (all sites):Average Worship Attendance Site 1 (name__________________):Average Worship Attendance Site 2(name__________________):Worship Attendance Site 3 (name_______________________):Worship Attendance Site 4(name_______________________):Worship Attendance Most Commonly Observed during the year (i.e. what is the statistical mode of the church’s reported worship attendance?):What was the highest recorded worship attendance for a regular Sunday morning worship service? Excluding cancelled services and Sundays with significant weather events, what was the lowest recorded worship attendance for a regular Sunday morning worship service?Professions of Faith: Table I requests professions of faith but attaches those to the question about membership. In the definition used by the greater United Methodist Church, a profession of faith must lead a person to membership in the local church. However, most pastors have experienced individuals who come to a profound experience of faith that leads to a public profession and a positive life change. Sometimes that leads to a decision to join the local church, but at other times, the individual decides to seek membership at another church or they may attend a church with strict requirements leading to membership, requirements for which the individual just isn’t ready yet. That doesn’t make their profession any less credible. Given that, we want to request a count of professions of faith in the broadest possible terms, though we do ask that each individual be counted only once even if they might fit more than one category:Professions/Commitments of Faith by Confirmation:Professions/Commitments of Faith by Baptism (i.e. older children capable of intellectual assent, adolescents and adults):Commitments/Re-Commitments of Faith in Worship (i.e. altar calls, testimonies, etc.):Commitments/Re-Commitments of Faith in other contexts (i.e. small groups, pastoral care, camps, children/youth programming:Total Professions, Commitments and Re-Commitments of Faith:Community Exposure: The Conference recognizes that not every church will have a large number recorded for worship attendance. While we still believe this is one indicator of health, we also recognize that better measures of a congregation’s health may be more important. In fact, if we take the Gospel seriously, impact and engagement in the surrounding community will be much more important than the number of individuals worshipping on Sunday morning. We want our churches to expand their impact into their community. Given that, we are interested in knowing:Number of non-church settings in which the local church participates in the surrounding community EXPLICITLY IN THE NAME OF THE CHURCH (i.e. sponsorships and booths in local fairs and festivals, sponsored AA/NA groups, visible participation in service activities):Number of formalized partnerships with outside, local organizations, schools included:Number of individual lives positively and substantively affected by these partnerships:Number of times the partnership has required direct contact and conversation with individuals in the community who are not yet part of the local congregation:Number of other activities requiring lay members of the local church and clergy to engage in direct personal conversation with individuals who are not yet fully committed to Christian discipleship (i.e. activities in which church members do direct work in a local neighborhood, activities in which church members are actually talking to people they don’t know and doing so in the name of and on behalf of the local church/Jesus Christ): New Places for New People (count each new place in only one category):Number of new small groups (with at least one person new to the church) started in 2018:Number of unique individuals new to the church included in those small groups:Number of Recovery Ministries started in 2018:Number of unique individuals new to the church involved in those ministries:Number of new “Missional Communities” started in 2018:Number of unique individuals new to the church involved in those Missional Communities:Number of new Worship services started in 2018:Average worship attendance for new worship service in 2018:Number of unique individuals new to the church who regularly participated in the new worship service (once a month or more):Missional Leadership:Number of individuals who were identified as a “leader,” mentored as a leader and/or who began serving in a leadership role:Number of new candidates declaring an intention for certified lay (speaker, servant, minister) licensed or ordained ministry (i.e. attending the Candidacy Summit and/or Part-Time Ministry Leader Briefing):Pathway Out of Poverty:Does your church have one or more Church-School Partnerships included in IIIa above?Number of Schools served:Number of Volunteers participating in the partnership:Activities Conducted:Does your partnership provide classroom supplies:Support playgrounds or buildings:Conduct After-School Programs (at church or school):Conduct Reading/Tutoring programs:Conduct Food Security/Buddy Pack Programs:Conduct other forms of School Programming (for new programs not listed, please contact Office of MSJ to describe):Number of unique volunteers engaged in trips to Puerto Rico/Vieques: ................
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