Statistical Information

The 2011 Statistical and Information Forms, to be completed by pastoral charges, were mailed to charges January 10-16, 2012. Back-up copies of the forms and instructions are available below.

Changes to Note for 2011

• Online Filing of 2011 Statistics: Two years ago, we introduced online statistical reporting. Last year, 650 pastoral charges submitted their statistical reports online. The online option will continue this year—charges can log on to a website and submit their information electronically.
  
  To do this, you will need to have Microsoft Internet Explorer. You also need an ID number and an Access Code—these are provided at the top of the introductory letter in the statistical forms package. Detailed instructions on how to access the site for the online filing of the statistics will be available after February 15, 2012.
  
  We encourage pastoral charges to consider the online option for your statistical reporting.
• In Section 6 of the Statistical Forms, on the back side of the page, there are several supplementary questions concerning church-related cemeteries and accessibility of church buildings. Please be sure and respond to these questions: we hope that the information collected will enable the General Council Office to identify and serve these churches better.
• For pastoral charges in the Conference of Manitoba & Northwestern Ontario, there is an additional question on the back page of Section 6. MNWO charges being asked to report the number of identifiable givers giving over $200 in 2011 to local expenses (in addition to the national question asking charges to count identifiable givers giving over $50 in 2011).

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Forms and Instructions

1. The text of the questions [PDF: 4 pp/35 KB]. You may download these questions to assist you in preparing your answers.

2. A PDF of each of the Statistical Forms. Since these PDFs do not include the pre-printed numbers for your pastoral charge, our strong preference is that you use the pre-printed blue forms that are being sent to you in the mail. However, the forms listed below can be downloaded and printed should one (or more) of the originals get misplaced.
   • Section 1—Membership Statistics [PDF: 1 p/15 KB]
   • Section 2-3—Ministry Personnel and Pastoral Charge Officers [PDF: 1 p/6 KB]
   • Section 4—Property and Insurance Information [PDF: 1 p/12 KB]
   • Section 5—Financial Information [PDF: 1 p/13 KB]—selected receipts and expenses
   • Section 6—Faith Development [PDF: 2 pp/23 KB]—church school membership, membership in groups, adherents
3. The Instruction Booklet [PDF: 20 pp/139 KB], to assist you in completing the questions on the forms. Please feel free to download this booklet and make as many copies as you need. The following elements of the Instruction Booklet may be useful individually:
   • Worksheet A—Church Organization Annual Report [PDF: 1 p/17 KB]
   • Worksheet B—Church Treasurer's Annual Report (Receipts & Expenses) [PDF: 2 pp/33 KB]
   • A Guide to Sections 4 & 5 [PDF: 4 pp/60 KB] for treasurers with responsibility to complete the Property and Insurance and Financial sections of the forms

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More Information

For practical information on membership rolls, read this article from the Winter 1992 edition of Exchange magazine: Maintaining Church Membership Rolls, by Douglas L. Flanders.

Those responsible for maintaining church membership rolls are also directed to the section Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Recordkeeping [PDF: 7 pp/103 KB] from the booklet Archives and Recordkeeping: A How-to Guide for Congregations and Conferences.

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Some Practical Aspects of the Process

The package mailed to each pastoral charge contains the following:

• Five blue forms (Sections 1, 2-3, 4, 5, and 6) for your reporting. Please be sure to return Section 6 with the other blue forms.
• White copies of each of these same forms, for your charge to keep.
• An introductory letter, which includes a unique access code which is needed if your charge intends to use the online reporting option for the statistics.
• The Instruction Booklet, including Worksheet Forms A & B. Note that the treasurer's section of the Instruction Booklet, pages 9-12, is a pullout from the centre of the booklet.
• For your reference, a copy of your pastoral charge's statistical figures for the year, as reported to our office last spring.
• An Annual Shared Ministry Statistical Report (if your pastoral charge is an ecumenical Shared Ministry).
• A return envelope.

Please keep a charge copy of your statistics: Each pastoral charge will receive two copies of each form: a blue copy to forward to the General Council Office, and a white copy for the charge to keep. To keep a copy of the statistics for your charge, we ask that you either make photocopies of your completed blue forms, or recopy your figures on the white forms.

Please ensure that your church treasurers receive copies of pages 9-12 of the Instruction Booklet (the guide to Sections 4 & 5) if they are asked to provide figures for those sections. Also, the Year Book office has developed spreadsheets and some additional instructions to assist those responsible for preparing Section 5. To obtain these materials, please contact our office, and they can be e-mailed to you.

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Returning the Forms

If your charge does not use the online reporting option, the following items should be returned to our office in the return envelope provided:

• blue copies of Sections 1, 2-3, 4, 5, and 6 (five blue forms)
• congregational or pastoral charge Annual Reports for 2011, if available

Deadline for return of the forms:

• Tuesday, March 2, 2012, for single-point pastoral charges
• Friday, March 15, 2012, for multi-point pastoral charges

It is important that we have the forms in by the dates specified. It takes time for our limited number of assigned staff to check and enter the responses of over 2,100 pastoral charges. Therefore, the specified deadline dates are important—they allow us the time to do the necessary checking and correcting.

As long as we are still entering data into our database, we will try to accommodate late forms. Failure to return the forms in time for us to enter them in the database will result in our having to use last year's information from our files. This may affect assessment calculations for your charge. It will also result in outdated information being printed for your charge in the next Year Book.

It is possible to fax your forms to our office (Fax: 416-231-3103), but we would much prefer to receive the originals by mail or online. We often have great difficulty correctly reading the faxed forms. If you send your forms by fax, please keep the originals on file—in case we need them.

We thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we work toward serving you better with these forms. Best wishes as you undertake the task of completing the forms.

If you have any questions, please contact:

• Tom Broadhurst
  Information & Statistics Coordinator
  Tel: 416-231-7680 ext 2031
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext 2031
  E-mail: Tom Broadhurst