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Reminder: 2021 Year End Stats

Below are the important dates regarding the 2021 Year End Stats.
Stats module opens – December, 27 2021
Stats Deadline Entry - January 24, 2022
Stats module closes – January, 31 2022 - No changes can be made after the module closes
The link to the Stats Module is below. The module is not open for reporting yet, but you can access previous years if you need that information now. You will need to know your church's Conference ID and GCFA #s. Both can be found on your conference apportionment statements.

[link removed] Click Here for the conference's year end stats resources page to view previous webinars that are helpful in breaking down each line of the Year End Stats module. There are also other resources on this page that might be useful as you prepare to enter your 2021 stats.
Some of the conference ground rules we gave you last year, will still apply. Here are some [link removed] reminders:
Cut yourselves some slack. This still applies. We know the process creates stress for some. But, you can breathe easy. Work diligently through the reports and respond to District or Conference office questions. We’ll work hard to try to relieve some pressure. Bear in mind that a failure to report likely results in the use of last year’s numbers, and that could adversely affect your apportionments, especially with respect to Table II. Please note that a call to simply check on your reporting or to confirm a response isn’t “policing.” It’s just Conference and District office staff performing due diligence to get accurate information on a few of the questions.

A special rule for MOST of Table I called “when in doubt.” With respect to Table I, for attendance or numbers of ministries, even professions of faith, you can breathe easier. If you know you have something to report on one of the items, but have no way of actually finding or collecting data on it, "when in doubt" make your best guess. We don’t normally like you to guess, but we also know how complex questions around attendance and ministries have gotten. Remember that we do have some tools to help you figure out the data. For example, we already have protocols for [link removed] counting online attendance. We have protocols for counting in general, one rule of which is to exclude all Sundays when worship was canceled from the average attendance. Those protocols might be really helpful right now. We also did a webinar on the Tables. The contents of that [link removed] webinar all still hold true.

Table II should get priority. This isn’t unique to 2021. We use Table II to calculate Conference apportionments. We will do so again in 2022. GCFA uses Table II as its primary tool in calculating general church apportionments (it does also use Tables I and III, with Table III to set the quadrennial budget). All this is to say, if you can only focus on one aspect of end-of-year reports, focus on Table II.

But, the demographic info on Table I is being used. “But, you just said Table II should get priority and to apply ‘when in doubt’ to Table I.” It’s true, and that does apply. Please recognize that our Values Team is very interested in having the demographic data from Table I as part of its work on race and culture. We believe that work is critical to our future. So, we ask, on Table I, please work diligently to complete the demographic questions. They are being read and will directly impact the work the Conference does in coming years.

Think about Table IV in a new way. Maybe it’s not “new” anymore. But think of Table IV as you did last year. Yes, we want the data. No, the Conference priorities haven’t gone away. But everyone from the Bishop to the Cabinet to the Conference staff recognizes that those priorities got really difficult with the pandemic. No one expects a miracle. In fact, we’d rather everyone be honest, so we have some idea where our baselines are and the results of some of the hard work you did in 2021. Instead of thinking of Table IV as a means of accountability, which it certainly has been and may become again, let’s again use it to celebrate our ministries in 2021 (lives were still changed for the better and your church made a difference in your community).

Yes, it’s the pastor’s responsibility, BUT. Just as in 2020, as the Conference Statistician, Treasurer and Benefits Officer, I’m asking our laity: Please help your pastor with these reports. Ministry never happens without the laity. This year, think of statistical reporting as ministry that needs lay involvement. Please help your pastor finish the reporting. Then, even better, tell them you appreciate the work they do as your pastor.
[link removed] Stats Module →

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Gateway Regional District of the Missouri Annual Conference | 301 Sovereign Court, Suite 100 Ballwin, Missouri, 63011-4435 | (636) 891-8004 ext. 21 | www.gatewayregional.moumethodist.org