Number crunchers like to have numbers to crunch, so many in the Presbyterian Church (USA) are asking when the annual statistical information will be available from the Office of the General Assembly. When released that report will include 2015 membership information as well as information about churches that were dismissed or dissolved.
The short answer from the Office of the General Assembly: “The goal is by June 1.”
The most recent numbers available are for 2014. Based on the reporting of churches to presbyteries and presbyteries reporting to the OGA, in 2014 the PCUSA lost 92,433 members, dismissed 101 churches and dissolved 110.
The numbers reported can lag behind reality as some dismissal processes span the juncture between years. For example, a congregation dismissal might be approved in one calendar year but not actualized until a date set in the following year. Several congregations had dismissals approved in December 2015 but will not be officially dismissed until February 20, 2016. Those churches will not be reported on by the denomination’s statisticians until mid 2017.
- What is the deadline for clerks of session to submit the report from the congregation to the presbytery?
Answer: Each presbytery sets their own deadline for the statistics. The Book of Order requires churches to submit the information to the presbytery, the General Assembly asks presbyteries to submit data to the General Assembly.
The instruction book for 2015 reporting says on the front cover that “the session needs to approve the report as early as possible after December 31, 2015.” So, assuming the clerk of session gets the information together in January, the February session meeting is the first opportunity most churches will have to comply. So, assume the most presbyteries will receive most congregational reports by March.
- What are clerks of session being asked to report to the presbytery?
Answer: Each presbytery has their own set of items that are required, such as a necrology report. Only the General Assembly can make changes to the annual statistical questions and there have been no changes to the questions in a number of years. Notably, there is an overture to the General Assembly (Ovt 026) seeking to add “multiracial” to the racial classifications in the report.
Once the conversation about changing the questions is opened it seems likely other sections of the reporting device will be scrutinized. Changes to the “Age/Race/Gender Distribution” would be expected following the PCUSA’s full inclusion of individuals self-identified as transgender or gender-queer or gender-fluid.
In addition to the GA-approved Annual Statistical Report, Presbyterian Research Services also asks clerks of session to fill out “The Clerk’s annual questionnaire.” This information is gathered by Research Services for the various agencies of the PCUSA. Information gathered through this questionnaire includes questions about the congregation’s participation or interest in:
- World Missions
- Environmental stewardship
- Who you invite to fill the pulpit
- Number of non-members being served by the church
- Race/ethnicity make-up of the congregation
- Bequests, major gifts and how they are received
- Seminary support and
- Same-Sex marriages
This last section reads:
“The Research Services office of the Presbyterian Mission Agency asks these questions to collect data for a research project tracking the number of same-sex marriages occurring as a result of a vote by the 221st General Assembly. Only aggregated data will be reported; information about individual congregations or pastors will not be shared.”
“During 2015, were any marriage ceremonies conducted in your church or on your church property?”
“If yes, how many?”
“If yes, how many of those were between couples of the same-sex?”
“During 2015, did your pastor(s) conduct any marriage ceremonies at locations other than a church property?”
“If yes, how many?”
“If yes, how many of those were between couples of the same-sex?”
The deadline for submission of this questionnaire was November 16, 2015. So one assumes that the information will be available in the coming days or weeks but as the information is gathered for agencies of the Presbyterian Mission Agency and OGA, there is no aggregated public dissemination of the information.
- When are the presbyteries expected to report the statistical information to the Office of the General Assembly?
Answer: The presbytery has a variety of deadlines for various items, ranging from early March to early April. Various items due:
- closing/verifying of their minister and church rolls,
- miscellaneous reports, which include information such as meeting dates and Mid Council Costs, and
- the presbytery statistics.
Presbyteries are responsible for reviewing the statistical data submitted by their churches before submitting the entire report to the General Assembly.
- What is the process and timeline that the OGA then uses to aggregate and disseminate the statistical report?
Answer: Once OGA receives this information, there is a process of closing and balancing all the various rolls. The closing of the minister roll takes the most amount of time and the timing varies from year to year based on receipt of the information from the presbyteries. Other factors play into the timing and finalizing, but it is OGA’s goal to have the information fully compiled and available for release by the first of June. Some years it has been earlier and some later. In 2015, the 2014 Comparative Statistics were released on May 12.
7 Comments. Leave new
Carmen and the layman gang unhappy they cannot point fingers about PCUSA stats until June – get a life…
Thank you for keeping us up to date on this very important information. It will be very interesting to see the increased number of churches that recently chose to leave due to the changing biblical beliefs of the PCUSA. It is encouraging to see the number of courageous churches/members that are choosing to leave. It’s sad that the PCUSA is taking property and money from those choosing to move denominations. Is that what Jesus would do? Take money and property from churches? It is so sad what the PCUSA is doing to Gods children.
Tracy, All of it belongs to God, who he chooses to steward it ay any particular time is God’s business. Last time I checked, the PCUSA has not changed the Bible, so be clear you are talking about a difference of opinion on interpretation of content in the Bible. The members of the PCUSA and those who leave the PCUSA both worship the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, why do you feel it is a good idea to encourage schism in a denomination?
Tracy, Wake up. You cannot deny God’s Word, the way we know Jesus, with unbiblical acts and beliefs and say “It belongs to God”, “we both worship the same risen Lord. .” etc. Schism is tearing apart a church. The PCUSA is no longer a church, it is a liberal cult.
PCUSA is shredding historical Christianity
Dan- Lighten Up! Declaring every single one of over a million people in hundreds of congregations as not belonging to the church, but a liberal cult – is a hysterical overstatement. There may be some issues in pockets, but blanket condemnations of millions of brothers and sisters in the faith makes you look the one who is not a Christian in this comment!
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” (Ps. 1.1)