The Parish Statistical Report
Our flagship product, The Parish Statistical Report,
consists of two sections.
The first section focuses on where a congregation stands
relative to other churches. It does so by comparing prior year
data with average and median results for all churches in both
the diocese and nationally as well as by using diocesan rankings
in key areas of measurement.
The second section examines each congregation's results for
the prior five years. Not only is the raw data reproduced, but
percentage changes and graphs are used to highlight trends over
time.
This page provides detailed tips for understanding The
Parish Statistical Report. To view a
sample report, click here.
The ranking of a church by category achieves two objectives:
first, it helps a congregation see where it stands in the larger
community of churches in the diocese. This knowledge can serve
as either an affirmation or a reality check. It may be helpful
in cases where a church has a low self-image based on a belief
that it is small and insignificant but, in fact, is not.
Conversely, a church in denial or with an unrealistically lofty
self-image might find itself lacking in areas previously
considered strengths.
Secondly, rankings in themselves paint a picture of the
church. For example: an attendance ranking significantly lower
than the membership rank might indicate either an unhappy
congregation or membership rolls that are in need of purging.
Church school size as a percent of membership is a measure of
either the effectiveness of the Christian education program, the
number of young families in your church, or both. Total
expenditures for work outside the congregation and total percent
of revenue given to others are indicators of how insular or
outward looking a church is, or is able to be.
This page is devoted to graphic comparisons of a church's key
vital and financial statistics with both diocesan and national
benchmarks. Its purpose is to communicate visually how a
congregation compares with others in the larger community of
Episcopal churches.
On these pages a congregation's results in every category are
compared with other benchmarks. Mathematical calculations have
been added to enhance the process of statistical analysis. For
example, what percentage of membership is attending church on
Sunday? How does that compare with the diocesan average or
median? And what about the church school: is the church
community attracting families with school-aged children or not?
If not, is there anything that can be done to change this?
These are perhaps the most important pages in the entire
report. On page 10, current results in key areas are shown
together with the percentage change in each category over the
periods of one and five years. Page 11 takes some of the
categories and presents them graphically. Additionally,
financial results are compared with the progression of
inflation. Whether a parish is strong or is experiencing
difficulties, evidence of its overall condition will show up on
these pages.
This page contains a review of key data over a period of five
years. It is included to serve as a brief summary that can be
duplicated and used when reproduction of the entire report would
be impractical. (For example, as an addendum to a church's
annual report.)
These pages show report data over the last five years along
with a summary line giving the percentage change by category
over that period of time.
The statistical reports produced by The Church Report Company
are considered works in progress. Their development has been
greatly influenced by feedback from users, and they will
continue to be. Add your voice. Let us know what you find
helpful and what you don't. What would you like included in the
future that is not now part of the report? Contact us at the
address, phone number, or e-mail address below.
These pages provide definitions of unusual terms used in the
reports.
