Chapter Seven — 2012 Stats — Annual Conference Worship Attendance, Membership, and Participation Ratio

Recently the United Methodist Reporter has posted comments from a 2011 blog based on the 2009 statistics.

http://unitedmethodistreporter.com/2014/05/18/recently-read-top-annual-conferences-umc/

I thought it would be interesting to see what the 2012 statistics showed for the same information. Below you will find a chart that lists each annual conference with the following items:

Average worship attendance: This is the sum of average weekly attendance for all reporting churches in 2012

Worship rank: This is how the annual conference ranks in comparison to other annual conferences related to worship attendance. (Florida had the highest average worship attendance and Alaska had the lowest)

Membership: This is the sum of total membership for all reporting churches in 2012

Membership Rank: This is how the annual conference ranks in comparison to other annual conferences related to membership. (North Georgia has the largest membership and Alaska has the smallest)

Participation Ratio: This is the ratio of total average worship attendance divided by total membership, expressed as a percentage. (For the whole church in the U.S. the participation ratio is 39.5%)

Participation Rank: This is how the annual conference ranks in comparison to other annual conferences related to participation ratio. (Desert Southwest has the highest participation ratio and Oklahoma has the lowest.)

As with all statistics, the numbers themselves don't provide conclusive information about the annual conference vitality. They do lead to interesting questions that may shed light on issues related to annual conference vitality. Here are a few questions that the numbers raised for me.

• If the annual conference is in an area where the United Methodist Church has traditionally been the most prominent church, is there a greater pressure to not remove people by charge conference action, thus reducing the participation ratio?

• We know from other studies that younger people  attend worship on a less frequent basis than do older people. So is an increasing membership and a declining participation ratio an indicator of reaching a younger demographic?

• There is some evidence that younger people are less likely to become members. So is a declining membership and an increasing participation ratio an indicator of reaching a younger demographic?

• How significant are weather patterns in relationship to participation ratios?

Annual Conference	Worship attendance	Worship rank	Membership	Member Rank	Participation Ratio	Participation Rank
Alabama- West Florida	67781	15	145049	24	45.35%	19
Alaska	2054	54	3508	54	58.55%	4
Arkansas	51986	26	134864	26	38.55%	35
Baltimore-Washington	64415	17	173791	14	37.06%	40
Cal-Nevada	32461	41	75826	42	42.81%	22
Cal-Pac	48047	30	76237	41	63.02%	2
Central Texas	47040	33	166859	17	28.19%	52
Dakotas	20427	48	36512	49	55.95%	7
Desert Southwest	24885	47	35883	50	69.35%	1
Detroit	66512	16	125543	30	52.98%	8
East Ohio	61024	20	158169	20	38.58%	33
Eastern Pennsylvania	41819	35	110998	33	37.68%	38
Florida	133577	1	263274	5	50.74%	10
Great Plains	90997	8	223009	9	40.80%	27
Greater New Jersey	47311	31	92403	37	51.20%	9
Holston	68467	13	165455	18	41.38%	23
Illinois Great Rivers	63718	19	133753	27	47.64%	17
Indiana	111352	4	196564	10	56.65%	6
Iowa	54857	25	171694	15	31.95%	48
Kentucky/RedBird	56963	22	153630	22	37.08%	39
Louisiana	41185	36	120935	31	34.06%	46
Memphis	29953	46	82117	40	36.48%	42
Minnesota	32255	42	67731	44	47.62%	18
Mississippi	69618	12	179320	12	38.82%	32
Missouri	80946	10	163449	19	49.52%	12
New England	31516	44	91333	38	34.51%	45
New Mexico	14126	51	34440	51	41.02%	26
New York	33797	40	110229	34	30.66%	51
North Alabama	68132	14	135458	25	50.30%	11
North Carolina	79743	11	229064	8	34.81%	44
North Georgia	127186	2	363505	1	34.99%	43
North Texas	59943	21	148891	23	40.26%	29
Northern Illinois	35967	38	94196	36	38.18%	37
Northwest Texas	19107	50	62100	46	30.77%	50
Oklahoma/OIM	56512	23	240757	6	23.47%	54
Oregon-Idaho	13660	52	27917	52	48.93%	14
Pacific Northwest	19954	49	46085	48	43.30%	21
Peninsula-Delaware	31753	43	82801	39	38.35%	36
Rio Texas	50009	28	127971	29	39.08%	31
Rocky Mountain	30257	45	63318	45	47.79%	16
South Carolina	90790	9	235520	7	38.55%	34
South Georgia	50916	27	128120	28	39.99%	30
Susquehanna	63988	18	154994	21	41.28%	24
Tennessee	48435	29	118916	32	40.73%	28
Texas	105231	6	284206	4	37.03%	41
Upper New York	47074	32	168241	16	27.98%	53
Virginia	105018	7	332637	2	31.57%	49
West Michigan	35975	37	60570	47	59.39%	3
West Ohio	109983	5	188059	11	58.48%	5
West Virginia	43613	34	98710	35	44.18%	20
Western North Carolina	117566	3	286537	3	41.03%	25
Western Pennsylvania	56205	24	173928	13	32.32%	47
Wisconsin	35888	39	73778	43	48.64%	15
Yellowstone	6193	53	12611	53	49.11%	13

The statistical data included herein were provided at no charge by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church (GCFA) and may be obtained directly from GCFA, PO Box 340020, Nashville, TN 37203-0029. This data is proprietary and is owned by GCFA and may not be used in any commercial or exploitative way, to make a financial profit, or in a manner that defames the United Methodist denomination or its agencies or organizations. GCFA does not endorse any particular use of the data or accept responsibility for its interpretation or analysis by another.