The Data we report out depends heavily on the cooperation of annual conferences and local churches to submit information to GCFA.  The deadlines for submission of data can be downloaded here, and is included below:  

• STATISTICS
  • First submission - April 30, 2020
  • All corrections - July 15, 2020
• Appointments/BAC Documentation (when finalized)
  • 2020-2021 Appointments - September 1, 2020
  • BAC - October 5, 2020

The Data Services department regularly updates the following reports using our annual local church statistics collected from over 30,000 churches in the United States. These often give an insight into trends in membership, especially regarding gender and ethnicity, as well as church size. These are a great place to start if you’re curious about the United Methodist Church.

• 2020 Top 100 Churches by Membership (11/23/2022)
• 2020 Top 100 Churches by Attendance (11/23/2022)
• 2018 Membership by Ethnicity and Gender (Rev. Feb., 2020)
• 2018 Membership and Attendance by Conference - Jurisdictional Conferences (Rev. Feb., 2020)
• 2017 Membership and Attendance by Conference - Central Conferences (Rev. Feb., 2020)
• 2018 Distribution Tables (Rev. Feb., 2020)
• 2018 Stats Summary with 2017 Comparison (Rev. Feb., 2020)

The tables used to collect local church statistics change every four years. Here is a helpful tool to compare the forms from 2013-2016 to 2017-2020 quadrennium. 

Here is a handy guide to understanding what the different terms used in Tables mean. 

GCFA is proud to provide resource for the statistics of The United Methodist Church. Visit UMData.org.

For more detailed information please email research@gcfa.org.