Important Year-End Report Information: Vital Signs Simplified for 2019

Vital Signs provides churches and Cabinet members with vital data about the health of our congregations. These revised questions more accurately define vitality in worship. Vital Signs questions have been simplified for the Missouri Annual Conference beginning January 1, 2019. It may even be able to assist you in data collection for Table IV at the end of 2019. Revising the questions meant that 2018 data will only be available for a very brief period (through January 20) so please be sure to download data you need from Vital Signs ASAP in order to complete your year-end report. The new Vital Signs questions beginning January 1, 2019 are:

• Total weekend worship attendance at all locations—Enter here the combined attendance at all weekend services held on a regular weekly basis as the primary opportunity for worship. Count all persons (including children) who participate in any of these services.
• Total weekday worship events during the past week—Enter here the combined attendance of other worship events (including Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, VBS worship, nursing home services, mid-week services, Celebrate Recovery, etc.).
• First-Time Guests—Enter the number of persons attending a weekend worship service for the first time AND those who have not attended your church’s weekly worship service in the past two years who live within the church’s mission field. Please do NOT include family members/guests from out of the mission field who are clearly visiting.
• Total Professions, Commitments and Re-Commitments of Faith—Enter the number of persons who made a profession of faith and joined the church at the same time AND the number of persons who have made a recommitment or a first-time commitment of faith apart from joining the church.
• Total number of persons actively engaged in small groups for discipleship/faith formation—Enter here the number of persons engaged this past week in a Sunday School class, prayer group, discipleship group, Emmaus reunion group, band meeting or other such faith formation group