Matt Barnes
Welcome to the home of Mission Statistics in the Diocese of Derby!
Did you know that Church of England attendance increased by 5% in 2023?
The only way that we know this is because people like you told us so!
This page is full of important information to help you collect and submit your Statistics for Mission returns.
Statistics for Mission measures church attendance in several different ways, and the data collected enables the Church of England and its diocese to help plan and evaluate its mission and ministry.
Numbers and statistics are not everyone's cup of tea, amidst all the busyness of parish life they can be easy to overlook, but please be assured that completing the Statistics for Mission return for your parish is of VITAL importance and your help and your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Where do I submit my data?
Data is submitted using the simple and easy-to-use Archbishops Council portal at http://parishreturns.churchofengland.org.
If you require login details to use this system or are having issues logging in, please do not hesitate to contact Matt Barnes on 01332 388692 or matt.barnes@derby.anglican.org
Paper entries are no longer accepted, but if you don't have access to a computer, you are free to download the paper-form return, complete this and seek help from your incumbent, area dean, or archdeaconry administrator for assistance in uploading the information.
When should data be submitted?
Data can be entered through the course of the year, and you are welcome to do this as soon as you have it.
For instance, Electoral Roll and Easter figures can be entered any time soon after annual general meetings have been completed.
The rest of the data input opens at the end of September, but much of the information can't be completed until the end of the year, so most people choose to wait until January of the following year to submit/complete their data entry.
All data must be submitted by mid-March of the following year.
How can I get help?
You can find a wealth of information on the Church Support Hub, which explains how to enter your data and why it matters. Amongst other resources, there's a comprehensive webinar that explores all the questions you may have; certainly worth a watch if you're new to Statistics for Mission.
If you can't find the answer to your question online, then you're not alone. As well as your incumbent and Area Dean the following people are available to help and support you:
- Rev Canon Matt Barnes Director of Mission 01332 388692 matt.barnes@derby.anglican.org
- Sue Hidderley-Burton PA to the Archdeacon of Derby City and South Derbyshire 01332 388682 sue.hidderley-burton@derby.anglican.org
- Emily Redmond PA to the Archdeacon of Derbyshire Peak and Dales 01332 278177 emily.redmond@derby.anglican.org
- Claire Collishaw PA to the Archdeacon of East Derbyshire 01332 388656 claire.collishaw@derby.anglican.org
How do you record online worship?
Measuring attendance of online church is difficult and problematic.
Online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Zoom do allow content creators to view an analysis of who has viewed their output.
However, these figures don't equate well to 'attendance'.
Many of those who view will do so only for a few seconds and it still counts as a view; in addition, one single 'view' might represent the attendance of several people who are watching one device in a household.
During COVID, the national Research and Statistics team of the Church of England produced a tracker that may be helpful in recording online engagement.
You can download (below) a simple Excel form that can be used to record information on your online church and attendance at services.
In addition, the Church of England Digital Team have produced some good articles on how to use the analytics available on each of the major platforms you might be using:
Are there other resources to help me (now, and during the year)?
Statistics aren't just for the national church - healthy churches will use the gathering of data to help understand what is working (and what isn't) to help guide them, under God, to plan more effectively and use resources more wisely.
Indeed, the church has been gathering statistical information since its birth (Acts 2:41)! Good data gathering can help parishes improve pastoral care, be more effective evangelistically, and increase outward-facing mission.
Experience has shown that if churches collect data week by week through the year, it makes completing the Statistics for Mission return at the end of the year much easier and produces much more accurate results. To help you do that, we’ve provided some statistics collection tools that you can download from the links below. These are not extra forms that you have to fill in. If you find them helpful, then please use them, and feel free to adapt them. We don’t need you to submit them – they’re for your convenience and use only.
- Statistics for Mission 2024 return [PDF] - This is the paper-form version of the Statistics for Mission data; you may find it helpful to print off and use to collect the information you need. You may need it to pass to someone else who is gathering data for you before you upload it.
- Online Parish Returns Briefing for Parishes[PDF] - For those who prefer a briefing sheet.
- Pastoral Care Register [Word] - A simple sample register that can be adapted to help keep track of attendance patterns across various services.
- Attendance Calculator [Excel] - Assists in collection of Usual Sunday Attendance and October counts, as well as recording figures for Advent, Christmas and Easter.
- Worshipping Community [PDF] - A document explaining the Worshipping Community statistics; their importance for the church (both locally and more widely), alongside some tips to help collect them.
- Worshipping Community List [Excel] - Assists in collecting Electoral Roll, Worshipping Community, Joiners and Leavers figures.
- Fresh Expressions Choice Tree [PDF] - A simple tool to help you decide whether you should include a group as a Fresh Expression in your Statistics return.
- Online Tracking template [Excel] - A tool to help record online worship engagement.
Online Service Register
One of the most time consuming parts of collecting data for the Statistics for Mission returns is having to dig out the service register books.
Don't forget, General Synod approved the online Services Register as a legal alternative to the paper version in July 2023.
You can now record service information on your phone, and then complete your Stats for Mission with one click of a button!
The benefits include:
- Quick and easy access to your service data when you need it.
- Increased security of your service data
- Seamless export to your Statistics for Mission return
You can find out more here: Online Service Register.
Finally
To discuss anything about how to collect or submit Statistics for Mission, how to use data for mission locally in your parish or ANYTHING about the mission of your church then don't hesitate to contact:
Revd Canon Matt Barnes
Director of Mission, Evangelism & Parish Revitalisation
01332 388692 or matt.barnes@derby.anglican.org
Available for one-to-one advice (in person or online), speaking at PCC or Leadership teams, assistance with MAP preparations, etc.
It feels timely to call your attention to the fact that October is data collection season!
The national church is asking every parish to be particularly vigilant over the next few weeks as they record attendance numbers which will be included in the ‘October count’, an important part of the annual Statistics for Mission return.
I’d be really grateful if you could be sure that data is accurately gathered at all of your worship services (not just Sunday worship) over this period.
As you engage with the Stats for Mission return (which doesn’t have to be submitted until the beginning of 2025) some of the language is strange and may not be how you would describe activities in your context.
If you have any questions about the form or things that need ‘interpreting’ for your situation then don’t hesitate to speak to either myself, your incumbent, or area dean - we’re here to help!
Equally, if you’re struggling to navigate the online portal then do, please shout out.
Your information is just as important as any other church and we do want to capture the important things you can tell us, not least, the history of your church in numbers.
On a more general note, can I just say a very big THANK YOU for collecting this information for us – it really is invaluable.
I do appreciate that in the busyness of church life it might not seem the most glamorous or important job but, when put together with other churches from the deanery, diocese and country it paints a really helpful picture of what God is doing and how He is doing it.
This picture tells us what’s ‘fruitful’ and what’s ‘less fruitful’ – through this we can offer training, advice, and ideas to all ministers as to how they might best engage in Mission & Ministry in their communities.
It also helps see how the church is changing and how we might best train ministers for the models of ministry needed in the future.
Be encouraged, from the earliest days the church has been collecting Stats for Mission – if you don’t believe me, read Acts 2:41!
Alongside Stats for Mission, we, working with other Church House colleagues, collect information around the financial position (Financial returns) and Energy use (Energy Footprint Toolkit) of churches.
These are also equally vital in helping us understand the strength and health of the church so that we can know how best to help and support.
Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your assistance in this is greatly appreciated, nothing is ‘lost in the machine’, every scrap of information helps build the picture we need to navigate these changing times.
Rev Canon Matt Barnes
Director of Discipleship, Mission & Ministry
Useful documents
>> Communion by Extension Bishop's Guidlines [PDF]
>> Presentation slides - Communion by Extension update 2022 [PDF]
>> Public Worship with Communion by extension version 2 [PDF]
>> Public Worship with Communion by Extension [PDF]
>> Diocese of Derby Communion by Extension Request Form v2 [MS Word]
Reader licences and the Bishop’s Permission to Officiate are renewed in Derby Diocese every three years during Advent. The Warden of Readers will be in contact with individual Readers to remind them when they need to renew, so please don’t work through the process without being in touch with the office!
Renewing a licence or PTO is not just a piece of administration, but a really good opportunity to take stock of the ministry that you offer with the people around you, as well as in the quiet of your own heart and mind.
You might want to spend some time as you go through the paperwork asking for some feedback or working through your priorities.
As you go through this process, in order to renew your licence you need to gather some paperwork together as follows:
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A Working Agreement with your incumbent or, if your parish is in vacancy, your area dean
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A letter of support from your PCC
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A form which lets us know that we have the correct contact details and other important details right on your file.
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Proof that you have a current and appropriate DBS. If you need to apply for a DBS check to be done please refer to the Safeguarding section of the website. Otherwise please let us know when your DBS check in valid from and to and we will check it.
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Your paper licence or PTO letter so that we can amend it.
>> Reader working agreement [Word doc]
>> Reader licence renewal - PCC support form [Word doc]
In brief: what is a reader?
Licensed Lay Ministers, also known as Readers, play an important role in the public ministry of the Church by leading worship, teaching and preaching, as well as in a wide range of missional and pastoral contexts. As theologically trained lay people they offer a ministry within the church and to the wider community; and are well placed to encourage people in their everyday faith. The office of Reader in the Church of England is governed by canon law (Canons E4, 5 & 6).
The ministry of individual Readers varies according to their gifting and mission context. Whilst most Readers minister collaboratively as part of a team of lay and ordained ministers some work very much on the margins of society sharing God’s love and message of hope to those who may not yet know it.
READERS ARE:
- Called by God to a ministry of the Word
- Licensed by the Bishop to exercise a public and representative lay ministry in Church and the wider community
- Theologically trained and equipped as:
- teachers of the faith
- enablers of mission in the everyday
- leaders in church and community
Some Readers are also trained and authorised by the Bishop to offer funeral ministry, some are authorised to lead Communion by Extension services.
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