Statistics for Mission and Web Profiles
As you may be aware, we are experiencing issues with one of the servers that manages the Online Suite. As a temporary measure, we have now added Microsoft forms for updating information regarding office holders and local preachers. The forms can be accessed via the links below. The Statistics for Mission site will be unavailable during this time. We apologise for the inconvenience caused, and we are planning to launch the new Online Suite at the start of the calendar year.
The data entry site for 2025 will open in January 2026 for submissions.
We have also made TMCP aware of the position and they recognise that some Managing Trustees may have experienced difficulties in confirming various contact details, held on the Online Suite, as part of Check 4 of the 2025 Data protection Checklist. Those Managing Trustees are advised to wait until the launch of the new Online Suite and then check the contact details as soon as possible. If Managing Trustees have confirmed that all other information held locally is correct, as well as that held with TMCP, then they may mark off Check 4 as being completed.
We thank you for your patience regarding this matter. Please use the links to the forms below to add or request a change to an Office holder:
Please use the links to the forms below to add or request a change to an Office holder:
Local Preachers and Worship Leaders update
By adding/amending a record, you agree to abide by the Methodist Church's observance of the current UK Data Protection legislation (see Privacy Policy). Please ensure that the officeholder has granted you permission to record contact data that is connected to their role in the Church.
If you have any questions, please emailonlinesuitesupport@methodistchurch.org.uk.
In order to search the contents of this page, press CRTL and F keys simultaneously on your keyboard and type your query into the pop-up search box e.g. "merger".
All questions and answers can also be downloaded.
News and updates to the statistics site
- News and updates are disseminated via email to Membership Secretaries, Chairs of District, District Administrators, Superintendents and Circuit Administrators.
- Technical glitches are noted on the main Online Suite page.
Getting started & time scales
- I am new to statistics. Where do I start?
A good place to start are the statistics pages on the Methodist website, especially the online data entry section, which includes guidance notes, downloadable forms, and guidance on how to register as a web user.
- When in the year do I start counting?
For the 2025 (for example) statistics collection, the following time scales apply –
Membership changes: data should be given for 1 November 2024 to 1 November 2025; the actual membership figure should be recorded as it was on 1 November 2025.
- Can I enter statistics all year?
No. The data entry site opens for a few months usually around the beginning of October each year, and closes at the end of January the following year. However, due to the upgrade to the system, the data entry site will open in January 2026. Please note that static information, such as details for office holders or church details, can be edited at any time.
Going online & completing forms
- I want to enter my church’s statistics on the online data entry site but I haven’t got any login details or authorisation. How do I proceed?
Follow the registration process as per the Registration and Login guide within the online data entry section of the statistics for mission pages of the Methodist website.
- I am responsible for collecting my church’s statistics but I don’t have the means to go online. What can I do?
Please contact Online Suite Support for further assistance.
- I’ve got lots of forms left over from last year’s statistics collection. Can I use them again?
No. There are often subtle changes to the questions we ask each year, and you might be collecting information we don’t require, or missing something out.
- Where can I record a detailed October count?
Since 2018, it is not required to submit a detailed October attendance count anymore. However, you can still record this for your own purposes.
Web user management
- I want to register someone who has moved to my church from another circuit. I see an error message that tells me that they are already registered, but I can’t see them in my list of users. How do I proceed?
When someone moves to another circuit, all that needs to change is their permissions. Click on the appropriate link above to request a change.
- There are several people listed as web users for my church / circuit / district who have long moved away or rescinded their role. How do I remove them?
See the links above for requesting a change for office holder.
- One of the web users in my circuit needs new permissions. I have deleted their old permissions but I can’t see them on my list of users any more. What can I do?
See the links above for requesting a change for office holder.
Office holders & pastoral contacts
- Who can access office holders’ data?
Once entered via the statistics for mission site, the data is securely stored on one of the web servers in the Methodist Church House. It can be accessed by authorised members of the Connexional Team immediately after you have submitted it.
- Do I need to inform you of all office holders in my church?
Before entering contact details of church, circuit or district office holders, ensure that they know and have agreed to this process.
The Methodist Online Portal is password-protected, so only people with the necessary permissions can see information about a particular church, circuit or district. In order to see e.g. a Circuit Meeting Secretary’s details, that person will need to have circuit-level or district-level access to statistics, which would have been given to them by someone authorised to do so (either within the circuit or district itself, or by the Connexional Team). Within the Methodist Church House itself, only specific members of staff have either read-only or editing permissions to the relevant section of our internal database which is fed by the information entered by church, circuit and district web users. Personal details are never given out to any third parties.
The office holders section is mainly there to add information flow within the circuit/district and between local churches and the Connexional Team. There is an option to list the church (“office”) address rather than someone’s home address, and it is not mandatory to include a telephone number as most communications would be conducted via email.
- What happens to the office holders’ records when a society closes?
When a Methodist society or an LEP ceases to meet, all office holders at that time are automatically removed. In case of the society merging with another or becoming a class, the office holders are moved across unless advised otherwise.
- How do I change the surname of an office holder?
See the links above for requesting a change for office holder.
- How do I change the gender of an office holder?
See the links above for requesting a change for office holder.
- I would like to change the Pastoral Contact of my church but their name does not appear in the relevant dropdown menu. How do I add them?
Additions to the Pastoral Contacts dropdown menu are made by the Conference Office. Please contact the Conference Office with the necessary details.
Finding, adding and removing church records
- We are forming a new church. What do I need to do?
Please inform the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP), the Conference Office and Online Suite Support.
- How do I register a circuit initiative?
Circuit initiatives are currently not part of the statistical data collection. Previously recorded initiatives are stored on the Connexional Database but currently not displayed on the data entry site.
- My church has closed. What’s next?
If a society ceases to meet, becomes a class of another, or if one or more societies merge to form a new church, this change of status needs to be reported via the REPORT CHANGED STATUS button within the church profile. Once the Connexional Database has been updated, the closure will be reflected throughout the Online Suite of Applications.
Standing Orders 605 and 943(1) refer (see CPD).
Please refer to The Guidance on Closed Church Buildings which has been created collaboratively by the Conference Officer for Legal, Constitutional Practice, the Law and Polity Committee, TMCP, the Property Development Committee, the Heritage Committee and the Property Support team. The aim of the guidance is to provide useful information, including a checklist and templates, to assist with this process.
In addition, Methodist Insurance has guidance on empty church buildings from an insurance point of view. Click here to read the guidance.
Lastly, click here for further pastoral support and guidance on Endings.
- My church has become a class of another society. Do we still need to record individual statistics?
No. The change will have been reported via the REPORT CHANGED STATUS button within the church profile section (see above). Membership and attendance should then be reported as part of the statistical record of the incorporating church.
- My church has merged with two other societies but continues to meet as before. Do we need to do anything?
Any merger of two or more churches becoming a multi-site society needs to be reported via the REPORT CHANGED STATUS function within the church profile.
- One of my churches has disappeared from the statistics site. Why?
This might be because the society in question has become a class or merged with another society or that you have not got sufficient permissions to access the statistics record of that particular church. Please check with your Superintendent or email Online Suite Support for assistance.
Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) & Worship premises
- How do I record LEP membership?
You need to report both total LEP membership and Methodist membership. Methodist membership includes ecumenical members. If all members are joint members, this number would be equal to the total LEP membership.
The joint figure should not be divided up according to percentages or number of denominations, although some churches make a separate note of this for calculating apportionment and representation.
- Do in-year changes apply to the total membership or just to Methodist members?
Transfers in or out, gains and losses as well as deaths and confirmations should be based on all members recorded as Methodist, including ecumenical members.
- We worship on non-Methodist premises. Do we need to record an attendance figure?
Yes. Attendance and membership are recorded regardless of the ownership of the premises.
- My church used to be part of an LEP but this has now been discontinued. How do I report this?
Use the REPORT CHANGED STATUS function within the church profile, choosing “Ceased LEP” as option.
- Our building is being sold but the congregation will continue to meet elsewhere. What do I need to do?
If a building and is being sold, the sale needs to be recorded on the consents site and is primarily dealt with by TMCP.
The new worship site, which may not be under Methodist trusteeship, needs to be reported to Online Suite Support so that it can be correctly added and recorded onto the Connexional database, and consequently appear on the Find a Church webpage.
Historic statistics & data changes
- The data collection has finished for this year but I need to make some changes. What do I do?
Email Online Suite Support for assistance.
- My church’s building has closed for refurbishment, but we still regularly meet for worship in a rented venue. What do we need to do?
A change of worship site, whether temporary or permanent, does not affect the statistics collection, which is about the people rather than buildings. However, your church will still need to update the property/trusteeship details in its annual returns.
Contact Online Suite Support with the new details.
- I have spotted a mistake in my church’s address / postcode. How do I correct this?
This type of change cannot be made via the website. Contact Online Suite Support with the new details.
- Our church has changed its name. How do I amend this on the website?
This type of change cannot be made via the website. Contact Online Suite Support with the new details.
Data application & retention
- What happens to the data that is collected each year?
From this information, a Connexional-level statistical report is prepared for the Methodist Conference every three years (see Conference Reports). The latest report in this series was presented at the 2020 Conference.
The Methodist Church is fully compliant with current data protection regulations.
Last updated September 2025