State of the Church

“And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)

One of the responsibilities that all United Methodist churches have at the first of each year is to give a statistical accounting of their annual ministry. As this data was prepared for our “2010 Year-End-Report” to the North Georgia Annual Conference, I thought you might be interested in what I consider to be some of the highlights (with important increases highlighted):

* Total number of new members in 2010: +36;
* New members joining in 2010 by profession or reaffirmation of Christian faith: +16 ;
* Church membership as of December 31, 2010: 965 (the highest thus far in our church’s history, +9 from last year);
* Average attendance for all worship services during 2010: 359 (+12% from 2009);
* Number of diverse nationalities/ethnic groups represented within our total membership: 5
* Total number of “giving units” (persons/families) financially supporting our church’s mission and ministry: 277;
* Average attendance in all Sunday School classes during 2010: 184 (+14% from 2009);
* Amount spent in 2010 on program ministry and operational expenses (excludes salaries): $193,981 (+5%);
* Amount spent during 2010 on buildings and improvements: $20,778 (+59% from 2009);
* Amount given during 2010 for local, state, and world mission projects: $168,495 ;
* Financial giving to all causes in 2010: $1,088,167
* Current value of all church-owned buildings & property: $5,611,708

As you can see, the statistics reveal that great things are happening at East Cobb U.M.C., with more great things still to come. So if you haven’t already, I pray that this year you and your family will “get in” on what God is doing in our midst as we seek to carry out our mission of being “A Mosaic of God’s Family: Gathering; Growing; and Going”! Remember, God loves you and I do, too!