The local church statistics reporting system provided by the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) is transitioning from the EZRA tool employed the past several years. Beginning Jan. 3, 2023, local churches will enter their 2022 church statistics via GCFAs new reporting system “ACSTATS.”
GCFA made the decision to replace EZRA with ACSTATS primarily due to the outdated EZRA system platform which can no longer be effectively and efficiently maintained and supported.
While ACSTATS is a more modern reporting platform, users will quickly find they are quite familiar with the new tool as the user interface is modeled closely to EZRA's. Local churches will also be entering the same statistical information needed for years, with the most unique difference being the way you login and access the tool. Please see the ACSTATS training slides (click here) for system access and navigation and other important information.
The official start for local churches to enter their 2022 church statistics into the ACSTATS system is Jan. 3, 2023. However, church statisticians and administrators are requested to log into ACSTATS on or before Dec. 5, 2022 to ensure there are not issues for system access. This will ensure churches may begin entering data on Jan. 3, 2023.
While the ACSTATS training slides provide all the info you need to get started, the CTC Finance Team and District Administrators are offering two Zoom sessions (registration required) to provide an overview of the ACSTATS system and to answer any questions about the reporting tool. The ACSTATS Zoom Q&As are scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday Dec. 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6. Click here to complete the very brief registration for either of the Zoom sessions.
Please note the deadline to enter your 2022 statistical data via ACSTATS is January 24, 2023.
Links to the 2022 "End-of-Year" forms required by your district (i.e. Fund Balance Report, End of Year Pastor's Report) will be emailed to churches on December 15, 2022. If you do not receive the email with the link to your forms, contact your district office or email bradleyalexander@ctcumc.org. (NOTE: Please check your, "Other," SPAM or Junk folders to see if the email went to one of those before contacting your district office.)
ACSTATS, is an interactive electronic database that provides each conference or United Methodist agency the ability to enter data and have real-time access to that information. GCFA and the Central Texas Conference IT Team have put together.
If you still have questions contact your district administrator or Calvin Scott (calvin@ctcumc.org or 817-877-5222), as they may assist you or quickly get you in contact with the appropriate resource. As our DAs and Calvin gets several emails and calls on a variety of issues each day, please put ACSTATS in your subject line of your email or leave a detailed voicemail of your issue if no one is available when you call. Please follow-up any voicemails with an email to ensure the most rapid response.
If you have discovered errors in your reporting after you have submitted your information, please alert your district office and contact Greg Carey (gregcarey@ctcumc.org).
Again, the last day to "checkout" and enter your churches statistical information is Tuesday, January 24. You are highly encouraged to login by December 5, 2022 to ensure you can access the new ACSTATS system and then login the first week in January to begin the process.in case you run into any technical trouble or have questions along the way. Also, as noted above, the ACSTATS tool is for statistical reporting only. There are two district-specific, end-of-year forms that are required independent of the "Checkout" process. The 2022 "End of Year" forms required by your district (i.e. Fund Balance Report, End of Year Pastor's Report) - will be emailed to you on or before Dec. 15, 2022. If you did not receive your forms, please contact your district office.