In 2007 the Boards of Directors of The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) and The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) proposed legislation to the 2008 General Conference to develop a new hymnal for the USA. During the months leading up to General Conference, GBOD conducted a series of six online research surveys designed to provide information regarding the opinions of United Methodists — pastors, musicians, worship leaders, and laity — on a variety of subjects related to United Methodist worship, congregational singing, and The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) and The Faith We Sing (2000).

The surveys drew 19,091 responses. Some surveys were open to all United Methodists while others were open only to pastors and chief musicians of the congregation because of the specialized nature of the information requested. For most of the surveys, respondents were asked to identify themselves as clergy or laity, their role or position in the local church, and in some cases, their age (under 30, 30-50, 50-70, over 70), and their zip code. Some surveys required a simple mouse click to respond while others required fill-in-the-blank or short answers.

All survey results and data are available as PDF downloads (requires Adobe Reader) or Excel files. Below are links to the results of all six surveys:

1. Favorite Hymns of United Methodists
   Summary Report — Top Twenty Responses from All Groups (216 K)
   
   • Hymn Favorites — Responses from All Groups (498 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Laity (373 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Clergy (372 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Congregational Singer (373 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Choir Singer (373 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Choir Director (371 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Organist (371 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Instrumentalist (371 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Musical Involvement Other (371 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Age: Under 30 (370 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Age: 30-50 (373 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Age: 50-70 (373 K)
     
   • Hymn Favorites — Age: Over 70 (370 K)
     
   Raw Data (zipped read-only Excel Files, 395 K)
   
   
2. Choosing Hymns for a New Hymnal
   • Summary Report (237 K)
     
   • Raw Data (zipped read-only Excel File, 272 K)
   
   
3. 3-Year Inventory of Hymns Sung in Local Congregations (Summary Report) (462 K)
   
   
4. The United Methodist Hymnal Psalter
   • Summary Report (26 K)
     
   • Raw Data (read-only Excel File, 46 K)
   
   
5. Worship Resources
   • Summary Report (37 K)
     
   • Raw Data (read-only Excel File, 188 K)
     
     
6. United Methodist Worship, Music, Hymnal Use
   Summary Powerpoint — All Ages, 219 K
   • Age: Under 30 (Summary Powerpoint, 219 K)
     
   • Age: 31-50 (Summary Powerpoint, 220 K)
     
   • Age: 51-70 (Summary Powerpoint, 220 K)
     
   • Age: Over 70 (Summary Powerpoint, 220 K)
     
   Raw Data (zipped read-only Excel Files, 1820 K)