Three Member Groups Organized in Juba, South Sudan

In the past few weeks, the Uganda Kampala Mission has organized three member groups in Juba, South Sudan, where the Juba Branch was reinstated earlier this year. The member groups are the Jebel, New-Site, and Shirkat Groups. Last Sunday, the groups had a combined attendance of approximately 80 people - nearly half of whom attended the Juba Branch. This marks the first time that the Church has operated multiple congregations in Juba. Member groups had previously functioned in a couple cities outside of Juba in the early 2010s, although these groups may not function anymore (such as in Akobo) or were never official member groups (like in Nyamliell). The creation of the member groups is a major development that has good potential to expand outreach and establish a center of strength for the Church in Juba. However, the unstable political situation in South Sudan poses a major barrier for the success of these fledgling member groups. Moreover, some countries where a similar approach to expansion has been pursued where only one branch operates in the capital city, most notably Mali, have had significant challenges and delays with member groups maturing into their own independent branches. It is unclear whether mission leaders have made efforts yet to establish member groups outside of Juba yet. Moreover, full-time proselytizing missionaries do not appear to have been assigned to Juba, and this may result in difficulties with these member groups growing in the near future.

Potential New Missions in 2025

With the number of full-time missionaries serving reaching all-time highs (excluding the couple years of artificially high numbers as a result of the lowering of the minimum age for missionary service a decade ago), prospects appear good for the creation of new missions in 2025. There appear to currently be approximately 74,000 to 75,000 full-time missionaries serving. Currently, there are 450 missions in the worldwide Church. The following locations appear most likely to have new missions organized in the near future. Missions in bold appear highly likely to be organized.

AFRICA (14 missions)

• Cote d'Ivoire Daloa (3-4 stakes, 2-3 districts) 
• Gabon Libreville (1 district, 1 mission branch)
  
• Ghana Kumasi (second mission) (3 stakes, 2-3 districts)
  
• Liberia Monrovia (second mission) (3 stakes)
  
• Malawi Lilongwe (2 stakes) 
• Mauritius and Reunion (2 districts)
  
• Nigeria Benin City (second mission) (4-5 stakes)
• Nigeria Eket (6-8 stakes)
  
• Nigeria Lagos (second mission) (4 stakes)
• Nigeria Makurdi (3 districts)
  
• Nigeria Warri (3 stakes, 3 districts)
• Senegal Dakar (1 district, several mission branches in neighboring countries)
  
• Sierra Leone Freetown (second mission) (3 stakes)
  
• Togo Lome (3 stakes)

ASIA (8 missions)

• Georgia Tbilisi (2 mission branches) 
  
• Korea Daejeon (4 stakes)
  
• Middle East/African North Service Mission (2 stakes, 3 districts) 
• Philippines Ormoc (3 stakes, 4 districts)
  
• Philippines Palawan/Mindoro (1 stake, 4 districts)
  
• Sri Lanka Colombo (1 district)
  
• Thailand Ubon (1 stake, 1 district)
• Timor-Leste Dili (1 mission branch)
  

EUROPE (9 missions)

• Austria Vienna (2 stakes)
  
• Belgium Brussels (2 stakes)
• France Paris (second mission) (3 stakes) 
• France Toulouse (2 stakes)
  
• Germany Düsseldorf (2 stakes) 
• Iceland Reykjavik (1 district)
  
• Ireland Dublin (2 stakes) 
• Italy Palermo (1 stake)
  
• Spain Granada (5 stakes)
  

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (28 missions)

• Argentina Buenos Aires (fifth mission) (5-6 stakes)
  
• Argentina Posadas (2 stakes, 5 districts)
• Belize Belmopan (2 districts)
  
• Bolivia Riberalta (3 districts)
• Bolivia Tarija (4 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Brazil Juazeiro do Norte (1 stake, 2 districts, 2 mission branches)
  
• Brazil Joinville (5 stakes)
  
• Brazil Novo Hamburgo (6 stakes, 1 district) 
• Brazil Porto Velho (2 stakes)
  
• Brazil São Luís (2 stakes, 1 district)
• Brazil São Paulo (sixth mission) (4-5 million, ~7 stakes)
• Brazil Sorocaba (5 stakes, 2 districts)
• Colombia Bucaramanga (4 stakes)
  
• Cuba Havana (1 district)
• Ecuador Machala (4 stakes, 1 district) 
• Mexico Acapulco (3 stakes, 1 district)
• Mexico Ciudad Obregón (3 stakes, 3 districts)
  
• Mexico Coatzacoalcos (3 stakes, 3 districts)
  
• Mexico Juchitán (3 stakes, 4 districts) 
• Mexico Morelia (4 stakes, 1 district)
  
• Mexico Reynosa (5 stakes, 1 district)
• Mexico San Luis Potosí (3 stakes)
  
• Mexico Toluca (3 stakes)
  
• Panama Panama City (second mission) - (3-4 stakes, 1-3 districts)
  
• Peru Pisco (4 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Peru Pucallpa (2 stakes) 
• Peru Puno (3 stakes)
• Peru Tacna (5 stakes)
  

NORTH AMERICA (14 missions)

• Arizona Scottsdale (~10 stakes)
  
• Canada Toronto (second mission) (4 stakes)
• Colorado Grand Junction (5 stakes)
  
• Connecticut Hartford (5 stakes)
  
• Florida Orland (second mission) (5 stakes)
• Georgia Macon (5 stakes)
• Idaho Nampa (~20 stakes)
  
• Illinois Peoria (4 stakes)
  
• Missouri Springfield (5 stakes) 
• North Carolina Raleigh (second mission) (6-7 stakes)
• Ohio Cleveland (5 stakes)
  
• Oklahoma Tulsa (5 stakes)
• Pennsylvania Harrisburg (6 stakes)
• Wyoming Casper (5 stakes)
  

OCEANIA (7 missions)

• Australia Brisbane (second mission) (~6 stakes)
  
• Australia Sydney (second mission) (~6 stakes)
• French Polynesia (second mission) (~5 stakes) 
• Kiribati Tarawa (2 stakes, 3 districts)
  
• Papua New Guinea Daru (1 stake, 3 districts)
  
• Samoa (second mission) (~12 stakes)
  
• Solomon Islands Honiara (1 district)