January 2018 Monthly Newsletter

Click here to access our January 2018 monthly newsletter providing news on recent church growth and missionary updates for cumorah.com.

Mission Consolidations/Creations - 46 Missions to be Affected

I have received a report that 46 missions will be affected by mission consolidations and the creation of new missions this July.

At most recent report, the following missions will be discontinued this July:

• Australia Sydney (two missions to be consolidated into one)
• Bulgaria Sofia (to be combined with the Central Eurasian Mission)
• Mississippi Jackson (to be combined with Louisiana Baton Rouge and Texas Dallas)
• New York New York (two missions to be consolidated into one)
• Ohio Cleveland (to be combined with three surrounding missions)
• Russia Samara (to be combined with Russia Rostov-Na-Donu)
• Ukraine L'viv (to be combined with Ukraine Kyiv)
• Washington Federal Way (to be combined with surrounding missions)

The consolidation of these missions has appeared needed for many years due to historically low numbers of convert baptisms, and often few missionaries assigned to these missions and other nearby missions. For example, missions in Bulgaria and L'viv have had few missionaries assigned for many years and report extremely few convert baptisms. Also, it appears that many of the missions created to accommodate "the surge" of missionaries serving in the mid-2010s due to the lowering of the age of full-time missionary service may be consolidated - especially in the United States. These missions primarily created in 2013 represented a quick-fix to accommodate tens of thousands of more missionaries serving, most of which were from the United States, within a short period of time. As the Church in the United States has the greatest infrastructure to accommodate such a rapid and temporary increase in the number of full-time missionaries, it is unsurprising that these mission consolidations have occurred now that the double-cohort of missionaries has passed. Moreover, the decision to close these missions will likely indicate a shift in resource allocation from less productive areas of the world (e.g. North America, Europe, industrialized nations in Asia and Oceania) to more productive ones (e.g. Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, industrializing nations in Asia).

At most recent report, I have received reports of the following missions to be created this July:

• Philippines Cabanatuan
• Utah Layton
• Zimbabwe Harare

If you have any information about new mission creations or mission consolidations, please comment.

New Stakes Created in Arizona, Ghana, and Nigeria; New District Created in The Bahamas

Arizona
The Church organized a new stake in Queen Creek, Arizona on January 14th. The Queen Creek Arizona Ocotillo Stake was organized from a division of the Queen Creek Arizona East Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Castlegate 1st, Castlegate 2nd, Castlegate 3rd, Creekside, Laredo Ranch, and Morningside Wards.

There are now 115 stakes in Arizona

Ghana
The Church organized a new stake in Ghana on January 21st. The Accra Ghana Masina Stake was organized from a division of the Accra Ghana Adenta Stake and the Accra Ghana Ofankor Stake. Approximately 2,500 people attended the stake conference for the Accra Ghana Adenta Stake when the announcement of the new stake was made. The new stake includes the following six wards and two branches: the Achimota, Agbogba, Ashaley Botwe, Kwabenya, Madina 1st, and Madina 2nd Wards, and the Haatso and Legon Branches. Moreover, the Church reported 78,295 members in Ghana as of January 15th, 2018 - approximately 7.9% more members than at year-end 2016 and a more rapid rate of annual membership growth compared to 2016.

There are now 11 stakes in the Accra metropolitan area, and 23 stakes and nine districts in Ghana.

Nigeria
The Church organized a new stake in Edo State on January 14th. The Ekpoma Nigeria Stake was organized from the Ekpoma Nigeria District. Local members indicate that the new stake includes the following eight wards and one branch: the Avbiosi, Ekpoma, Iruekpen 1st, Iruekpen 2nd, Iruekpen 3rd, Ozalla 1st, Ozalla 2nd, and Ozalla 3rd Wards, and the Uhonmora Branch. The new stake is the Church's first stake to be primarily located in rural communities outside of southeastern Nigeria. Rapid growth has occurred in the villages of Ozalla and Iruekpen as the first branches were organized in these villages in 2004 and 2005, respectively. It is likely that there are no other stakes in Nigeria that have as small of a population within their geographical boundaries as the Ekpoma Nigeria Stake. The growth of the Church in the Ekpoma area provides a good illustration of the impressive growth that can rapidly occur in rural communities which are almost entirely unreached by the Church throughout the world. See below for a map of congregations in the new stake. It is likely that Ozalla and Iruekpen may report the highest percentages of Latter-day Saints of any villages in Nigeria given three wards operate in each village despite the small size of these villages.

There are now 46 stakes and 15 districts in Nigeria.


The Bahamas
The Church has reestablished a district headquartered in The Bahamas. The Nassau Caribbean District includes four branches that previously reported directly to the Jamaica Kingston Mission, namely the Grand Bahama, Grand Cayman, New Providence, and Providenciales Branches. Two of the branches are located in The Bahamas, whereas one branch operates in the Cayman Islands and one branch operates in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Church had previously operated a district in The Bahamas between 2002 and 2009 called the New Providence Bahamas District although this former district only serviced branches in The Bahamas. Prior to the creation of the new district, The Bahamas were the country that had the second most members on church records without a stake or district headquartered within its geographical boundaries.

Elder Uchtdorf Receives New Assignment - Chair of Missionary Executive Council and Chair of Correlation Executive Council

Today the Church announced that Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was assigned to be the new Chair of the Missionary Executive Council and the new Chair of the Correlation Executive Council. Furthermore, Elder Ucthdorf will also be the "primary contact" for the Church's Europe and Europe East Areas. President Russell M. Nelson and President Dallin H. Oaks previously served as the Chair of the Missionary Executive Council. It is unclear who previously served as the Chair for the Correlation Executive Council.

The appointment of Elder Uchtdorf to serve as the chair for these councils is significant and may have implications for future LDS growth. Currently, there are no other apostles who have the personal experience of being born and raised in a country outside of the United States. Moreover, Elder Uchtdoft has extensive experience with church administration in Europe. His career with Lufthansa also provided him with experience meeting people from many areas of the world. Due to this unique background, Elder Uchtdorf likely possesses valuable insight, experience, and talent in regards to heading worldwide LDS missionary operations and the oversight of the publication of LDS materials (which may also include translation efforts). As a result, it will be interesting to see whether his appointment may correspond to changes in the worldwide distribution of missionary resources to better meet regional needs.

New Mission to be Created this July in the Philippines

Missionaries serving in the Philippines Angeles Mission report that the mission will divide this July to create the new Philippines Cabanatuan Mission. The Philippines Angeles Mission was originally called the Philippine Cabanuatuan when it was organized in 1992 until the mission relocated to Angeles and was renamed the Philippines Angeles Mission in 1999. The decision to organize a new mission in this region of Luzon may indicate plans for the Church to more thoroughly saturate this area with missionaries, especially considering Angeles City and Pampanga report some of the lowest percentages of Latter-day Saints in the general population among the major administrative divisions of Luzon according to 2015 census numbers. Once the new mission is organized, there will be 22 missions in the Philippines.

December 2017 Monthly Newsletter

Click here to access our December edition of our monthly newsletter for cumorah.com.

Top Ten Most Encouraging and Top Ten Most Discouraging LDS Growth Developments in 2017

Click here to read about the top ten most encouraging and top ten most discouraging LDS growth developments of 2017 according to our research at The Cumorah Foundation. Reader feedback would be appreciated.

Historical Growth Milestone Reached in Nigeria - Net Increase of 100+ Wards/Branches in One Year, 600+ Congregations in Nigeria

The Church in Nigeria organized its 100th new ward/branch for the year 2017 on December 10th. Additionally, this milestone coincided with the Church in Nigeria reaching 600 official congregations (i.e. wards and branches) for the first time - only one year after the Church reached the 500 wards/branches milestone in December 2016. Information on previous congregational milestones in Nigeria can be found here. Prior to 2017, the largest increase in the number of wards/branches in Nigeria occurred in 2016 when there was a net increase of 46 wards/branches. Of the 101 new official congregations organized in Nigeria thus far in 2017, only 28 are wards. Nigerian states where new wards/branches have been organized in 2017 include Rivers (20), Edo (14), Akwa Ibom (11), Delta (9), Abia (8), Cross River (7), Abuja [Federal Capital Territory] (5), Ebonyi (5), Ondo (5), Benue (4), Imo (3), Lagos (3), Oyo (3), Plateau (3), and Anambra (1). Thus far in 2017, the number of congregations has increased by slightly more than 20%.

There are three main mechanisms that are driving this recent surge in new ward/branch creations in Nigeria. The first mechanism has been the organization of new branches in cities, towns, or villages where no previous LDS presence operated. These congregations generally have very few members on the records and only recently met the minimal number of active members and priesthood holders to be organized into branches. Accelerated congregational growth in these situations reflects national outreach expansion rather than increases in the number of active members warranting the division and creation of new units. The second mechanism for congregational growth in 2017 has been the division of wards/branches due to increasing numbers of active members. This has been the traditional method the Church has employed to organize new congregations, and appears to have been primarily responsible for the creation of most new wards organized during 2017 as wards require more active and nominal members to operate than branches.

The third and most significant mechanism that has driven accelerated congregational growth in Nigeria in 2017 has been the implementation of a "church planting" approach to growth. More specifically, in this approach stake and mission leaders emphasize the organization of small congregations that assemble closer to the homes of members and populations targeted for proselytism in order to spur greater growth. This tactic of "planting" smaller branches in lesser-reached urban areas has seen tremendous success in West Africa as a whole almost wherever it has been implemented because it improves the accessibility of the Church to the general population. Rapid growth has been achieved in certain West African cities where this tactic has been implemented such as in Daloa, Cote d'Ivoire; Cotonou, Benin; and Kumasi, Ghana. The Church in 2017 has most widely implemented this tactic in Benin City, Edo State and Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Stake leaders in Benin City recently reported that initial efforts to organize branches in lesser-reached urban areas in 2015 and 2016 has not only helped to improve activity rates and member participation for members who live within the boundaries of these new units, but has also drawn larger numbers of converts. Nevertheless, the Church in Nigeria has not reported accelerated membership growth during the past few years based upon the most recent statistics available. For example, LDS membership in Nigeria increased by 7.7% in 2016, 9.3% in 2015, and 10.0% in 2014. Thus, LDS congregational growth rates in 2017 may be between one-third and one-half of membership growth rates for 2017 given recent historical averages. There were 152,903 members in Nigeria as of year-end 2016.

See below for a list of all 101 new wards/branches organized in Nigeria thus far in 2017. You can access maps for LDS congregations and other church growth-related topics here:

Abiriba Branch
Adeyemi College Road 2nd Branch
Adonte 2nd Branch
Afaha Ward
Agho Branch
Akpabuyo Branch
Akpaju Branch
Akugbe Branch
Akure 3rd Branch
Akure 4th Branch
Aladja Branch
Amamong Branch
Amapu 2nd Ward
Amasiri Branch
Amayam Ward
Amufi Ward
Anantigha Ward
Asaga Ohafia 2nd Branch
Ayeabam Branch
Azuabie Ward
Bassa Branch
Bie-Ama Branch
Big Qua Town Ward
Bukuru Branch
Byazhin Ward
Choba 2nd Ward
DLine Branch
Dopemu Ward
Ediba Ward
Edobor Branch
Ekae Ward
Elekahia Ward
Enechi Akuma Branch
Erediauwa Branch
Eziala Branch
Farin Gada Branch 
Gwagwalada Branch
Idogbo Branch
Ikot Essien Etok Ward
Ikot Nkan Branch
Ikot Udoabia Branch
Ikpe Ward
Imota Branch
Isah 2nd Branch
Isiama Branch
Itim Branch
Jakande Ward
Location Branch
Lokogoma Ward
Madalla Branch
Makurdi 2nd Branch
Makurdi 3rd Branch
Mayne Avenue Ward
Mgbuoba Ward
Ndon Utim Ward
Nkwagu Branch
Nsukwa 2nd Branch
Nyanghasang Ward
Oboama 2nd Branch
Ogbomosho Branch
Ogbuebule Oboro Branch
Oghogho Branch
Ogidi Branch
Oguola Branch
Ogwashi-Uku 4th Branch
Ogwashi-Uku 5th Branch
Ogwashi-Uku 6th Branch
Oke Itunu Branch
Okocha Ward
Old GRA Road Ward
Olodo Branch
Olokoro Branch
Ondo 2nd Branch
Onne Branch
Orogbum Ward
Osisioma 3rd Branch
Ossissa Branch
Otukpo 2nd Branch
Otukpo 3rd Branch
Ovbiogie Branch
Ovwian 2nd Ward
Owoseni Ward
Ozizza Branch
Ozuola Branch
Pere-Ama Branch
River-Rine Branch
Rumuepirikom Ward
Rumuokwurushi Ward
Rumuola Branch
Rumuwoji Branch
Sabongari Branch
Sogho Branch
Ugbor 2nd Branch
Ugep 2nd Branch
Umuahia 4th Branch
Umuosu Ubakala Branch
Upper Owina Branch
Uya Oro Branch
Uyo Road Branch
Woji 2nd Branch
Yaba 2nd Branch 

10-Year Anniversary of ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com!

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the creation of ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com. I originally founded the blog to help organize my thoughts and to provide accurate information for people who wanted to learn more about the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The creation and maintenance of this blog has been a significant source of motivation and excitement for me regarding this subject. This blog has helped to develop my interest in LDS Church growth and missionary work in a manner that perhaps no other medium could have provided. I have appreciated the thousands of comments provided by readers over the past decade. There have been posts on a variety of news updates or topics such as new temple announcements, the creation of new stakes, the opening of additional countries to proselytism, analysis of LDS growth trends, and so on. There have been a total of 1,091 published posts and 2.6 million page views since July 2010 (first month these were tracked by Blogger). Since I started this blog, I have been interviewed by many reporters and media outlets in several countries regarding many of the developments I have posted. Furthermore, I have also worked for The Cumorah Foundation since 2009 developing original resources that examine the growth of the Church and the effectiveness of the missionary program.

Some of my favorite stories or topics I have posted on over the past 10 years include the following:

• Future temple and mission announcements/speculation
• Analysis of annual LDS statistical reports and country-by-country data
• Publication of findings from returned missionary and member survey data (5,670 responses since 2012!)
• Lists of countries with the most members without a stake or without a temple
• Translations of LDS scriptures and materials into additional languages 
• The reduction in the minimal age for missionary service and the creation of 58 new missions in a single year
• Accelerating stake growth in the 2010s
• The recent rapid growth of the Church in West Africa
• The expansion of the Church into previously unreached countries (e.g. former Yugoslavia, Burundi, Rwanda, Gabon, Senegal, Guinea, Mali)
• Examination of missed opportunities for growth
• Discussion of problematic and ineffective proselytism and growth strategies in the LDS missionary program
• Analysis of member activity and convert retention challenges
• Use of social media for proselytism
• The relationship (or lack thereof) between internet usage and LDS growth 
• Identification of variables that foster or deter growth 
• Debunking myths of rapid worldwide LDS growth
• Debunking claims of worldwide LDS growth stagnation or decline
• LDS developments in sensitive countries
• Discussion regarding the number of excommunicated and resigned members
• Resource development for cumorah.com.

I hope that this site has been useful for others who have sought accurate and current information about the growth of the LDS Church around the world. Ideas for additional improvement or topics of analysis are welcome! I also would like to hear about what stories and posts you have particularly enjoyed or found useful. I look forward to the next 10 years of updates and analysis on ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com!

Stakes Likely to Split Outside the United States and Canada - December 2017 Edition

Below is an updated list of stakes that may split within the near future. Previous lists are available for December 2012, January 2014, December 2014, November 2015, and November 2016.

AFRICA

• Aba Nigeria North (11 wards, 2 branches)
• Aba Nigeria Ogbor Hill (10 wards, 5 branches) 
• Abeokuta Nigeria (10 wards, 5 branches) 
• Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon South (10 wards)
• Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Yopougon Attie (10 wards)
• Accra Ghana Adenta (11 wards, 5 branches)
• Ashaiman Ghana (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Assin Foso Ghana (9 wards, 8 branches)
• Benin City Nigeria Ihogbe (10 wards, 4 branches) 
• Benin City Nigeria Ugbowo (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Cocody Cote d'Ivoire (11 wards, 2 branches)
• Ibadan Nigeria (11 wards, 2 branches) 
• Ikot Ekpene Nigeria (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Kimbanseke (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Masina (11 wards, 1 branch) 
• Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo Mokali (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo Ngaliema (10 wards, 1 branch) 
• Lagos Nigeria Agege (10 wards)
• Lagos Nigeria Ikeja (10 wards, 1 branch) 
• Port-Bouet Cote d'Ivoire (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Port Harcourt Nigeria West (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Warri Nigeria (11 wards, 2 branches)
• Ukat Aran Nigeria  (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Winneba Ghana (8 wards, 7 branches)
• Yamoransa Ghana (9 wards, 5 branches)

ASIA

• Jakarta Indonesia (9 wards, 1 branch)
• Butuan Philippines (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Hsin Chu Taiwan (10 wards)
• Iloilo Philippines North (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Lipa Philippines (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Mandaue Philippines (9 wards, 1 branch)
• Singapore (10 wards)
• Tao Yuan Taiwan (9 wards)

CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

• Coatzacoalcos Mexico Puerto (13 wards, 1 branch)
• Managua Nicaragua (9 wards, 1 branch)
• Mazatenango Guatemala (11 wards, 1 branch) 

OCEANIA

• Faaa Tahiti (10 wards)
• Ha'apai Tonga (9 wards, 5 branches) 
• Punaauia Tahiti (11 wards)
• Upolu Samoa Saleilua (9 wards, 2 branches)

SOUTH AMERICA

• Belém Brazil (9 wards)
• Belém Brazil Icoaraci (9 wards)
• Buenos Aires Argentina Castelar (10 wards)
• Fortaleza Brazil (9 wards)
• Fortaleza Brazil Bom Jardim (9 wards)
• Joao Pessoa Brazil Rangel (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Lima Peru Canto Grande (10 wards) 
• Lima Perú Santa Isabel (9 wards)
• Rio Branco Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Santa Maria Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)
• São José Brazil (9 wards, 1 branch)
• São José dos Campos Brazil (10 wards)
• São Paulo Brazil Casa Grande (9 wards)
• São Paulo Brazil Guarapiranga (10 wards)
• São Paulo Brazil Penha (10 wards)