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, November 2016, and December 2017. Many of these stakes do not have the adequate number of congregations to divide on their own to create a second stake. However, the Church often organizes new wards immediately before or after the organization of a new stake. Also, the Church often creates stakes from the division of two or more stakes in an specific area.
AFRICA
- Aba Nigeria North (10 wards, 4 branches)
- Abak Nigeria (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon North (10 wards)
- Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon South (12 wards)
- Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Yopougon Attie (10 wards)
- Antananarivo Madagascar Ivandry (9 wards, 3 branches)
- Ashaiman Ghana (11 wards, 3 branches)
- Benin City Nigeria Ugbowo (10 wards, 2 branches)
- Benin City Nigeria New Benin (8 wards, 6 branches)
- Benin City Nigeria Oregbeni (9 wards, 2 branches)
- Brazzaville Republic of Congo (10 wards)
- Cape Coast Ghana (9 wards, 4 branches)
- Cocody Cote d'Ivoire (12 wards, 2 branches)
- Dokui Cote d'Ivoire (11 wards)
- Eket Nigeria (10 wards, 4 branches)
- Gaborone Botswana (9 wards, 2 branches)
- Grand-Bassam Cote d'Ivoire (13 wards, 2 branches)
- Ikot Ekpene Nigeria (11 wards, 1 branch)
- Katoka DR Congo (11 wards, 1 branch)
- Kumasi Ghana Asokwa (11 wards, 6 branches)
- Kumasi Ghana Bantama (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Kumasi Ghana Dichemso (9 wards, 4 branches)
- Lagos Nigeria Egbeda (10 wards)
- Lagos Nigeria Ojodu (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Lagos Nigeria Yaba (10 wards)
- Likasi DR Congo (11 wards, 5 branches)
- Luputa DR Congo (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Monrovia Liberia Bushrod Island (11 wards, 1 branch)
- Onitsha Nigeria (10 wards, 4 branches)
- Port-Bouet Cote d'Ivoire (10 wards, 2 branches)
- Port Elizabeth South Africa (9 wards, 3 branches)
- Tema Ghana (11 wards)
- Warri Nigeria (14 wards, 2 branches)
- Ukat Aran Nigeria (11 wards, 2 branches)
- Yamoransa Ghana (9 wards, 5 branches)
- Yamoussoukro Cote d'Ivoire (9 wards, 2 branches)
- Jakarta Indonesia (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Bacoor Philippines (9 wards)
- Butuan Philippines (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Iloilo Philippines North (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Mandaue Philippines (10 wards)
- Novaliches Philippines (9 wards)
- Valenzuela Philippines (9 wards)
- Mazatenango Guatemala (11 wards, 1 branch)
- Apia Samoa Central (9 wards)
- Faaa Tahiti (10 wards)
- Ha'apai Tonga (9 wards, 5 branches)
- Pago Pago Samoa (9 wards, 3 branches)
- Upolu Samoa East (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Upolu Samoa Nu'umau (9 wards)
- Upolu Samoa Saleilua (12 wards)
- Belém Brazil (9 wards)
- Belém Brazil Icoaraci (10 wards)
- Curitiba Brazil Boa Vista (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Curitiba Brazil Jardim do Sol (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Curitiba Brazil Luz (9 wards, 1 branch)
- Curitiba Brazil Novo Mundo (9 wards)
- Diadema Brazil (9 wards)
- Esmeraldas Ecuador (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Joao Pessoa Brazil Rangel (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Palmas Brazil (9 wards, 2 branches)
- Ponta Grossa Brazil Campos Gerais (9 wards)
- Pucallpa Peru (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Quito Ecuador Calderon (10 wads, 1 branch)
- Rio Branco Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)
- Santa Maria Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)
- São José Brazil (9 wards, 2 branches)
- São Paulo Brazil Casa Grande (9 wards)
- São Paulo Brazil Guarapiranga (10 wards)
- Sao Paulo Brazil Sao Miguel Paulista (9 wards)
- Vale do Itajai Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)
I think it would be really interesting to know how many/what percent of stakes from previous lists did split prior to this list. I'm curious to know if any of the ones currently on the list, split and grew again to be ready to split again.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the stakes inside the US and Canada?
ReplyDeleteTemple Rick's pre-crash temple site used to show the units per stake and district, which was extremely informative and helpful to know relative sizes of those stakes and districts.
ReplyDeleteI think Church policy changed regarding this information and ai don't know to go for such information/data.
Great to see the growth and potential unit splits.
Interesting to see Latin American countries with limited nations ready to split due to high numbers.
Hi there. The Lipa Philippines Stake already divided this year which is the Batangas Philippines Stake. While the Novaliches Stake was divided/reorganized with nearby stakes not sure which to create the Camarin Philippines Stake this year.
ReplyDeleteEduardo, that information is available at Cumorah.com. Just go to "Countries," then "Country Resources," and "Lds International Atlas." You'll find all stakes listed by country with their wards and branches included (and even groups where they are established). The records are updated constantly, and it's a very good source of information on individual units.
ReplyDeleteWe have 11 large wards and 2 branches in our stake and have been told we will not be split for many years because the church prefers larger stakes.
ReplyDeleteCarol, that may be more true in some cases than it might be in others. I know that here in Utah, if the wards or the stakes get too large (10-12 congregations), the Church prefers to split them. I also know that, at the general level, the Church has a group of General Authorities serving on the Boundary and Leadership Change Committee, which governs if, when, and how congregational splits or leadership changes are carried out.
ReplyDeleteIn my parents' current stake, there were at one point around 10 wards. Within the last year or so, the creation of a new stake in their region resulted in two of the wards in their stake being transferred, with one going to the new stake, and the other being transferred to a neighboring stake as a result. In my current stake, recently the 11th ward was created due to growth in this area, which has resulted in redistributions of ward boundaries, and could at some point, if other stakes in my current city of residence (Orem Utah) grow at a similar rate, result in the creation of a new stake.
It has always intrigued me to see what conditions result in new stakes or adjusted boundaries. And it appears that, insofar as the Church outside the United States is concerned, larger stakes are not ideal. My mother, a South African native, recounts her parents' journeys of 100+ miles to do visiting teaching or take care of other Church responsibilities. And particularly outside the United States (where the members may not be as close in proximity as they are within the United States), geographically, it makes more sense in some cases to have smaller stakes that can be more easily traveled through by ward and stake leaders and members.
Of course, I offer these observations and insights (such as they are) as one who only knows what he reads about online. So in some cases, such as what you noted above, I am sure that the Church would prefer larger stakes. But such an arrangement may not always be a one-size-fits-all scenario in every case. Matt's reports on this blog about the creation of new stakes in recent months are sufficiently illustrative of that. Again, just my opinion here, which you can take or leave as you will. Whatever the case may be, I hope the thoughts and ideas I have laid out here are helpful to someone who reads them, and to the overall ongoing discussion on this thread.
Thanks, Ray!
ReplyDeleteMy stake has 8 wards and 3 branches. We probably could split if the two branches could be made wards, but I know my branch we would have to find a way to bring people to be fully participating members.
ReplyDeleteWhen we have a person who had been a member over 2 years and comes at least 75% of the time who until last Sunday didn't realize that there are not Sunday worship services in the temple we have some sort of disconnect blocking understanding and growth.
I used to say the main hold back of the branch was not enough active brethren. Today it is not enough melchizedek priesthood holders.
I always like how the 1st counselor in my stake presidency once put it to me. The goal of the Church is not to create more units, it is to draw all unto Christ through the ordinances of the gospel.
ReplyDeleteBy this measure more temples is always good, as long as you can staff temples. Every other level of units gas pros and cons. My Dad's only calling at present is as s temple workers. If his ward was split, as might be justifiable, he might get a calling that would make him be a temple worker less. If the stake split, that is also a possibility.
There are pluses and minuses to big and small stakes. Historically youth programs, especially youth conference, was very stake level. FSY changes that, but I am not sure how other parts of the new program will.
Of late in the US it has been more common to take 2 stakes and make 3 as they did in the Birmingham, Alabama area under the direction of their old stake president now a general authority, that is Peter M. Johnson, than to straight split a stake.
I am guessing when they next create a new stake in metro-Detroit there will be multiple feeder stakes. It will most likely be after some more units are organized though.
In 2006 I moved into a large, spread out stake with about a dozen units. Over the next 10 years, any time someone would bring up the idea that the stake might be split, the leaders would say it wasn't likely to happen. I don't remember what the reasons were that were given at that point, but apparently something changed after that because the stake was split in 2017.
ReplyDeleteI think that one branch had been created a couple years before, and one ward had been consolidated prior to the change. Another stake to the east was discontinued and three of its branches were included in the stake split. So priorities for splitting may change sometimes.
(I live in the Craig Colorado stake, and formerly in the Meeker Colorado stake, which was renamed to Rifle Colorado stake at the time of the split. The two stakes are basically the north and south halves of the previous stake and are both still very spread out east to west.)
I was just looking at Bolivia. There is only one temple in Bolivia and the largest city (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) has 11 stakes in it. It is a very far distance to the Cochabamba Temple and so I am putting this city on my list of potential temple announcements for next April.
ReplyDeleteI apologize I forgot to remove the Lipa Philippines Stake. Updated the list.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMissed to include 3 stakes from Brazil: Guarujá and Gravataí, 9 wards and Praia Grande, 11 wards and 1 branch.
ReplyDelete