First Proselyting LDS Missionaries Assigned to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last week, missionaries report that six young missionaries were permanently assigned to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time.  Four missionaries (two elders and two sisters) were assigned to the Sarajevo Branch and two missionaries were assigned to the Banja Luka Group.  Several Bosnians have already joined the Church through the efforts of the handful of members in the country and senior missionary couples within the past year.  The Adriatic North Mission services Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Missionaries also report that plans are underway to assign the first proselyting missionaries to Macedonia and Montenegro within the next couple months.  The Adriatic South Mission services these two countries.

Mission Realignment in Southeastern Europe

Full-time missionaries serving in the Albania Tirana and Adriatic Missions report that both missions have been realigned.  The Albania Tirana Mission was renamed the Adriatic South Mission whereas the Adriatic Mission was renamed the Adriatic North Mission. 

In addition to Albania, the Adriatic South Mission now includes Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro.  Missionaries report that mission leaders are drafting plans to assign the first proselytizing missionaries to Macedonia and Montenegro in the coming months and increasing the number of missionaries assigned to Kosovo.  Some Serbian-speaking missionaries from the Adriatic North Mission - formerly the Adriatic Mission - will also be assigned to work in non-Albanian-speaking areas.

The Adriatic North Mission now includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia.  LDS missionaries have been assigned and branches have operated in Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia for two decades.  Senior missionaries have recently begun working in Bosnia and Herzegovina where two congregations meet in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

With the assignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro to missions and the prospective opening of each country to LDS proselytism within the coming months, all countries in Europe will have an LDS presence for the first time with the exception of a few city-states such as San Marino and Liechtenstein.  Notwithstanding this significant church growth development, hundreds of cities throughout Europe remain unreached by the LDS Church.

First Branches Created in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo

Last spring the Church created administrative branches in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro to manage membership records and coordinate small LDS gatherings in the Balkans from the Europe Area headquarters in Germany. However no official branches were organized in any of these countries at the time. Progress has been made less than a year later as the first LDS branches were organized in Pristina, Kosovo and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both branches appear to have native branch presidents and jurisdiction for both countries remains under the Europe Area. Administrative branches continue to function for both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo despite the creation of the two new branches. LDS meetings also appear to occur regularly in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Church dedicated both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo for missionary work last fall. No proselyting missionaries have been assigned, but senior missionary couples regular serve in the area.

Elder Nelson Dedicates Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia for Missionary Work

An LDS Church News article announced the dedication of six Balkan nations by Elder Nelson in early September, four of which have no official Church presence. Yugoslavia was formerly dedicated as a whole in 1985 and recently Church leadership determined that the individual nations which comprise of the former Yugoslavia were to be rededicated individually. Small groups of members attended the dedications of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. In May 2010, the Church created administrative branches in each of these countries to assist in the preparation of opening these nations to missionary work and formal Church activity. None of the the Balkan nations without a Church presence have any legal obstacles barring the Church's establishment, enjoy religious freedom, and many missionary-oriented Christian groups openly perform missionary activity like Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. Some nations in the region do have obstacles for the Church to overcome in order to receive official recognition however, like Bosnia which requires at least 300 adult citizen members to apply as a religious community. One of the major obstacles for the Church in these four nations is that there are few native members. There have been several interested individuals attending church meetings in Kosovo and Bosnia in recent years.

Administrative Branches Created in the Balkans

Under the supervision of the Europe Area, the Church has created four branches in nations without an official Church presence in the Balkan nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Each nation has its own administrative branch. There is no official missionary work conducted in these nations and the small numbers of members meet privately. The decision to create these administrative branches - the first of their kind in the Church - may indicate an increased effort to establish the Church in these nations or better coordinate church administration where there are few LDS members. Similar efforts were conducted by the Church in the 1980s in Eastern Europe prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union with small districts of members in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

The Church appears to have increased the flexibility of congregations over the past few years. Typically groups of members in remote locations belong to mission branches. However last year, the Church created nearly two dozen "district branches" in Africa, South America, Europe, and Asia for members meeting in groups within the boundaries of a member district. These locations tend to have many members spread over a large geographic area which are not concentrated in large enough numbers to justify the creation of additional independent branches. Many of these district branches have high potential for growth as groups of members within the district branch increase in numbers and self-sufficiency to merit additional independent congregations.

These four newly created administrative branches in the Balkans appear a stepping stone toward a greater Church presence in the region and an exciting development in the growth of the Church.

Update on Church Growth

Taiwan Reaches 50,000 Church Members

The Church News reported in a recently published article about the Church's 50th anniversary in Taiwan that Church membership in the country has reached 50,000. Today there are 102 congregations throughout the country, 10 stakes and two districts. Membership grows at a rate of around 4% a year and has increased by 20,000 in the past eight years. If membership growth rates remain constant Taiwan will have a projected 81,000 members in the year 2020.

11 New Stakes Created In June and Counting

It has been over a decade since we have had so many new stakes organized in so short a time frame. So far 11 stakes have been organized in the month of June, six of which were created from member districts. So far 25 new stakes have been organized this year.

The Church in Bosnia and Macedonia

The Church News provided interesting information about the Church in these two countries where the Church still has no official presence. It appears that both countries have groups established for members to meet in, but no branches. Macedonia only has one known family who are native Macedonians and Church members. Bosnia on the other hand had no reported Bosnian Church members and Church meetings consist of foreigners meeting throughout the country. Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminded members in Bosnia that they are laying the foundation for the Church in the future.

Recently Created Branches and Groups In Eastern Europe

A little over a year ago I reported on how the Church was aggressively opening new cities to the preaching of the Gospel in Eastern Europe. Only Mission branches or groups recently created are listed below. Meetinghouse locations and times are only available for both branches and groups on the country websites for Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Branches

Kaposvár, Hungary
Khmel'nyts'kyy, Ukraine
Kremenchung, Ukraine
Pärnu, Estonia
Szczecin, Poland
Zhytomyr, Ukraine

Groups/Dependent Branches

Shkoder, Albania
Pula, Croatia
Békéscsaba, Hungary
Szolnok, Hungary
Tatabánya, Hungary
Jelgava, Latvia
Gorlitz, Poland
Kielce, Poland
Torun, Poland
Zamosc, Poland
Craiova, Romania
Novo Mesto, Slovenia
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Pavlohrad, Ukraine