New Stake Created in Kenya; District Created in Angola

Kenya

A new stake was created in Kenya on July 14th. The Kyulu Kenya Stake was organized from the Kyulu Kenya District (organized in 1992). Information on which of the 10 branches in the district became wards remains unavailable. Notwithstanding its rural location, the Kyulu area was one of the first locations to have an official Church presence established in Kenya. Villages with branches in the Kyulu Hills generally have populations of less than 5,000 people (the largest urban centers with an official congregation are Madinku [branch organized in 2023)] and Mtito Andei [branch organized in 2003] which have populations of 15,000 and 5,600, respectively). Kyulu is the first stake to be organized in East Africa to be located in a rural location in which nearly all members in the stake live outside of cities and towns. Moreover, the Kyulu Kenya Stake is the first stake to be organized in Kenya outside of Nairobi. The Church has worked for many years to organize a stake in Kyulu, as there have been enough branches and members to organize a stake, although the area had not meet criteria to organize a stake in regard to member activity and leadership. There is only one other location in Kenya where the Church has established multiple branches and a district in such a rural area, which is the Kilungu Hills Kenya District (organized in 2014). The first branch in the Kilungu Hills was also organized in 1992 at a time when mission and area leaders were more open to establishing the Church in rural areas without a nearby official branch.

There are now four stakes and five districts in Kenya. The Eldoret Kenya District appears most likely to be organized into a stake within the foreseeable future among the five remaining districts. Significant growth has recently occurred in the Kisumu Kenya District, which now has eight branches - half of which have been organized within the past 5 years.

Angola

A new district was created in Angola. The Lubango Angola District was organized from mission branches within the city of Lubango located in southern Angola. The Church has grown slowly in Lubango since the first branch was created in the city in 2011. Only two branches are in the district, namely the Mapunda and Tchioco Branches, although there is at least one member group that also operates in the city (Eiva). The creation of a district with only two branches likely indicates imminent plans to organize additional branches in the city.

There are now two stakes and two districts in Angola.

Details on New Stakes in Argentina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and the Philippines; New Districts in Liberia and Sierra Leone

Argentina
On June 1st, the Church created a new stake in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Buenos Aires Argentina Chacabuco Stake was organized from a division of the Buenos Aires Argentina Congreso and Buenos Aires Argentina Liniers Stakes and includes the following five wards: the Almagro, Nueva Pompeya, Parque Chacabuco, Parque Patricios, and Villa Soldati Wards. The new stake is the third new stake to be organized in the Buenos Aires area since 2011. There are now 26 stakes in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.

Currently there are 73 stakes and 33 districts in Argentina.

Cambodia
On May 25th, the Church created its first two stakes in Cambodia. This marks the second time in Church history when a country has had its first two stakes organized on the same day, the other country being Ghana in 1991. The Phnom Penh Cambodia North Stake was organized from the Phnom Penh Cambodia North Distirct and includes the following five wards and one branch: the Pochentong, Teuk Laak, Teuk Thla, Tuol Kok, and Tuol Sang Ke Wards, and the Sen Sok Branch. The Phnom Penh Cambodia South Stake was organized from the Phnom Penh Cambodia South District and includes the following five wards and one branch: the Chaktomuk, Steung Mean Chey 1st, Steung Mean Chey 2nd, Steung Mean Chey 3rd, and Toul Tom Pong Wards, and the Phnom Penh 13th (English) Branch. Two districts continue to operate in Phnom Penh, namely the Phnom Penh Cambodia Central (Vietnamese) and Phnom Penh Cambodia East Districts. As a way of celebrating this historic milestone, my family celebrated by making a cake!

There are now two stakes and four districts in Cambodia.

Cape Verde
On May 25th, the Church organized its third stake in Cape Verde. The Sao Felipe Cape Verde Stake was organized from the Fogo Cape Verde District. Details on which branches became wards are still not available; I will post these as a comment once I obtain this information. The Church continues to experience rapid growth in Cape Verde as evidenced by the Church organizing its first stake in 2012 and its second stake in 2013. The Praia Cape Verde Stake also appears likely to divide at any time as the stake now has 10 wards and five branches.

Cote d'Ivoire
On June 1st, the Church organized a new stake in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon South Stake was organzied from the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon Stake (now renamed Niangon North) and includes the following six wards: the Azito, Coprim, Niangon 1st, Niangon 2nd, Sideci 1st, and Sideci 2nd Wards. There are now six stakes in the Abidjan area, with another stake or two likely to be created in the next year. The Church in Cote d'Ivoire is currently experiencing the most rapid LDS growth in the world as membership increased by over 20% in 2013 and the number of congregations in the Abidjan area has nearly doubled within the past three years.

Jamaica
On June 8th, the Church organized its first stake in Jamaica. The Kingston Jamaica Stake was organized from the Spanish Town Jamaica District and includes the following six wards and two branches: the Boulevard, Constant Spring, Linstead, Portmore, Spanish Town 1st, and Spanish Town 2nd Wards, and the Kingston and Old Harbour Branches. There is now one stake and one district in Jamaica.

Mexico
On June 15th, the Church organized a new stake in Estado de Mexico State. The Lerma Mexico Stake was organized from the Metepec Mexico Stake and includes the following five wards: the La Crespa, Lerma, Tecnologico, Tianguistenco, and Totoltepec Wards. There are now 227 stakes and 36 districts in Mexico.

Nigeria
On June 15th, the Church organized a new stake in western Nigeria. The Ibadan Nigeria District became a stake. Details on which branches became wards remains unavailable, but will be posted as a comment to this post once I obtain this information. The establishment of the Ibadan Nigeria Stake is a major LDS growth development in Nigeria as it is the first stake to be organized in the Yorubaland region outside of Lagos and the district was previously one of the oldest districts in the country.

There are now 24 stakes and 21 districts in Nigeria.

The Philippines
On June 15th, the Church created two new stakes in the Philippines. The Dumaguete Philippines District became a stake, although details on which branches became wards remains unavailable. I will post this information as a comment once it becomes available. The Taguig Philippines Stake was also organized from a division of the Makati Philippines East, Parañaque Philippines, and Pasig Philippines Stakes and includes the following six wards: the Bicutan, Bonifacio 5th, Signal Village 1st, Signal Village 2nd, Taguig 1st, and Taguig 2nd Wards.

There are now 90 stakes and 81 districts in the Philippines

Liberia
On June 8th, the Church created its third district in the Monrovia area. The Paynesville Liberia District was organized from the Monrovia Liberia District and includes the following five branches: the Gardnersville, New Georgia, Paynesville 1st, Paynesville 2nd, and Tinker Village Branches. Boundaries for the Monrovia Liberia and Monrovia Liberia Bushrod Island Districts were also realigned. There are now three districts in Liberia. The mission president reports that new branches will be organized in the Monrovia area within the near future.

Sierra Leone
On June 1st, the Church organized a new district in Bo, Sierra Leone. The Bo Sierra Leone East District was organized from the Bo Sierra Leone District (now renamed Bo West) and includes the following four branches: the Lewabu, Messima, New Barracks, and Sewa Road Branches. The decision to create the new district has come on the heals of the creation of a second district in the Freetown area (Kossoh Town) and likely indicates plans to organize additional branches. There is now one stake and five districts in Sierra Leone.

LDS Missionary Activity Begins in the Western Solomon Islands

Missionaries serving in the Solomon Islands report that missionary activity recently commenced in the western Solomon Islands for the first time.  Missionaries and church leaders visited Gizo, the third most populous urban location in the country, where they met 40 members and investigators and performed the first convert baptisms.  Mission leaders report that a group has been or will soon be organized in Gizo.

The establishment of an LDS presence in Gizo has occurred on the heels of the organization of a group and an independent branch on Malaita, which was the first location off the main island of Guadalcanal to receive LDS outreach.  Prospects appear highly favorable for continued outreach and, with the organization of the new Vanuatu Port Vila Mission this summer, more mission resources may be allocated to the Solomon Islands in the near future. 

At present, the Solomon Islands are one of the least reached nations in Oceania and also one of the most populous.  There were fewer than 500 Latter-day Saints nationwide at the end of 2011 but over 600,000 people living in the Solomon Islands.

Church Growth News

Brazil's most populous unreached city by the LDS Church now has an LDS congregation.

Located in the remote interior of Para State, the first known LDS congregation was recently organized in Maraba. The Maraba Branch services the city of 186,000 inhabitants that was formerly Brazil's most populous city without an official LDS congregation nearby. The only other Brazilian city with more inhabitants without an LDS congregation nearby is Mage, located nearby Rio de Janeiro. The nearby Piabeta Branch administers Mage. Mage appears likely to have its own congregation in the coming years as it the city supports a population of 216,000. There remain several additional cities with over 100,000 in northern Brazil without LDS congregations, such as Caxias, Araguaina, and Parauapebas.

New Stake to be created in Guatemala in January

Full-time missionaries serving in the Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission report that a new stake will be organized next month in the Quetzaltenango area and that several new congregations will be created. Guatemala experienced rapid church growth in the 1980s and 1990s, but only one new stake was created in the 2000s as membership growth rates declined, low convert retention and member activity prevented the creation of new congregations and stakes, and several wards and branches were consolidated. I will provide more information once the new stake is created.

Growth accelerates in El Salvador

Full-time missionaries serving in El Salvador report many positive developments for 2010 as one of the two missions has baptized over 2,000 new converts this year and sacrament attendance has consistently increased to over 11,000 in one of the missions. Several stakes are close to splitting as branches have consistently become wards in recent years, but there has been no noticeable increase in total congregations in 2010 however. No significant increases in the number of congregations in the next year will likely indicate member activity and leadership development problems, but increases in sacrament attendance point to some improvement in activity rates in this nation that has historically seen some of the lowest member activity and convert retention rates worldwide.

District discontinued in Pennsylvania

The Brookville Pennsylvania District was discontinued and two of its seven original branches were discontinued. Most of the branches were absorbed into the Altoona Pennsylvania Stake. One of the branches - the Brookville Branch - has become a ward. There are now ten districts left in the United States, many of which are in remote areas or in the intercity. With the ongoing trend of district consolidations with stakes in the United States, it is possible that most remaining districts may be consolidated within the next decade as in 2000, there were 16 districts in 2000.

Potential New Districts

Since 2007, it has been a tradition of mine to post a list of districts which may be created by the LDS Church in the near of immediate future. Potential districts I have listed are categorized by geographic area and include the number of branches in parenthesis next to the prospective district name. Many of these areas are at the forefront of church growth for Latter-day Saints, as they are in areas which have seen rapid membership growth, modest to high retention, and are located in areas where there has been little or no previous LDS Church presence. Many of these areas have seen consistent congregational growth. Districts are often only created when native church leadership is strong enough in devotion and numbers to fill additional administrative callings. Previous versions of this list may be found for 2007, 2008, and 2009. I also added the names of branches which may be included in potential districts in these cities.

The First Presidency, Area Presidency, and Mission Presidency for a given area are stakeholders in the decision process to create districts. Information used to compile this list does not contain any unauthorized information and I take full responsibility for this work.

AFRICA

• Antsirabe Madagascar (4) [Ambohimena, Antsirabe, Mahazoarivo, Manandona]
• Conotou Benin (3) [Akpakpa, Gbedjromede, Mentontin]
• Eldoret Kenya (4) [Eldoret, Huruma, Langas, Sosiani]
• Kilunga Hills Kenya (4) [Ilima, Kilili, Kyambeke, Matini]
• Luanda Angola (3) [Luanda 1st, Luanda 2nd, Cassequel]
  
• Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo (4) [Dibindi, Diulu, Muyu 1st, Muyu 2nd]
• Mombasa Kenya (3) [Bamburi, Changamwe, Mombasa]
  
• Yaounde Cameroon (4) [Bastos 1st, Bastos 2nd, Ekounou 1st, Ekounou 2nd]

LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN

• Chignahuapan Mexico (3) [Chignahuapan, Tetela, Zacatlan]
  
• Jacmel Haiti (3) [Jacmel, Meyer, Tenier]
• Porto Seguro Brazil (3) [Coroa Vermelha, Eunapolis, Porto Seguro]
  
• Puerto Cabezas Nicaragua (4) [Bilwi, El Caminante, Loma Verde, Puerto Cabezas]
  

OCEANIA

• Angoram Papua New Guinea (3) [Angoram, Moim, Pinang]
• Aoba Vanuatu (5) [Apopo, Lobori, Lolotinge, Lovutialao, Navuti]
  
• Honiara Solomon Islands (3) [Burns Creek, Honiara, White River]
  
• Kukipi Papua New Guinea (5) [Heatoari, Keauta, Kukipi, Malalaua, Savaiviri]
• Malakula Vanuatu (6) [Litslits, Lowni, Pinalum, Tulewei, Uripiv, Wala]
• Tanna Vanuatu (4) [Greenhill, Saetsiwi, White Sands, Whitegrass]
  

In the coming months and years, many districts may be organized in additional locations not listed above. These locations have a high potential for congregational growth and leadership development due to receptivity of the LDS Church and high rates of convert baptisms (generally), but have an inadequate number of congregations, few local leaders capable of staffing district callings, or have branches scattered over a large geographical area. Below is a list of less likely potential new districts. The creation of districts in these areas will depend on the creation of additional congregations and the development of self-sustaining local leadership.

AFRICA

• Douala Cameroon (2) [Douala Branch, Bonaberi Group - soon to become a branch]
• Francistown Botswana (1) [congregation has experienced rapid growth, may divide into smaller units in the coming year]
• Ho Ghana (1) [missionaries report branch is preparing to divide, active membership continues to grow]
  
• Kisumu Kenya (1) [congregation has grown large, may divide, small groups of members in several nearby locations such as Sondu]
• Kitale Kenya (1) [LDS Church-built chapel just dedicated, congregation may divide but no announced plans]
• Marromeu Mozambique (2) [Marromeu 1st and 2nd Branches - missionaries currently working to improve member activity rates, church-built chapel in town]
  
• Maseru Lesotho (3) [Maseru and Masianokeng Branches, Leribe Group - missionaries report plans to create a third branch in the Maseru area]
  
• Pointe-Noire Republic of Congo (2) [Pointe-Noire and Aeropuerto Branches - third branch to be created soon, followed by a fourth hopefully in spring 2011]
• Sikhendu Kenya (4) [Misikhu, Naitiri, and Sikhendu Branches and Matuma Group]
• Windhoek Namibia (2) [Katutura and Windhoek Branches - over 120 active members, potential for additional groups to be created in the north]

LATIN AMERICA

• Bluefields Nicaragua (2) [Bluefields and Bluefields Centro Branches - additional branches may be organized, no official reports however]
• Chalatenango El Salvador (3) [Chalatenango, Nueva Concepcion, and Reubicacion Branches - missionaries report challenges with developing local leadership in these mission branches]
  
• Gurupi Brazil (2) [Gurupi 1st and 2nd Branches - the creation of a third branch in the city may lead to the organization of a district]
  
• Motupe Peru (2) [Motupe and Olmos Branches - missionaries report may positive developments in these branches, additional congregations needed to create a district]
• San Borja Bolivia (3) [Rurrenabaque, San Borja, and Yucumo Branches - distance between the three mission branches has likely delayed the creation of a district]
  
• Quibdo Colombia (2) [Istmina and Quibdo Branches - mission branches created in the past decade, may experience greater growth in the coming years]
• Todos Santos Guatemala (5) [San Antonio Huista, Santa Ana Huista, Santa Cruz Barillas, and Todos Santos Branches, and Yalijux Group - unclear why this remote region has not become a district yet; possibly due to distance between branches and few local leaders]
  
• Viacha Bolivia (3) [Ingavi, Patacamaya, and Viacha Branches - likely has not become a district yet due to distance between the three mission branches]
  
• Yopal Colombia (2) [Aguazul and Yopal - the Aguazul Branch was created last year, a district may be organized once additional branches are organized and headed by local members]

OCEANIA

• Madang Papua New Guinea [Madang and Sisiak Branches - additional congregations needed to create a district]

There are yet more areas which may have districts created in the near future around the world, but have not experienced noticeable church growth in terms of congregational increases such as areas of the South Pacific, portions of Nigeria, and Russia. If you have information regarding the possible creation of a district or the establishment of new congregations in one of the areas listed above or elsewhere, feel free to comment.

New District in Madagascar

A new district was created in Toamasina (Tamatave) Madagascar. The district comprises all five branches in the city, two of which were created earlier this year. Active membership appears strong in faith and numbers as over 500 attended the conference to the create the two new branches earlier this year. Missionaries serving in the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission report that they hope to baptize over 1,000 converts this year. There is still no indication on when a district will be organized in Antsirabe for the four branches in the area or when the stake in Antananarivo will divide. Several groups which have recently been created may become branches in the near future which currently operate in Ambositra, Ankazobe, Enjoma, and Sarodroa.