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)

36 New Missions to be Created in 2024 Analysis: North America

This is the fourth and final post in a serious of posts regarding the 36 new missions to be organized in 2024. This post provides an analysis of new missions to be organized in North America.

There will be 10 new missions organized in North America in 2024 - all of which will be located in the United States. Seven of the new missions have never previously operated, whereas three of the new missions will be reinstated from missions that previously closed. The number of missions in the United States will total 120 once the 10 new missions are organized. Even though the Church will report a new all-time high for the number of missions once the 36 new missions are organized in 2024, the number of missions in the United States will not be an all-time high. The Church reported its all-time high for the number of missions in the United States in 2016-2017 when there were 125 missions. Thus, the Church has been decreasing its percentage of worldwide missions in the United States within approximately the past decade from 29.7% in 2017 to what will be 26.7% in 2024. This decrease reflects greater efforts to redistribute missions worldwide from less productive and/or less populated areas to more productive and/or more populated areas and also increases in the number of full-time missionaries serving from countries outside of the United States. In 2024, the average mission in the United States will have 2.8 million people within its geographical boundaries.

CALIFORNIA MODESTO

The California Modesto Mission will be a reinstatement of the previous California Modesto Mission that briefly operated from 2015 until 2018. The new mission will likely be organized from the California Fresno Mission (organized in 1975) and the California Sacramento Mission (organized in 1942) and include six stakes within the Modesto and Stockton area (which was what the boundaries of the mission were when it operated from 2015-2018). The Church announced a temple for Modesto in April of 2022). Slight decline or stagnant growth has occurred for the Church in the Modesto area of California for decades, although no stakes have ever been discontinued in what will be the likely boundaries of the new mission. The most recently organized stake in the area is the Turlock California Stake which was organized in 1986. With the creation of the new mission, there will now be 16 missions in California, with the average mission having 2.4 million people within its geographical boundaries. The Church in California has experienced a significant decline within the past decade (2013-2022) in particular, as Church membership has decreased from 780,200 to 728,995 (6.6%), the number of congregations has decreased from 1,355 to 1,134 (16.3%), the number of stakes decreased from 157 to 146 (7.0%), and the number of missions has decreased from 19 to 15 (21%) even though the state population has increased from 38.4 million to 39.0 million.

FLORIDA TALLAHASSEE

The Florida Tallahassee Mission will be a reinstatement of the previous Florida Tallahassee Mission that operated from 1971 until 2019. The new mission will probably be organized from the Alabama Birmingham Mission (organized in 1979) and the Florida Jacksonville Mission (organized in 1987) and will probably comprise the same boundaries of the original Florida Tallahassee Mission with six stakes - four in the Florida panhandle and two in Alabama. The Church has experienced slow growth in this area of Florida and in southern Alabama during the past several decades, with the most recently organized stake being the Fort Walton Beach Florida Stake (organized in 1996). The Tallahassee Florida Temple was announced in April 2020 and construction is nearly complete. There will be five missions in Florida once the new mission is organized (which is the previous all-time high for the number of missions in the state). The average mission in Florida will have 4.4 million people within its geographical boundaries. A second mission in the Orlando area appears most likely if the Church organizes a sixth mission in Florida in the foreseeable future due to significant growth in this area in terms of congregations and stakes.

MONTANA MISSOULA

The Montana Missoula Mission will be the Church's second mission to ever operate in Montana following the Montana Billings Mission (organized in 1950). The new mission will likely include at least four stakes in western Montana and probably additional stakes between Missoula and Billings. The most recently organized stake in the Missoula area was created in Frenchtown in 2017, whereas the Missoula Montana Stake is the oldest stake in the Missoula area (organized in 1957). The average mission in Montana will likely have approximately 560,000 people within its geographical boundaries. The Church announced a temple for Missoula in April 2022.

NEVADA HENDERSON

The Nevada Henderson Mission will be the Church's fourth mission in Nevada following the Nevada Las Vegas Mission (organized in 1975), the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission (organized in 1997), and the Nevada Reno Mission (organized in 2012). The new mission will likely have eight stakes within its geographical boundaries - the oldest of which was organized in 1956. Steady growth has occurred in the Henderson area and in southern Las Vegas for many years, and the two most recently created stakes were organized in 2015 and 2017. No missions have ever been discontinued in Nevada. With the creation of the new mission, the average mission in Nevada will have 794,000 people within its geographical boundaries.

SOUTH CAROLINA CHARLESTON

The South Carolina Charleston Mission will be the Church's second mission to ever operate in South Carolina following the South Carolina Columbia Mission (organized in 1975). The Church has never discontinued a mission in South Carolina. The Church only operates one stake in Charleston which was created in 1972. However, the stake has steady grown to 10 wards and three branches and appears likely to divide in the near future. The new mission will likely include 4-5 stakes on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, the most recently organized of which was created in 2019 in Hilton Head. Charleston is a less likely location to have a temple announced. The average mission in South Carolina will have 2.6 million people once the new mission is organized.

TEXAS DALLAS SOUTH

The Texas Dallas South Mission will likely be organized from the Texas Dallas Mission (organized in 1961), the Texas Fort Worth Mission (organized in 1986) and possibly the Texas Dallas East Mission (organized in 2020). The new mission will probably include 5-6 stakes in the southern Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area which is an area of the metropolitan area that has fewer Latter-day Saints than most other areas of the metropolitan area.

TEXAS EL PASO

The Texas El Paso Mission will be organized from the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission (organized in 1975) and may also include the Fort Stockton Texas District that is currently assigned to the Texas Lubbock Mission (organized in 2002). The new mission will likely include the three stakes in El Paso and the stake in Las Cruces New Mexico (organized in 1974). The first stake in El Paso was organized in 1952 followed by two additional stakes created in 1982 and 2016. The new mission may also include the Silver City Mexico Stake (organized in 1983) which is assigned to the Arizona Tuscon Mission (organized in 1990). With the creation of the two new missions, there will be 12 missions in Texas. Thus, the average mission will have 2.5 million people within its geographical boundaries.

UTAH SALT LAKE CITY EAST

The Utah Salt Lake City East Mission will be a reinstatement of the Utah Salt Lake City East Mission which operated from 2013 until approximately 2019 when there was a realignment of missions in the Salt Lake City area and the mission was merged with the Utah Salt Lake City Mission (organized in 1980). The new mission will likely include 30-40 stakes within its geographical boundaries. The Church has reported a slight decline in the number of stakes in this area of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area within the past decade.

UTAH SARATOGA SPRINGS

The Utah Saratoga Springs Mission will be a new mission that has never operated before in Utah. The new mission will likely be organized from Utah Orem Mission (organized in 2015). The new stake will likely include 20-40 stakes in northern Utah county. Rapid growth has occurred in this area of Utah, with often multiple new stakes organized each year due to significant home construction.

UTAH SPANISH FORK

The Utah Spanish Fork Mission will also likely be organized from the Utah Provo Mission (organized in 1989). The new mission will likely have 30-40 stakes within its geographical boundaries. Steady growth has occurred for the Church in southern Utah county.

There will be 13 stakes in Utah once the three new missions are organized - an all-time high for the number of missions in the state. The average mission in Utah will include a mere 260,000 people. Given Church membership constitutes 64.3% of the state population, the average mission may include less than 100,000 people who are not Latter-day Saints on Church records. These Utah missions will likely be heavily involved with reactivation work among less-active and inactive members which likely number over one million for the state. The number of stakes and congregations has steadily grown year over year with only one exception in 2011 when there was a decline in the number of congregations due to massive realignment of stakes and wards to organize young single adult (YSA) stakes.

More than 71,000 Full-Time Missionaries Serving and Predictions for New Missions in 2024

In his General Conference address yesterday, Elder Neil L. Andersen mentioned that there are more than 71,000 full-time missionaries serving throughout the world. This marks an increase of at least 8,456 full-time missionaries serving from year-end 2022 when there were 62,544 full-time missionaries serving - a 13.5% increase in nine months. This is a major increase in the number of members serving full-time missions within a short period of time. The Church would have an increase of 11,275 missionaries by year-end 2023 for a total of 73,819 if the assumption is made that the average of 939.56 more missionaries serving each month is sustained until the end of December. Since 1978, there have been only two years when the number of full-time missionaries serving has increased at a more rapid rate: 2022 (14.7%) and 2013 (40.8%). However, these two years had artificially higher numbers of new missionaries serving because of delays in members serving missions from prior years due to the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) and the lowering of the minimum age for missionary service (2013). The next year with the highest percentage increase in the number of full-time missionaries was 1989 when there was a 10.0% increase in the number of missionaries serving compared to year-end 1988. 

It is unclear what is driving this acceleration in the number of full-time missionaries serving. Members postponing full-time missionary service due to the COVID-19 pandemic may account for some of this increase, although this likely accounts for a small percentage of recently called full-time missionaries given that it appears that most members who postponed missionary service began their service in 2022. I made a post in early July 2023 about additional details regarding the number of full-time missionaries serving, as the Church had disclosed during its annual new mission presidents training seminar that there were 67,800 full-time missionaries serving as of June 2023. The Church at the time also predicted that there may be as many as 72,000 full-time missionaries serving by the end of 2023. As I noted in my post in July, "This increase has occurred even though there is a smaller demographic of mission-aged young adults in the Church (which is supported by historical children-of-record annual increase numbers, which did not surpass 100,000 until 2008), suggesting an increasing percentage of young single adults serving full-time missions." Currently, the number of full-time missionaries serving has surpassed the number of full-time missionaries serving in year-end 2016 (70,946) - the most recent year that had more than 70,000 missionaries serving. Only three years have had more full-time missionaries serving than at present: 2015 (74,079), 2013 (83,035), and 2014 (85,147). 

A statistic that can give insights into full-time missionary service is the percentage of church membership currently serving full-time missions. See the graph below. As of year-end 2022, 0.37% of church membership were serving a full-time mission - comparable to the percentage of membership serving full-time missions in the late 2000s and early 2010s. However, approximately 0.55% of church membership was serving full-time missions between the late 1980s and early 2000s. To put this into perspective, if 0.55% of church membership were serving full-time missions as of year-end 2022, there would be 93,514 full-time missionaries serving. The decrease in the percentage of church membership serving missions since the early 2000s appears attributed to gentrification of church membership caused by decreased birth rates, low member activity rates in most of the countries with the largest church memberships, and potentially lower rates of full-time missionary service among young adults, particularly in countries where the Church reports large numbers of members.

The number of convert baptisms also increased by 25% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022 as I noted in my July 2023 post. If this trend continues for the rest of 2023, there will be an increase in the number of convert baptisms that is approximately twice the rate of the increase in the number of full-time missionaries. If this rate continues for the rest of the year (i.e., if there are 25% more convert baptisms in 2023 compared to 2022), there would be 265,215 convert baptisms for the year - the highest reported by the Church since 2014 when there were 296,803 convert baptisms. If there are 72,000 missionaries serving at the end of 2023, then there will be an average of 3.68 convert baptisms per missionary. However, the number of converts baptized would remain below many years between 1989 and 1999 when there were as many as 330,877 converts baptized in a single year (1990). The average number of converts baptized per missionary has decreased substantially over the past several decades from a high of 8.03 in 1989 to a low of 2.43 in 2020 (see graph below).

Finally, an increase in the number of full-time missionaries serving raises the likelihood that the Church will organize new missions to accommodate this increase, especially if it is anticipated that this increase will be sustained in the coming years. The Church reached an all-time high of 421 missions in 2016 and 2017. There are currently 414 missions worldwide. If the Church were to keep its ratio of 152 missionaries per mission as of year-end 2022 and there are 72,000 missionaries by the end of 2023, the Church would need to have a net increase of 62 missions in 2024 to maintain this ratio. However, decisions on where new missions will be organized will likely depend on what world region recent increases in the number of full-time missionaries serving has come from, with new missions most likely to be organized in the world regions with the greatest increases in the number of new full-time missionaries serving. See below for a list locations that appear likely to have new missions created in the near future along with the number of stakes/districts/mission branches likely to be assigned to each mission if it is organized. Coincidentally, there are 100 locations listed below. I did not plan to have a nice, round number like this, and it instead came from reviewing current mission boundaries and identifying what locations appear most likely to have missions organized given a combination of factors such as the size of the population to be served by the mission, current church infrastructure in the area, recent growth trends, and opportunities for expansion (rarely are locations on this list a perfect combination of all four of these factors and instead many of these prospective mission locations are based on just one or two criteria being met). This list was initially posted on this blog in March 2023, and it has been updated given these recent developments with increases in the number of full-time missionaries.

AFRICA (25 missions)

• Cote d'Ivoire Daloa (1 stake, 6 districts) 
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Likasi (3 stakes)
  
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa (third mission) (4 stakes)
  
• Gabon Libreville (4 mission branches)
  
• Ghana Accra (third mission) (4-5 stakes)
  
• Ghana Koforidua (3 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Ghana Kumasi (second mission) (2-3 stakes, 2-3 districts)
  
• Ghana Takoradi (2 stakes, 2 districts) 
• Ghana Tamale (1 district)
  
• Kenya Eldoret (3 districts)
• Kenya Nairobi (second mission) (1-2 stakes, 1-3 districts)
• Liberia Gbarnga (5 mission branches)
  
• Liberia Monrovia (second mission) (3 stakes)
  
• Malawi Lilongwe (2 districts) 
• Mauritius and Reunion (2 districts)
  
• Nigeria Benin City (second mission) (4-5 stakes)
• Nigeria Calabar (4 stakes, 1 district)
• Nigeria Eket (6 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 Bo (4 stakes, 1 district) 
• Sierra Leone Freetown (second mission) (2-3 stakes, 1 district)
  
• Togo Lome (2 stakes)

ASIA (9 missions)

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

EUROPE (10 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 (4 mission branches)
  
• Ireland Dublin (2 stakes, 1 district) 
• Italy Palermo (1 stake)
  
• Portugal Porto (3 stakes)
• Spain Granada (5 stakes)
  

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (33 missions)

• Argentina Buenos Aires (fifth mission) (5-6 stakes)
  
• Argentina Posadas (2 stakes, 5 districts)
• Argentina Tucumán (4 stakes, 1 district) 
• 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 Manaus (second mission) (5-6 stakes)
• Brazil Novo Hamburgo (6 stakes, 1 district) 
• Brazil Porto Velho (2 stakes)
  
• Brazil São Luís (2 stakes)
• Brazil São Paulo (sixth mission) (4-5 million, ~7 stakes)
• Brazil Sorocaba (5 stakes, 2 districts)
• Chile La Serena (3 stakes, 3 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 Tijuana (second mission) (5 stakes)
• Mexico Toluca (3 stakes)
  
• Panama Panama City (second mission) - (3-4 stakes, 1-3 districts)
  
• Peru Lima (seventh mission) (6-7 stakes)
• Peru Pisco (4 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Peru Pucallpa (2 stakes) 
• Peru Puno (3 stakes)
• Peru Tacna (5 stakes)
  

NORTH AMERICA (16 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) 
• Nevada Las Vegas (3 mission) (10 stakes)
  
• North Carolina Raleigh (second mission) (6-7 stakes)
• Ohio Cleveland (5 stakes)
  
• Oklahoma Tulsa (5 stakes)
• Pennsylvania Harrisburg (6 stakes)
• Texas Longview (5 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)

Likely New Missions to be Created - March 2023 Edition

See below for a list of likely locations to have new missions announced in the foreseeable future:

AFRICA

• Cote d'Ivoire Daloa (1 stake, 6 districts) 
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Likasi (3 stakes)
  
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa (third mission) (4 stakes)
  
• Gabon Libreville (4 mission branches)
  
• Ghana Accra (third mission) (4-5 stakes)
  
• Ghana Koforidua (3 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Ghana Kumasi (second mission) (2-3 stakes, 2-3 districts)
  
• Ghana Takoradi (2 stakes, 2 districts) 
• Kenya (second mission - in Eldoret or second in Nairobi) (1-2 stakes, 3-4 districts)
  
• Liberia Monrovia (second mission) (3 stakes)
  
• Malawi Lilongwe (2 districts) 
• Nigeria Benin City (second mission) (4-5 stakes)
• Nigeria Calabar (4 stakes, 1 district)
• Nigeria Eket (6 stakes)
  
• Nigeria Lagos (second mission) (4 stakes)
  
• Nigeria Warri (3 stakes, 3 districts)
• Senegal Dakar (1 district, several mission branches in neighboring countries)
  
• Sierra Leone Bo (4 stakes, 1 district) 
• Togo Lome (2 stakes)

ASIA 

• Middle East/African North Service Mission (2 stakes, 3 districts) 
• Philippines General Santos (3 stakes, 3 districts)
  
• Philippines Ormoc (3 stakes, 4 districts)
  
• Philippines Palawan/Mindoro (1 stake, 4 districts)
  
• Philippines Tuguegarao (3 stakes, 2 districts) 
• Sri Lanka Colombo (1 district)
  
• Thailand Ubon (1 stake, 1 district)

EUROPE

• Ireland Dublin (2 stakes, 1 district)
  
• Portugal Porto (3 stakes)
  

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

• Brazil Manaus (~6 stakes)
• Brazil São Luís (2 stakes)
• Brazil São Paulo (sixth mission) (4-5 million, ~7 stakes)
• Brazil Sorocaba (5 stakes, 2 districts)
• Cuba Havana (1 district)
  

OCEANIA

• 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)

Likely New Missions to be Created

See below for a list of likely locations to have new missions announced in the near future. The Church has already announced two new missions to be created in 2022 (Hawaii Laie and Rwanda Kigali). Typically, the Church has made a single announcement for new missions to be created for the year. It is unclear whether there may be additional missions announced for 2022. Each prospective new mission is also provided with the approximately population and number of stakes and districts the mission would likely service.

AFRICA

• Cote d'Ivoire Daloa (9.4 million, 1 stake, 9 districts) 
• Malawi Lilongwe (18.5 million, 2 districts)
  
• Nigeria Aba (3-4 million, 6 stakes)
  
• Nigeria Warri (5.7 million, 3 stakes, 4 districts)
  
• Sierra Leone Bo (3.0 million, four stakes) 
• Togo Lome (7.7 million, two stakes)

ASIA 

• Philippines Ormoc (~ 2 million, 3 stakes, 4 districts)
  
• Philippines Palawan/Mindoro (2.7 million, 1 stake, 4 districts)
  
• Philippines Tuguegarao (1.7 million, 3 stakes, 2 districts)
  
• Thailand Ubon (22.0 million, 1 stake, 1 district)
  

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

• Brazil Manaus (second mission) (3-4 million, ~6 stakes)
• Brazil Recife (second mission) (~5 million, ~6 stakes)
  
• Brazil São Luís (~7 million, 2 stakes)
• Brazil São Paulo (sixth mission) (4-5 million, ~7 stakes)
• Brazil Sorocaba (2-4 million, 5 stakes, 2 districts)
• Cuba Havana (11 million, 1 district)
  

OCEANIA

• Australia Brisbane (second mission) (~2.6 million, ~6 stakes)
  
• Australia Sydney (reinstate second mission) (~4 million, ~6 stakes)
• French Polynesia (second mission) (~150,000, ~5 stakes)
  
• Samoa (second mission) (~100,000, ~12 stakes)
  
• Solomon Islands Honiara (691,000, 1 district)
  

 

New Stake in Idaho and New District in Burundi

Idaho

The Church organized a new stake in Idaho. The Twin Falls Idaho East Stake was organized on August 29th from the Kimberly Idaho Stake and the Twin Falls Idaho Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Eastbrooke, Twin Falls 1st, Twin Falls 7th, Twin Falls 11th, Twin Falls 15th, Twin Falls 19th, and Twin Falls YSA 1st Wards. There are now four stakes in the immediate Twin Falls area (with two additional stakes nearby in Filer and Kimberly). 

There are now 135 stakes in Idaho.

Burundi 

The Church organized its first district in Burundi. The Bujumbura Burundi District was organized on August 22nd, 2021. The new district includes all three branches in the country, namely the Bujumbura 1st, Bujumbura 2nd, and the Bujumbura 3rd Branches. Burundi ranked among the countries of the world with the most members without a stake or district prior to the creation of the new district. The Church reported 749 members at year-end 2019. Burundi pertains to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Lubumbashi Mission. Burundi and Rwanda appear highly likely to become their own mission in the foreseeable future given strong receptivity to the Latter-day Saint gospel message and recent periods of rapid membership growth.

Potential New Missions and Mission Closures in 2019

There has been no significant change in the number of full-time missionaries serving worldwide during 2018 and this number appears to have slightly decreased. The Church currently reports 65,915 full-time non-service missionaries serving worldwide, whereas at year-end 2017 there were 67,049 full-time non-service missionaries serving. However, there appears to be significant changes to the missionary program and the distribution of worldwide mission resources coming in the immediate future although I am not able to comment more about this development at this time.

Below is a list of locations where I believe as many a 22 missions may be closed and consolidate with neighboring missions in 2019 given church growth trends, the number of stakes/districts serviced by missions, and populations targeted by missionary efforts. I have used no unauthorized sources for these predictions and these predictions are based solely on my own efforts and analysis.

• Asia
• Combine Japan Nagoya Mission with Japan Tokyo South Mission
• Combine Korea Seoul and Korea Seoul South
• Combine Korea Daejeon with Korea Busan
• Europe
• Combine Baltic Mission with Finland Helsinki Mission
• Combine Czech/Slovak Mission with Poland Warsaw Mission
• Combine Norway Olso Mission with Denmark Copenhagen Mission
• Combine Russia St Petersburg Mission with Russia Moscow Mission
• Combine Russia Yekaterinburg Mission with Russia Novosibirsk Mission
• Latin America
• Combine Chile Rancagua Mission with Chile Concepcion Mission and Chile Santiago South Mission
• Combine Mexico Guadalajara East Mission with Mexico Guadalajara Mission and Mexico Queretaro Mission
• Combine Mexico Mexico City Northwest Mission with Mexico Mexico City North Mission
• Combine Mexico City Southeast Mission with Mexico Mexico City Chalco Mission and Mexico Mexico City South Mission
• United States
• Combine Arizona Scottsdale Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine California Anaheim Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine California Rancho Cucamonga Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine California Santa Rosa Mission with surrounding missions 
• Combine Colorado Fort Collins Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine Georgia Macon Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine New York Utica Mission with New York Rochester Mission
• Combine Oregon Salem Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine Virginia Chesapeake Mission with surrounding missions
• Combine Washington Yakima Mission with surrounding missions

Below is a list of 36 prospective new missions that appear likely to be organize in the foreseeable future given church growth trends, the number of stakes/districts assigned to current missions, and the size of target populations. Missions in bold appear most likely to be organized in 2019.

• Australia Brisbane (2nd mission)
• Bolivia Tarija
• Brazil Porto Velho
• Brazil Sao Luis
• Brazil Sao Paulo (6th mission)
• Brazil Sorocaba
• Cameroon Yaounde
• Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Abobo (4th Ivorian Mission)
• Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa (2nd mission)
• Ecuador Machala
• Ecuador Quevedo
• Ethiopia Addis Ababa 
• Ghana Koforidua
• Ghana Kumasi (2nd mission)
• Guatemala City (4th mission)
• Malawi Lilongwe
• Myanmar Yangon
• Nigeria Abuja
• Nigeria Onitsha
• Nigeria Uyo
• Peru Lima (6th mission)
• Philippines Antipolo
• Philippines Bacolod (2nd mission)
• Philippines Davao (2nd mission)
• Philippines Dumaguete
• Philippines Lucena 
• Philippines Ormoc
• Philippines Santiago
• Rwanda Kigali 
• Sierra Leone Bo
• Solomon Islands Honiara
• Tanzania Dar Es Salaam
• Texas Austin
• Texas Plano
• Thailand Udorn/Laos
• Togo Lome

New Branch in Myanmar (Burma)

Missionaries serving in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) report that the Church organized a second branch in Yangon last July. The North Dagon Branch now meets in a proselytism area that has been opened to proselytizing missionaries for more than two years. There appear to be at least 60 members in the new branch - essentially all of which are native members. Furthermore, there are now ten young, full-time missionaries assigned to serve in Myanmar under the supervision of the Thailand Bangkok Mission.

The Church assigned its first young, proselytizing missionaries to Yangon, Burma in February 2014 under the direction of the Thailand Bangkok Mission. The Church continues to classify its presence in the country as sensitive, but it appears that this classification may change in the near future. The translation of the Book of Mormon into Burmese is also underway. There are over 55 million people who live in Myanmar. Given its large population and improvements in religious freedom for Christian proselytism in government-controlled areas, prospects appear favorable for the creation of a mission headquartered in Yangon within the near future.

New Stakes Created in Bolivia (2), Tonga (2), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Nevada, Paraguay, Sierra Leone; Stake Discontinued in Colorado

Bolivia
The Church organized two new stakes in Bolivia on November 12th in the city of Cochabamba.

The Cochabamba Bolivia Aeropuerto Stake was organized from the Cochabamba Bolivia Cobija Stake (renamed the Cochabamba Bolivia Sarco Stake) and the Cochabamba Bolivia Jaihuayco Stake (renamed the Cochabamba Bolivia Alalay Stake). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Cobija, Jaihuayco, La Chimba, Lindo, and Villa México Wards.

The Cochabamba Bolivia Blanco Galindo Stake was organized from the Cochabamba Bolivia Quillacollo Stake (renamed the Cochabamba Bolivia Los Alamos Stake) and the Cochabamba Bolivia Cobija Stake (renamed the Cochabamba Bolivia Sarco Stake). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Colcapirhua, Ingavi, Jardin, La Floresta, and Los Alamos Wards.

There are now seven stakes in Cochabamba, and 32 stakes and eight districts in Bolivia.

Tonga
The Church organized two new stakes in Tonga.

The Nuku'alofa Tonga Capital Stake was organized on November 19th from a division of the Nuku'alofa Tonga Harbour Stake and the Nuku'alofa Tonga North Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards: the Kolomotu'a, Longolongo, Nuku'alofa 5th, Nuku'alofa 7th, and Nuku'alofa 14th Wards.

The Neiafu Vava'u Tonga Central Stake was organized on November 26th from a division of the Neiafu Vava'u Tonga Stake, Neiafu Vava'u Tonga North Stake, and the Neiafu Vava'u Tonga West Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Feletoa, Leimatu'a 1st, Leimatu'a 2nd, Mataika, Neiafu 3rd, and Neiafu 5th Wards, and the Houma Branch.

There are now 21 stakes and two districts in Tonga.

Brazil
The Church organized a new stake in Parana State, Brazil on November 26th. The Foz do Iguaçu Brazil Stake was organized from a division of the Cascavel Brazil Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Cataratas, Foz do Iguaçu, Itaipu, Portal de Foz, and Porto Meira Wards, and the Medianeira Branch.

There are now 21 stakes and two districts in Parana State. There are now 268 stakes and 40 districts in Brazil.

Costa Rica
The Church organized its eighth stake in the San Jose metropolitan area on November 19th. The Heredia Costa Rica Belén Stake was organized from a division of the Alajuela Costa Rica Stake and the Heredia Costa Rica Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Belén, El Tejar, Flores, La Ribera, and Ojo de Agua Wards, and the Santa Barbara Branch.

There are now 10 stakes and two districts in Costa Rica.

Cote d'Ivoire
The Church organized a new stake in Abidjan on December 3rd. The Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon Centre Stake was organized from a division of the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon North Stake and the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon South Stake. It is unclear what wards are assigned to the new stake. There were 25 wards in the two original stakes prior to the creation of the new stake. The Church has experienced rapid growth in the Yopougon sector of Abidjan as new stakes have been organized in this area of the city in 1997, 2010, 2014, and 2015. Furthermore, the 20th anniversary of the creation of the first stake in Abidjan was recently held.

There are now 12 stakes in the Abidjan metropolitan area. There are more stakes in the Abidjan metropolitan area than in any other metropolitan area on the continental landmass of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

El Salvador
A new stake was created in western El Salvador on November 19th. The Ahuachapán El Salvador El Espino Stake was organized from a division of the Ahuachapán El Salvador Stake and the Atiquizaya El Salvador Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Campestre, El Arco, El Espino, Las Brisas, Las Rosas, and Suncuan Wards.

There are now 21 stakes in El Salvador.

Nevada
The Church organized a new stake in Las Vegas on December 3rd. The Las Vegas Nevada Desert Foothills Stake was organized from a division of the Las Vegas Nevada Meadows Stake and the Las Vegas Nevada Redrock Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Amber Hills, Carl, Cimarron, Hillpointe, Paseos, and Pueblo Wards.

There are now 27 stakes in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. There are now 42 stakes in Nevada.

Paraguay
The Church organized a new stake in Paraguay on November 19th. The Limpio Paraguay Stake was organized from the Mariano Roque Alonso Paraguay District and the Luque Paraguay Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and four branches: the Huguito, Juan de Salazar, Limpio, Mariano Roque Alonso, Piquete Cue, and Salado Wards, and the Benjamin Aceval, Emboscada, Remansito, and Villa Hayes Branches.

There are now 11 stakes and nine districts in Paraguay.

Sierra Leone
The Church organized a new stake in Freetown on December 3rd. The Freetown Sierra Leone East Stake was created from a division of the Freetown Sierra Leone Stake, marking the first time the Church in Sierra Leone has organized a new stake from the division of a previously operating stake. Organized as the Church's 3,000th stake and the first stake in Sierra Leone back in December 2012, the Freetown Sierra Leone Stake had 11 wards and three branches prior to the division of the stake. Information on which congregations are assigned to the new stake remains unavailable. Never has the Church ever grown in a country from one stake to five stakes as quickly as in Sierra Leone. Four of the five stakes in the country were organized in 2017. Additional new stakes in Sierra Leone appear likely to be organized in the new future based upon missionary reports.

There are now five stakes and four districts in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Freetown Mission appears highly likely to divide in the immediate future to create a second mission in the country with headquarters likely in Bo. Also, there has been a net increase of 335 stakes worldwide within the past five years since the creation of the original Freetown Sierra Leone Stake.

Colorado
The Church recently discontinued the Golden Colorado Stake. With only four wards, the stake was combined with the former Lakewood Colorado Stake (renamed the Front Range Colorado Stake). The Church has discontinued multiple wards within the Golden, Colorado area over the past 15 years primarily due to members moving away from the area. Furthermore, the Golden Colorado Stake was recently reduced in size with the reassignment of the Buena Vista Branch to the Alamosa Colorado Stake, the Granby Branch to the newly created Craig Colorado Stake, and the Frisco Ward and Vail Ward to the Rifle Colorado Stake. This marks the first time in LDS history that a stake has ever been discontinued in Colorado. It appears likely that one more stake may be discontinued in the Denver area within the foreseeable future due to members moving away from older areas of the city.

There are now 35 stakes in Colorado.

Mission Realignments and Consolidations to Come

The Church reported yesterday that there will be many missions closing in the near future due to fewer members serving full-time missions. The Church previously reported approximately 58,000 full-time missionaries prior to the 2012 announcement that lowered the minimum age for full-time missionary service for men and women. Due to a subsequent double cohort of missionaries (i.e. members who entered the missionary force as anticipated prior to the age change announcement plus members who entered the missionary force earlier than expected due to the age change announcement), as well as an increased percentage of missionary service among some demographic groups such as women, the number of full-time missionaries increased to a high of 88,000 in 2014, but has since decreased to approximately 70,000 at present. Furthermore, the number of missions in the Church substantially increased from 347 in 2012 to 421 at present to accommodate larger numbers of missionaries serving.

I predict that there will be dozens of missions that will close/consolidate within the next two years given a decrease of approximately 18,000 full-time missionaries serving, and a lower-than-expected number of members serving full-time missions following the end to the double missionary cohort. During the "surge" of missionaries serving that lasted from 2013-2015, church leaders initially predicted that the number of full-time missionaries would stabilize in the high 70,000s and then slowly increase after that point. However, the number of full-time missionaries serving has stabilized nearly 10,000 less than anticipated. Given the Church's previous historical average of 163 members per mission prior to the age change announcement in 2012, this would indicate that there would need to be approximately 60 fewer missions to accommodate the current size of the worldwide full-time missionary force in comparison to what church leaders originally anticipated. Nevertheless, the Church reported an average of 168 missionaries per mission in 2016 - very close to the historical average for the Church prior to the minimal age change in 2012. The Church reported an average of 200 missionaries per mission in 2014 as missions accommodated larger numbers of missionaries than previously. Thus, it appears most likely that the Church will discontinue between 15-30 missions in the next couple years as part of these realignments given that missions are not understaffed in comparison to historical averages and a recent emphasis on larger numbers of missionaries serving in most missions.

Below is a list of locations where I believe missions will most likely be closed and consolidate with neighboring missions given church growth trends, the number of stakes/districts serviced by missions, and populations targeted by missionary efforts. It is likely that many of these countries will have several missions discontinued.

• Argentina
• Australia 
• Bolivia
• Chile 
• Japan
• Russia 
• Mexico 
• Peru
• South Korea
• Ukraine
• United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington)

It also appears likely that many new missions may be organized in the next couple years given rapid growth in some areas of the world, expanding opportunities for missionary work, populations that exhibit good receptivity to LDS outreach, minimally reached populations, and/or good stability of the local/regional full-time missionary force. Below is a list of prospective new missions that appear likely to be organize in the foreseeable future:

• Australia Brisbane (2nd mission)
• Brazil Porto Velho
• Brazil Sao Luis
• Cameroon Yaounde
• Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Abobo
• Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro
• Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa (2nd mission)
• Ethiopia Addis Ababa
• Ghana Kumasi (2nd mission)
• Malawi Lilongwe
• Myanmar Yangon
• Nigeria Abuja
• Nigeria Ibadan
• Nigeria Uyo
• Philippines Bacolod (2nd mission)
• Philippines Cabanatuan
• Philippines Davao (2nd mission)
• Philippines Dumaguete
• Philippines Lucena
• Philippines Ormoc
• Philippines Santiago
• Rwanda Kigali 
• Sierra Leone Bo
• Solomon Islands Honiara
• Tanzania Dar Es Salaam
• Texas Austin
• Texas Plano
• Thailand Bangkok (2nd mission)
• Togo Lome
• Zimbabwe Bulawayo