Updated Country Profile - The Bahamas

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for The Bahamas. Little has changed for the Church in The Bahamas since the 2014 Edition of Reaching the Nations was published. The member activity rate in the country is estimated at 12%. Although a district was reestablished with "Nassau" in the name of it in early 2018, the district is headquartered out of the Cayman Islands and not The Bahamas. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

Low receptivity, negative cultural attitudes concerning the Church, and a high rate of church attendance in other faiths create significant challenges for future growth. Prospects for the creation of additional congregations appear poor until member reactivation efforts improve member activity rates, a higher percentage of new converts remain active for the long-term, and increases in convert baptisms occur. Traveling missionaries holding cottage meetings while visiting members and investigators on currently unreached islands may be a means of beginning missionary work in these locations.

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.

New Providence Bahamas District Dissolved

The New Providence Bahamas District was recently discontinued. There were four branches belonging to the former district, three of which were in the Bahamas. The fourth branch was just created a few months ago in the Turks and Caicos Islands in Providenciales. The district was created in 2002.

The Bahamas are currently part of the Jamaica Kingston Mission. I imagine that the decision to discontinue the district was related to decisions made to discontinue two of the districts on Jamaica recently. Leadership belonging to the former district in The Bahamas will better be able to serve in the branches they reside in and help build up the Church on a more local level. The branches were also dispersed over a large geographical area, with other branches on Grand Bahama and in Nassau.

I also wanted to add that young, full-time missionaries from the Jamaica Kingston Mission are now serving in the Turks and Caicos Islands.