Hello again, everyone! I am back with a stunning announcement from the First Presidency: Due to the continually rising number of missionaries, the Church will add 55 new missions in 2026. These additional missions will bring the total mission count worldwide to 506. Church President and Prophet Dallin H. Oaks offered the following statement:
"It is inspiring to see the number of young Church members who continue to answer the call to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. These missionaries are helping to bless the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year who are choosing to be baptized into the Lord’s Church."
The total coount of young teaching, servicee, and senior missionaries has steadily risen and is currently at a total of more than 84,000. Elder Quenntin L. Cook, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council, offered the following statement: "It’s a blessing to see how each missionary contributes to the individuals they teach and serve as they share the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. These additional missions help to balance the number of missionaries in each mission, allowing mission leaders to better support and mentor the missionaries they lead."
Here is the list of new missions, grouped by alphabetical geographical Church areas, then alphabetically within those areas:
Africa Central
1. DR Congo Kinshasa North
2. DR Congo Mwene-Ditu
3. Kenya Kisumu
4. Uganda Kampala East
Africa South
5. Angola Luanda North
6. Malawi Lilongwe
7. Mozambique Nampula
8. South Africa East London
9. Zimbabwe Harare West
Africa West
10. Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan South
11. Cote d’Ivoire Daloa
12. Ghana Accra South
13. Ghana Sunyani
14. Liberia Monrovia West
15. Senegal Dakar
16. Togo Lomé
Asia North
17. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar West
Brazil
18. Brazil Guarulhos
19. Brazil São Bernardo
20. Brazil Sorocaba
Canada
21. Canada Halifax
22. Canada Toronto East
Europe Central
23. France Paris South
24. Greece Athens
25. Spain Madrid East
Europe North
26. Cape Verde Mindelo
México
27. México Tula
Pacific
28. Australia Brisbane South
29. Papua New Guinea Daru
30. Papua New Guinea Madang
31. Samoa Apia East
32. Solomon Islands Honiara
Philippines
33. Philippines Lingayen
34. Philippines Lipa
35. Philippines Ormoc
36. Philippines Ozamiz
37. Philippines Puerto Princesa
South America Northwest
38. Perú Lima Northwest
39. Perú Tacna
South America South
40. Paraguay Asunción South
41. Uruguay Salto
United States Central
42. Missouri Kansas City
43. Wyoming Cheyenne
United States Northeast
44. Indiana Fort Wayne
45. Virginia Norfolk
United States Southeast
46. Mississippi Jackson
United States Southwest
47. Arizona Phoenix East
48. Oklahoma Tulsa
49. Texas Dallas North
50. Texas Houston North
51. Texas San Antonio South
United States West
52. California Oceanside
53. California Ontario
54. California Victorville
55. Idaho Coeur d’Alene
This announcement is a huge surprise, but also a welcome one. I am grateful for the many missionaries that are making tthe announcement of these 55 new missions possible. I will just add here that, apparently, since the Church's last announcement of new missions in 2024, one new mission has been created that I can't quite account for. On another note, I was kind of hoping that, if the Church had breaking news to report today, it would be the announcement of the newest apostle. But clearly it's not time for such an announcement now.
So I will just cap off today's news by saying I am grateful for this announcement, despite the fact that it wasn't what I had expected/hoped for. There will be a lot of new mission presidents for the First Presidency to call, in addition to however many other missions are due to have a new mission president. And I expect that the announcement of almost 200 new mission presidents will soon follow. I will just addthat while I was composing this post, the Church News also reported on today's announcement.
I am grateful for today's announcement, even though it wasn't what I had hoped for. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now.
All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.
Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Second mission in Mongolia
ReplyDeleteL. Chris Jones, I assume that the above comment was from you. The list of new missions is remarkable. Glad to see that Mongolia got a second missions. Thrilling times we live in! Thanks for stopping by to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteDo you have the Pakistan Service Mission? That may be why your number is off.
ReplyDeleteThat would explain the discrepancy in what I had accounted for. Thanks, Scott Shipley, for the reminder of that mission. I appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteThe Tabernacle Choir has announced that a Broadway couple will serve as the guests for the Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert. The Church News has also covered two other updates. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDelete