Fifty Eight New Missions

On Saturday February 23, 2013, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the creation of 58 new missions increasing the number of missions by 16.7% and bringing the total number of missions to 405.  Elder David F. Evans of the Seventy, executive director of the Missionary Department, said that the new missions are sustainable after the current wave of missionaries subsides.  This suggests that missionary numbers will be at least match the increase in the percentage of missions.  Using 57,000 missionaries as the base number prior to the announcement, a 16.7% increase in missionaries implies a sustainable missionary force of more than 66,500 missionaries.  A 100% increase in the number of Sisters and a 2% increase in Elders would result in a sustainable missionary force of 65,500.  Estimates of new missionaries will become more accurate as eighteen year-old graduating seniors submit their applications.

The increase in missionary applications is unprecedented.  Never before has the Church experienced the numerical growth in applications and while the percentage of missionaries set apart was bigger in several years, the reasons for these increases adds to the uniqueness of the current surge.  After WWI, missionaries set apart increased 394%, after the Great Depression, 61%, after WWII, 474%, after the Korean War, 101%, and after the Vietnam War and the end of the draft, 47%. 

A table following the post gives the location of the mission by the six geographic regions that the Church uses on its Newsroom website.  Of the 58 new missions, 5 (8.6%) will be in Africa, 6 (10.3%) in Asia, 1 (1.7%) in Europe, 11 (19.0%) in North America excluding the United States, 17 (29.3%) in the United States, 15 (25.7%) in South America, and 3 (5.2%) in Oceania. 

The distribution of new missions reflects the prior distribution of missions.  North America excluding the United States gained the most missions as a percent increase of total church missions increasing .5% to 16.1%.  Europe lost 1.4% falling to 10.4%. 

When asked what all of these missionaries would do, Elder Nelson, the chairman of the Missionary Executive Committee of the Church said

…these missionaries will do what missionaries have always done. They will preach the gospel. They will teach, they will testify, they will rescue and they will bless the lives of God's children ('Most wonderful time' for missionary service”).

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New Missions

	Before	%	After	%
AFRICA
Angola Luanda
Botswana Gaborone
Ghana  Accra West
Liberia Monrovia
Nigeria Benin City
Africa Total	22	6.3	27	6.7
ASIA
Japan Tokyo South
Korea Seoul South
Philippines Cavite
Philippines Cebu East
Philippines Legaspi
Philippines Urdaneta
Asia Total	37	10.7	43	10.6
EUROPE
Ukraine L'viv
Europe Total	41	11.8	42	10.4
NORTH AMERICA Excluding U.S.
El Salvador San Salvador East
Guatemala Coban
Honduras San Pedro Sula West
México Cancún
México Ciudad Juarez
México Ciudad Obregón
México México City Chalco
México Pachuca
México Queretaro
México Reynosa
México Saltillo
North American Excluding U.S. Total	54	15.6	65	16.1
North American United States
Arizona Gilbert
Arizona Scottsdale
California Bakersfield
California Irvine
California Rancho Cucamonga
Colorado Fort Collins
Georgia Macon
Idaho Nampa
Idaho Twin Falls
Illinois Chicago West
Kansas Wichita
Ohio Cincinnati
Oregon Salem
Utah Salt Lake City East
Virginia Chesapeake
Washington Federal Way
Washington Vancouver
United States Total	103	29.7	120	29.6
North America Total	157	45.2	185	45.7
SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia
Argentina Posadas
Bolivia Santa Cruz North
Brazil Curitiba South
Brazil Fortaleza East
Brazil Juiz de Fora
Brazil Natal
Brazil Piracicaba
Brazil Santos
Brazil São Paulo West
Chile Santiago South
Ecuador Guayaquil West
Ecuador Quito North
Peru Huancayo
Peru Iquitos
South America Total	75	21.6	90	22.2
OCEANIA
Australia Sydney North
New Zealand Hamilton
Papua New Guinea Lae
Oceania Total	15	4.3	18	4.4
World Total	347	100	405	100