News Release

The Church of Jesus Christ Announces the Addition of 16 New Missions in Africa

55 in total added, making 506 worldwide

At a time when increasing numbers of young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to choose to serve full-time missions, the Church is announcing plans to create an additional 55 missions, effective July 1, 2026. 16 of these will be in Africa. The new missions will help to accommodate a growing number of missionaries already called and will allow missionaries to better support the increasing number of congregations throughout the world.

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

The 16 new missions, which will be created by adjusting the boundaries of existing missions, will bring the number of Church missions around the world to 506.

“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,” said President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “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.”

New-missions-in-Africa-in-2026Download Photo

The number of young teaching and service missionaries and senior missionaries has gone from just over 65,000 at the end of 2022 to nearly 72,000 at the end of 2023 and is currently at more than 84,000. They serve in more than 150 countries and teach in more than 60 languages.

“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,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who chairs the Church’s Missionary Executive Council. “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,” he said.