The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will create five new missions in 2023 in Africa. The new missions are listed below:
- Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan North Mission, a division of the Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East Mission, with some areas currently within the Abidjan West Mission.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo Kananga Mission, a division of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission.
- Nigeria Aba Mission, a division of the Nigeria Owerri Mission with areas also within the Nigeria Benin City and Nigeria Enugu Missions.
- Nigeria Abuja Mission, a division of the Nigeria Lagos Mission.
- South Africa Pretoria Mission, a division of the Botswana/Namibia and South Africa Johannesburg Missions, with areas of the South Africa Durban Mission also impacted.
Patrick Mawongo, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa West Mission, who comes from Kananga, said, “for Sister Mawongo and me, this announcement of the new Kananga Mission is a great blessing for the region, because it will bless the souls of our Heavenly Father’s children with the gospel of peace that will be proclaimed by the missionaries. It will bring joy and transformation to our friends and the missionaries themselves.”
Elder David Ngabizele, Area Authority Seventy who oversees the Church in Kananga, said, “a mission in Kananga shows that the Lord is hastening his work with His strong hand. It is a new day, and the sun of the gathering is shining in the Kasaï.”
Mission presidents and companions of the new missions will be announced in January 2023.
When the new missions officially open in July 2023, there will be 416 missions of the Church worldwide.