Posted by:
kingbrigham
(
)
Date: November 19, 2014 07:08AM
Some of the posters to RFM say that the essentially flat membership growth of the church in the U.S. and Europe is compensated for by strong growth in Latin America. This may be true. But in addition to growth there, Cumorah.com has listed some of the “challenges”. The following are excerpts from some of the reports Cumorah.com has prepared:
Mexico
Mexico City: Many of the most favorable conditions for church planting appear to be in lesser-reached municipalities with lower living standards.
Monterrey: Essentially stagnant congregational growth within the past few years notwithstanding congregational growth achieved in the 2000s.
Chile
Santiago: Some of the lowest member activity and convert retention rates in the world; perhaps as few as 10% of members on church records.
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro: Several stakes have the minimum number of congregations needed to operate, suggesting that some of these stakes may be in danger of being discontinued if active membership growth does not occur and no additional congregations are organized.
São Paulo: Among the most self-sufficient cities in Brazil in terms of the size and strength of local leadership. No other city in Brazil has as many stakes, and stakes require certain numbers of active Melchizedek Priesthood holders to function, indicating that there are large numbers of priesthood manpower available to concentrate on expanding outreach.
Belo Horizonte: The Church has a significantly smaller presence in Belo Horizonte despite the operation of two missions in the city between 1994 to 2009 and steady congregational growth over the past several decades. Low member activity and convert retention rates appear widespread, resulting in many congregations with hundreds of inactive members.
Brasilia: Activity and convert retention rates are low, resulting in significant numbers of inactive members on church records. Quick-baptize tactics and a disconnect between the missionary efforts of full-time missionaries and local members appears primarily responsible for activity rates as low as 20-25%.
Argentina
Buenos Aires: Stagnant membership growth. After many years of steady, positive congregational growth, slight congregational decline occurred during the early 2010s as the number of congregations declined from 208 to 201. Only one new stake was organized in the 2000s and only two new stakes were created in the early 2010s.
Uruguay
Montevideo: Worsening member activity rates within the past decade as evidenced by membership growth rates surpassing congregational growth rates and a net decrease in the number of congregations. More than a dozen wards and branches were discontinued between the early 2000s and early 2010s. Missionaries continue to baptize many new converts year to year, but convert retention appears poor.
Peru
Lima: Due to only a few dozen new wards and branches organized and a dozen or more ward and branch closures, the total number of units in the Lima area only modestly increased in the 2000s.
Panama
Panama City: The number of congregations declined from 63 in 2002 to 39 in early 2014 -- one of the most extreme cases of congregational decline in Latin America. As few as 10-15% of members regularly attend. Panama City is one of the few metropolitan areas in Central America and the Caribbean that has had a stake discontinued within the past decade due to activity problems and leadership shortages. These conditions pose serious challenges for future growth due to enormous numbers of inactive members and persistent problems with convert retention.
Venezuela
Caracas: Although the Church achieved a net increase in the number of congregations between the early 2000s and present day, within the past couple of years, the Church has closed five congregations (three wards, two branches) within the Caracas metropolitan area. This finding indicates problems with member activity and convert retention rates, as well as shortages of local priesthood holders to staff essential ward and branch callings.
Colombia
Bogota: Dramatically slower growth than in most other populous metropolitan areas in South America. The number of congregations in Bogotá declined by approximately 10 within the past decade despite steady numbers of convert baptisms and increasing nominal church membership.
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