The Potential for Unit Growth in 2017

[james]

I have been thinking recently about Church growth trends. I remember at one point this year, on the LDS Church Growth blog, someone posed the question of how many new stakes might be created in 2017. I gave my initial estimate at that time based on a formula I had come up with. Right now, I would like to revise that estimate. With the average 1.5 stakes we have seen added per week (as 15 stakes have been added within the 10 Sundays when they could have been so far this year), there could be as many as 78 stakes created in 2017.

We have also seen a net decrease of 15 districts in those ten Sundays, in addition to a net increase of 24 wards and branches.

While it is too early to tell how Church growth trends might effect the remainder of 2017, all of that is interesting to think about.

I welcome any thoughts anyone has on this subject. Thanks for taking time to read this.

[james]

According to the LDS Church Growth Blog, the discussions from which this forum was created, and from which some information shared here comes, there is a potential for as many as 30 additional stakes, in addition to those 19 that we know of, to be created by the end of this year. There have been 20 out of the 53 Sundays that will be this year. So the year is nearing its halfway point. There has been a net increase of 18 stakes this year. And we have not yet reached the "high season" for those stake creations. So I stand by my previous estimate of 78 stakes for this year. Whether or not that will be the net increase remains to be seen. As with anything else, I welcome any input and feedback on my various theories presented on this forum. Without such input, I cannot hope to make these thoughts the best they can be. Thanks so much!