Graphic from Deseret News
LDS Church News reports that beginning July 1st, missionaries in the existing Bulgaria Sofia and Russia Novosibirsk missions will be divided into a new mission, which the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve approved this week. The new mission, which will be called the Central Eurasian Mission, will cover Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
There are currently 406 missions around the world. The new mission will join 11 others that were announced earlier this year to be created on July 1.
Speaking to the creation of those 11 missions, the Elder David F. Evans, a member of the Seventy and Executive Director of the Missionary Department, explained, “Our effort will be to reduce that amount over time to a maximum of about 200 missionaries per mission. Long experience has taught us that missionaries and mission presidents do better with about 200 missionaries as opposed to a larger number than that.”
He also noted, "We hope there’s a need to create even more new missions as we go forward. As the rising generation continues to respond to President Monson’s invitation, to plan their lives, to counsel with their parents and with their bishops, and to prayerfully consider missionary service, I believe even more of them are going to continue to choose to serve the Lord in this way.”