On a recent Sunday morning, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered at the Coliseum on the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton to hear about the realignment of congregations in Frisco, Little Elm, Prosper, and surrounding communities.
Frisco and neighboring cities are among the fastest growing in the country due to the area’s healthy economy, vibrant job market, and affordable housing. That growth has included a steady and significant increase in the number of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Due to the increase, the Church created a new stake, the Little Elm Stake.
Congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ are organized geographically, and members attend worship services near their home. Each member belongs to a stake, which is similar to a Catholic diocese. Each stake has several smaller congregations called wards.
Prior to the creation of the new stake, 4,094 members were in the Frisco Stake. To accommodate the growth, over 1,000 members from 3 different Frisco wards are now either in the new Little Elm Stake or the realigned Prosper Stake. 3,082 members from 8 different congregations remain as the Frisco Stake.
These changes have necessitated a new counselor to Kris Katseanes, who is Stake President of the Frisco Stake. Brian Perkes, who served as Second Counselor to President Katseanes since April 2018, will now serve as First Counselor in the Prosper Stake. Taylor Frederickson remains as First Counselor to Katseanes. This Sunday, it was announced that Kory Aoyama will serve as the new Second Counselor. Running a stake and meeting the needs of its members requires a substantial amount of time and effort, which is carried out by the members themselves. This is true for this stake presidency who hold full-time positions in the area: Katseanes is Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service for FC Dallas/Toyota Stadium, Frederickson is President at Triathlon Battery Solutions, Inc., and Aoyama is National Account Sales Director for Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Regarding the changes, President Katseanes remarked, “As growth occurs in the Church, it always brings the opportunity to serve alongside new brothers and sisters. It’s a blessing, and we look forward to serving all who are in Frisco and The Colony — members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and non-members alike. We hope to be seen as Christlike neighbors to everyone with whom we come in contact.”
In addition to the changes at the stake level, two congregations within the Frisco Stake have changed their boundaries and leadership. The Frisco 3rd Ward will be led by Bishop Daniel Perdue. Bishop Perdue works for Verizon Media as Senior Systems Engineer. He will serve his congregation with Andrew Zenger as First Counselor and Allan Hansen as Second Counselor. The Colony Ward will be led by Bishop Lee Sonne, who is System Director of Accounting at CHRISTUS Health. He will serve with Cory Johnson as First Counselor and Nathan Bingham as Second Counselor.
Together, the Frisco Stake, the new Little Elm Stake, and the realigned Prosper Stake make up 8,600 members of the 52,500 members in the Dallas area. Across the globe, the Church has more than 30,500 congregations and 16.3 million members, with the majority living outside the U.S. The Church functions well in large measure because of the unpaid, volunteer ministry of its members. This lay ministry is one of the Church’s most defining characteristics. Members are encouraged to give charitable and community service, care for the poor and needy, enhance the quality of life in the community, and follow the example of Jesus Christ.