The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a limited reopening of the Provo, Ghana and New Zealand Missionary Training Centers for on-site training in late June 2021.
The opening dates for each MTC will be evaluated weekly and are dependent on local health guidelines and circumstances.
This is a 'phased and cautious approach' the Church is taking as it begins to reopen the MTCs that have been closed for 14 months, according to a Church press release.
'These plans for on-site MTC training have been carefully considered, and protocols will be in place to ensure a safe environment and experience for new missionaries before they leave to their assigned area of service,' the press release said.
Because of limited numbers allowed to attend, missionaries and local leaders will be contacted directly if they are invited to receive on-site training. All other missionaries will continue training online.
A negative COVID-19 test will be required for all missionaries to enter an MTC and tests will be administered to any missionaries who show symptoms during their time at the MTC.
According to the press release, only missionaries who are fully vaccinated are eligible for on-site training at the Provo MTC, starting with between 150 to 250 new missionaries each week.
Initially, the Provo MTC will also only invite U.S. missionaries who are not learning a new language to train on-site. Invitations for other missionaries to receive on-site training will expand 'as conditions continue to improve.'
The Ghana and New Zealand MTCs will only train about 50 local missionaries at a time. The number of missionaries at each MTC will gradually increase as COVID-19 conditions improve.
To 'allow missionaries to continue to experience many of the positive elements of online training,' most new missionaries will begin their missionary training at home then attend an MTC for the remainder of their training, the press release said.