In the first six months of 2018, nine Apostles were ordained by Chief Apostle Schneider. He also assigned a District Apostle Helper and appointed a District Apostle. Seven Apostles were retired.
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Apostle Mbana Nyassi (1979)
Photo: NAC Gambia
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Apostle Ignatius Nche Nchi (1978), Braima Saffa (1972), Ernest Onyebuchi Onwukwe (1960)
Photo: NAC Cameroon
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Apostle David Allan Heynes (1965)
Photo: Robert Anderson
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Apostle Peter Mukonda (1979)
Photo: NAC Zambia
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Apostle Sabwiza Tufele (1965)
Photo: NAC Zambia
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Apostle Kububa Soko (1969)
Photo: NAC Zambia
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Apostle Jürg Zbinden (1958)
Photo: Jonas Spengler
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Apostle Daniel Lunguenda (1961), João Carlos da Cruz Mafo (1975)
Photo: Hermann Bethke
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Apostle José Rafael Lara-Tovar (1964)
Photo: INA Venezuela
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Apostle Bernd Koberstein (1952)
Photo: Jessica Krämer
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Apostle Bisenga Ignatius Luneta (1952)
Photo: NAC Zambia
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Apostle Godwin Lubinda Nyuwa (1952)
Photo: NAC Zambia
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Apostle Markus Fehlbaum (1951)
Photo: Jonas Spengler
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Apostle Manuel Eduardo Mbuta (1953), José Ndombele Danu (1953)
Photo: Hermann Bethke
On 30 June 2018 there were 357 Apostles. They are supported by an additional 260,000 ministers in 60,000 congregations around the world. Including the Chief Apostle, there are 357 Apostles, of whom eleven are District Apostle Helpers and sixteen District Apostles.
Ordinations, appointments, assignments
At the beginning of the year, on 7 January 2018, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider ordained Bishop Mbana Nyassi (1979) as an Apostle in a divine service in Banjul (Gambia).
On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 Chief Apostle Schneider conducted a divine service in Yaoundé (Cameroon). The District Elders Ignatius Nche Nchi (1978), Ernest Onyebuchi Onwukwe (1960), and Braima Saffa (1972) were ordained as Apostles for Cameroon, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone respectively.
On Easter Sunday, 1 April 2018, District Evangelist David Allan Heynes (1965) was ordained as an Apostle for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Estonia. The ordination was carried out by the Chief Apostle during a divine service in Nottingham (England).
Chief Apostle Schneider also ordained two Apostles in Livingstone (Zambia) on 29 April 2018: Peter Mukonda (1979) and Sabwiza Tufele (1965). Apostle Kububa Soko (1969) was assigned as a District Apostle Helper in the same service.
On Sunday, 3 June 2018, the Chief Apostle appointed District Apostle Helper Jürg Zbinden (1958) as District Apostle for Switzerland. He succeeds Markus Fehlbaum, who retired in the same service.
In a divine service in Luanda (Angola) on Sunday, 10 June, two Bishops received the Apostle ministry: Daniel Lunguenda (1961) and João Carlos da Cruz Mafo (1975).
Retirements
In a divine service on Sunday, 11 February 2018, in Maracay (Venezuela), District Apostle Raúl Eduardo Montes de Oca retired Apostle José Rafael Lara-Tovar prematurely for health reasons.
On Sunday, 25 February 2018 District Apostle Bernd Koberstein retired. Chief Apostle Schneider carried the retirement out in a divine service in Dieburg (Germany). District Apostle Koberstein’s district was merged with District Apostle Rainer Storck’s (1958).
In a service in Livingstone (Zambia) on 29 April 2018, Chief Apostle Schneider retired two Apostles: Bisenga Ignatius Luneta (1952) and Godwin Lubinda Nyuwa (1952).
On Sunday, 3 June 2018 District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum (1951) retired during a divine service by the Chief Apostle in Ostermundigen (Switzerland).
The Apostles José Ndombele Danu (1953) and Manuel Eduardo Mbuta (1953) from Angola, who had been in the Apostle ministry for 20 and 26 years respectively, retired in a divine service in Luanda on 10 June 2018. The service was held at the Conquerios Stadium.
District Apostle Areas
There are sixteen District Apostle Areas worldwide, which are led by the following District Apostles:
- Andrew H. Andersen (Australia)
- Michael David Deppner (DR Congo West)
- Michael Ehrich (Southern Germany)
- Joseph Opemba Ekhuya (East Africa)
- Urs Hebeisen (South-East Asia)
- Leonard Richard Kolb (USA)
- Rüdiger Krause (Northern and Eastern Germany)
- John L. Kriel (Southern Africa)
- Enrique Eduardo Minio (Argentina)
- Raúl Eduardo Montes de Oca (Brazil)
- Wolfgang Nadolny (Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany)
- Charles S. Ndandula (Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe)
- Rainer Storck (Western Germany)
- Tshitshi Tshisekedi (DR Congo South-East)
- Mark Woll (Canada)
- Jürg Zbinden (Switzerland)
The District Apostles are supported by District Apostle Helpers, who, as a rule, are active in specific countries:
- David Devaraj (India)
- Frank Stephan Dzur (Canada)
- John William Fendt (USA)
- Edy Isnugroho (South-East Asia)
- Arnold N. Mhango (Malawi)
- Mandla Patrick Mkhwanazi (Southern Africa)
- João Uanuque Misselo (Angola)
- Robert Nsamba (Zambia)
- Peter Schulte (Australia)
- John Sobottka (Canada)
- Kububa Soko (Zambia)
Currently, there is one retired Chief Apostle, twenty retired District Apostles, six retired District Apostle Helpers, and 177 retired Apostles.