Tuning in to the New Apostolic Church

Right from the start of the broadcasts by the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany in January 2010, listeners have been hearing the song “Jesus, joy of man’s desiring”. At that time, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber greeted the listeners of the programme. Almost 14 years later, District Apostle Michael Ehrich welcomes the audience. Presenter Friederike Gottschalk introduces him as “Church President”, because many listeners are not so familiar with New Apostolic terms such as District Apostle.

A New Year’s greeting from the radio

District Apostle Michael Ehrich talks about the highlights of the past year and the events that 2024 will bring. He then touches on the Church’s annual motto for 2024: “Prayer works!” “Especially those who are involved in pastoral care sometimes have a special need to establish a connection with God,” he says. “And prayer has also been described as the breath of the soul.”

After the interview with the Church President of the Regional Church of Southern Germany, a New Apostolic orchestra plays a transition to a text about the uncertain times in which many listeners currently find themselves.

The Church presents itself

The radio team of eight people meets twice a year to plan the programmes. “We look at what might be suitable, what events are coming up, who could contribute something fascinating,” Friederike Gottschalk says, who works for the Church and has offered to take nac.today readers on a tour and show them her day-to-day radio work. “We set out a general direction in the annual plan. At the same time, we remain flexible so that we can address current topics.”

“When I do a portrait of a brother or sister in faith, we meet via Zoom and talk to each other,” she explains. Her interview partner records her- or himself and then sends in the audio material. Or sometimes she is on site at an event to record the audio. The various takes are then edited and cut. The result is a contribution that lasts about six minutes. The whole programme is scheduled for fifteen minutes. Friederike Gottschalk then combines two such building blocks and writes texts for her presentation. Once Annika Metz, the head of the broadcasting team, has given her approval, the texts are recorded. The technical equipment is provided by the Bavarian radio station.

“The aim of the programme is to show who we are, what we believe in, what we do, what we stand for, and what moves us,” Friederike Gottschalk explains. The team tries to do this with topics such as portraits for example about a New Apostolic Christian and her experience as a refugee child, aid projects by human aktiv, projects with other churches and representatives of other denominations, unusual music projects, or congregational activities and projects of the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany, such as the life of faith in the countries served by the district. The programme presents the church and its members.

Short reports in the neighbouring federal stated

Since 2015, the radio station SWR1 has also been broadcasting a programme with content from the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany on Sunday mornings. The concept behind it is different, however. “This is a pure proclamation lasting two and a half minutes,” Friederike Gottschalk explains. “There are five authors who share their thoughts on a particular Christian theme. The aim is to provide some devotional thoughts on Sunday morning and give the listeners something to reflect on.”

Two to three work days go into each programme on Bayern 2. It’s a lot of work, but “it is a job that is incredibly fun and rewarding”, Friederike Gottschalk says. Also for the brothers and sisters who can attune themselves on a Sunday morning and reflect on their faith and the Church while having breakfast or driving to church.