Cape Town is hosting its fourth New Apostolic Pentecost celebration. Each has had its own unique character and left lasting impressions—inviting a moment of reflection.
Pentecost, 4 June 2006
This festive occasion hardly be celebrated without recalling the previous year’s Pentecost, when Chief Apostle Richard Fehr ordained his successor, Wilhelm Leber, on 15 May 2005 in Fellbach, Germany.
This even was undoubtedly still fresh in the minds of the members of the then Cape Apostle District when it was announced that the new Chief Apostle, Wilhelm Leber, would conduct the following Pentecost divine service in Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain. This news was met with great jubilation and excitement. To help members become better acquainted with the new Chief Apostle, a PowerPoint presentation containing biographical information was even distributed to congregations.
To make this event even more notable, it coincided with the centenary of the dedication of the first New Apostolic church building on the African continent. This was brought into stark relief when viewers of the transmitted divine service were treated to a short film depicting the history of the Palmyra Road church in Claremont, Cape Town, titled “Welcome to Cape Town, the mother among the cities of South Africa”. In this presentation it was noted that the Consul-General for Germany, Freiherr von Humbolt, and the mayor of Claremont, Mr H. Hands, were in attendance during the dedication service of this church building on Pentecost, 4 June 1906.
A great reverence settled over the congregation in Tafelsig as months of intense preparation came to fruition and the Chief Apostle stepped behind the altar with his interpreter. The sermon was to be interpreted into English at the altar and subsequently into some 22 further languages. The transmission served more than sixty countries across all five continents using 14 satellites. It was reported that 1.5 million believers in nearly 8,000 churches were able to share in the divine service.
The sermon was based on Acts 4: 31: “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” A glance through the rows revealed a heartwarming sight: retired Chief Apostle Richard Fehr was also in attendance.
In keeping with New Apostolic tradition at the time, Chief Apostle Leber read a Pentecost greeting, which was to serve the members as a guiding principle for the church year. It was taken from Hebrews 10: 39: “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
At the close of the divine service, the choir rendered a newly composed hymn, “Spirit Alive!”, giving voice to the profound spiritual impact of the Chief Apostle’s visit.
Pentecost, 23 May 2010
Two defining aspects shaped the 2010 Pentecost celebrations in Cape Town: a meeting of all the Apostles from across the globe and South Africa’s role as host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In a District Apostles’ meeting in New York in October 2008, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber made the announcement, “I now invite all the Apostles to an International Apostles’ Meeting at Pentecost 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.” This meeting would be a memorable one, as it was to be the final traditional regular meeting of this kind.
Upon returning from this meeting, District Apostle Noel Barnes immediately established a project group to coordinate preparations for the event. Twelve portfolios oversaw the required logistics, and the team met 35 times in preparation. Needless to say, with the FIFA World Cup set to begin just 18 days after the International Apostles’ Meeting, hotel accommodation and conference rooms had to be secured without delay.
The programme included a full-day conference on the Friday, morning excursions on Saturday, followed by a concert at the Silvertown church later that day, and the Pentecost divine service at the Tafelsig church on Sunday. This was the year in which NACTV was born and the first time for a festive concert in the Silvertown church to be broadcast worldwide, enabling more than 340,000 listeners to take part.
All District Apostles and 341 Apostles were present at the Pentecost service on Sunday, which was audio-visually transmitted across the globe. Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber based his sermon on Acts 1: 8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” As a Pentecost greeting he read Hebrews 12: 1: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
The choir and orchestra combined at the conclusion of the divine service to give vent to pent up praise and adoration in a rousing and tumultuous performance of a specially composed piece of music: “One Spirit – One Goal!” The title had also served as the motto for this memorable Pentecost gathering.
Pentecost, 28 May 2023
This 2023 Pentecost celebration in Cape Town was also coupled with a meeting of District Apostles worldwide. The international church leaders met with Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider on Friday. On Saturday afternoon, they attended a concert in the Silvertown church, which was broadcast to an international audience.
The closing anthem of the Pentecost service, held in the Tafelsig church on Sunday morning, seemed to set the resonant tone by which the event would be remembered. The haunting melody of “Spirit-renewed” lingered in the hearts of many a believer long after the divine service had ended, fittingly underscoring the message of Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider’s sermon based on 2 Timothy 1: 7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Pentecost, 24 May 2025
And now the New Apostolic Church Southern Africa stands on the threshold of another memorable Pentecost, as Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider prepares to ordain his successor.
Photo: NAC Southern Africa