“Joy in Christ” is the motto that the Chief Apostle published for the New Apostolic Church at the beginning of the year. Since then this motto has not only accompanied the brothers and sisters around the globe orally and in writing, but it has also been illustrated in the meantime. Following is a closer look at the logos designed by the district churches and the ideas behind them.
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Photo: NAK NRW
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Photo: NAC Canada
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Photo: NAC Cape
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Photo: NAC South East Africa
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Photo: INA Brasil/Bolívia
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Photo: NAC South East Asia
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Photo: NAC Australia
Already in his New Year’s message, Chief Apostle Schneider named four of the cornerstones of the 2015 motto. Joy in Christ, he said, consists of
- the joy over salvation in Christ,
- the joy over the fellowship of Christians,
- the joy of serving according to the example set by Jesus, and
- the joy we feel over the gifts and powers we receive in daily life.
Since his New Year’s Day service, this motto has unfolded more and more and opened up new avenues. District Apostles from across the world have given the motto new impulses in our “Spotlight” series.
The joy of serving
The motto has not only accompanied the brothers and sisters orally and in writing, but has also been given a face over the last few months. Whether online or as a logo on letter-heads, in magazines, or calendars, the District Churches have illustrated the 2015 motto, giving it many more facets.
The most recent example is the logo by the District Church of Brazil and Bolivia that sets out to symbolize the way we serve. Central to the logo is a rhombus that stands for the four pillars of the congregation mentioned in Acts 2: 42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” This is how Karin Zwar, our nac.today correspondent explains it. The stylized flames represent the enthusiasm with which everyone uses their gifts for the good of the community.
Another way to spell “joy”
The logo designed by the New Apostolic Church South East Africa is just as evocative. To underline the motto, the District Church developed three core principles, derived from the letters of the word “joy”. J = Jesus, O = Others, and Y = Yield. The thoughts behind this are:
- If Jesus lives in our hearts, then He will influence our behaviour in a positive way.
- Our serving others should be guided by the following principle, “… let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others” (Philippians 2: 3–4).
- Yield refers to an abundant harvest and a better quality of life that we will experience if we carry out the above two points.
Underlining the international character of the Church
Additional aspects are highlighted by the designs of five other District Churches.
- The community, and thus fellowship, is central to the logos developed by the New Apostolic Churches Cape and Canada. The logo by the NAC Cape is dominated by the colours of Africa, whereas the logo by the NAC Canada was designed with several shades of blue.
- The international character of the Church is brought out by the multilingual logo of the New Apostolic Church North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
- How many small elements work together to form one big whole is shown by the design of the New Apostolic Church Australia.
- The special attraction of the logo designed by the New Apostolic Church South-East Asia is not so much the design itself than its intended use: the logo is used on promotional lapel buttons to show how committed you are to your faith.
Joy in different keys
The 2015 motto has also been translated into music. A composer from Germany has written a canon on the Bible text that the New Year’s Day service was based on. You can listen to it on nac.today. And how “joy in Christ” can sound in South Africa is demonstrated after a divine service by the Chief Apostle in Port Elizabeth.