community 1/2025: Doing good is always in season
It’s that time again: the new issue of community is available as of right now. And as is true in every other quarter, there is something for everyone to discover—whether you are a child, an avid reader, or one of those people who simply enjoys looking at pictures, you will find what you are seeking.
It’s time to do good! This is the annual motto of the New Apostolic Church for 2025. A glance into the year’s first issue of community shows us that doing good has always been in season in the New Apostolic Church.
Ministers are not only there for pastoral care
Bishop Ruud Vis is not above wading through the mud in rubber boots. Together with his team from the Netherlands, he is helping to build wells on the other side of the Atlantic, namely in the small South American country of Suriname, where the population speaks Dutch. The Bishop usually comes in a black suit to help local people with their faith life. This time, however, he is on the road on behalf of an aid organisation known as the Stichting Corantijn to provide humanitarian aid.
The magazine for everyone
As always, both the printed and digital community booklet begin with some introductory words from the Chief Apostle. This time he explains his thoughts on the annual motto to our brothers and sisters around the world. This is followed by the unabridged version of a divine service conducted by the international Church president, along with three further divine services in abbreviated and more concise format. The current edition features services from Mzuzu, Malawi; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; St. Catherines, Canada; and Tbilisi, Georgia. They inspire comfort with regard to future salvation and impart important values such as humility and love for our neighbour.
The younger generation is very important to the New Apostolic Church. The Church magazine dedicates two double pages to our children. This time, the magazine takes young (and perhaps not so young) readers back to the time of Jesus and the story he told about the “lost sheep”. And together with Naelle, they head out to discover Senegal. The seven-year-old reports on her hometown of Dakar, her Church community, and her hobbies.
The core content of the magazine also includes the Chief Apostle’s teaching letter. The current edition features an essay on “Unity and diversity in the Church.”
Reading about other countries
The New Apostolic world is on full display on the following pages. Apostle Robert Ferguson takes readers on a journey to Guyana, where the brothers and sisters have recently built two churches in the middle of the jungle, where there are no roads and little electricity.
The Youth Summit that unfolded around the divine service in St. Catherines is recounted in detail in the space of two pages. And an article about a divine service at an authors’ workshop gives readers insight into the creation of the “Divine Service Guide”, a publication for the ministers of the New Apostolic Church.
The site also offers a glimpse at the new look of nac.today, the news portal of the New Apostolic Church International. With just one click, readers of the print magazine can enter the digital world of the New Apostolic Church by way of a QR code.