Building the Church with charity

A Church in which people feel at home—that is what the members in the countries served by the District Apostle area of Switzerland are to feel and experience in word and deed. And it is precisely this objective that the NAK-Diakonia Foundation pursues with all its might in its work throughout the Regional Church. So writes the foundation’s president, District Apostle Jürg Zbinden, in the foreword to the 2023 annual report.

In contrast to the aid organisation NAK-Humanitas, which provides charitable and humanitarian aid, the NAK-Diakonia Foundation focuses on “spreading the Christian faith and Christian values of a New Apostolic nature,” as the foundation's purpose states. This results in the following fields of activity:

• training and continuing education for ministers
• training and continuing education for musicians
• training and continuing education for teachers
• activities for children and youth
• regional and multi-regional youth days
• church infrastructure
• major events (for example, divine services by the Chief Apostle)
• support for Church members in difficult situations of life

Providing spaces

Providing and maintaining Church infrastructure is the largest item in the 2023 annual report. Many properties owned by the Church were renovated and renewed in the reporting year. Around 1.6 million Swiss francs went into construction work in 2023, with church buildings in Austria, Moldova and Spain in particular benefiting from the expenditure.

Propagating knowledge

The training and continuing education of musicians, ministers, and teachers is intended to help in congregational life in the medium to long term. For example, further training for communications leaders on 30 September 2023 was financed by NAK-Diakonia so that the knowledge could be passed on to the congregations and spread as widely as possible. In total, the training costs amounted to around 217,000 francs.

Supporting the future of the Church

From 8 – 15 July 2023, the children of Ticino and Northwest Italy enjoyed a week-long holiday in Dalpe. For three days, the young people of Romania and Moldova celebrated a combined youth summit from 16 – 18 June 2023. And for the young people of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, there was also a youth weekend in Velden, Austria from 22 – 24 September 2023, which featured many workshops, creative seminars, sports, and pastoral care offers. These and other events for children and young people were also financed by the NAK-Diakonia Foundation. In total, expenses in this area amounted to nearly 104,000 francs.

Delight over the visit of the Church leader

Even major events, such as the visit of the Chief Apostle, are often not financially possible for Regional Churches in the District Apostle area of Switzerland that are not as well established in financial terms. The Foundation therefore helped out here.

Individual assistance

Around 190,000 francs were used to support financially disadvantaged members of the Church. For example, food packages or vouchers were distributed at Christmas time to Church members in need. In Switzerland, there is also a social advisory service where volunteers advise, inform, and support affected members of the Church. These activities in the area of supporting Church members in difficult life situations aim to improve their living situation sustainably through individual support.

What else still needs to be done

The foundation has no employees for office work, which leaves the administration office of the New Apostolic Church Switzerland responsible for the administrative work. In the reporting year, NAK-Diakonia paid the Church around 117,000 francs for this.

The New Apostolic Church Switzerland also allocated over 660,000 francs from its Thanksgiving offering to the Church foundation. In addition, owing to profits from investments, there was a positive financial result of more than 570,000 francs. District Apostle Zbinden wrote as follows to the donors of the 399 individual donations with a total value of almost 303,000 francs: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and your goodwill. You are making a very important contribution to the development and promotion of the New Apostolic Church in the countries served by the District Apostle area of Switzerland. The results that were achieved with your help and the commitment of the many local brothers and sisters give us courage not only to maintain that which already exists, but also to tackle new projects.”