apostles.today

Africa inspires with music and surprises with church construction

Youth development of a different kind, generational change in leadership, and a celebration of faith with a whole lot of “paaaahhhhh”: such was the year 2015 in Africa. The continent with the most New Apostolic Christians in the world opens our series of annual reviews here on nac.today.

December 26, 2015

Africa Buildings

+11

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Investiture
• Ministry
• Music
• Pastoral care
• Pentecost
• Youth

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Christmas in Australia means a holiday spent at the beach

Christmas in Australia! How does that go? It is summer in the southern hemisphere. Daytime temperatures range between 25 to 32° Celsius, people are soaking up the sun. Do people get in the Christmas spirit? nac.today asked an “expert” in these matters, and his answer was a definite yes.

December 22, 2015

Advent

+6

• Asia
• Australia / Pacific
• Christmas
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Europe

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At home worldwide: new church buildings

Building new churches nowadays is not that easy. There are many obstacles. Either there is not enough money or the members of the congregation or politicians are against it. Following are some positive examples.

December 18, 2015

Asia

+5

• Buildings
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Thanksgiving Day

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Cape Town has a District Apostle Helper

Apostle John Leslie Kriel has been appointed as a District Apostle Helper for the Cape district. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider commissioned John Kriel, a longstanding minister, in a divine service this past Sunday.

December 16, 2015

Africa

+7

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Investiture
• Ministry

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Proud of Gambia

“We can be proud of the development in Gambia; the impulse comes from within,” Apostle Jens Lindemann from Germany says. He has been responsible for the New Apostolic Church in this African country since 2007. At the beginning of December, the Gambian youth gathered for their Day of the Youth.

December 14, 2015

Africa

+7

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Event
• History 
• Youth

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At home worldwide: Aunty Molly and Aunty Pam retired

Featured this week are some recent retirements and ordinations, as well as an interdenominational information session in South Africa on World Aids Day.

December 11, 2015

Africa Chief Apostle

+8

• Congregation
• Denominations
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Investiture
• Ministry
• Retirement
• Youth

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On his way to South Africa

On Thursday, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will embark on his trip to South Africa. He is planning to conduct a divine service already on Thursday evening. This will be followed by visits, meetings, conferences, and a divine service on Sunday.

December 9, 2015

Africa

+5

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Music

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Spotlight 20: Joyful prospects

The Christmas spirit and the joyful anticipation that comes with it is something we all know. In the final article in our spotlight series this year—highlighting our 2015 motto—District Apostle Michael Deppner from the Democratic Republic of the Congo shows us the joys that Jesus Christ has in store for us.

December 8, 2015

Advent

+4

• Annual motto
• Christmas
• Congregation
• District Apostle

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More than just consumers and spectators …

The first Christians supported the efforts and the mission of the Apostles by professing the gospel, by revealing their love, their joy, and their steadfastness, and by bringing their offerings. It is not any different today. Following are thoughts from Chief Apostle Schneider on how we can help along.

December 7, 2015

Apostolate

+6

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• Sacraments

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At home worldwide: Music, Christian dialogue, and an accident

The life of New Apostolic Christians around the globe is colourful. Following is a brief look at two concerts, a dialogue of religions, and a freak accident in Belgium …

December 4, 2015

Christmas

+6

• Congregation
• Denominations
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Event
• Music

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Bella Italia: divine services in Rome and Milano

At the end of November, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider visited the brothers and sisters in Italy and conducted two divine services in Rome and Milan.

December 3, 2015

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• History 

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Myanmar: a land full of hopes and dreams

Is Myanmar really as isolated and closed off as it has been made out to be? Are there restrictions? In “At home worldwide” we took a closer look at this fascinating country. Now District Apostle Urs Hebeisen has given us a short interview and answered some questions about his work there.

December 2, 2015

Buildings

+3

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Youth

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Combatting AIDS through awareness and care

On 1 December, World AIDS Day reminds us that some 35 million people around the world are living with this disease. Approximately three million new infections are added every year. This is also a matter with which the New Apostolic Church is dealing — particularly in Africa.

December 1, 2015

Africa

+4

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Youth

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Trusting fully in grace

At times, reason can be an obstacle to understanding. And yet it is possible to reflect on matters of faith quite soberly. How? The following excerpts from a divine service by the Chief Apostle provide answers.

November 30, 2015

Chief Apostle

+1

• Divine service

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At home worldwide: close, yet far away

This week nac.today looks at a soup kitchen, the Chief Apostle’s recent trip to Cambodia, and a new church in Fiji.

November 27, 2015

Asia

+6

• Australia / Pacific
• Charity work
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service

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Rome: the Eternal City and faith

Already the poet Tibullus referred to the city as eternal. By then the city on the Tiber was already several centuries old if one believes the myths that have been handed down. Today bella Roma is the largest city of Italy, and certainly worth a trip.

November 26, 2015

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Europe

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Flowers, songs, and prayers—coping with grief in Paris

Grief is a process, also in Paris. In the wake of the bloody attacks, people continue to come to the sites of the attacks to pay their respects to the victims. The central congregation of the New Apostolic Church in Paris is close to one of the locations. How are our brothers and sisters coping?

November 25, 2015

Congregation District Apostle

+4

• Divine service
• Grieving
• Pastoral care
• Youth

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A triad of Christian love

Whether friend, stranger, or enemy, every single one of them is our neighbour in the biblical sense. Jesus Christ demands that we love them. How is that possible? Answers from a divine service by the Chief Apostle …

November 24, 2015

Chief Apostle

+6

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Pastoral care
• Sacraments
• Youth

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A thousand kilometres for a choir practice

“The congregations are like remote islands,” Raúl Eduardo Montes de Oca, the responsible District Apostle of Brazil, says. Following is his report about the Chief Apostle’s recent visit to Brazil and the life of the congregations there.

November 23, 2015

Africa

+7

• America
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Europe
• Music

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A door opener for other denominations

This weekend the Chief Apostle is in Cambodia, a country in which the New Apostolic Church has played a pioneering role in a way. This is reported by the New Apostolic Church Canada, who works in Cambodia.

November 21, 2015

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• Denominations
• District Apostle
• Divine service

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A man who blazed new trails

“It can never be said that the Apostle was a coward. I risked everything to help in the quick movement and furtherance of the Church work.” These words were written by the Chief Apostle’s right hand: Apostle Heinrich Franz Schlaphoff. Fifty years ago today he passed away.

November 20, 2015

Africa

+15

• America
• Apostolate
• Australia / Pacific
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Europe
• Grieving
• History 
• Holy Communion
• Pastoral care
• Pentecost
• Sacraments

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At home worldwide – An isolated country opens itself

Myanmar—for many years this extraordinary country was isolated from the rest of the world. Following the landslide victory of Aung Suu Kyi, many new possibilities have opened up for the country.

November 19, 2015

Chief Apostle Congregation

+7

• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• Ministry
• Retirement
• Sacraments

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Learning to declare the works of God

“Who is the better New Apostolic?” It was a challenging question that Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider raised on his recent visit to Uruguay. In essence, the divine service was about life and death.

November 18, 2015

Chief Apostle

+2

• Congregation
• Divine service

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“There is no room in the Lord’s house for hatred”

Lit tea-lights in the shape of a heart in Luxembourg, flowers and a “Pray for Paris” banner in Germany: the terror attacks last Friday in Paris have left people in shock, especially in Europe. But the District Apostles are also directing attention beyond Europe’s borders, to other parts of the world.

November 17, 2015

Chief Apostle

+11

• Concept of salvation for the departed
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Europe
• Grieving
• Holy Communion
• Pastoral care
• Sacraments
• Youth

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European District Apostles plant tree

The Acer campestre, commonly called the field maple, was named as the Tree of the Year in Germany. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider and the European District Apostles planted a young field maple at the conference of European District Apostles taking place in Zurich in Switzerland.

November 14, 2015

Chief Apostle

+6

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Europe
• Event
• Organisation
• Youth

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European District Apostles meet in Zurich

Twice a year the District Apostles of Europe come together for conferences to discuss topics that are relevant for the European regional churches. The conference centre at the international head office of the New Apostolic Church provides an ideal environment for such meetings.

November 13, 2015

Acts of blessing

+12

• Chief Apostle
• Concept of salvation for the departed
• Confirmation
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Europe
• Organisation
• Seniors
• Society
• Youth

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don't miss

A leader with an open heart and mind

His faith, his foresight, and his humility made him a formative figure in New Apostolic history: Chief Apostle Hans Urwyler would have turned 100 on 20 February. Today and tomorrow, we will pay tribute to this man as a way of saying thank you.

February 19, 2025

Profile Chief Apostle

+2

• History 
• Anniversary

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Faith. Fellowship. Future.

A feast that will stay: Pentecost 2025 has left deep impressions and provided an outlook for the future. Here is an overview of everything there is to know.

June 11, 2025

Pentecost Investiture

+7

• Chief Apostle
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Organisation
• Local news
• Buildings
• Music

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“Step by step, courageously forward” 

Twenty years ago today, Chief Apostle Richard Fehr handed over the ministry to his successor. In a video interview later, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber revealed how this came about.

May 15, 2025

Investiture Chief Apostle

+2

• Anniversary
• History

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