This past Pentecost, Chief Apostle Schneider made the promise to be a helper, namely to the very man he went on to appoint as his own Helper—and thereby designate as his successor. A closer look at the biggest news of the year 2025.
A picture of the Chief Apostle hangs in the sacristy of the church in Wiesbaden, Germany, and right next to it there is a mirror. Jean-Luc Schneider must have passed right by it shortly before the Pentecost service began. “So, dear brothers and sisters, at this point I must briefly interrupt the sermon portion of the service,” the Church leader said around 45 minutes later.
Why? “Every now again I look into the mirror,” he said. “And I can see with my own eyes that the man looking back at me is getting older.” He is 65 years old at this point and plans to retire on Pentecost 2026. “It is therefore time to announce my successor,” he went on to say. However, “as you can imagine, this is not such a simple matter”.
With absolute certainty
He said that he had had someone in mind for quite some time already, namely an Apostle who had been assigned a District Apostle Helper in 2021. What even this man’s own District Apostle didn’t know at the time was “that his Helper would never actually become his successor”. The Chief Apostle had hinted at this while performing official acts in Hanover in August 2025.
“I prayed—and indeed even wrestled with God—over this for a long time,” the Chief Apostle explained during the break in the Pentecost service. “And God has answered this prayer. Today I can announce with absolute certainty and confidence the man whom God has chosen to be our next Chief Apostle.”
Resumé in a nutshell
The name of the man in question is Helge Mutschler, who was born in 1974 in Tübingen, Germany. After graduating from high school and completing his civil service, he studied law, became a lawyer, and worked as Managing Director of Lower Saxony’s Chamber of Tax Consultants before eventually going on to earn his doctorate.
At the age of 20, he was ordained a Sub-deacon and was ultimately called to be an Apostle at the age of 41. In November 2021, the Chief Apostle assigned him as a District Apostle Helper for the working area of Northern and Eastern Germany.
So much for the facts. But who is the man really?
Pastoral care, diversity, and dialogue
The nac.today interview with the freshly assigned Chief Apostle Helper provides some insights into this question: “This thing is enormous,” said Helge Mutschler with respect to his calling. “I have no other chance but to trust in God.” For this reason, “I accept this calling with a very clear inner ‘yes’ in faith and trust in God.”
The following are among his most important priorities:
- pastoral care: “My wish is … that a real desire for pastoral care will come into being,” because “pastoral care brings us together. And where there is such a connection between us, that is where the comfort and joy of heaven begin”.
- diversity: “Our community can be just as diverse as a meadow filled with colourful flowers. And how beautiful it is when we can say: ‘I see you and I respect you—even though you are completely different from me.’ After all, I too am different from everyone else …”
- dialogue: “Diversity can only work when there is dialogue. Dialogue is the process of working through differences together, without wanting to eliminate them.”
He is also familiar with the ups and downs of faith life: “In one particularly difficult period in my life, I distanced myself from God and reproached Him. This went on for some time, and then something wonderful happened.” Specifically, “This God did not distance Himself from me, but rather remained faithful to me in my life. I was completely inspired by this God, by His grace … and I still am.”
More than one helper for the Chief Apostle Helper
“With this assignment, I commit myself to helping you, to preparing you to become our Chief Apostle,” said the incumbent Chief Apostle Schneider on Pentecost. “And you can be sure that I will not be your only helper.”
“May I express this little request?” asked Apostle Mutschler as he served along. “Please pray for me.”
Photos: Simon Kisselbach, Matthias Hagemann, Jennifer Mischko, NAKI, Frank Schuldt