We have all heard about the first love. But what do we mean when we speak about the “beginning of our confidence”? A divine service on conviction, trust, and hope, and the answer to the question, where does it all lead?

Thanksgiving Day commemorates the creatorship of God. This is what the New Apostolic Catechism says. Once a year, a Sunday is set aside for this in the church calendar. But gratitude is something that Christians can show God on all the other days of the year as well, the Chief Apostle says.

“The only thing that lives on in me is my heart, my soul, and my eyes,” Philippe says, who has suffered from locked-in syndrome for 34 years. He gives us a glimpse of his faith, his freedoms, and his very personal bonus programme.

There are members everywhere who are doing what they can these days to ensure that divine services are transmitted via Internet and telephone. There is only one continent from which the New Apostolic Church does not transmit online services.

The English were not only the first to conquer Swiss mountain peaks, but also built churches in the Alpine region on their trips abroad. One of these is today in the possession of the New Apostolic congregation in Montreux.

Actually, the Chief Apostle wanted to be in the United States for a divine service on 13 September 2020, but had to cancel his plans on account of the pandemic. Instead, he held a divine service in the congregation of Thann in France. A small group of 26 people were overjoyed when Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider walked to the altar.

At the beginning of the year, no one could have imagined what the year would hold in store. The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed things, but it has not affected our striving for the kingdom of God, says District Apostle Helper John Sobottka from Canada.

The goal is still the same: the return of Christ. However, the Church is developing. This is what the Chief Apostle made clear in a doctrinal paper that was recently published. He looks back on the way we have covered so far and looks ahead to what still needs to be done.

Who knows what will happen the day after tomorrow? Making plans these days seems impossible. But one thing is guaranteed: our Sunday service.

Not every congregation is so fortunate to have its own church. In one congregation in Liberia, for example, services take place on the veranda of the Priest’s house. This is what a young sister from there reports. community has many more compelling stories to offer and reflects the diversity in our congregations around the world.

Proclaiming the gospel—that is where Christians enthusiastically do their part. After all, they have been commissioned to do so! Everyone is to know that God is near to all people and that He loves them! This can be preached, explained, and lived in practice.

A hundred years ago it would have been unthinkable: divine services via phone-in, on television, via satellite, or the internet. Today divine services are just a click away. Quite a lot of work goes into this to make it possible.

In 2014 the congregation in Somerset in Cape Town (South Africa) moved into a different place of worship. The congregation’s new home is an old Dutch Reformed Church that was taken over by the New Apostolic Church and renovated. The building is over 200 years old.

COVID-19 has even had an influence on the liturgical sequence of the divine services: where choirs used to sing, voices must often be silent now. What remains is the search for creative solutions…

In mid-March, the first churches begin closing in response to the corona pandemic. The Church responds immediately: from then on, members are able to participate in divine services live-streamed on YouTube.

Miracles are not the solution—they are merely a reference to it. Rather, it is more about performing miracles of our own and sending a signal—or showing a kind of sign—in the process. How, why, and to what end? Following are some points from a divine service with the Chief Apostle.

Seeing who we really are … without others judging us. That is not easy, seeing that we humans are social creatures and therefore depend on the benevolence of others. Jesus opens our eyes for reality, District Apostle Helper John Fendt from the USA says.

Fluctuating case numbers and adapting to changing Covid19 measures are challenging people everywhere. But there is a comforting constant in all of this—our online and dial-in services.