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.

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.

“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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 …

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.