These were difficult times in the history of the New Apostolic Church. They included two world wars, internationalisation, consolidation, division, and realignment—a little bit of everything. And he stood firm like a rock in the pounding surf: Chief Apostle Johann Gottfried Bischoff was born 150 years ago today.

All the latest features, and the best of the old to boot: as of today, nak.org, the website of the New Apostolic Church International, has been completely redesigned. A lot has happened, not only in terms of design, but also under the hood.

Freedom. Where? When? How? The Chief Apostle and the District Apostles have explored the annual motto from all sides. Here are a few highlights from our Spotlight series to usher out the old year.

Witten, Rohmer, Simon—three different names, three different stories. All of them revolve around what can be accomplished with the power of faith—and how it can help the members to move forward: the people of 2020.

Locked church doors, divine services on YouTube, mouth and nose protection at the altar: the pandemic really shook up church life in 2020. It was the year of COVID-19. Following is a chronicle of the year’s events.

At the end of the year, New Apostolic congregations come together for a joint closing service—in their churches where possible and online. The topic of the sermons is: “God strengthens our faith in trials.”

There is a great barrier that separates Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Although it is indeed possible to pass through its gates, visitors require a passport, and must submit to customs control. For many, however, it has become a wall of death. Bethlehem today has become a symbol of political unrest and human error.

Christmas has not been cancelled. The birth of Jesus has not been forgotten, even though many things are different this year. There is still gratitude and joy over the birth of Jesus, and this is the true celebration of Christmas.

The donors of the aid organisation human aktiv are making more targeted donations. This is reflected in the recently published financial report for 2019 by the institution of the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany.

Joy is a state that is not dependent on health or illness. It is a sense of well-being and satisfaction that overlooks everything else and focuses on one thing only! The divine services give such a special impetus—even in the midst of the pandemic.

Whenever innovations were in the offing, he was front and centre—and he was never shy to apply his international perspective. In retrospect, this allowed him a special view of God’s work: District Apostle Helper John Sobottka from Canada is retiring this Sunday.

The New Apostolic Church is continuing its process of consolidation: in the year 2022, the District Apostle district of Northern and Eastern Germany will merge with the District Apostle district of Berlin-Brandenburg. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider made the announcement yesterday.

The New Apostolic Church has known divine service transmissions for years, usually for special occasions. Since March 2020 though, the churches worldwide have been broadcasting on a weekly basis, in some cases even several times a week.

Breaking of bread, Eucharist, altar sacrament: these are not merely three designations for Holy Communion. These terms also outline the path which the celebration took in its early days: away from the familiar evening meal and toward its place in church service.

Things never stay the same for long. This applies to many areas of life, also when it comes to church. Here are three stories on learning, giving, and rethinking.

There will be more online offers during Advent and Christmas: the YouTube channels of the District Churches have the one or other treat in the pipeline.

Both in terms of organisation and content, the most recent District Apostle Meeting was dominated by the coronavirus crisis. Yet not even the pandemic was able to stop the work that needed to be done on the future-oriented topics on the agenda of this conference.

“What is God like?” children sometimes ask. A justified question. Finding an answer is easier than it seems at first. Let’s ask Jesus Christ. He knows what God is like. This will be the topic in our divine services on the second Sunday of Advent.