Forty degrees Celsius in the shade and a long holiday break … While the people in the northern hemisphere are dreaming of a white Christmas, the southern hemisphere is in the midst of summer. We asked a European living in South Africa about the festive season there …

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.

Our love for God, for Jesus Christ cannot be greater than our love for our neighbour. This is an old insight. And yet, how big is our love for the Lord really? And for our neighbour? Questions that need to be answered.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.