Apostles around the world are involved in building our conception of ministry. What has been gathered in meetings and working groups to date is currently being discussed by the District Apostles in Perth. Here is an overview.

Two thousand kilometres to the nearest city and yet in the middle of a metropolitan area. This is where the District Apostles are convening for their second international meeting this year: originally called “place with plenty of sun”, it is now better known as Perth.

The apostolic churches are continuing their policy of reconciliation: at the beginning of the coming year, they want to close another chapter in their shared history. A ceremony has been planned at which a third statement will be signed.

Lausanne is beautifully set on Lake Geneva in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Surrounded by the Jura Mountains, the city enjoys a mild climate—a good destination for Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider, who will be visiting the congregation on Sunday to celebrate a divine service.

No other collection of laws has had such a high degree of influence on the cultural history of mankind as the Ten Commandments of God. Here the term ‘commandment’ is a translation of the Hebrew word for “instruction”. The Ten Commandments thus serve as direction and orientation for humanity.

The rapprochement of apostolic denominations is continuing: after declarations of reconciliation in Germany and Switzerland, as well as an initial meeting in South Africa, there has now also been a meeting in the Netherlands—and this one was in a much larger context.

War, terror, hunger, and poverty are the reasons why many people are leaving Africa and fleeing to Europe. What can be done to help the people at home. District Evangelist Jörg Leske, director of the aid organization Nak-karitativ, gives some answers in the following interview.

His name is not really all that well known, but he was one of the pioneers of what later came to be known as the New Apostolic Church. Apostle Friedrich Wachmann bought the first church building and published a devotional book. He was born 175 years ago to the day.

Magazines, hymnals, teaching material: long before Frankfurt, Leipzig was the centre of the New Apostolic publishing world. But this is not the only way the congregation which the Chief Apostle will be visiting this coming Sunday has gone down in history.

The detailed account of Lydia is quite remarkable, considering that it was such a male dominated world. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke gives her prominent coverage: the first Christian in Europe.

Lambaréné is a small city in west-central Gabon in West Africa. In Galoa, an indigenous language, the name means: “We want to try it.” This probably did not only apply in the time of Albert Schweitzer, but also today for the New Apostolic congregation.

Hospitality and honour, poverty and migration—these concepts define the life of the people in Albania. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will be visiting this country in southern Europe this coming weekend, a country in which the New Apostolic runs nearly more nursery schools than it has congregations.

The theme set out in this month’s Divine Service Guide is interaction in the spirit and mind of Christ—a very topical and fascinating subject that is examined from various perspectives.

The world knows both: joy and sorrow. Following the mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, with fifty dead, the Church has expressed shock and deep sadness. We also take a look at a training programme for correspondents that took place in South America and at the national youth convention in Ukraine.

It took Toshiyasu Matsuoka just four months to translate the five hundred pages of the Catechism into Japanese. Others need far longer to just read the book. He just presented the first copy to the Chief Apostle.

Not every book is translated into hundreds of languages and is read year after year. But this author has made it, creating the basis for sermons that are practice-oriented.

Kalaallit Nunaat, as the island is called in Greenlandic, is full of contrasts: geologically it belongs to North America, politically to Europe. Four-fifths of the country is covered by a massive ice sheet year round. In summer, the coastal areas are green. Apostle Jörg Steinbrenner just loves the country and its people.

For the first time, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will be travelling to Japan. He will conduct a divine service in the congregation of Tama City on 22 May. Following is a look at a country that played a special role in the development of the New Apostolic Church in South-East Asia.