World Magazine Day: countless publications

As clear as the definition of “magazine” may be—a periodical that is published in regular intervals—so different is their content. This was also true yesterday on World Magazine Day. There is scarcely an area of life that is not covered by one of the millions of available magazines.

Daniel Defoe, writer and journalist—and the author of Robinson Crusoe, by the way— was largely responsible for the success of magazines. As early as 1704, in England, he began to publish The Review, a journal.

The New Apostolic Church and its publishing history

Reviews, journals, magazines—printed or digital, upscale glossy or inexpensive fanzines: almost anything is possible today. The New Apostolic Church also has its own publishing history. Bischoff Publishers in Germany plays a key role. This was not always the case, however. Early on, publications were produced in different locations.

Starting in the late 1920s, the focus of the Church’s publishing activities began to shift to Frankfurt, where the Wächterstimme aus Zion (New Apostolic Review) was printed. This was done in a printing shop run by Friedrich Bischoff. In 1931 all publishing activities were officially taken over by the publishing and printing company in Frankfurt am Main, which later came to be known as Bischoff Verlag. The Word of Life, the Youth Guide, and starting in 1933 the magazine Unsere Familie, and as of 1952 a leaflet for the children, The Good Shepherd, followed.

Today the publishing company produces magazines in the German language, such as Unsere Familie, Wir Kinder, and spirit, as well as books, CDs, and videos. The online news magazine nac.today and the Church magazine community are also produced at the premises of Bischoff Publishers.

Other countries, other issues

Additional magazines are published by the various New Apostolic District Churches across the globe: in Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina. The bestseller is produced in Africa and is called African Joy. About 600,000 copies of the newsletter are printed. It is distributed in twenty African countries and in twenty languages.

The standard four-page section is created in South Africa from the core content of community. The partner District Churches add regional news, have the newsletter translated into their country’s official languages, and then see to the printing and distribution in their regions. This way African Joy is local, regional, and international.

New Apostolic news 24/7

Across all channels—whether in print or online—news from the New Apostolic world reached audiences more than 38 million times last year. And this is only what can be measured immediately. Not included in this number is the sharing of New Apostolic content in the social networks. Last but not least, some of the web content is also featured in print as flyers for congregations or in community, the Church’s international member magazine.

The New Apostolic Church first launched its official website in April 1997 under www.nak.org. This was followed by www.nacworld.net, a network run by the Church. The Church does not have its own central radio station, but there are several radio programmes, for example in the south of Germany, in Berlin, and in the Philippines.

There are also a few TV channels, most notably NACTV in South Africa. The channel broadcasts on three days a week for a total of 13 hours. It airs choir and orchestral music, documentaries, and doctrinal content. The New Apostolic Church in the United States uses its own YouTube channel for its broadcasts.

The result is convincing: New Apostolic news every day of the week.