“One heart and one soul.ˮ – For New Apostolic Christians, Pentecost is not only an event that is celebrated once a year but is a feast of faith. A look back at Pentecost festivities 2018 in Washington.

“Let us give our neighbour a foretaste of the kingdom of God.” This is the 2018 Pentecost message which the Chief Apostle addressed to all New Apostolic believers across the world. It is not only because it is the birthday of the church that Pentecost is important, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider said on 20 May 2018 in Washington, D.C. It is more than that: Pentecost testifies of the faithfulness of God, because He keeps His promises. “That is our Pentecost joy: God fulfils His promises. Our God is the faithful God.”

The pledge of divine inheritance for all

With the gift of the Holy Spirit, God makes man the heir of eternal life. In addition to this promise, the believer already today receives a pledge, that is, a “down payment” or a “foretaste”, the Chief Apostle explained. “God is all in all,” the Chief Apostle said with reference to 1 Corinthians 15: 28. “If we allow the Holy Spirit to shape us, we can overcome greed and selfishness.” Also the differences between human beings cannot prevent unity in Christ.

“It is up to us that our neighbour can experience: God is love, God is grace, God is patient,” Chief Apostle Schneider said in conclusion. “This is my appeal to you on this Pentecost feast: let us give our neighbour a foretaste of the kingdom of God.”

NAC Talks: doctrine, faith, life

Hylton Memorial Chapel, just outside of Washington, is an ideal venue not only for the first US Church convention but also for the divine service on Sunday. On Saturday afternoon, the Christian event centre hosted the exhibition NAC Talks.

The first speaker to take to the podium was District Apostle John Kriel from Cape Town in South Africa. His topic “Work with what you have”. District Apostle Michael Deppner (Democratic Republic Congo West) provided some interesting insight into his work in the Congo. District Apostle Raúl Montes de Oca from Brazil also managed to baffle the audience. In closing, Evangelist Reinhard Kiefer from Germany spoke about the Pentecost theme “And they continued …” from the second book of Acts.

The governing board is fully quorate

Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider was able to welcome all the District Apostles and their assistants to the United States for the meeting on Thursday and Friday. Despite some travel problems, everyone is here: two from Australia, ten from Africa, six from Europe, three from Asia, five from North America, and two from South America—a total of twenty-eight: sixteen District Apostles and twelve District Apostle Helpers.

The spiritual part, which the Chief Apostle always starts the meeting with, was dedicated to the return of Jesus Christ. “We believe that Jesus Christ will return. He promised. We believe that Jesus Christ will return soon, because the apostolate reminds us of it today.” He put strong emphasis on these two principles of faith.

The prayer of devout Christians, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” is not to be a call of distress because we may currently be facing hard times, but it should be an expression of an inner and sincere longing to be with the Lord. Connected with this is the hope that God will help all of mankind. “There is to be joy in the church of the Lord!”