In the second quarter of the year marking its anniversary, the New Apostolic Church International has published a brochure that looks back on the beginnings and development of the Church.  Among other things it includes a conversation with Chief Apostle Leber and the then Chief Apostle Helper Jean-Luc Schneider from the start of the year, which deals with the past, present, and future of the New Apostolic Church. The brochure will appear in German, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

“We look back in admiration and gratitude to our beginnings,” writes Chief Apostle Leber in the preface to the brochure. “It can be attributed to the courage of witnesses of faith, both past and present, that such a Church has developed, which is today represented all around the world. In this we recognise the leadership of the Holy Spirit.”

New questions and new challenges in the present

The commemorative brochure provides insights into the beginnings as well as the development of the New Apostolic Church. “Naturally its progress was not always as straightforward as it might appear in hindsight,” writes Chief Apostle Leber, who has been retired since Pentecost 2013, “There were certainly also many disappointments and setbacks along the way.” He goes on to recall that two World Wars likewise left clear marks in the area of church, and that there are also new questions and challenges in the present. “So we continue on our journey. Around the world we are united by the imminent expectation of the return of Jesus Christ. This is and remains our goal of faith,” writes the Chief Apostle in conclusion.

The brochure is being produced by mandate of the New Apostolic Church International’s Public Relations work group under the leadership of District Apostle Rüdiger Krause (Northern Germany) by the Church’s own Bischoff publishers in Frankfurt. The editorial deadline for the publication was in the first quarter of 2013.

Timeline identifies prominent events

An article entitled “Winding roads” illuminates the background of the New Apostolic Church, while another describes the congregation in Hamburg from which the present Church later developed. One of the major focuses of the brochure is a timeline featuring noteworthy events in the development of the Church between 1863 and 2013. This portrayal is supplemented by prominent events from the history of the period.

It is also interesting to read the section entitled “Calculations—The New Apostolic Church by the numbers”. There readers will learn that, if the New Apostolic Church with its ten million members were represented as a congregation with 100 members, 79 of them would come from Africa, eleven would come from Asia, five from Europe, four from the Americas, and one from Australia. The majority of them would converse in the African language of Swahili.

New Apostolic life around the world

The section entitled “From Vancouver to Brandenburg” features the various life situations of New Apostolic Christians around the world, including a singing teacher in Argentina, a member of the NACSS (New Apostolic Church Students Society) from South Africa, an employee of the wafer bakery in Zambia, and a student at a New Apostolic school in Kherwara, India.

In an article entitled “Unity in doctrine, diversity in life”, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber and the then Chief Apostle Helper Jean-Luc Schneider answered the questions of the brochure’s editors. Among other things, the interview addresses the diversity of a Church that is spread around the whole world, the significance of Africa, which is home to the majority of New Apostolic Christians, and the challenges facing a Christian church in the present.

The 64-page brochure, entitled “One faith—One goal. 150 Years New Apostolic Church”, will be printed and distributed in many District Churches. It is also available for download here on nak.org.