Johannesburg. The Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg was filled to capacity when Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, the international leader of the New Apostolic Church, stepped to the altar at 5:00 PM on Saturday, 14 February 2009. Accompanying him on this occasion were District Apostles Urs Hebeisen (South East Asia) and Jean-Luc Schneider (France). In the course of the service, the Church leader ordained a new Apostle for the area of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the care of the District Church of France.

Tshitshi Tshisekedi (36) comes from Kananga in the region of Kasaï Occidental. As an Apostle he will be assigned to serve the province of Katanga, which is home to some 130,000 Church members. For his efforts in this great task, Chief Apostle Leber wished him “much wisdom and sensitivity, and above all the blessing of God.”

The leader of the New Apostolic Church made use of the divine service in Johannesburg to call upon the assembled congregation to grow in faith and knowledge in the Son of God, and to strive for perfection in Christ. Based on a Bible passage recorded in Ephesians 4: 13, the Chief Apostle said: “Jesus Christ is our whole focus. He is our standard and goal.”

That same Saturday evening, the Chief Apostle and his companions took a charter flight from Johannesburg to Mozambique, where two divine services took place on Sunday, 15 February 2009: one in Mocuba, and the other in the country’s capital of Maputo. A large number of members there gave the Chief Apostle an enthusiastic welcome into their midst.

The New Apostolic Church of South East Africa serves the north eastern provinces of the Republic of South Africa, as well as the countries of Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Swaziland, and Lesotho.