Spiritual matters were the focus when it came to the question of the future of our congregations. Before discussions can be continued at the regional level, the Church first must define at the international level what exactly a congregation is in the spiritual sense.

The District Apostle Meeting is working on a policy paper for this purpose. ‌This will look at the biblical foundations, its religious function, and how it can be distinguished from the social aspects. A central statement is: “The strength and credibility of a congregation is measured by the activity of the Spirit that believers can experience there and the brotherly love that characterises the coexistence of its members, irrespective of person.”

Registering the Church as a brand

Organisational matters came up with the subject of “brand protection”. In order to prevent misuse by third parties, the Church emblem and the name New Apostolic Church will be registered with the relevant authorities.

In some cases, this can only be done at the national level, but partly also with the help of international organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). ‌The District Apostle Meeting was given an overview of how far the proceedings are in dozens of countries.

Retirements

And then it was time to say goodbye to three members of the District Apostle Meeting, who were attending for the last time. Both District Apostles Rainer Storck (Western Germany) and Jürg Zbinden (Switzerland) as well as District Apostle Helper Arnold Mhango (Malawi/Zimbabwe) will be going into retirement before the next session.

Arnold Mhango has served as an Apostle since 2000 and has attended the District Apostle Meeting as a District Apostle Helper since 2003. Rainer Storck has been in the Apostle ministry since 2009 and has been a District Apostle since 2014. Jürg Zbinden was ordained an Apostle in 2012 and has been a District Apostle since 2018.

The president of the New Apostolic Church International, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider, warmly thanked his three retiring colleagues for their commitment and wished them all the best for their retirement.