He would have been eighty years old today. District Apostle Alfons Tansahtikno did a lot of good in the district of Indonesia and was able to spread the faith, braving difficult conditions.

What is a ministry? How does it work? Who can be called to ministry? The New Apostolic Church has formulated its definition of ministry. To conclude this series, we present the big picture—as a starting point for a better understanding.

The past months have seen changes not only in the circle of the Apostles, but also among the District Apostles. The Chief Apostle travelled to the various countries to perform most of the ministerial acts himself.

God is the one who designates an individual for a ministry. And yet sometimes it does not work. The problem then lies at the human level. What if something goes wrong?

It is a principle of faith in the New Apostolic Church: the fact that someone is entrusted with a ministry is rooted solely in God’s will. This idea is called “election”. But how does it work?

The main task of the Apostle ministry is the dispensing of the sacraments and the proclamation of the gospel. But sometimes their work also involves things such as presenting a wheelchair or going for a walk on the beach. Here are a few examples of the kind of support services Apostles offer.

God the Father sent His Son into the world to save all who believe in Him. And Jesus Christ still sends His disciples into the world today to help along. The Chief Apostle recently explained how this works.

What is definite is that there is gender equivalence and equality of the sexes before God. That is why, since the beginning of the year, women can also be entrusted with ministerial authority. This has both doctrinal and practical implications.

God made it rain. He saved Noah and his family with the ark. And at the end, He made a promise. These thoughts were the basis of a divine service by the Chief Apostle, which focussed on gratitude for a very particular God-given promise.

We live and learn. In many of our congregations across the world, ministers, musicians, and young people come together to learn.

“The apostolate decides that women can be entrusted with ministerial authority.” Isolated Bible verses are cited against this decision. However, these relate less to the authority than to the mandate. And the Church takes this into account.

What the Apostles preach and why we should follow the Apostles’ doctrine was the topic of a divine service the Chief Apostle conducted in Korea. He explained what the Apostle ministry has to do with the future of God’s children.

“The apostolate decides that women can be entrusted with ministerial authority.” This decision was taken after extensive discussion of the biblical findings. Here is the detailed justification.

As it studied the Bible to find the answers to its questions, the New Apostolic Church followed a clearly formulated roadmap. What answers resulted at each stop, and what still needed to be done at the last stop? An overview of the decision-making process pertaining to the question of women in ministry.

Putting down roots, bringing forth fruit, and spreading new seed: that was what it was all about in the divine service with which the Chief Apostle surprised the congregation of Kinshasa-Matete in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Baptism, Holy Sealing, confirmation … Many of us made our vow to God a long time ago. And that is why it is important to examine ourselves and see where we stand today in terms of the promise we made. The Chief Apostle recently explained in a divine service which vows this applies to and how we should examine ourselves.

What biblical image could best be used and explained to a congregation of over 26,000 believers? The Chief Apostle chose the image of the small flock and explained it in a striking way.

Who is supposed to benefit from serving and reigning with Christ? This is the question District Apostle Tshitshi Tshisekedi from the Democratic Republic Congo asks in his article as he reflects on our 2023 motto and takes a look at the coming generations and what we are leaving our children.